LCCTA Tourney and More

The Lee County Community TennisAssociation (LCCTA) and Three Oaks Park hosted the Next Step Super Series (level 6) this past weekend. We had a number of local juniors entered in the eight draws, Boys and Girls 16s and 18s, Singles and Doubles, but, to date, few fared as well as they might have hoped. There are still a few in the hunt tomorrow though.

Zach Blythe of Cape Coral was seeded fourth in the Boys 16s, but ran into Bryan Yoshino of Dublin, Ohio in his first match and his event was over. Ian Ziegler of North Fort Myers got a walkover in the first round, but crossed paths with third-seeded Eric Poland of Fort Myers and he too was finished. John Peterson of Fort Myers Beach also fell victim to Yoshino in straight sets.

In addition to Poland, another local bright spot in the Boys16s was John Carlin of Fort Myers who upset No.1 Seed William Shkrob of Lakewood Ranch in straight sets. Carlin and Poland meet each other in one semifinal match tomorrow (Monday, 8/13) at 3:30pm.  Chase Burton of Naples, seeded No.2, will play in the other semifinal against Yoshino at 10:45am tomorrow. Prior to their singles matches, at 7:00am, Carlin and Poland will face off in doubles against Burton and John Peterson of Fort Myers Beach.

Fallon Burger of Fort Myers came into the Girls 16s as the top seed, but fell in the first round to Melanie Allen of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina in straight sets. Chandler Novoa of Fort Myers also participated but fell in her first match to Gabrielle Rodriguez of Tampa in straight sets. Fallon has the opportunity to redeem herself as she teams with Sydney Nowak in Girls 16s Doubles and will play in the final tomorrow at 4:00pm.

In the Boys 18s, Kyle Yates, Nicolas Alexander, and Prasanna Nagaraian of Fort Myers and Michael Raymond and Zachary Mearsheimer of Naples represented the local area. All but Mearsheimer, who was seeded second, fell in their first matches. Mearsheimer will play his semifinal match tomorrow at 8:00am. None of our locals made it past the first round in doubles.

Ja’cara Gillis, Sydney Nowak and Hailey Grillo of Fort Myers, and Shannon Etten, Shari Sanders and Miranda Mearsheimer of Naples all took part in the Girls 18s. Etten, the second seed, won a tough quarterfinal match and will play her semifinal tomorrow morning at 8:00am against Gabriella Casteneda, the third seed. Grillo teamed with Alexander Sexton of North Palm Beach to claim the Girls 18s Doubles.

Kudos to the LCCTA for continuing to organize and host tennis events in the area, and to those who participated and gave it all they had. Thanks to John Ziegler for the phone call. Sorry I couldn’t make it out there.

Women's Club Giving Back 

CWC Scholarship recipients
Lucinda Sutton, Thuy Nguyen, 
and Marilese Ras  

Have you heard of the Continental Women’s Club of Greater Fort Myers (CWC)? Well, despite hitting many a tennis ball and talking to more than my share of tennis lovers in Fort Myers over the past six years, I had not heard of the CWC. No, it isn't a tennis organization per se, but it is through tennis that I finally found out about it.  

In any event, according to my source (thanks Bert Ann) the CWC has been in existence for 37 years, and “donates to the Salvation Army each month and other civic organizations, such as:  Abuse Counseling & Treatment, Angel Flight, Animal Refuge Center, Child Protection Team, ECHO, Goodwill Industries, Heart Association of Lee County, Habitat for Humanity, Hope Hospice, Humane Society, Lee Adolescent Mothers Program, Lee Cancer Society, Hope Hospice, Humane Society, Make A Wish Foundation of Lee County, Meals on Wheels of Lee County, Lee Adolescent Mothers Program, Lee County Mission, Lee Visiting Nurses, Local Churches in Memory of Deceased Cub Members, Nature Center of Lee County, Nations Association, Ronald McDonald House of SW Florida, Shady Rest Nursing Home, Southeastern Guide Dog, Inc.” Now I just have to get the LCCTA on that list and I'll be happy.

Wow! That is some list of recipients! You can imagine that I was happy to say, “Yes” when the CWC recently requested donations for their 2013 Annual Game Day Fundraiser to be held on January 28, 2013. I told them I would be more than happy to donate tennis lessons for auction, and I know the Continental Women’s Club would be grateful for any contributions you could make as well. I’ll be sure to remind you when it gets closer to Game Day, but meanwhile, to pledge your support to this 501c organization and their efforts, you can call Bert Ann Haas at 239-810-4480 or email gameday2013@aol.com. A fundraising tennis event on Game Day would certainly be fitting, particularly with proceeds going toward local junior tennis development. I would love to hear thoughts on that.

Anyway, that’s all I have for now folks, but for those who follow the ATP Tour, check out my Cincinnati preview on Ubitennis.com tomorrow. All the big guns except for Rafa are scheduled to play the Western & Southern Open this week. Game, set, match….T.A.