Important Reminders

A Time to Remember
Don’t forget that this Saturday night we begin daylight savings time so the time “springs forward.” Basically it’s time to move your clock ahead one hour. I’d hate to have you miss your final match of the tournament this weekend because you forgot to change the clock.

For the Ladies
Keep your eyes peeled for the Intent to Play Form which the Captains Council will be disseminating soon. If you would like to play on a Lee County Women’s Tennis League (LCWTL) team at Gulf Harbour, it would be a good idea to submit the form by the April 11th deadline. If you do not submit the form, the Council won’t know that you would like to play and you may miss out on a tremendous experience. There will be an announcement when the form is out, but if you haven’t heard or seen anything by the end of March, please check with the Tennis Pro Shop (239-444-3644).

Annual Celebration Reservations
As usual, this should be a really nice evening to look back at a great tennis season. We have the awesome Bobby Ross band, and Chef Ron will do his thing in the kitchen. The tennis staff will be assisting the Food and Beverage department this year by coordinating the seating for the Annual Tennis Celebration before you get there on April 9th.

In efforts to assist, registration for the event will be limited to online sign-up or calling the Tennis Pro Shop. All of the members of your party must be included in the final reservation, which is limited to maximum parties of eight this year. Table assignments will be determined from the order in which the reservations are booked online, i.e., first come first served. Essentially, if you have folks that you want to sit with and have seating preferences, it would be a good idea to get online as soon as you can and make your reservations. This is a party you don’t want to miss!

Would you like to help with this big event? We really need coordinators for Tennis Celebration to work on a theme and decorations for the April 9th Event. We need fresh faces to step up. If you are interested in having your team or friends help with this task, please contact Mike, Bob, Meg Jacobs, Sally Mellendorf, or Linda VanWyk.

Tennis Advisory Committee
As noted in the Minutes of the most recent Tennis Advisory Committee meeting, the Committee will be dissolved as of the March 14th Annual Club Meeting, since a new Board of Governors will convene on March 16th. Notification will soon be sent to all Members requesting volunteers for all of the Club’s amenity Advisory Committees. From that pool of volunteers, each Board of Governor will have the opportunity to select their Advisory Committees for 2011-2012.

We encourage anyone in the tennis community interested in participating on the Advisory Committee or as a coordinator for any of the events to respond to the Club's Committee request for volunteers by getting in touch with Bob Ostrom or Mike Curran.

Court Reservations
As you may know by now, the final stage of the Club Championships begins tomorrow (matches begin at 3:00 P.M.), and there will subsequently be limited access to the courts through Sunday. However, there will be some open times for play, and you should check online for those opportunities.

Obviously, a very popular event like the Mixed Doubles Tournament that engages more than a third for our tennis community deserves the high court priority this weekend. Consequently, although you may not see a match time scheduled, the courts are being held for tournament contingencies, participant warm ups, court grooming, spectator overflow, etc.

We always do what we can to accommodate non-tournament participants also, so please bear with us as we strive to make the Club Championships the best possible experience for the members who have chosen to participate. If you have a question about whether a court may be available, please call the Tennis Pro Shop.

I hope you enjoy the Mixed event this weekend, whether you are a player or spectator. Thanks for the big assist Anonymous Editor! Until next, game, set, match, Gulf Harbour.

Climactic Tennis Events Imminent

Club Championships Mixed Doubles

2009-2010 Court Crashers Mixed Champs & Finalists

2009-2010 Ball Bashers Mixed Champs & Finalists

The Grand Finale of the Tennis Club Championships, the Mixed Doubles event, is upon us. Unfortunately we have a shortage of men for all of our talented ladies, so a number of quality players will remain on the sidelines for the event, which begins this coming Friday, March 11th. Those joining the ranks of spectator this year include semifinalists, finalists and champions of multiple divisions in last year’s event. What a shame!

In any event, we currently have 88 players registered for the event, and it promises to be every bit as much fun as the previous two legs of the Championships. It's not too late to get in, but the deadline (Tuesday the 8th at noon) is approaching rapidly. Ladies, I wish we had more men to go around. Those of you who are playing can look forward to seeing the tournament draws sometime Tuesday evening. Good luck to all!

Gulf Harbour Teams

Members take in Sure Shots-Power Shots Match-up

 There is some must-see action taking place this week with our teams on both the men’s and ladies side of the court. Tomorrow our Championship Men’s White-B team will play its final home match of the season at home tomorrow (Monday, March 7th) at 2 P.M. and I’m sure the team would love to have you join them in the celebration.

Of mega importance is the Men’s Red-C match that will be played at home this Thursday, March 10th at 2 P.M. Our Red-C men are tied for first place in their division and this final match of the season will determine whether they will be champions or runners up. Whether you are on a team or not, your support will surely be appreciated. Nothing like a nice home crowd for inspiration!

No.1 Court for Double Trouble

Another big match will be taking place at home tomorrow (Monday the 7th) at 11 A.M., as our 3.0 Double Trouble ladies, who are in the thick of the first-place race, take on the second-ranked team in their division. 

This match will go a long way in determining where our ladies finish, and don’t imagine I have to say, yet again, how much your presence would mean. If you haven’t seen Double Trouble play before, we have some of our most…uh…animated players on the team, so you'll have guaranteed entertainment. Hope to see you there.

There are other big matches happening at home this week, so check out the latest Team Report on the Tennis Teams & Leagues page of the Club website for additional Info.

Davis Cup

2009-2010 Davis Cup Participants

It’s almost time for the “FUN” team event of the 2010 – 2011 Season! Yes, the Davis Cup happening is less than three weeks away, and you can now register online and on the bulletin board adjacent to Court 1 if you would like to swing into action on March 26th and 27th (Saturday & Sunday). We were 61 players strong last time around and we are looking to top out at 64 this year.

2009-2010 Davis Cup Champions

If you haven’t done it before, this is a really fun event where the play is of course competitive, but much more social than any other competition we have. Last season, Team Canada claimed the Cup after some spirited matches, edging Team Ireland by a mere six points.

Current members on the reigning Davis Cup team include Pam Lemon, Janie Heck, Bill Donegan, Greg Pilant, Bill Cole, Anna Pitts, Don Pitts, Roy Steigerwald, and Val Steigerwald. One member of the team, Donna Giovaniello, is no longer a member. Think you can help your team claim the Cup this year? Go to the Club Calendar on the Club website and click on the link to sign up.

Ritzman Tennis/USPTA Pro League

Mike & Scotty battle on Pro League Court 1

The very popular Pro League, in which all three of your pros play, is finally reaching its climax, and Mike, Joel and I are in the thick of the race for the top spot. Going into the final match of the regular season, Mike’s and my team has an almost insurmountable eight-point lead over Joel’s team, which is in second place.

Joel & League Commissioner Jim Katterfield go down fighting

The final regular season match is this coming Friday, March 11th at The Club at Grandezza. Mike and I will be playing at 4 P.M. while Joel will be playing at 5:30 P.M. Joel’s team will be playing the third place team, and since only the top two teams will be playing for the championship, this is a big match for his team. Despite our team’s considerable lead, and a matchup against the last-place team this Friday, that team surprised Joel’s team with a three point victory, so we need to bring our A-games to the courts this Friday.

As always, we very appreciate those of you who have made it to most (if not all)l of the matches this season, and hope you can make this Friday’s event. If not, the playoffs are at West Bay on Friday March 25th, and perhaps we’ll see you there when it is all on the line.

Annual Tennis Celebration

Believe it or not, the season is almost over and the Annual Celebration will be upon us before we catch our collective breath after the Davis Cup. Don't forget to put Saturday, April 9th at 6 P.M. on your calendar, because food, drinks, dancing, awards...uh, did I mention food, drinks and dancing? Oh, yes I did. Well, all of the above makes for a really enjoyable celebration of all that we experienced during the season. This one can go late, so leave the evening open...or skip out whenever you choose. Some of us will be there until (wink). You can register for the fun right now on the Club Calendar.

Sorry if I missed anything or anyone, but that's about it for now. Oh, please do like Marvel Jones did recently and helped me out with a correction to the blog when she saw an error. Until next...Game, set, match, Gulf Harbour.