Meet the Member: Mary Alice Pisani
Where are you from and what brought you to the Reno/Tahoe area? What’s your tennis story?
I grew up in Berkeley CA and have lived in Sacramento, Texas, and Oklahoma. My husband and I retired in Reno in 2010 and when I met Carol Tretten and Dori Devries, I joined WTC right away. I started playing category one senior tournaments in 2011 in the 65 and over age group and have continued into the 75s. In addition to great competition, national tournaments have given me the opportunity to meet friends from all over the country. I started playing at age nine, and my sister and I were lucky to have an exceptional coach, Tom Stow, who coached many world class players (not including us!). I played college tennis at Stanford before Title 9, so we didn’t have coaching because we were female and they assumed we already knew how to play!
What is another favorite hobby other than tennis?
When I’m not playing tennis, I enjoy hiking and have hiked in the Sierra Nevada since childhood. When I lived in Oklahoma, I participated in 13 Sierra Club national backpacking outings in the Sierra with hikers from all over the country. Backpacking is rewarding, but much more strenuous than tennis! In the winter I like to do some snowshoeing in the winter if the sun is out.
Who is your favorite tennis player and why?
My favorite player was Roger Federer and is now Coco Gauff. Federer needs no explanation and Coco is an amazing athlete who will only get better.
Can you tell us about your family, occupation, etc.?
My careers have included public health administration in CA, university administration, and lots of volunteering in TX (mainly in the League of Women Voters). I taught high school English and coached girls tennis for 20 years in Oklahoma where I spent lots of time driving my team all over the state to play day-long tournaments. My husband Don is a retired history professor and his profession is what took us to Texas and Oklahoma for 33 years. We are very happy to be retired in Reno–close to our native California. It is not so crowded and still part of USTA Norcal where I am captain of the Norcal 75’s intersectional tournament team that competes in Florida and Arizona.
Any other fun information you can share about yourself?
In September I got the opportunity to play internationally for the first time when I participated in the Friendship Cup. This is an endowment for women over 75 who play in national tournaments and is held in southern Austria. Twelve Americans competed against 12 international players in singles and doubles, and then we played in an Austrian ITF tournament against players from many European countries. The mountain setting, hotel, and gourmet meals as well as the chance to meet and play with international players made for an unforgettable experience.
