January Tennis In Fort Myers

Oh yes, things are gonna be poppin’ in the game this weekend and in the near future in the Greater Fort Myers area.

Super Seniors at Colonial

Manuel Encalada at Colonial Pro League

First up is the Super Senior event at Colonial Country Club that was rained out today, but which will be rocking and rolling tomorrow through Sunday. As I mentioned in a previous post, there are some topnotch players as well as local favorites (and the two categories aren’t mutually exclusive) entered in the tourney.

Steve Shortridge at Colonial
 in 2012

Among the local favorites are Steve Shortridge and Chuck Nelson (Colonial), Armor Persons (Breckenridge), and Bob Green (Pelican Preserve) in the Men’s 60 Singles; and Larry Albritton (Heritage Palms), and Charles “Van” Van Middlesworth (Gateway) in the Men’s 65 Singles.

Fred Drilling 

The Men’s Singles headliner has to be top-seeded Fred “Da Machine” Drilling of Estero, who is No.4 in  the world in Men's 70 Singles, according to the available International Tennis Federation (ITF) rankings.

Phil Landauer

Perhaps the event with the most interest to local fans will be the Men’s 60 Doubles. The top three seeds include three regular USPTA Pro League players, and another who subs in our league.  In the top slot are Mike Barnes of The Landings and Phil Landauer of Naples, who took me down in the Naples Fort Myers Challenge.

Larry Gagnon & Terry See

Larry Gagnon of Plantation and Terry See of Cypress Lake are the three-seed, and Steve Shreiner who plays out of 

Howie Ames & Steve Shreiner
(foreground)

The Landings (and subbed for me in the first Pro League) carries the No.2 Seed with partner Howie Ames playing out of Pelican Landing. The 60 Doubles are scheduled to start on Thursday the10th.

USPTA Pro League

Frank Fourgeau & Corey Knapp

The second half of the Ritzman Tennis Fort Myers USPTA Pro League is about to get underway this Friday the 11^th at Heritage Palms. 

Scott Harrington

Remax, led by Frank Fourgeau of Gulf Harbour, is threatening to run away with the title, leading second-place Boston Retirement Advisors captained by Scott Harrington by 5.5 points. A full Pro League Report and preview of the match this Friday is on the way.

Three Oaks College Shootout

Before you can recover from the Pro League action, you will have the opportunity to overdose on flying fuzz. This Friday through Sunday, from 10am – 4pm, the Lee County Community Tennis Association (LCCTA) and new Tennis Director at Three Oaks Park, Pat Glaunert, will be hosting the Three Oaks College Shootout at the Barbara Manzo Tennis Center at Three Oaks Park

Four heavyweight, Division I men’s tennis programs will be competing in the Shootout this weekend: Florida, Illinois, Georgia Tech, and NC State. Florida finished last season at No.12 in the country, the Illini are ranked No.16 in the country, Georgia Tech reached as high as No.16 in the nation two years ago, and NC State, perhaps the weakest team in the field, is an ACC school that posted a 20-10 record last season. 

Can you imagine watching that caliber of tennis FREE OF CHARGE? Well, that is precisely what you will have the opportunity to do this weekend.  

Pat Glaunert

Three Oaks Park is located at 18251 Three Oaks Parkway in Fort Myers, near I-75 and Alico Rd. If you haven’t seen the tremendous makeover of the Tennis Center at Three Oaks, this would be the perfect opportunity. Please direct any questions to Tennis Director, Pat Glaunert at (239) 898-7770. Hope to see you there!

FGCU Tennis on the Horizon

Staying on the topic of college tennis, our own Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) Men’s Tennis program is gearing up for its home opener which will be happening on Saturday, January 26 at 1pm. Coach C.J. Weber and his Eagles are preparing for the best season in the history of FGCU Men’s Tennis.

The Eagles are coming off their first ever appearance in the A-Sun Championship last spring, and their first Fall Invitational Championship win last September. With the addition of sophomore Jordi Vives, and freshmen Dylan Gunning and Chris Perrigan, along with the return of 

sensational sophomores Tianyu Bao, and Micahel Beiler, jousting juniors Dean Tsamas, Gabe Echeverry, and Lance Lvovsky, and seniors Colin Brown and Jackson Moore, an exciting season is on the Horizon. Stay tuned for the season preview in the near future.

That's all I've got for now, and I'm really looking forward to what's on tap. Don't hesitate to send me your January and February events. Game, set, match...T.A.