It was an evening filled with laughter and nostalgia, punctuated with plenty of good food and old friends.
The occasion was the Richmond Tennis Association’s biennial Hall of Fame induction banquet on Oct. 24.
Five new members were welcomed into the fold this year during the festivities and merriment at the Westwood Club, which has proven to be a gracious host to all but one of the ceremonies that recognizes the best of the best in the area.
After everyone had enjoyed mingling and sipping on cocktails for about an hour, the master of ceremonies, Eric Perkins, invited the ladies and gentlemen to partake of the delicious buffet prepared by the kitchen staff at Westwood.
While the group was finishing up their meal, Perkins opened the evening with a few ad lib 
comments and humorous digs at some of the former Hall of Fame inductees. Tom Ager, president of the RTA, also made some welcoming remarks and spoke about the RTA’s numerous accomplishments in 2015.
The keynote speaker was Bob Bayliss, a member of the Hall of Fame and the former men’s coach at Notre Dame. Bayliss, who graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School and the University of Richmond, regaled the crowd with several anecdotes from his 44 years of college coaching.
Finally, it was time for the five inductees and their families to bask in the nostalgic afterglow of their many accomplishments.
The first up was David Caldwell, at 41 the youngest-ever person inducted into the Richmond Hall of Fame. Caldwell, who won the city singles title in 1993 at 18 and went on to All-American status at the University of North Carolina, had his two small children with him, and Grayson, 3, insisted on sharing the stage with him while he answered questions from the audience.
Caldwell was introduced by his father, Paul, who was very influential in his tennis career, which included the No. 1 junior boys 18-under ranking in the country in 1992.
The next inductee was six-time city singles champion and long-time chair official Cliff Miller, who was honored posthumously. His son, Tim Miller, accepted the plaque and talked about his father’s love of the sport, which carried over from playing to officiating.
Sean Steinour, who broke Miller’s record for city singles titles with eight, was introduced by his brother, Scott, who reminisced about their days of growing up and playing on the backyard court at their home in Vineland, N.J.
Steinour must have felt right at home at Westwood, since he spent 17 years as the head pro and director of tennis there before leaving for Charlotte, N.C., in 2012.
Bayliss told everyone about the next inductee, Bruce Sylvia, who also received his honor posthumously. Sylvia won four city singles championships in the 1960s and added a pair of state crowns during his illustrious career on the Richmond courts and at UNC. His hard work and determination made him a favorite of Sam Woods, who taught a generation of Richmonders how to play the game at Byrd Park.
Matt Sylvia, one of Sylvia’s children, accepted the plaque for his dad, and a daughter, Sarah, spoke about attending a camp at UNC when she was growing up and seeing all the photos celebrating her father’s success around the tennis facility.
The final inductee was Virginia Commonwealth University’s men’s and women’s tennis coach Paul Kostin, who was introduced by Darryl Cummings, the former men’s coach at Old Dominion University. Cummings poked fun at his old VCU nemesis, and later Kostin took questions from the crowd regarding his accomplishments, which includes more than 1,000 victories (and counting) and 35 conference titles.
Kostin’s induction wrapped up the program, which was enjoyed immensely by all those in attendance. Especially the new members of the Hall of Fame
“While I was obviously honored by the induction,” said Caldwell, perhaps echoing the thoughts of his comrades, “what I took away from the evening was a real sense of the tradition of tennis in Richmond and all those that came before me.”
