Tennis Talk 5-18
By Betty Olsen
We had a new activity added to our tennis club calendar this year thanks to Roy and Kathy Pennington. They had 20 years of experience with club league tennis at their club in New Mexico and it was very successful, so they introduced club league tennis to The Villages! And we are so grateful.
First of all, it takes a lot of organization time and effort to set it up. It takes scheduling know-how, willing captains, and committed players. And I am happy to report it ran smoothly for the most part. Roy selected six women to be captains (very smart). Since Roy introduced the program at the Tennis Club’s Christmas dinner meeting, many players signed up to play. A committee divided the players into two categories – A and B as best they could.
A captain’s meeting met, pulled numbers from a hat and took turns choosing their team members. Some of the new players were not known, so it was a bit tricky choosing teammates. However, that is what league tennis is designed to correct, by mixing players and tennis abilities.
We played two matches a week, a weekday either Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, and for folks still working, either Saturday or Sunday. No matches were scheduled for Mondays and Fridays. All matches were played at 1:30 p.m. when courts are generally empty. We played nine weeks skipping the weekends of Prescott, Easter, and Rossmoor, and concluded on Thursday, April 27 with a potluck party at the viewing stands.
Please see the photos taken by Marty Funcell of all the happy club members celebrating the final day. Thanks to Brett Foreman for presenting Roy with a large tennis ball signed by everyone and gifting the hard-working captains with goodie bags.
Roy Pennington
Brett Foreman presenting a gift to Captain Sherry Benz
Tennis Club members enjoying the potluck celebration party.