TT Publication 5/12/2023
By Wendy Ferguson
The Villages Tennis League finished in a heat wave; so much so that some matches stopped. However, the warm weather did not deter the final matches and get-together that included a pot luck. Lucky players all. The women captains did a fine job leading their teams and scrounging substitute players. Women rule, right? Betty’s Bees, a stunning title I might add, stung all but one team winning the bragging rights as champs. Heat or no heat, look for the league to start up again in the fall.The match between the Silver Creek High School boy’s tennis team and The Villages men was rescheduled, so mark your calendar for Tuesday, May 16. And last week I said something about our marvelous men teaching the boys the fine art of the overhead smash. The key, I’m told, is to keep my eye on the ball and my head up. Oh, well, so much for the smash part, I’m lucky to see the ball as it’s dropping at the rate of 32 feet per second (per second). So I start my motion as my eyes are trying to find the ball way up there, and thinking all the while: the seconds it takes to drop, multiplied by the number of birds swooping above, divided by the speed of the beautiful white cloud and oops… I’ve missed it completely.Speaking of overheads, if you want to hone your tennis skills try Jump Start held on Tuesday afternoons at 5:00 PM. In fact, the Tennis Club’s coaches are there to tune you up and provide skills for improvement, as well as fun for all. I’m heading down there now.Here’s a fun fact: The scholarships were started before the recipients were even born. And they grow ‘em big these days, because when I talked to Vittal, one of the winners, I had to have neck surgery from gazing up at his 6 foot 6 inch face. Nice kid, though. Vittal stayed to clean the Foothill floors after our Scholarship Dinner. Quite a joy, for those of us tuckered out from all the festivities and fun. The recipients in the photo are the ever-so-tall Vittal Vasudevan, Sophia Vo, and Ryad Do.You’ll most likely enjoy a short excerpt from the M. A. Sridhar Scholarship winner, Veda Garigapati, who is not pictured as she attended her senior prom; can you imagine that? She’s majoring in computer science/electrical engineering at UC Berkeley—not surprising given her gumption and great grades.“As a recipient of the Villages Tennis Scholarship, the stress of paying full tuition would be alleviated and I could have more time to focus on my courses and extracurricular activities. In addition, this scholarship can open up new opportunities for me, such as study abroad programs, internships, and research opportunities, all of which I hope to experience during my time in college.” Indeed, this year’s four seniors have hopes and aspirations far beyond my wildest dreams (and I won’t even go there). I’ve a gumption that I should stop while I’m ahead (hopefully) and turn this over to Kory and The Villager.
