Author: Adrien Fournier

By Betty Olsen

Tennis Talk

By Betty Olsen

(continued from February 6 Villager)

Second day of competition at Nationals was Saturday, January 25 with first match at 9:00am against Midwest.  Villagers have 1 win, 1 loss from Friday.  We needed 2 wins to be in the running for Sunday semi-finals.  #1 doubles (Helen Varenkamp/Gail Tuft) won, but #3 doubles lost in 2 sets.  #2 doubles were putting up a fight.  We lost the 1^st set, won the 2^nd set which already took 2 hours.  The 3^rd set match tiebreak was a nail biter.  We have our very own Sabalenka team member, but instead of a screech, she has a grunt, Mitzi Macon.  We were ahead, then behind, then ahead, but finally lost 10-8.  It was a thrilling match with great sportsmanship.

 We made sure everyone got a chance to play with new pairings for our 1:00pm match was against Southwest (North Carolina) which we lost 0-3.  By winning all 3 matches, Southwest qualified for the semi-finals with a record of 3-1.  No team won all 4 of their matches.

Our final team dinner at the team house was a takeout Mexican chicken casserole dinner with rice, beans, tortillas, with lots of wine and beer, since there was no Sunday tennis.  Sherry Benz shared her rap poetry with us after dinner which summarizes our National’s weekend.

“It would be easy to say we didn’t win, but look at the pool we were in.

They are the best of the best which makes us the best of the best.

Hard fought battles, some won and some lost, but in every one, we gave it our all, so we’ll boast!!!!

Kudos to all:  Helen & Gail our work horses!  Mariana and Mitzi for the entertainment!  Julie and Cheryl for an amazing 3^rd set victory.  Could we bow a knee?  Supreme efforts from Peggy, Sharon, Liz, Elaine, Pong, Sherry and Joy.  Everyone contributed, atta Boy/or girl!!  Regardless of the score, there was comradery, encouragement, love and more!  Our fans to the east and the west affirm we are the best!

Our fearless leader, Betty, juggled 13 personalities with agility.  No small task!  Brett gave us primo coaching tips and we didn’t even have to ask!  Betty’s Airb&b was party central, a place for us gather one and all.  The Olsen daughters know hospitality and made our gatherings fit for the champions we are…so put a feather in your cap…we are Awesome and have made the Villages proud!”

Tennis Talk

By Betty Olsen

What a blast the Villages had at Nationals in Surprise, Arizona!  Let me tell you about it.

 We may not have won, but came close, and may have been the friendliest team with lots of support.  We were the only team with a coach and the only team to bring gifts for our opponents.  7 of us stayed in the team Airb&b 5 minutes from the tournament. With husbands attending, 2 other Airb&bs were used plus hotel rooms

There was a total of 16 teams in the tournament.  Every team had 4 matches, 2 on Friday and 2 on Saturday, and the top 4 teams played semi-finals on Sunday.  No team won all of their matches, but some didn’t win any.  We needed 3 wins to compete for Sunday.

Thursday night all Villagers met at the team house for a potluck dinner and to get ready for our first match at 9:00am Friday against Mo Valley.  Our coach, Brett Foreman, met our 6 players at 7:30am Friday morning for warm-up and we won the match 2-1, thanks to Cheryl Diltz and Julie Hawkinson winning in the 3^rd set tiebreak.  Team Gail Tuft and Helen Varenkamp won in 2 sets.

(to be continued in next Tennis Talk.)

Tennis Talk

By Betty Olsen

I was getting a jump on my New Year’s resolutions by cleaning out a file drawer. There I found a 1989 newspaper article describing my tennis coach and friend who changed the trajectory of my life.  The article was his obituary and a tribute to his many accomplishments.

His name is Nolan McQown and he grew up in Los Angeles with tennis legends Jack Kramer and Poncho Gonzales.  According to Kramer, McQuown was one of the brightest young prospects in the 30’s. As juniors, McQuown and Kramer were chosen as a doubles team to travel to boy’s nationals in Indiana.  They won the doubles title and McQuown made it to the quarter finals in singles. McQuown was a freshman at Franklin high school when Bobbie Riggs was a senior.  Riggs played #1 and McQuown played #2  After high school, McQuown attended LA City College before he and Kramer entered WW II.

 In 1947 McQuown returned to civilian life and tennis. He won the southern CA championships beating Herbie Flan, # 10 in the US.  When Gonzoles was still an amateur, McQuown beat him in 3 sets. He also claims 7 national titles and played at Wimbledon when it was amateurs only. However, there was no money in tennis in the 1940s and 50s, so he joined the LA Police Department for 21 years.  Upon retirement in 1968, he bought the N. Hollywood Tennis Shop and started coaching.  One of his students, Bruce Manson, was #30 in the US.

And in 1969, Lon and I became his students and started playing competitive tennis in tournaments (at least I did.)   In 1977, I volunteered as the Girl’s high school tennis coach that lasted for 8 years.  And in 2001, I became the Executive Director of the AMTA known as the American Medical Tennis Association, in charge of planning and running 2 tournaments a year stateside and 1 international.  I retired from that position in 2011 when I moved to the Villages.

I am so grateful to Nolan McQuown who passed on to me his passion and love of tennis that has shaped the last 50 years of my life.   It is a lifetime sport.  Just as Art Lind.

Tennis Talk

By Betty Olsen

The Tennis Club celebrated the end of 2025 with a fabulous Holiday Party on Saturday, December 6.  The theme was a Starry, Starry Night and indeed we had the stars turn out.

The stars from our club championship were announced and our club president, Gene Mariani, presented them with their medals.  In addition, our star super senior tennis player, Art Lind, 97, was acknowledged for his 3^rd place medal from attending the International Tournament for 90+ in Croatia.  His first match set a new record for being the oldest international match, playing against Australian Henry Young, at 102 making a total of 199 years.  Art had his whole family attend to help him celebrate.  To complete our stars line-up, Brett Foreman was singled out as our first villager to have a National Championship for his 40+ 7.0 Mixed team from Bay Club Courtside in Los Gatos.  Brett is currently holding clinic practices getting our Village Women’s 65+ team ready for Nationals in Surprise, Arizona, January 23-25.

Many thanks go to Tina Parsley and Gail Tuft and their many volunteers (Sonia Soin, Jayme and Lynn Dickson, Josh Laio, Nancy Spisar, Catherine Pham, Don Clarke, Tony Loiacono, Chi Nguyen, Asra Batool, Nancy Domingo, Karen Hillis and Betty Olsen} for organizing such a fabulous Holiday Party.  The food was delicious, the orchestra was wonderful, the photographer was everywhere, and the over-the-top decorations made for a Starry Night.

As this night was also an official general club meeting, a meeting was called to order, the new officers for 2026 were announced, voted on and passed unanimously.

Looking forward to the new year 2026!

Preview of The Villager December 5, 2025 publication
By Betty Olsen

Please meet Brian and Pat Remington, who recently moved to Del Lago. Brian and Pat were residing in Florida when he retired after a 35-year career with IBM as a sales manager. They have family ties in Texas and the Bay Area. In the past few years, they had been living in Texas and also owned a condo in Cribari for a nearby residence.

After thoroughly enjoying the villages, they decided to sell their condo and purchase and remodel a property in Del Lago to make it their primary residence. However, they still maintain a part-time presence in Dallas.

Brian, began his athletic journey in Pennsylvania with ice hockey, where he even played on his college team. He later ventured into triathlons, swimming, biking, and running. In between these pursuits, he picked up a tennis racquet and, with the availability of six tennis courts, is eager to join the tennis community while continuing his triathlon training.

On the other hand, Pat is an artist who graduated with an art degree from Toronto. Her career primarily revolved around graphic design. Currently, she is teaching art classes in the Villages.  

Brian Remington says hi.

Tennis Talk

By Betty Olsen

We are nearing the end of the 2025 tennis year with only 1 and ½ months to go.  Our final event is the annual Holiday Christmas dinner and party on SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6 at the clubhouse, 5:00 – 9:00pm.

Join the Tennis Club for a festive evening of great food, good friends, and holiday cheer.  It’s going to be a Starry Starry night.

Sign-up here

We will celebrate our tennis club stars by awarding the medals won at our recent club tournament for Men and Women’s doubles as well as Mixed.  Also, we will celebrate our international star, Art Lind, who returned from Croatia with a 3^rd place medal for 90+ singles.  And finally, our resident professional star, Brett Foreman, came home from Florida with a National Championship for his Mixed 40+ team.

Enjoy live music by Jerry Salcedo and Band and a delicious dinner under the Starry Night sky.  The attire is semi-formal.

For dinner entrée choices, there is beef short ribs, roasted salmon, duck confit and vegetarian lasagna.  Please sign up early for this Starry Night to help the hardworking dinner committee’s job easier.  Check your emails from the tennis club for “how to register.”  You can also call or email Tina Parsley, 614-937-9433, tinaparsley@ymail.com or Gail Tuft, 408-761-5846, gailtuft@aol.com.