My University Club Journey : Thirty Years and Counting of Fun, Fellowship and Squash

 I was asked to write this by the University Club Communications Committee. It was published on the University Club website on May 2, 2023

My UClub Journey: Thirty Years (and Counting) of Fun, Fellowship, and Squash By Mike Tongour Tuesday, May 2, 2023

Mike Tongour (April 1997) When I came to D.C. in 1985 from South Carolina, I was in my 20s and had played racquetball but never squash. I moved to Capitol Hill near a squash club and took up the game because it was convenient. I played with a variety of people including other Hill staffers and Members of Congress. I was regularly called upon by the passionate squash player, Senator Arlen Specter, who unfortunately insisted on playing at 7 a.m.! A Hill staff friend and fellow squash player encouraged me to join The University Club during a special membership drive. He sponsored me and I joined in 1994.

Back then, we still had members who lived at the Club and had been there for a long time (since their service in WWII!). These guys were bachelors and couldn’t ask for a better, more reasonable place to live. They had all they needed: meals, athletics, steam room, hot tub, camaraderie, little mailboxes, and housekeeping. What was not to like?

“ Back then, we still had members who lived at the Club and had been there for a long time (since their service in WWII!). ”

The fitness center was in the basement. I have clear memories of watching long-time resident, Commander Frank Gould, in an old seersucker suit, stained with remnants of past Pershing Grille meals, walking on the treadmill. One summer when I was single, I sold my house and was waiting to move into a new one. I lived at the Club during that time.  My room was on the floor with the “old dudes” (I am probably their age now!). When I would go to my room early in the evening, their TVs would be on maximum volume, and the whole floor would vibrate. It didn’t disturb me too much. They were generally asleep by 9 pm. The Members' Table at the Grille was always full of folks expounding on national politics or Club gossip until closing time. One night an older resident was loudly complaining to the wait staff because he had bitten into some unidentified substance in his salad. It turns out that the kitchen wasn’t at fault. The gentleman’s hearing aid had fallen into his greens.   We have always had Members of Congress, Administration officials, and Supreme Court Justices as our members. I was playing squash with a friend in the 1990s and asked for a stroke on a point. He insisted it was just a let. A voice from the gallery above boomed out to us: “It was definitely a stroke.” I thanked Supreme Court Justice Scalia for his call and thought, “Wow! This must be the only place in the country where a Supreme Court Justice adjudicates lets and strokes.”

“ Wow! This must be the only place in the country where a Supreme Court Justice adjudicates lets and strokes. ”

Mike and Ghirma on the courts In that decade and well beyond, Howard Day and Ghirma Meres were our beloved squash pros and athletic directors. Our UClub squash league team was one of the best in the area in the 90s and early 2000’s. You can still see our winners' plaques all around the squash courts. To this day, my teammates and squash partners during that period are some of my best D.C. pals: John Sanders, Greg McGillivary, Chuck Miller, Simon Eristoff, Dan Nichols (and all of us, subject to current injuries, still play at the Club!). We enjoyed eating postgame lunches in the Sports Lounge, and hanging out in the locker room where the wonderful, always attentive athletics employees Parvez, Noor, and Carlos would cheerfully bring us adult beverages from the Grille.

Ghirma and Howard at Mike and Lalie’s wedding Ghirma, Howard and Mike’s son Alec at Ghirma’s retirement party

In 1997, I was named Athlete of the Month. They posted my photo along with questions that all monthly recipients had to answer, such as "What are your athletic goals?" I cited my upcoming engagement to a younger woman and hoped to get fit enough to “bounce coins off my stomach”,  I have unfortunately fallen well short of that goal! Mike's Athlete of the Month feature from April 1997. In 1998, I married Lalie Chambers. We had a big wedding. Lots of out-of-town guests stayed in our block of rooms at the Club. Our large rehearsal dinner was also at the Club. It was a great night with a DJ and lots of dancing. Fast forward to 2021, I hosted a significant birthday party for Lalie, again with a DJ and dancing. We had a wonderful time in the same room as our rehearsal dinner almost 25 years earlier. We love our long-time connection to the UClub!

Lalie and Mike hit the dance floor to celebrate her birthday in In November 2021. In November 2021, Lalie couldn't contain her joy as she laughed at the toast Mike made for her birthday dinner. Seated next to her was John Sanders, a long-time member and close friend.

Back in 1998, Lalie and Mike held their rehearsal dinner at the UClub. During the 2000s, instead of the Club being a refuge for me as a single man, we enjoyed it as a family. Our kids were born in 2000, 2002, and 2004. During that decade, we took them to the Club for swimming lessons, brunch with Santa, and Easter meals with the Easter Bunny. Lalie and I began the tradition of never missing the festiveMember Appreciation event around Christmas. With almost daily practice, my squash improved. I played in Club tournaments like the Mosquito Open and Sno Ball Slo Ball, and competed in our Club ladder. Somehow, I got the nickname "El Tongo" among my squash buddies, and it stuck. I rather like it. Later in that decade, I turned 50. Maybe due to attrition, I started winning or being a finalist in my share of the tournaments with an over 50 bracket.   In the next decade, after my mother passed away, we moved my 95-year-old Dad to D.C., just a few blocks from the UClub. I took him to play bridge here every Tuesday, and we had dinner at the Club regularly. It was a special time for both of us, and I won't ever forget the Club's warmth to him and how much he enjoyed visiting here.

Finalist in the 2022 Sno Ball Slo Ball tournament In 2016, I turned 60 and continued to play and compete. The over 60 brackets were getting smaller, which made it easier for me! I was also inspired by older friends like Barry Hart, Wayne Rusch, and Vince Desiderio. Those guys are great athletes and squash players, and we continue to enjoy regular, very competitive matches followed by post-game visits to Founders’ Pub.

Even with all the fun and great memories I've had over the past three decades, I think I am enjoying the Club, and especially the squash program more than ever.. A new group of fun loving, smart, young professionals from Squash on Fire have recently joined the Club (hat tip to Schuyler Cunningham!).  We formed a University Club team which competes in league matches at Squash on Fire on Sundays. Now I am the "old dude" who still plays.  Like the Commander, now I am the one with the occasional food stain on my shirt from the Grille! I celebrate with my younger teammates when we win and commiserate with them when we lose—in both circumstances over a drink. They've even honored me by naming our team the “UClub/Tongo's Titos.”  I love it and our team! UC Tongo’s Titos gathering on the court for a group photo

As a shout out—thank you fellow “Titos”: Captain Ben Abeles, Schuyler Cunningham, Hannah Jung, Hallie Craig, Jordan Lipp, Patrick Bollinger, Chiraag Gohel, Chuck Miller, Remy Gerbay, Nick Garfinkel, Mauricio Mattos, Billy Reilly, Levi Mulloy, Mark Martinkov, and Worthley Burke. Not only do we have a lot of fun, but we've also had quite a winning streak. In fact, over the last three years, no team has won more championships than ours in the league. And now, we have a second UClub team, the “UCymerians,” led by another new member, Tom Cymer. “UC Tongo’s Titos” gather on the court for a group photo after winning Squash on Fire’s most recent Squash League Championship Thanks to our partnership with Squash on Fire, led by Will Hopton and Ineta Mackevica, and the great leadership of Vince Desiderio and Schuyler Cunningham as recent Squash Committee Chairs, and Athletic Director Conor O’Malley, our squash program is thriving. It is driving new membership in our Club. Wonderful programming goes on daily and we have even hosted professional tournaments. The effort to encourage more women to play has also been successful. For example, now my wife is playing in round robins and women's clinics.  Although this is mostly a reflection on the past, I am writing this with great excitement for the future—for the squash program and for the Club in general. I also hope that future might include my winning the 70+ Club Championship in a few years! To me, the University Club means wonderful friendships, unforgettable memories, and lots of good times and laughter. My wish for my younger U Club friends is that in thirty years or more, you will look back on your University Club journey with the same kind of joy that I have had.