A shortage of men left more than a handful of eager women waiting (that never happens, right?) and wanting when it came to the Mixed Doubles Club Championship. Despite that, we still fielded 90 men and women for the event.
Triple Crown Winners
Four members were seeking to win championships in all three Club Championship events. Chip Graddy, Jemin Martinsen (All Aces Division), Maxwell Thompson, and Judy Wilson (Ball Bashers A Division) had won the Singles and Doubles events, and were aiming for Mixed Doubles titles as well. Of the four, Chip, Jemin, and Maxwell accomplished the feat. Judy’s try for three came up a couple matches short as she and Greg Pilant fell in the quarters.
Morning Matches
On Finals Day yesterday, the Court Crashers and Ball Bashers B Divisions took to the courts first on a brilliantly crisp morning for the two early finals. Of the first two finals, the Court Crashers produced the high drama.
Court Crashers Final
Towering Tom VanWyk and fleet-footed Ann Wright, the No.1 Seeds, faced the always smiling Bill Otey and Wennie “The Wise One” Johannes, the No.3 Seeds, for the title. It was a tug-of-war affair most of the way through, with seven of the nine games in the first set reaching at least 40-30. Tom and Ann broke serve in the eighth game and held in the ninth to wrest the first-set away from Bill and Wennie.
The teams battled evenly throughout the second set, and Bill and Wennie edged Ann and Tom 7-4 in a second-set tiebreak. As the third set began, Bill and Wennie seemed on the verge of cruising to the title in their first event playing together when they went up 2-0. But Tom stood tall (as if he could stand any other way), and Ann darted around the court retrieving the gazillion lobs Bill threw up. After the slow third-set start, Tom and Ann ran off six consecutive games to claim the title.
Ball Bashers A Final
In the other early final, featuring the more skilled level of the Ball Bashers group, Maxwell bolstered his candidacy for the “Most Improved Player” award, by teaming with newcomer Angela Mitrisin to dethrone last year’s Champions, Bill Wright and Lili Canfield, and capturing his third event of the Club Championships.
The straight-set victory was a close match until the new Champions took control midway through the second set. Bill and Lili did not make it easy for Maxwell to complete the hat trick though. The first set (6-4) was nip and tuck all the way through, and Bill and Lili saved three set points before succumbing to Maxwell’s flaming forehand and Angela’s quick hands at net.
The match remained close in the early going of the second set, but Maxwell and Angela broke and held serve in the fifth and sixth games, respectively, to win the set 6-2, and capture the Ball Bashers A Division crown.
Afternoon Matches
An awesome afternoon of Florida sunshine with temps to match was the setting for the afternoon finals involving the Ball Bashers B and the All Aces Divisions.
Ball Bashers B Final
The former pitted the husband-wife team of Tim and Carol Carr versus last minute entries Bill Donegan and Sharon Bock. After a terrific run to the final, including a third-set super-tiebreak-win in the semifinals, the Carrs couldn’t find the same rhythm and intensity they had brought to the courts for their two matches the previous day.
Bill and Sharon (Have you noticed how many Bill’s played in finals?), who didn’t even know each other, much less played together before, seemed to get stronger with each match played, and peaked in the final. They lost just one game, although eight of the thirteen games reached at least 40-30.
It was Sharon’s second event win of the Club Championships, having claimed the Women’s Court Crashers Doubles title with Sally “No Mercy” Mellendorf. Shall we sing, “Movin’ on up?"
All Aces Final
In the All Aces Division, which features the Club’s best players, Chip Graddy and Jemin Martinsen faced perennial Club Championship Mixed Doubles Champions, Gary Delanois and Diane Johannes in the final, and it was a final to remember (I know cuz I was in the chair). I’m betting the spectators will agree with me, too, as they were treated to a momentum-shifting, three-set battle, the outcome of which remained in doubt until the final serve hit the net.
The first set was even-steven through the seventh game, when Gary and Diane seemed on the verge of the first break of serve, going up 0-30 and 15-40 on Jemin’s serve. With Chip offering support and assurances, Jemin held on to win that game. Diane was broken in the subsequent game, and Chip served out the set (6-3).
The Defending Champs cruised to a 5-0 lead in the second set, before “Big Mo” (momentum that is) turned on them, and Chip and Jemin stormed back, winning three consecutive games. But the second-set comeback would fall short, as Gary delivered a momentous (that’s Big Mo’s cousin) second serve at 5-3, 40-30, to close out the set 6-3.
Despite the stalled second-set comeback, Jemin and Chip coaxed “Big Mo” to stay on their side for the third set, and they jumped out to 4-1 and 5-2 leads. But Gary and Diane would not go gently into that good night. As befitting Defending Champions, they clawed back to 4-5, but couldn’t hold serve in that final game, giving both Jemin and Chip their coveted Triple Crowns.
The Event Epitomized
Despite the loss, Gary remarked, “It was the best match I’ve been involved in with this event.” Tim Carr also epitomized what this event was all about. If you know Carol and/or Tim, you know that they are excellent athletes who hate losing. Yet, after their losing effort and the accompanying disappointment derived from not playing their best, both said that they were glad they played. When I ran into Tim on the driving range later in the afternoon, he said, “That’s the most fun I’ve had in competition around here in a long time! I’m really glad we played.”
Despite the fact that the three Club Championship events were held in weather foreign to Southwest Florida at this time of year, and we had a singles draw significantly smaller than last year’s, the events included over 200 participants. During the semis on Saturday, Spectators huddled together for warmth well after the sun had set, still cheering on their friends and neighbors.
It is participating in such experiences and hearing comments such as those above that make giving up weekends with family worth it to your tennis staff. Next year we anticipate better weather and even higher levels of participation, as Gulf Harbour’s tennis experience is proving to be one of the best tennis experiences offered in the area.
Tennis Grill Night
After the hot competition on the courts, players and spectators cooled down by congregating at Johnny Brown’s for Tennis Grill Night. The event included 38 diehard members who gathered on the terrace to relive the Club Championships culminating weekend. But it wasn’t long before the evening chill chased participants inside. Although many who were present during the weekend’s competition were absent at the aftermath, those who did attend could attest to the quality of the experience.
Annual Tennis Celebration Banquet
Speaking of quality experiences, one you really won’t want to miss, and which should be able to accommodate everyone, is the Annual Tennis Celebration Banquet. If you haven’t yet seen Joel dance, or one of his “party” outfits, it’s worth the price of admission. He tells me he’s got something special lined up for the occasion.
If you don’t like to dance, that’s perfectly all right, because after a few wet ones, some of our tennis members forget that they don’t like to dance either, and that, too, is worth the price of admission. If good food, good music, great company, and Jim Rollero’s slideshow doesn’t whet your appetite for the smorgasbord of fun we have lined up, well I’ve got a nice 12’ X 6’ plot that might interest you. Oh, and by the way, we’ll be presenting competition awards as well.
Men's Intramural Teams
Also “coming in hot,” as Joel likes to say, is the annual Men’s Intramural team competition which kicks off March 23rd and runs through April 8th. You can sign up for the fun in the tennis pro shop. John Hess is the man behind the wheel of this one, so talk to John if you would like more information.
NetCaddy Numbers
Just a little FYI: Club Essentials, the folks that created NetCaddy, our court reservation system, reports that 70% of our online court bookings are being done by members as opposed to staff. Given that this percentage incorporated Courts 1 and 2, which are booked exclusively by staff, the actual percentage of member-initiated online reservations would be considerably higher. Gulf Harbour’s tennis members are showing, once again, that we are quite capable of adapting to change.
Team Home Matches
Before I close up shop, I’d like to remind you that it is crunch time for all of our teams, and we have some REALLY, REALLY BIG home matches coming up this week. First and foremost is Captain Tony Cupaiuolo’s Blue B team, which is right in the hunt for the Blue B Division lead. They play tomorrow at home against Division-leading Colonial, and must win big to have any hope of taking the top spot. Come on out and cheer them on, and check the Home Match Schedule on the Club's Tennis page for other upcoming matches. Game, set, match...
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