Hideaway Tennis Begins New Era

Hideaway's Sean Balliet & Jerry Courtney
welcome Andrea Trank & Cindy Cheslosky

The Hideaway management’s (Tom Dudas, & Sean Balliet) initiative to develop the Club’s tennis program, as a means of enhancing The Hideaway’s profile and presence in the Greater Fort Myers area is off to a terrific start. Since the effort began in April, tennis membership has increased by more than 70%, and two Hideaway teams have begun play in the Lee County Women’s Tennis League (LCWTL).

Karen Keeling & Terri Turner
(in red & Black)
congratulate Linda Reidl & Liz Byck

The Hideaway’s 50-Plus Copper team opened play at home this past Friday against Gulf Harbour and our ladies gave a good account of themselves, winning two of the four matches played. On Court #1, Karen Keeling and Terri Turner ran into the tough team of Liz Byck and Linda Reidl, and fell in two sets, 6-4, 6-2.

Agi Keleman & Fran Negin

On Court #2, Hideaway’s Agi Keleman and Fran Negin cruised to a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Lois Piano and Vicki Terry. The combination of Agi’s power and Fran’s placement proved too much for the Gulf Harbour ladies to overcome.

Nina Carpenter & Barb Saling

The match on Court #3, proved to be the match of the day, going deep into the third-set super-tiebreak. Nina Carpenter and Barb Saling edged Donna Profit and Mickie Sonin 7-6 in the first set, but the Gulf Harbour players were resilient, and climbed back into the match, taking the second set 6-2. Nina and Barb fell behind early in the super-tiebreak, and trailed 8-3. It appeared that the match was all but over, but our Hideaway ladies fought back, tying things up at 8-8, before losing the final two points of the tiebreak and the match.

Lynne Price & Bert Ann Haas

Captain Bert Ann Haas and Lynne Price, one of The Hideaway’s 3.0 team players, took a tough 7-5 first set from Diane Russ and Luann Powers, then ran away with the second set 6-0. According to Bert Ann, the match was tougher than the score indicates, and claimed that if it had been any tougher, her replacement hip might not have been able to handle it. I suspect that hip would have handled it just fine.

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After the team match, the ladies from Gulf Harbour joined our team members on the patio for lunch. The entire affair was precisely what the LCWTL is all about: good, fun competition and camaraderie. 

Sean Balliet shares pre-season
lunch with teams

It was a terrific opening to the season, and the new era of Hideaway Tennis! Our 3.0 team, led by Pearle Warren, will take on Cape Coral Yacht Club tomorrow (Monday, Oct. 15) at 10:30am at home. We look forward to seeing you out there!