Major Tennis Happenings on Tap

Entries for the Club Championships Doubles close at noon this coming Tuesday, February 1st. We have 80 members registered thus far, attesting to healthy participation, but we are likely to fall short of our goal of 100 participants.

Defending Champions Chip Graddy and Geoff Negin will attempt to make it two in a row in the All Aces Division, but reigning Ladies Champions in that division, Jemin Martinsen and Kathy Lanzalotta, have chosen different partners for this year’s event. Last year's Finalists, Carole Shapiro and Janie Heck, will pair up once again for a run at the top woman’s prize in the event.

In the Ball Bashers Division, Triple Crown Winner Maxwell Thompson is moving up so won’t be able to defend the title he won with John Hess last season. However, John may be back in the Ball Bashers mix (depending on Seeding Committee placements), this time with Bruno Glavich.

The same applies to Judy Wilson, who claimed the Women’s Ball Bashers crown last season with Lili Canfield. Judy will be playing with Jemin Martinsen in the All Aces Division this time around. Lili has not entered the event as of this writing, and the Women’s Ball Bashers draw appears to be wide open.

There will be no defending Men’s Champions in the Court Crashers Division either, as Tom VanWyk, who teamed with Manny Lima to win that Division in 2010, will be attending the Super Bowl to cheer on his Green Bay Packers. Manny will be moving up to challenge for the Ball Bashers Championship with PJ Jensen. Tony Cupaiuolo, who was a Court Crashers Finalists along with Peter Malen, will challenge once again; this time with Ted Poppinga.

Sally Mellendorf will try to repeat as Women’s Court Crashers Champion, albeit this time with Meg Jacobs, who was a Division Finalist last season with Jayme Lewis. Coming off her Singles Finalist finish in the singles, Meg will be hungry to nab her first Division Championship. Jayme will team with Linda Gardiner in her attempt to capture a companion trophy for the Singles Championship she won this season.

If the Doubles tourney is anything like the Singles event, then we should have some very exciting tennis this coming weekend. Hope to see you there.

Memorial Foundation
In case you haven’t already put it on your calendar, let me remind you that we have one of our biggest events coming up on Sunday, February 20th. The Gulf Harbour Memorial Foundation charities benefitted handsomely from the generosity of our tennis members last season, when our members' efforts generated over $17k for the Foundation.

I understand that Jim and Kathy Masiello have gotten us off to a great start by agreeing to be Title Sponsors of the event to the tune of several $k. According to event organizers, Connie Hess, Lili Canfield and Tim Baldwin:

“On Sunday, February 20th, the tennis community will once again sponsor the events that generated over $17,000.00 in contributions towards the 2010 Gulf Harbour Memorial Foundation. We will kick off this year’s activities with two "grab bag" round robin mixed doubles. Each round robin will be for three rounds for about 1 1/2 hours at a cost of $20.00. Each participant will receive an event goodie bag. There will also be fun fast serve and target tennis competitions at a cost of $10.00 a try. The tennis finale will be $5.00 a person for some really fun play with the pros that includes a funny twist as the moderator decides.

Concurrently, there will be a raffle for local goods and services, a separate 50-50 raffle and a bake sale provided by the awesome cooks of Gulf Harbour. An auction of donated boat rides, airplane rides, a week end at the beach and who knows what else will be held with Bill Wright as the primo auctioneer of all these wonderful donations. The Club will provide food and beverages to sustain you throughout this fun event. Please come join the tennis fun, eat lots of food and win some wonderful prizes.”

Pro League
The Fort Myers Ritzman Tennis USPTA Pro League is in the final third of the season, and Boston Retirement Advisors (BRA), Mike & T. A.’s team, has made up the deficit on Johnny Malloy’s (JM), Joel’s team, and now sits in front by 3 points. Posting two strong weeks in a row, claiming nine of 10 possible points both weeks, BRA is poised to go into the playoffs in fine fashion.

In yesterday’s matches, all three Gulf Harbour pros emerged victorious in straight sets, although Joel and T. A. had to win tiebreaks to do so. The top two teams will face each other in the next Pro League chapter at Shadow Wood on February 11th, just three days after Mike turns 38. Hopefully Father Time won’t have slowed down “Da Dawg” too much over the next two weeks and we can build a commanding lead. I owe Joel one (wink) from last time.

Your Teams
About halfway through our league season, Gulf Harbour’s women’s and men’s teams are more than holding their own. On the strength of five sweeps, our 3.0 Double Trouble team is in 1st, but only by a slim four-point margin over Paseo. Double Trouble plays at home again on Monday, February 21st so make a calendar entry and come see our potential Division Champs play.

Our 3.5-Minus Sure Shots had been holding on to first for a few weeks, but because they have played two matches fewer than Cape Coral Yacht Club, the standings show them in second. I suspect that once rained-out matches and an equal number of matches have been played, our Sure Shots will once again sit atop the leaderboard. The Sure Shots next play at home on Wednesday, February 9th.

Our Defending Champion 3.0-Minus Dream Team has slipped to 4th, but is only six points out of 3rd. Given the current standings, it appears that 3rd is the best that the Dream Team can hope for after the triumphant run of last season. Third or 4th among ten teams is still an excellent showing. The Dream Teamers next play at home on Thursday, February 10th against the second-place Park Meadow team.

Other ladies teams maintaining top-five berths include our Bronze Stringers who sit in third-place, four points ahead of the fourth-place team, and our Gold team, which holds the fifth spot. The Stringers play this coming Wednesday the 2nd at home against Lexington, and Gold plays at home next on Friday, February 11th.

Not quite in the top-five, but knocking on the door is our 3.5-Minus Power Shots who are tied for 6th. Given the standings, a strong second-half showing could vault the Power Shots into the top-three by season’s end. Our 4.0 Team also has clawed its way into top-five contention, sitting just five points out of fifth-place. A top-five finish is well within reach of our 4.0 ladies, but it will take some strong outings the rest of the way.

On the men’s side of things, Gulf Harbour has two teams leading their divisions and two of the other four teams amongst the top-five. Leading the way is our White-B team, posting a seven-point advantage over Fiddlesticks in second place. However, our guys have played one match more than Fiddlesticks so the substantial lead (each match counts for 1 point in this league) is misleading. Our division-leading White-B team will take to our home courts tomorrow at 2pm, so come on out to help them maintain the lead.

Our other men’s Division Leader is our Red C team. Our Red men hold a two-point edge over West Bay, with whom they split matches (2-2) this past Thursday to hold on to the lead. They are next at home this Thursday, February 3rd against Legends.

Top-five contenders include both our Blue-A Teams. Team Cupaiuolo is in 3rd, moving three points ahead of the 4th-place Team Masiello after the teams’ most recent matches. Both teams are well within reach of the top spot in the Division, with Cupaiuolo trailing the leaders by three and Masiello by six. Team Masiello plays at home this Tuesday the 1st, while Team Cupaiuolo doesn’t play at home again until the 22nd.

As usual, you can find out when the teams play, as well as where they stand, by going to the Tennis Page of your Club website and clicking on the provided links. That’s about it for now folks. I’ll be back with you soon. Tournament participants, you will get specific info regarding the tournament by Wednesday evening. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. Game, set, match, Gulf Harbour….

Club Championships Singles Wrap-Up

Geoff Negin & Chip Graddy
Singles Finalist & Champion

The first leg of the Club Championships Triple Crown (Singles, Doubles, Mixed Doubles) is complete, and only one horse has a chance of completing a repeat as Triple Crown Champion. That thoroughbred would be Mr. Chip Graddy.

Bryan Schwartz Edges Rich Edelman
in Quarters

Rich Edelman: A Gentleman
and a Warrior

But before I get into the wrap up of Championship Weekend, I must send out an apology to Bryan Schwartz and Rich Edelman for failing to mention their hard-fought three-setter in the quarterfinals of the Men’s Ball Basher Division. That match is certainly among the top candidates for “Match of the Tournament,” with Bryan claiming the 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 victory after more than two hours of strategic struggle.

Beth Haidet Takes on Jayme Lewis

Holly Thompson Returns Forehand to Meg Jacobs

Their match, however, was only one among a number of barn-burner, three-setters we witnessed leading up to the semis; yet only one semifinal match (Jayme Lewis’ win over Beth Haidet in the Court Crashers Division, 6-1, 4-6, 6-0) went three sets. Two others semis provided significant drama, as Meg Jacobs just edged Holly Thompson 7-6, 7-5 in the same division, and Don Pitts threatened to take heavy favorite Charlie Beagan to three sets, losing 2-6, 6-7, also in the Court Crashers.

All Aces Final

All Aces Singles Champion Chip Graddy 

Back to our Triple Crown repeat threat. Are you familiar with the movie, Walking Tall? Well, Chip Graddy walks softly and definitely carries a big stick! Chip faced Geoff Negin in the All Aces final, the first match of Championship Sunday, and everyone present was primed for a match that was at least as well contested as last year’s final when the two first met. Early in the match it appeared as though that is exactly what we could expect, as the two traded early holds and breaks.

All Aces Finalist Geoff Negin

Geoff went up 3-1 after breaking Chip’s serve in the fourth game, no mean feat in and of itself, but Chip broke right back to get back on serve. Geoff appeared to be on his way to another break and I walked away. When I returned not too much later, Chip had won the first set 6-3, and was up 4-0 in the second. He went on to win 11 consecutive games to earn the 6-3, 6-0 victory and top honors in the Men’s Singles Championships. There was no Women’s All Aces event, because Reigning Champion, Jemin Matinsen, had no one to play.

Ball Bashers Finals

Ball Bashers Champion & Finalist
Angela Mitrisin & Monde Breton

Ball Bashers Champion & Finalist
Frank Kaplan & John Hess, with Joel Hampton in Chair

The mid-morning session of Championship Sunday featured Frank Kaplan versus John Hess and Angela Mitrisin versus Mondé Breton in the Women’s and Men’s Ball Bashers Divisions. While the final score of the women’s final might appear as though it was an easy victory for Angela (6-1, 6-4), a closer look tells another story.

Women’s Ball Bashers Final

Angela Shows Great Backhand Form

Despite the score of the first set, with Angela going up 5-0 before taking it 6-1, all but one game of the set went to deuce. The second set score (6-4) was a more accurate indicator of the level of competition, and at one point there were five consecutive breaks of serve. When Angela lost only two points in two games to go up 4-2, one might have thought it was over. Not so. Mondé recovered to tie the set at 4-4 with a break of Angela’s serve in the eighth game.

Monde's Backhand:
Unconventional but Effective

The critical ninth game with Mondé serving was another filled with multiple deuces. Angela seized it with superior speed and shot-making, as she had done in all but two of the several deuce games played. In all, 10 of the 17 games played reached deuce, with Angela winning seven of them. Angela’s toughness in those crucial games and her ability to hold serve more consistently than Mondé resulted in her first Gulf Harbour Singles Championship. It should be a nice addition to the Mixed Doubles Trophy she collected last year in her first Gulf Harbour Championships appearance.

Men’s Ball Bashers Final 

Frank Takes Racquet All the Way Back

In contrast to the women’s match, it was quite obvious from the score (6-4, 7-6) that Frank and John were evenly matched in this hotly contested skirmish for the Men’s Ball Basher crown. Also in contrast, there was only one deuce game in the 10 played in first set of their match, compared to six of seven for the women.

John Hess Lines up Backhand

One similarity, however, was the fact that both players had difficulty holding serve during portions of the match. In fact, before Frank held serve in the eighth game to go up 5-3, no one had held serve! The second set also began with two services breaks, but then the two held serve until Frank broke John in the ninth game to serve for the match at 5-4. But then the service-breaks resurfaced, and neither could hold serve the rest of the way.

It was only fitting that the second set went to a tiebreak, given the neck-and-neck nature of the set that featured six of the seven deuce games in the match. In the end, Frank jumped out to a big 6-1 lead and closed it out on his third match point to claim his second singles title in two years (he won the Court Crashers event last year). As for John, this was his second consecutive finish as the Men’s Ball Bashers Finalist, and the third consecutive year that he has lost to the eventual Champion.

Court Crashers Finals

Court Crashers Champion & Finalist
Jayme Lewis & Meg Jacobs

Court Crashers Finalist & Champion
Chuck Beagan & Tony Cupaiuolo

Teammates faced each other in, both, the Women’s and the Men’s Court Crashers Finals. Jayme Lewis and Meg Jacobs, friends and teammates on our 3.0 Double Trouble team, gave the 50-60 engaged and vocal spectators all they could ask for.

Women’s Court Crashers Final

Jayme Prepares to Deliver Her Big Serve

Jayme jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the first set, but what Meg may lack in tournament experience, she makes up for in championship spirit. With the crowd urging her on, she roared back to even the match at 4-4. Jayme is no slouch in the champion spirit department either, and she did not panic when Meg came back, breaking Meg in the ninth game and holding serve to take the first set 6-4.

In the second set, Jayme, again, claimed the early set lead, going up 2-0 with a break and hold. But Meg just wouldn’t go away. She tied it at 2-2 and the pair struggled mightily to the end. In fact, six of the last nine games went to deuce, with the fifth game going to eight deuces!

Meg's Ready to Step into This One

Jayme broke Meg in that fifth game and you would that if there ever was a back-breaker that was it. But Meg came right back to break Jayme. Unbelievable! The good friends and doubles partners traded blows evenly for the rest of the set, and Jayme served for the match at 6-5 and had two match points. Over, right? Wrong! Meg fought her way into the tiebreak, getting the break after three deuces.

A lesser person may have been rattled by the inability to put Meg away, but not Mrs. Lewis. Jayme bounced right back to take the early tiebreak lead, and this time Meg couldn’t quite catch her. Jayme had taken home a hard-earned first Singles Club Championship. When asked how it felt to be Champion, she responded, “D$#% Good!” You go Jayme!

Men’s Court Crashers Final

Looks Good in Pictures Tony

Given the tremendous competition we had seen throughout the event, it was only fitting that the final match of the day culminated in a third-set tiebreak. Teammates on one of our Blue A teams, Captain Tony Cupaiuolo and Chuck (AKA Charlie) Beagan finished Gulf Harbour’s opening Club Championship event in style!

While this was Tony’s third consecutive year in the Court Crashers Final, it was Chuck’s first venture into the singles event. The experience appeared to get to Chuck in the early going, as Tony won the first seven points of the match, and went up 5-1 with only two deuce games among the eight played. Tony’s strategy of just keeping the ball in play, while Chuck tried to dictate the action seemed brilliant.

But Chuck did not make it to the final just to go down with minimal resistance. The first sign of his resolve came in the first game of the second set, when he won his first multiple-deuce game. However, Tony held firm, staying even until Chuck broke serve in the sixth game of the set. Chuck won his second multiple-deuce game of the set to go up 5-2 and broke Tony to claim the second set. The two had played 16 games and were deadlocked at eight games apiece.

Chuck's Karate Chop Forehand

Both players held serve to open the third set, but Chuck broke to go up 3-1. They traded breaks again, and Chuck sat two games away from the title at 4-2. Back came Tony to tie at 4-4, and Chuck held at love to reach 5-4. Tony returned the favor, holding at love. He then broke Chuck and would serve for the match and Championship. Tony was in control and needing four measly points to claim the prize he had sought for years.

Once again, Chuck refused to say, “die,” and to the tiebreak they went. They played even through the breaker with neither going more than two points ahead. Chuck served at 6-6 and they played an incredible point with Tony coming up with an unbelievable play to get to 7-6. Another terrific point and Tony had finally earned the win in just over two hours. It was a fitting way for the match and the Championship to come to a close. Two of the best points of the match, and the event, had been played to decide the Champion.

Final Thoughts

Ann Wright Played the Match of the Event

Carol Carr: Winner of Match of the Event

Overall, the level of play throughout the event was pretty phenomenal. The quarterfinal match between Carol Carr and Ann Wright wins my vote not only for “Match of the Tournament,” but for best match I have seen at Gulf Harbour period (ask me and I’ll tell you why)! The Men’s Court Crashers Final was clearly the winner in the “Most Dramatic Finish” category.

Laurie Watson is All Heart and Class

Laurie Watson and Mondé Breton on the women’s side and Richard Edelman and Bryan Schwartz on the men’s side get my votes for the “Sportsmanship Award,” my favorite award of all. I didn’t see all the matches (and I’m sure many others are worthy), but I can’t imagine anyone displaying any more all out effort, fair play, and graciousness regardless of circumstance and outcome than these four showed.

Don Pitts: Surprise Performer of the Event

The “Surprise Performance Award” has to go to Don Pitts, who upended the heavily favored Erik Vettergren in the quarters, and almost pushed Finalist Chuck Beagan into a third set before losing in a tiebreak. Finally, the “Perseverance Award” goes to Dr. Tony for hanging in there until he claimed his title in his third try. Hey, I get to choose, cuz I’m writing this thing; ok :-)?



Congratulations are due, not only to the winners of the five events, but to all of the members who stepped up to participate and make yet another Gulf Harbour event a success. Thanks to George

 Kane and Connie Hess who volunteered their time and braved the wrath of the participants by serving on the Tournament Seeding Committee. T’was a fine job they did! Thanks to Fernando for getting the courts ready for championship play. Oh yes, and thanks to Maxwell Thompson for being the "Official Warmer-Upper" of the event :-).

Jayme & Meg Drew the Largest Crowd

Carole Shapiro & Amy Ciarrocchi among the Crowd



How Cool is Fernando Jimenez?

Finally, we thank all of the spectators who came out, often in challenging weather conditions to cheer on our participants! Together, we made it happen. Isn’t that the way it ought to be?



The Champions will be crowned and will receive their hardware at the Annual Tennis Celebration Banquet on April 9th. We expect that event to be at least as special as it was last year, and look forward to seeing you there. Game, set, match: Gulf Harbour….

Unbelievable Action in Club Championships Singles

I can’t help but start this blog with “WOW!” The strokes may not be what some would consider “classic,” but there have been some classic matches played on Gulf Harbour’s tennis courts over the past few days.

Bill Wright's Forehand Grip Backhand

On Wednesday night it was a tremendous contest of wills and skills between Chuck Klucka and Bill Wright in the All Aces Division. I missed the first set, but uncharacteristically, Bill won it (6-3)! Given Bill’s track record, I wish someone had been giving odds on the second set, cuz I would have bet the farm on Chuck!

Chuck Klucka Prepares to Whip a Forehand

Sho nuff, Chuck stormed back to claim the second set (6-2), looking as though he, the favorite in the matchup, had hit his stride and would take no prisoners for the remainder of the match.


The Crowd Enjoys Match Despite Chilly Temps

The first game of the third set appeared to confirm the above, as Chuck went up 1-0. It wasn’t looking too good for Bill, but as he has done at least a few times before, he came up with the “Wright” answer: “Not Yet!” Chuck seemed to relax for a moment and before the chilled crowd could say “D&*^* it’s cold!” Bill had reeled of six consecutive games to pull off the upset, storming (as only he can) into the semis and the challenge of his tennis life. He’ll face Chip Graddy this morning at 9am.

As good as the Wright-Klucka match was, it was just a portent of things to come. On Thursday afternoon, Laurie Watson (who had the nerve to register the Court Crashers Division…yep we moved her up to Ball Bashers :)) took the court against last year’s Ball Bashers finalist Martha DeLeeuw.


Anna Pitts Battles Angela Mitrisin

 Those familiar with Martha’s game knew to bring a lunch, and they needed it before this one was over. Things appeared to be progressing as expected in the first set with Martha claiming it (6-3) despite solid resistance from Laurie. But there’s no quit in Laurie Watson! She turned the tables and took the second set convincingly (6-2). The action was just heating up.

Back and forth they dueled, with Martha slowing things down considerably. One of Martha’s strengths, her mobility, was unfortunately compromised by leg cramps. As sweet as Laurie is on and off the court, she showed no mercy, and kept the pressure on until the two were tied at 5-5 in the third. To the dismay of the crowd, which was anticipating a third-set tiebreak, Martha’s legs suggested she call it quits. She listened, and almost three hours after they began, Laurie had posted the second big upset in two days.

One would think the Wright family had provided us with enough entertainment for one tournament, but Ann Wright and Carol Carr lit up the night and the crowd the following evening in a Ball Bashers battle. I have watched and played in many a singles match, but seldom have I experienced such thrills while watching a match, and never while watching a club event.

This match had it all: Uncommon displays of sportsmanship, ebbs and flows of momentum, all out effort, and a surprising utilization of strategy and tactics. If all of the above wasn’t enough, superb shot-making saturated the contest.

The pressure was all on Carol as she was the favorite on paper. But again, no one who knows Ann, even a tad, would hesitate to put too much on the favorite in this one. The crowd murmured through the mounting tension of the first set, as Ann edged Carol in a tiebreak to claim it. Could it be? Could Ann pull this off in only her second singles event ever? It looked like a distinct possibility.

Ah, but if you know Carol Carr, just a smidgen, you wouldn’t be breaking out the champaign just yet if you were in the Wright camp. Back and forth they went, fighting fiercely through every single point, drawing myriad, well-deserved “ooooos” and “ahhhs” from the crowd. At the end of the second set, Carol had fought her way back to square one (6-4). Bathroom break for Ann while Carol paced the arena…

The third set got underway and these incredible ladies battled on into the night, back and forth, shot for shot, sprinting, advancing, retreating, and midway through the final set, neither had given an inch! Ah, but someone had to finish on the darker side of this moon, and with Carol's crucial break and determined hold, that someone was Ann.

Carol had held it together, had refused to crumble under the pressure of being the favorite, hadn’t given in to Ann’s relentless retrieving and stellar play. The hard-earned victory after 2 ½ hours and the amazing play of both players drew the first standing ovation I have seen at Gulf Harbour (I think Don Pitts and Rich Buckingham drew the first jumping ovation the day before in team play though).

Wow! What a tremendous few days of tennis our members have provided! The matches featured above were just the highlights. Other matches included Dave Weber taking down Maxwell Thompson, who is 30 years (that’s three whole decades) his junior, in straight sets (6-3, 6-4). Oh, and it’s only few weeks post knee surgery for Dave. He'll face former All Aces Champion Geoff Negin next.

Other results include Angela Mitrisin moseying past the very game Anna Pitts in straight sets (6-3, 6-1); Mondé Breton claiming a three-set victory over the talented Jan Carlson (4-6, 6-2, 6-1); Tom VanWyk, a few weeks post hospital stay for a blood clot in his leg, posting a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Preston Clark who is just about fully recovered from shoulder issues; and Don Pitts notching a surprising triumph over Eric Vettergren (6-3, 6-0).

We have some really intriguing matchups today, so if you like this game and enjoy being a part of Gulf Harbour tennis, you might want to take a stroll, a drive, a ride (or however you get around) down to the courts today to catch the action. Go to the Tennis Page of our Club website if you are interested in viewing the draws and today’s match times.

Until the next installment, game, set, match...

Club Championships & Much More

Club Championship Singles
And so the Singles Championships are underway. Early matches include Laurie Watson, Captain of our Power Shots 3.5-Minus team, posting a 6-2, 6-4 victory of Liz Byck, who captains our 3.5-Minus Sure Shots team, which is in first place in its division.

In the first thriller of the event, April Burkholder, who recently announced victory in her battle with cancer, couldn’t quite pull out the victory against the gritty Anna Pitts, who faced set game in both sets. Anna eventually won 7-6, 7-5, but April is truly a winner to perform as she did after what she has been through recently.

Other first round results include Terry and Jan Carlson both winning in straight sets. Given that Terry only started playing tennis a few months ago, and got out of a cast on his foot a couple of weeks ago, his straight-set victory over Bill Otey was an accomplishment. Of course, Bill also is recovering from recent surgery on his leg, and was having some back issues, but showed his champion's spirit and played anyway. Jan dispatched the very game Lori Frantz who was playing singles for just the second time.

Zoe Bradley, another member who showed her tremendous heart and love for the game, gave it all she had despite very distressed knees against the incredibly quick and determined Ann Wright. The word mercy is not in Ann’s vocabulary, and despite Zoe’s valiant effort, it is Ann who is moving on to face Carol Carr in the quarterfinals.

The men swing into action tonight (Wednesday, 6:30pm) with Bill Wright facing Chuck Klucka in the Men’s Ball Bashers Division. Bill is stepping up into the top division this season even though he failed defend his Ball Bashers title of two seasons ago. He faces a tough test against Chuck’s skill and experience, but if you know Bill, you know better than to count him out despite his underdog status. Stay tuned for more results and we hope you can make the semis and finals this weekend.

Club Championship Doubles
If you didn’t get into the singles, you may want to get into the doubles event which will be held February 4 – 6. Registration opens this Friday the 14th, so get yourself a partner and sign up. You can register online or on the bulletin board adjacent to Court 1. Last I heard, Defending All Aces Ladies Champion, Jemin Martinsen, was still without a partner. I’m thinking about shaving, a wig, and a short skirt. I wouldn’t mind riding those coattails (wink).

USPTA Pro League
In preparation for the Double Championships, watching your pros play at Heritage Palms this coming Friday the 14th, in the first Pro League of the New Year, should provide plenty of opportunity to absorb some dos and don’ts of competitive doubles. It is a pretty close race thus far this season, with only a few points separating the top three teams. Mike and I play at 4pm this time around, and if you really want a show, Joel plays at 5:30pm.

Memorial Foundation
Two weeks after the Doubles Championship, the tennis community will once again do its part to contribute to the worthy Memorial Foundation cause. Last year our tennis members raised over $17, 000.00 for the charity, and although it may be too much to ask to meet or exceed that tally, we plan to give it the ole college try.

The event was very well attended last time around with members participating in Tag Team Tennis, Blind Draw Round Robin, Fast Serve and Target tennis contests, raffles, auctions, and they also sampled the bake sale goodies provided by our expert bakers. Your pros can attest to the baking skills of our tennis members, as Amy Ciarrocchi and Meg Jacobs, and Inge Lorenz do their level best to make us fat with their delicious offerings all too often (Thanks ladies!).

The bottom line is that the Memorial Foundation Tennis event spearheaded by Lili Canfield, Connie Hess, with strong support from Tim Baldwin and others, is one of the more important events on the tennis calendar. It is a ton of fun and it contributes even more to the local community. Put Sunday, February 20th on your calendar, and prepare to spend the morning having a great time with your friends and tennis family.

Members Corner
Speaking of our tennis family, it has been a tremendous pleasure to see Norma Schuyler back out on the tennis court! Hopefully Norma’s tennis game will soon be looking as good as she does (wink).

In addition to welcoming back some much missed friends, we have some new additions to the family. Pam Duncan (Memphis, Tennessee) has come into the fold, and Amy Ciarrocchi gracefully made room for the talented newcomer on the 4.0 team. Pam should really help the team. We are hoping that Amy makes a speedy recovery from shoulder surgery, because she has been sorely missed around the courts.

Lisa Murn (Waukesha, Wisconsin) is another very talented player who recently joined the tennis community. After hitting with her yesterday, I can assure you that she will fit right in amongst the top women at Gulf Harbour. If she’s around next season, I would expect her to pose a serious threat to capture at least one event in the Club Championships.

Well that’s about it for this edition of your Gulf Harbour Tennis Blog. I’ll be back with you soon with more on the Club Championships. Game, set, match….

Gulf Harbour Tennis Heats Up

It hasn’t been very long since you last heard from me, so what’s new? Welllllll, two ball machines for starters. The first arrived on January 5th and another should be here shortly. Hopefully the ball machine experience will be more pleasant for those who use it frequently (Penny Lownes & Erik Vettergren just let out big “Yeeeaaaaas!” in unison).

If you haven’t spent much time (not to mention money :)) in the pro shop, you may not have met Ajla (pronounced I-la) Memic who is a terrific part time addition to our staff. Ajla recently graduated from FGCU and will be taking her GREs this coming Monday in preparation for grad school. Don’t hesitate to stop by and wish her luck or congratulations. And I know I don’t have to tell you, but of course Laurie has new goodies in the pro shop for you.

In addition to the many changes you have seen in the facility this season, if you take a look over the bleachers adjacent to court one you will notice that there is a new canopy up above, and examination of some of the others will reveal additional upgrades.

Singles Championships Begin Monday
Thirty-nine players have registered for the Club Championships Singles event which begins Monday the 10th. There is still a little time for some last minute entries, so if you are still thinking about it, you have until noon today (Friday the 7th). Draws for the event will be posted online and on the bulletin board on Saturday the 8th as soon as we can get the draws completed.

There is some new talent in a few of the flights, so the event should be interesting. It will certainly be warmer if the meteorologists are on their “A” games. Keep an eye on the reservation sheets for match times and you don’t want to miss the semis and finals next weekend.

Big Blue-A Battle

And now, what everyone has been waiting for: the report on the anticipated battle between our two men’s Blue-A teams. You’ve heard that bit about ties in sports being like kissing your sister, right? Well, our Blue-A brethren teams were exchanging sibling smooches after the big match on Tuesday. Due to sad and unfortunate circumstances Captain Jim Masiello was not present to see his team tied by Captain Tony Cupaiuolo’s gritty bunch.

On paper, it appeared as though Jim’s team could sweep all four courts…at least that was he word from some who will remain unmentioned…not even their initials (ok Bryan?). In any event, Jim Rollero and Frank Kaplan remained undefeated despite taking on the talented and previously undefeated duo of Bryan Schwartz and Manny Lima. In all fairness, the report is that Manny got off his deathbed to cross swords with the vaunted Rollero-Kaplan duo.

On Court 2, in Captain Tony’s own words, “…Bill Crouch and Charlie Beagan came close to pulling off an incredible comeback against two of GH's best in John Vaughan and George Olsen. After losing a first set tie-breaker, Bill and Charlie took the match to three sets.”

Almost as surprising as the Court 1 triumph for Team Cupaiuolo, was the Court 4 victory posted by Bill Merriam and Jim Price, who went three sets in beating two wily court veterans Terry Brady and Bill Otey. Terry admitted that his was nowhere close in the alphabet to his “A” game, but credit Bill and Jim for taking advantage of that fact.

Court 3 was shaping up to be another stimulating struggle before Don Mattcheck had to retire after he and Tony had barely lost a squeaker first set in a tiebreak to Ron Graham and Tom Van Wyk. Don, you have permission to slap anyone who talks about getting better with age (wink).

Despite the injuries, upsets and trash-talk (or maybe in addition to) Cap’n Tony reports that there were laughs, lots of fun, and great camaraderie. Hopefully the same will be present when the teams face off again later this season, and when our two 3.5-Minus ladies teams take the court against each other. It was certainly there when our 3.0 Double Trouble faced our 3.0 Raquettes earlier this season. I’ll be sure to give you a heads up when the time comes for the 3.5-Minus matchup. Chances are, a division title will be in the balance.

Well, that’s about it for this installment of your Gulf Harbour Blog. Before closing, I must say that there was a Norma Schuyler sighting a couple days ago, and although I haven’t seen her up close and personal, she looks great! I can’t wait for the real welcome back Norma. Glad you’re back! Oh, almost forgot. New Years Day pictures are now available on the Club website in the Photo Gallery, and the Memorial Foundation Tennis Event has been moved to Sunday, February 20th. More on that later. Until next, game, set, match…..

Happy New Year to Gulf Harbour Tennis!

While many were ringing in the New Year, Gulf Harbour’s tennis members brought in 2011 with a bang…and if you were at our New Year Tennis Celebration, you know I mean a BANG! The 64 tennis members who came together to start another terrific year of Gulf Harbour tennis were treated to fun tennis, terrific camaraderie, a magnificent smorgasbord, refreshing mimosas and the unparalleled Meg Jacobs Bloody Mary. It was especially good to see April Burkholder (who is now cancer-free) and Bob Ostrom (also well ahead in his battle with cancer) swinging racquets with their tennis friends.

Despite the usual last minute cancellations, eight teams of eight players each competed against each other for the right to hold the distinction of “First Champions of 2011.” After the cannon booms had faded, lingering slightly longer than the noise of Bill Wright’s failed attempts to blow Alan Canfield Jr. off the court, the team consisting of Arnie Wohl, Lili Canfield, Tony Cupaiuolo, Ann Wright, Tom Van Wyk, Sheri Krzak, Chuck Tebbetts, and Karen Ort took home the honors.

Big Match on Tuesday the 4th
Tony is hoping that the New Years Day win carries over to the big match his men’s Blue-A team has coming up this Tuesday, 2:00 P.M. at home against our other Blue-A team led by Jim Masiello. Our condolences to Jim who had to leave to attend services for his deceased cousin, and we hope his absence put too much of a damper on a match that we have all been looking forward to for some time. I hear the wagering is quite intense and the competition is likely to be as well, as the teams are tied for second place in the division. I hope someone records it, because I’ll be on court. You, however, should not miss the happening if at all possible.

April Burkholder

Maxwell Thompson

Club Championship Singles
While the men of Blue will be flexing their intensely competitive tennis muscles this week, next week in competition that we hope we will less intense the bravest of our tennis members will be taking to the courts to compete in our Club Championship Singles event. As of last look, only 30 members had made the commitment to get our Club Championships off to the kind of start representative of the awesome participation we have had at Gulf Harbour.

In case you are on the fence about whether or not to play, we’re hoping you’ll remember that you’d be playing against players of similar ability and are likely to have a maximum of four matches over the course of a week. You’ll also be able to play at your convenience through the semifinal round, and, gosh darn it, I bet you’d have a good time doing it! You can sign up for the division you would like to play online or on the bulletin board adjacent to Court 1.

More Home Matches
In addition to the second place standings of our two Blue-A teams, our men’s Red-C and White-B teams are in first place in their divisions. John Hess’ division-leading White-B team will be at home Monday (tomorrow), playing against Pelican Landing at 2:00 P.M. and I know they would love your support.

We also have another division-leading team playing a home match this week, but this team is one of our Lee County Women’s Tennis League (LCWTL) teams. The 3.5-Minus Sure Shots will be taking on the Lexington Love Bugs at 11:00 A.M., Wednesday the 5th, as they try to maintain their division lead. Their sister team, the Power Shots, will also be in action at home on Wednesday. Our final division-leading team, our men’s Red-C, will take to our home courts on Thursday the 6th against Beachview.

Gratitude
Before 2010 fades into the recesses of my deteriorating memory, I’d like to thank the terrific members of Gulf Harbour’s tennis community for another outstanding year, and for being so generous in spirit and deed! You really make this a delightful place to come each and every day. Happy New Year and let’s continue to make Gulf Harbour one of the best places to play tennis in Southwest Florida! Game, set, match….