Tuesday, November 27, 2012

USPTA Pro League Results & Preview


The on-court action was as dramatic as ever at the last Fort Myers Ritzman Tennis USPTA Pro League stop at Pelican Landings on November 16. Five of the 12 matches were decided by super-tiebreaks and three other matches included regular tiebreaks. The Pro League remains the best early Friday evening entertainment in town! 

Remax vs. Babolat
Remax came into the third Pro League stop at Pelican Landing in first place, leading Babolat by one point, and the two teams took to the courts with the league-lead on the line. When the night was over, Remax had cemented its position atop the Pro League heap.

Corey Knapp & Frank Fourgeau
On Court 1, Denny Rager and Tyler Owens of Babolat won a 10-5 super tiebreak to eclipse Manuel Encalada and Luke Andreae for two Babolat points. At Second Doubles, undefeated Remax Captain Frank Fourgeau and partner Corey Knapp claimed two points with a straight-set win over Jeff Diggs and John Jerome.

John Gillette & Toni Halski
On Court 3, Toni Halski and John Gillette (sub) slipped past Dave Dooley and Jorge Magalhaes 10-7 in the super-tiebreak to post one point for Babolat. Remax garnered another two points on the Mixed Court when Dan Moenning and Christie Bradley downed Erica Cossairt and Christian Abele (sub) 6-4, 7-6.

Johnny Malloy’s (JM) vs. Boston Retirement Advisors (BRA) 
Mike Curran & Elliot Debolt
With a deft display of subbing (three subs in four matches), Johnny Malloy’s edged Boston Retirement Advisors 4.5 – 4 points. On Court 1, Mike Curran and Elliot Debolt took a thriller over Scott Harrington and Jared Kalpin, squeaking out a 14-12 super-tiebreak to earn two points for JM. 

Joel Hampton, Mike Barnes
& Jeremy Orme
Kevin Kearns and Jeremy Orme (sub) posted another point for JM in a similar war of attrition, taking the super tiebreak 16-14 over Joel Hampton and Mike Barnes.

Bob Green & Kim Jones
In what must be considered an upset on Court 3, Todd Wise and Mike Stevens (sub) downed league commissioner Jim Katterfield and Paul D’Amico 6-4, 6-2 in the only straight-set match of the JM/BRA-contest. Saving the day for BRA on the Mixed Doubles Court was Bob Greene and Kim Jones, who edged John Ramsey and Belinda Dufrene (sub) 10-8 to post two points for BRA. JM moved into second place alone with 13 points, leaving BRA in a third-place tie with Babolat with 12.5 points each.   

Gateway Dental (GD) vs. University Grill (UG) 
Gateway Dental (GD) and University Grill (UG) came into the third skirmish of the season in fifth and sixth place respectively, and their positions did not change. Both teams lost ground to league-leading Remax, but GD finished the night just half a point out of third, and one point behind second-place JM.

Ryan Sherry & Shawn Hedrick
GD Captain Shawn Hedrick and partner Ryan Sherry held up their end of the bargain on Court 1, downing Sergio Rebolledo and Matt Maloney 6-1, 7-6 to post two points. 
Tom Fisher & Mike Lawver
On Court 2, UG Captain Mike Lawver teamed with Tom “Super Sub” Fisher to pin a straight-set loss on my partner Anthony Hatori and I to even things up. This was a painful loss, because I was serving for the first set at 5-3 and didn’t win a single point on my serve. We lost 7-6, 7-5…Ouch!

Kerry Kendrick & Alex Hermeto
Terry See and Mark Drons teamed up on Court 3 to dispatch Steve Shortridge and Jeff Timmer 6-2, 6-4, getting two points for UG, and Alex Hermeto and Kerry Kendrick took home two points for GD by beating Tony Martin and Carolyn Lawver 6-2, 6-3.  

Scott Harrington, Mike Lawver,
& Jeff Diggs
In sum, everyone lost ground to Remax, which extended its lead to 3.5 points over second-place Johnny Malloy. Just one point separates the teams in second through fifth place, but University Grill trails the leader by 8.5 points.

Faithful fans- Marley & Bruce Lombard 
Things won’t get much easier for Mike Lawver’s team this Friday, as UG takes on host Jeff Diggs’ third-place Babolat team at Fiddlesticks. Frank Fourgeau’s League-leading Remax will face Scott Harrington’s BRA, while second-place JM, led by Mike Curran, will seek to hold off Shawn Hedrick’s fifth-place GD, who is one point out of second.

The lineups for the Fiddlesticks matches are as follows:


USPTA Pro League at Fiddlesticks Friday , 11/30/12
3pm Matches:
5:00pm Matches
Babolat vs University Grill
Jeff
Diggs
Tyler
Owens
John
Jerome
Denny
Rager
Court 2
VS
Court 1
VS
Patrick
Kangwa
Sergio
Rebolledo
Mark
Drons
Matt
Maloney
Toni
Halski
John
Gillette
Court 3
VS
Mike
Lawver
Terry
See
Armor
Persons
Erica
Cossairt
Mixed
VS

Tony
Martin
Carolyn
Lawver
Remax vs. Boston Retirement Advisors
Dave
Dooley
Luke
Andreae
Jorge
Magalhaes
Manuel
Encalada
Court 3
VS
Court 1
VS
Paul
D'Amico
Scott
Harrington
Mike
Barnes
Jared
Kalpin
Christie
Bradley
Jim
Katterfield
Dan
Moenning
Joel
Hampton
Mixed
VS
Court 2
VS
Kim
Jones
Frank
Fourgeau
Greg
Copeland
Corey
Knapp
Johnny Malloy's vs Gateway Dental
Todd
Wise
Mike
Curran
Kevin
Kearns
Elliott
Debolt
Court 2
VS
Court 1
VS
TA
Niles
Ryan
Sherry
Anthony
Hatori
Shawn
Hedrick
Larry
Gagnon
Oliver
Stenger
Court 3
VS
Steve
Shortridge
Jeff
Timmer
John
Ramsey
Christyn
Lucas
Mixed
VS
Alex
Hermeto
Chandler
Kleinpeter

A Thank You from Hideaway Tennis


The turkey has been relegated to salad and sandwiches, we've recovered from being stuffed with stuffing, but the memories of spending time and sharing sentiments with friends and family remain…They will stay with us until Thanksgiving Day comes around again.

I know I don’t have to remind you that we have much to be thankful for at The Hideaway, but I wanted to share my thoughts and sentiments of gratitude. As with the rest of the Hideaway community, Hideaway Tennis has much for which to be grateful. 

Personally, on the administrative end of things, I’m grateful for the tremendous support the blossoming tennis program has received from Tom Dudas, Sean Balliet and Janine Harrell. Without their efforts, we would not have witnessed the growth of over 80% in tennis membership.

Doug & Sean
I would be remiss if I didn't give thanks to Doug, who quietly and with his ever-present smile, goes beyond his anticipated call of duty to ease the growing pains of the budding tennis program. 

Chef Nick
Rick
And of course I am grateful to Chef Nick, Rick, Nid, Chris, and the rest of the Food and Beverage staff who have welcomed our new members in their own special way. 
Chris

Paula Barry & Vivian Landis
Speaking of welcoming, without the generous spirit displayed by long-time members such as Paula Barry, Vivian Landis, Bill Dey, Gerry Courtney, Bill and Lee Cross, Bob Ostrom and others, members who have been the heart and soul of the tennis community for eons, I wouldn't be here and neither would the 21 new tennis members. 

Gerry Courtney
And without their efforts, the tennis courts wouldn't receive the glowing praise they receive from everyone who visits The Hideaway.

Bert Ann, Pearle, Pat
In addition to all I've mentioned as worthy of immense gratitude, there are other driving forces behind the growth in our tennis program and membership. Bert Ann Haas has worked tirelessly to build our Lee County Women’s Tennis League (LCWTL) Copper team, and Pearle Warren has done the same to establish our 3.0 team. Thank you ladies for the difficult and often thankless job you do!

Terry Turner & Karen Keeling
Finally, to the ladies who show up for practice, who give their all each time they step out onto the court as representatives of The Hideaway tennis program, a great, big “THANK YOU” goes out to you as well. 

Pre-season Team Luncheon
To all above, I hope you had a tremendous experience with your family and friends on the designated day for giving thanks! I hope, despite our daily challenges, we remain grateful for all we have, including the little piece of paradise that is our Hideaway.

Your Grateful Tennis Professional,
  
T. A. Niles