Up Next in Tennis

If you missed the excitement of the Club Championships Singles event or the camaraderie of the Tennis Family Night Dinner, do not fear, some more scintillating tennis entertainment is almost here.

Doubles Championships
Next up on the Club’s tennis scene is the Club Championships Men’s and Women’s Doubles events. To date, we have 20 women's and 14 men’s teams registered for the events, significantly more participants than we saw in the singles.

With several newcomers in the mix this year, it will be a challenge for Defending Champions to hold onto their titles.  The February 2nd deadline is approaching fast (8 days), so if you haven’t yet registered, get yourself a partner and get some practice together before the event. You can enter online by clicking here.

Memorial Foundation Event
Shortly after we crown the Club’s Men’s and Women’s Doubles Champions, one of the more important tennis events of the year will come to Gulf Harbour’s courts. On Saturday, February 20, the Gulf Harbour Memorial Foundation’s fundraising effort will be sparked by a tennis funfest, including competitions, auctions, raffles, and more.


Themed “Up, Up and Away,” this year’s fundraising activities could push the Foundation’s historic fundraising efforts over the $1 million mark. Our tennis members have contributed significantly in the past and we are hoping to top last year’s mark.

Thanks to the generosity of several members, with Bill and Ann Wright, Bernie and Penny Klotz, Rick and Meg Jacobs, and Jim & Kathy Masiello among the most generous, we raised several thousand for our neighbors in Harlem Heights. This year’s proceeds will go to Lee Memorial Cardiac Care, United Veterans of Lee County, and CCMI, Inc. which supplies meals to some of the less fortunate populations in Lee County.

Members Corner
There are so many of our tennis members fighting heroic battles, particularly with health issues of their own or their loved ones that I think we could dedicate an entire blog to those in need of our support and positive energy. However, given time and space constraints, I'd just like to mention that our Tennis Committee Chairperson, Bob Ostrom, and Team Captains Connie Hess, and Sally Mellendorf are particularly in need of our support.

On a brighter note, Pam Lemon and Robin Correnti
demonstrated their athletic prowess and versatility by capturing the Member-Member Golf event this past weekend. Congratulations are certainly in order for that accomplishment.

Team Report
Gulf Harbour's teams continue to do more than hold their own in the Lee County women's and men's leagues. Leading the way for our women is our 3.0-Minus team, which has stretched its division lead to 30 points, despite injuries to Captain Jenny King. Also dominating their division are the ladies of our 50-Plus Bronze team, who are tightening their grip on first place. They lead the next best team by 27 points.

Our 3.0 Double Trouble team is now in second place by three points after holding the division lead for much of the first half of the season. They should be in the hunt for first all the way to the end despite the injury to Co-Captain Linda VanWyk.

Other top-five women's teams include the Defending Champion 50-Plus Gold team, which is 14 points behind the division leader, and solidly in third. With about half the season yet to be played, a repeat is still within reach. The 3.5-Minus Sure Shots are clinging to fifth, although they have slipped from the second-place slot they held at last report.

Our final top-five women's team is the 50-plus Silver Belles, which climbed three spots to fourth position since the last update. Although not in the top-five, the 50-Plus Silver Strings desrve mention for having climbed six spots to break into the top ten for the first time this season. They now hold the eighth spot.


Our 50-Plus men's teams continue to represent the Club with distinction as well. Our White-A team is holding tight to  the four-point lead it has held for the past five weeks of play, and are playing as though they have no intentions of losing ground.  On the strength of a sweep in their last match, the 69-ers of the 70-Plus League have eased into second place, and trail the first place team by only one point.

The Red-A team is tied for second, but slipped further behind the No.1 team, which now leads by five points. After clinging to first place for much of the season, Blue-B has dropped into a second-place tie after losing three of four individual matches to the new division leader last time out. The deficit is only one point so there is no need for alarm.

White-C currently sits in third, but has some major catching up to do if it is to catch the leader; and Blue-B is clinging to the top-five, sitting tied for fifth with Legends. Remember, you can find our teams' home schedule by going to the Tennis Teams & Leagues page of the Club website.

Your Pros
Your pros will be back in Pro League action ths Friday at Bonita Bay. Joel's second-place team will take on Mike's third-place team, and T. A.'s league-trailing squad will face the league leaders. T. A.'s team closed the gap a wee bit last match by beating Mike's team six points to four, and will be seeking to gain some more ground this week.

Tennis on TV
If watching Pro League isn't enough for you, the Australian Open has offered up some awesome play thus far. They are into the quarterfinals with the best players in the world battling for the decade's first Grand Slam.  Click here for the Australian Open television schedule.

Until the next time, remember that in doubles, every ball is your ball unless your partner gets there first or is position to hit a better shot! game, set, match...

Tennis Club Championships Update

Despite temperatures requiring apparel uncommon in southwest Florida, two of the five Club Championship tennis events being contested were completed today. Jemin Martinsen repeated as Women’s All Aces Champion with a win 6-1, 7-5 win over Randy Thomas-Wohl, and Frank Kaplan continued his red hot play by winning the Men’s Court Crashers division in a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Tony Cupaiuolo.

Jemin overcame the wind and cold, a tender groin, and a second set push by Randy, who battled to a 5-4 lead before succumbing to Jemin’s tenacity, the elements and a strained glute. Fresh off his undefeated campaign that led to his claiming the Men’s Singles Ladder Group-B title, Frank remained patient and held it together despite Tony’s three-game run after Frank had taken a 5-0 lead. Chances are that Frank will be challenging for the Ball Basher Championship next season.

For those not familiar with the levels of play in our Club Championships, the highest level of play in the Club Championships is the All Aces division, and includes players who are rated 4.0 minus and above in local leagues and identified as such by the tennis staff.  At the second level of play are the Ball Bashers, who are rated 3.0 through 3.5; and the third level are the Court Crashers, who are rated 2.0 through 3.0.

In other Club Championship action, Women’s Ball Bashers Defending Champion, Martha Deleeuw, closed out Ann Wright 6-2, 6-2 in a quarterfinal match that began on Friday. She then went on to topple talented newcomer Angela Mitrisin in a frigid three-set semifinal struggle, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2. Martha will face another skilled first-year member, Judy Wilson in the final on Tuesday evening at 4pm. Judy eclipsed Joy Jones in her semifinal match, 6-1, 6-1 and should provide Martha with all the competition she could handle.

In today’s Men’s Ball Bashers semifinal, John Hess, who had been undefeated in the Men’s Singles Ladder before a tough loss to Frank Kaplan, took out Defending Champion Bill Wright in three sets to setup an interesting match-up with Maxwell Thompson. After cruising to a 6-0 first set, John came back from a 3-5-deficit to force a tiebreak in the second. Bill’s mental toughness got him through the tiebreak, but he couldn’t get past his lingering injuries and John’s terrific shot-making.

After posting a perfect score against the always-tough Tim Baldwin, Maxwell, along with Frank, has to be a contender for the title of “Most Improved Player” this season. Given John’s superb play since he’s returned from Wisconsin and Maxwell’s enhanced game, we can expect a match worth watching this coming Tuesday at 4pm.

The Men’s All Aces Champion, Geoff Negin, also faced a stiff challenge to his title defense. Geoff and Chuck Klucka took to the courts at 11am before the temperature had climbed to 40 degrees and while the wind chill was still in the low 30s, but it didn’t take very long for the tennis to heat up. After going down 2-6 to the champ, Chuck fought back to post a 6-3 second-set win. However; Geoff’s solid game and championship experience stood him in good stead, and he will have the opportunity to win back-to-back Club Championships when he faces Chip Graddy on Thursday evening at 6pm.

Chip faced Tim Jones in his All Aces semifinal match, and prevailed 6-1, 6-2. Tim must be given a tremendous amount of credit for coming out on a cold, windy morning to face a player with a tremendous height (at least 7 inches), and youth (at least 2.5 decades) advantage. Tim’s inscrutable expression belied the heavy odds against him, and he threw everything he had at Chip. However, Chip’s powerful, attacking game was a bit much for Tim, and it will be interesting to see how it matches up on Thursday against Geoff’s consistent, strategic style.

All in all, despite the diminished number of participants and spectators, and the uncooperative weather, the singles event has been entertaining and it promises to be even more so with the final matches yet to come. We expect better weather and better participation for the Doubles event of the Club Championships beginning February 5^th, so get your partner on the courts to practice, and if you aren’t playing, come on out to watch some fun competition.

Gulf Harbour Tennis in 2010

As 2010 gets underway, a number of our members who have faced major challenges in 2009 continue to battle difficult circumstances. Your pros are happy to be able to provide a program where, in instances where physical limitation isn't an issue, playing our favorite game offers a temporary distraction. In cases where physical limitation is present, we hope that watching teammates and friends play can be a diversion from some of the more stressful elements of life. With that in mind, let's take a look at the happenings around your tennis courts.

Tennis Events

The 2009- 2010 Tennis Club Championships Men’s and Women’s Singles events are underway, with Maxwell Thompson winning the first match played in the Men’s Ball Basher division yesterday by a score of 6-1, 6-3 over Brian Hammermeister. However, the true ball bashing was done today in the Women’s Ball Bashers division. 

Joy Jones squeaked by Sharon Bock in a 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 thriller, and shortly thereafter newcomer Angela Mitrisin closed out a hard fought battle, edging Anna Pitts by a score of 1-6, 6-4, 6-3. The semis (Saturday) and finals (Sunday) are scheduled for this weekend, but the weather is threatening to bagel the entire event. Players may want to get their semifinal matches in tomorrow if possible.

The Men’s and Women’s Doubles component of the Club Championships event will be held on February 5 – 7. Members can register online or on the bulletin board at the Tennis Center. Soon thereafter, on Saturday February 20, the tennis component of the Gulf Harbour Memorial Foundation will be held. Check online and with the tennis pro shop for details.

Before we get to those events, next up on the tennis agenda is the Tennis Family Night Dinner, one of the best opportunities for new and established members to mingle, and to catch up after being away for the holidays. On Wednesday, January 13^th at Johnny Browns, tennis members, spouses, staff, and guests will be gathering at 6pm for cocktails with dinner to follow at 7pm. I certainly enjoyed the most recent tennis Family Night and look forward to the next.

Gulf Harbour Tennis Teams

Gulf Harbour's teams have been very successful to begin the season, but before we delve into the success of our teams, we would like to announce to all LCWTL players and would be players, that a new Captains Council for our LCWTL teams has been formed, and the Council has published some Guidelines that will assist with the formation of LCWTL teams in the future. You can review the Guidelines by clicking here and logging into the Club website.

Now for our stellar team results: Gulf Harbour’s tennis teams continue to excel moving into the 2010. Among the top performers is our 3.0-Minus team, which carried a commanding 17-point lead into the new year. Jenny King and Darlene Mattcheck’s ladies have swept their opponents in three of the seven matches they have played, and have lost only one individual match in the other four matches.

Also serving notice that they intend to reclaim the title they held two seasons ago is Effie Parker and Marianne McElroy’s Bronze team, which has swept its last three matches en route to a 19-point division lead. After a relatively slow start due to some key absences, the Bronze Ladies have reached full strength and will be hard to catch the rest of the way.

Sally Mellendorf and Linda VanWyk’s 3.0 Double Trouble team, which was in the hunt right down to the wire last year for the division title, holds a nine-point lead in its division at the half-way point of the season. To claim the division title Double Trouble will have to overcome some injuries to key players such as Pat Nolan and Linda VanWyk. Yet, having managed to sweep a number of their early matches without Captain “No Mercy” Mellendorf in action, Double Trouble should continue to be a quadruple threat.

Judy Jones and Judy Manzella’s 3.5-Minus Sure Shots have clawed their way into second-place, just one point behind the division leaders. After a bit of heartbreak last season, we can expect the Sure Shots to be in the hunt all the way through the season finale. Due to the team being less than full-strength, Marcia DeVries and Mary Harrington’s 4.0 ladies have slipped from first to second behind a strong Paseo team, and there are five teams within six points of second-place. The team will need to be at full strength if it is to finish among the top teams in one of the LCWTL’s elite divisions.

Also holding on to the No.2 spot in their division are Norma Schuyler and Carlotta Clark’s Golden Girls. A number of factors leading to the unavailability of key players have hurt our Gold team’s effort to repeat as Division Champions. However, despite the 41-point deficit they face (having played one match fewer than the leaders); this team has plenty of talent and grit, so a repeat isn’t out of the question by a long shot.

A determined 4.0-Minus team has worked its way back into the top-five, but is some distance behind the top team, Bonita Bay, which has dropped only three of their 36 individual matches played. However, if our 4.0- ladies can keep everyone healthy and ready to play, they should finish among the top-five teams in this very deep division. Closing out the report of our ladies teams that are lodged among the top-five of their divisions is Teressa Crocker and Wennie Johannes’ 60-Plus team, which sits in fifth-place despite being short-handed through the first five matches of the season.

Gulf Harbour’s men’s teams have also been representing the Club with distinction. Leading the way is Tim Baldwin and Rich Fox’s White-A team, which has opened up a four-point division lead after having been tied for first-place for several weeks.  


Tony Cupaiuolo and Bill Crouch’s Blue-B team continues to hang on to the No.1 position by a single point in a very competitive division. Only four points separate the top five teams, but consistent performances by our boys of blue (they’ve won at least three of four individual matches in four of five team matches played) are keeping them one step ahead.

George Kane’s Red-A team is second by two points after four matches, and John Hess’ White-C has usurped the second position after winning three of four individual matches in its most recent team match. Jim Masiello and Dave Russ’ Blue-C squad has dropped from third to fifth position as a result of being swept in its last two matches. They will have to pick up the pace if they are to remain in the top-five, because two teams are breathing down their necks, only one point behind.

Demonstrating that Gulf Harbour is competitive at all levels and ages, Terry Brady’s 69-ers of the 70-Plus league begin 2010, and only their second season of play in third position, just three points out of first. If the team stays healthy, they should be able to improve upon their third-place finish in 2009.

Men’s Singles Ladders

The Inaugural season of the Men’s Singles Ladders will be history on Monday, and a historic match was played today for the No.1 spot in the Group-B Ladder. John Hess, who came into the final battle for supremacy with a 5-0 record, faced off against Frank Kaplan, who carried a 4-0 record himself.  When the final shot had been struck, Frank, a decided underdog, had claimed honors in Group-B’s inaugural season of the men’s ladder.  

It appears as though Geoff Negin, our defending Club Champion, will claim the same historical position in Group-A as he came back from knee surgery to finish with a 3-0 record. Group A played approximately half the matches played by those in Group-B, and this first season just may be the only season for Group-A.

Your Pros

Your pros will be back in USPTA Pro League action at Heritage Palms on Friday, January 15, at 4pm.  Joel’s team, Key Private Bank, leads the League by a slim 1 ½-point margin; Mike’s team, Boston Retirement Advisors, are in third-place, trailing the leaders by 8 points; and T. A.’s team, Johnny Malloy’s (AKA Team Geritol) is bringing up the rear, trailing the leaders by 11 ½ points. Yet, with a little more than half the season yet to be played, the outcome is far from decided.

Key Private Bank may be without Joel’s undefeated racquet next Friday, because Joel is scheduled to play in the USTA’s Men’s 4.5 Team Sectionals in Daytona Beach next weekend. Joel’s travel schedule hasn’t been made, however, so he may be available to terrorize the opposition (Mike’s team).

Facilities

Quarterly maintenance of the tennis courts has been completed by Ritzman Tennis and the courts are playing beautifully. Ritzman also found the problem that has short-circuited our water coolers and ball machine use on courts 1 – 4. We should have that problem fixed in the near future.


Game, Set, Match
Well that's about all for this edition of your Gulf Harbour Tennis Blog. We hope that the new year is off to a great start for you and yours, and please keep an eye out for February's Soundings, where Jim Rollero will recap Admiral Bill Casey's luncheon.