Last week’s and this week’s headliners are Gulf Harbour’s “Golden Ladies” in the LCWTL Gold Division. They swept their competition last week to remain in first place in their division with one match left. This last match is going to be a big one, since it will decide whether the ladies are truly golden or simply silver. Either position would be a terrific accomplishment, but our ladies will only be happy with gold. The match is at home on Friday, April 3, so come on out to cheer them on to victory.
Our 4.0 women are also battling to finish in the top-five, and they have one last effort at home on Thursday April 2. They are four points behind the current No.5 team and are playing the team in last position. Del Tura, the fifth-place team plays the team in third position, so our 4.0 ladies have a solid opportunity to close out the season among the top five teams.
Both the Silver Belles and the Silver Strings swept their matches at home last week in the 50-Plus Silver Division, and both finished among the top-five teams at season’s end. The Silver Belles finished in third, only four points behind the second place team. The Silver Strings claimed the fifth spot and improved upon last year’s seventh-place finish and 190-point total by two spots and 108 points, respectively. Both teams had excellent seasons!
The men’s 70-Plus League’s 69-ers also finished up last week, and they won three-of-four matches to finish in third place. We will be reporting on all of our teams next week after all teams matches have concluded.
It is “Ladies Luncheon” time in Southwest Florida. That means your tennis pros get to experience a smorgasbord of delights (no, not the women, the food) at the team luncheons that punctuate the Lee County Women’s tennis League season. Ok, ok, it is pretty delightful sitting at a table with several attractive, witty women while you eat a complimentary lunch. Don’t be to upset at us for enjoying these excursions.
Once such was all three pros attending the 3.0 luncheon with the Raquettes and Double Trouble last week. The food and the company were certainly worthy of the time we spent sharing the moment, as Double Trouble was presented with their second-place plaque. The Raquettes just barely missed third, losing their playoff match. It was a very successful season for our 3.0 ladies!Gulf Harbour’s Annual Davis Cup event is only a few days away, and the teams are pretty much all set. Instead of eight teams of eight players, there will be six teams of eight players. Matches will begin Friday afternoon at 2pm, and Saturday’s matches will begin at 10am. The final of the Davis Cup will be at 12pm. Refreshments will be served for the participants.
Speaking of refreshments, the Annual Tennis Celebration Banquet is also this coming weekend, Saturday evening, 6pm at Johnny Brown's to be exact.
Men’s Intramurals also got underway last week, with Captain Eddie Dance’s Ball Busters leading the way after the first round of play with 21 points. Bill Crouch’s When in Doubt, Out team is in second with 14 points, Don Pitts’ The Great ZaZus are third with seven points, and Jim Masiello’s Team Viagra crumbled under heavy performance anxiety and finished Week 1 with zero points (ouch!).
The team is thinking of changing its name to “Team Cialis” in hopes of a stronger performance in Week 2. Asked about his team’s lack of vigor, Captain Masiello responded, “I’ve talked to the guys, and I think we should be able to get it up next week.”
At the close of the Fort Myers Key Private Bank Pro League, Mike and T.A.’s team, Johnny Malloy’s, finished as the official winner of the 2009 season. Although League Commissioner, Jim Katterfield, hasn’t yet released the final tallies, he did confirm the order in which the teams finished. Joel’s team, Team Ritzman, finished second, Team Fraser/Dooley finished third, and Team Andreae finished in fourth place.
T.A. and Joel are both still battling in the 6.0 Ultimate Tennis League, although T. A. has been toppled from the top spot he held for the majority of the season. T.A. lost to Jared Kalpin, the two-time defending champion, 6-7, 5-7 this past Saturday. Joel is in third place with two weeks left in the spring season.
Well that's about it for this particular update. Stay tuned for next week's season wrap-up. Game, set, match...
