Lee County Women's Tennis League (LCWTL) Report

Lee County Women’s Tennis League (Standings are as of December 18, 2011. League play resumes on January 3, 2012)

Rated Divisions
In the 2.5 Division, the Legends is pulling away from the pack, sitting more than 20 points ahead of second place Landings. One point behind the Landings in third place is the early season leader, Gulf Harbour. No other team is in immediate striking distance of the top three.

In the 3.0 Division two teams have separated themselves from the pack. The Forest leads Fiddlesticks by 10 points, and the next team, Kelly Greens, is 30 points behind in third. The race for third is pretty tight, however, with several teams nipping at Kelly Greens’ heels.

In the 3.0-Minus Division, despite playing one match fewer than the team with which it’s tied, Cross Creek Estates shares the top spot with the Landings. Although the Breckenridge TieBreakers are 17 points behind in third, they, too, have played one match fewer than the Landings, and should be right in the hunt going down the stretch.

Pelican Preserve is clearly the favorite in the 3.5 Division, having swept five of their eight team matches played, and posting a 28-4 individual match record. Rutenberg, despite being shut out by Pelican Preserve in the first match of the season, seems to pose the only credible threat to Pelican Preserve’s dominance.

The Rutenberg ladies have posted three sweeps of their own, and have lost just one individual match each in the other four matches that didn’t include Pelican Preserve. Everyone else in the Division appears to be battling for third, with Gulf Harbour, Del Tura, and Heritage Palms being the primary contenders at this point of the season.

Things are relatively tight atop the 3.5-Minus Division with the Landings Gems leading the field by just nine points. Kelly Greens and the Forest are tied for second, 10 points ahead of Gulf Harbour's LoveLee Ladies in fourth-place . With only four combined sweeps by the top four teams through seven matches, parity appears to reign in this division.

With two teams atop the standings, the Landings has total bragging rights in the 4.0 Division. Landings Legends sits in first, 15 points ahead of second-place Landings 4Love. But neither team can breathe easily as the Heritage Palms Poachers are just one point out of second, and both the Dunes and Park Meadow are within 10 points of second place.

In 4.0-Minus, the Dunes' Toni’s Tigers lead Park Meadow by two points, and Gulf Harbour is barely double-digits behind Park Meadow in third. Heritage Palms and the Dunes' Dynamic Dames are just a sweep away from the top spot as well. The lack of sweeps among the top teams, suggests that the race for the top spot will remain contentious all the way to season’s end.

In the Dynamo League, the highest of the rated divisions, first-place Paseo holds a five-point lead over second-place Plantation and Park Meadow GGs are another point back in third. However, both Paseo and Park Meadow have played one match fewer than Plantation, so the order of things may very well be different when they have all played an equal number of team matches.   

Senior Divisions

In the 60-Plus League, six of 10 teams are within one sweep of Heritage Palms, which sits in first place. Cape Coral Racquet Club (CCRHC) trails by eight points in second, with Fort Myers Racquet Club another point behind in third, and the Landings another five back in fourth. Both the Legends and the Forest are also in the hunt to finish in the top spot, but have significant ground to make up.

The ladies of Heron’s Glen took the early lead in 50-Plus Bronze by sweeping their first three matches. They’ve maintained their healthy lead, 15 points over second place Pelican Landing, by dropping just one individual match in their next five team matches. Pelican Landing has posted three sweeps of its own, but leads third-place Fort Myers Racquet Club by just a point. Fort Myers has posted five sweeps, themselves, in eight matches, and should be in the mix for the top spot as well come crunch time.

The standings of the 50-Plus Silver Division are a bit muddled given the differences in the number of matches the teams have played. The majority of teams have played nine matches, but a number of teams have played more, including one that has played 12 matches.

Landings Lucky Ladies and Breckenridge, the top two Silver teams, respectively, are 30 points or more ahead of the third and fourth place teams, Crown Colony and Gulf Harbour Silver Strings. However, while the top three have played 10 matches each, Gulf Harbour has played nine. As it looks now, barring injuries, it appears as though seven of the 23 teams in the Division have legitimate shots at claiming the title.

With nine teams within one sweep of the top spot, the 50-Plus Gold Division is among the most hotly contested in the LCWTL. Two points separate the top three teams, (Dunes, CCRHC, and Heritage Palms Sweet Spots), and that is with the Dunes being swept in their most recent match by the Sweet Spots. After a fair-to-middlin’ start, the Sweet Spots have swept in their last two matches, and the other teams in the triumvirate have swept two of their last three as well. This one should be fun all the way through!

In the highest level Senior Division, Platinum, Park Meadow’s Serves Aces lead the way, with Pelican Landing four points behind in second, and Paseo 15 points out of first. Park Meadow has played one match more than the Pelican Landing and Paseo, so the point standings are a bit misleading. The Landings Buttshots sit in fourth, and are within one sweep of the lead.

Hope that keeps you abreast of the action prior to matches played this week. Let the games begin in 2012, and stay posted for your reports! Game, set, match...T A