Gulf Harbour Tennis Still Hot in Fall

The calendar may indicate "fall," but the weather and the tennis on Gulf Harbour tennis courts remain hot! Here's what's happening:

Halloween Round Robin

I'm sad to say that it looks as though our planed two sessions of scary tennis will be whittled down to one. As of this writing, we only have seven (7) brave souls willing to display their wares that early on a Saturday morning, and that’s frightfully inadequate to hold the 8:00 a.m. round robin. If we can’t get that number up to 16, I’m afraid we will have to go with just one costumed session from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. That session is now filled, but you might want to get on the wait list in case we have the usual few who fall by the wayside just prior to the event.

Homecoming Tennis Festival

Speaking of events, one you don’t want to miss would be the Homecoming Tennis Festival the following weekend. As you know, there are a number of folks returning to the tennis roost whom you haven’t seen in months, and whom you won’t realize how much you’ve missed until you see them again. Saturday, November 6th at 4:00 p.m. would be a great time to catch up. There won’t be a regular round robin that morning, so sleep in and come join us for some afternoon delight. We are more than halfway to a full event, so register for the event online or on the bulletin board as soon as possible.

If you aren’t interesting in playing Saturday afternoon but would like to welcome back old friends or meet new ones, you can register for the food, drinks and dialogue component (6:00 p.m. start) of the event only. Whether you play tennis or not the event will require a $10 donation to participate. If you haven’t had Chef Norbert’s wings, or the terrific wraps they throw together at Johnny Browns, then you won’t want to miss the fun, food, and friends at the Homecoming Tennis Festival. Don't forget that you can sign up for any tennis event by logging onto the Club website and going to the Tennis page, or by going directly to the Club Calendar.

USPTA Pro League

How hot is Gulf Harbour tennis right now? Well on Friday, November 5th at 4pm, just a day before the Homecoming, Gulf Harbour tennis members will be treated to a battle of the ages…literally. Joel’s team and mine will be squaring off in the Fort Myers USPTA Pro League sponsored by Ritzman Tennis. Patrick Kangwa and I (combined ages in the 90s) will face Joel and Chad Hedrick (combined ages in the 50s). It will be a classic “experience-versus-youthful-reflexes” match-up that should be fun to watch. I can't promise pretty, but definitely fun.

Joel was away at USTA Florid Mixed Doubles Sectional competition during the first Pro League event at the Landings last Friday, but Mike and I were in action. Our members who attended may tell you that I was wearing galoshes and the Landings had quicksand on its stadium court, but in fact it was the old man’s very poor footwork that made it appear that way.

Fortunately, I know the No.1 rule in doubles, and I utilized it: Pick a really good partner! Patrick (director of tennis at the landings) carried me through much of the match, but I gave him a little help here and there to help us emerge with a straight set victory in the No.2 position. Mike, playing with his previous USPTA doubles partner, Scott Harrington (director at Legends) took the first set from Denny Rager (director of tennis at Lely) and Chris Fletcher, but went down in three sets.

Mike and I now hold the dubious distinction of being the only players on record to have served three consecutive double faults in a Pro League match. Sorry boss. Mike and Scott will face Shawn Hedrick and Manuel Encalada (rumored to be the best player in the league) that day, and it should be a doozy! We all need you there for inspiration.

Early Team Report

The LCWTL is only two weeks old, but the ladies of Gulf Harbour are off to a great start! In a division of 20 teams, our 3.0 Double Trouble team captained by Sally Mellendorf and Meg Jacobs is tied for first, with our 3.0 Raquettes led by Karen Ort and Teressa Crocker holding second alone.

In the 3.5-Minus division, our Sure Shots with Liz Byck and Becky Marshall at the helm are holding the top spot, while our Power Shots, captained by Laurie Watson and Linda Van Wyk are in third, only three points out of first. Keeping the pace amongst the rated teams, our 4.0-Minus team with Connie Hess and Pam Lemon in charge (and I mean “in charge”) are currently in third place.

Looking at our senior teams, Val Steigerwald and Joan Palermo’s Silver Strings lead the large field of 24 teams, while Monnie Kane and Sue Weiss’ Silver Belles are sitting in fifth. Consistent with last season, all but one of the teams that have begun play are in the top five in their divisions. Way to go ladies!

New Members

In closing, I’d like to send out a warm Gulf Harbour tennis welcome to our newest members, John and Debbie Naumann. I’m told that both are at least 4.0 players, so they will make excellent additions to our tennis family.