Ray Sluzewicz, Wayne Mangold, Jack Szatkowski and Jim Dittmann end a successful men’s match with a fist bump!
Susie Welker
Off we go for the start of another winter session of competitive and enjoyable tennis at the Cottonwood Tennis Club! As our members begin to drift back to their southwestern homes and friends, the intensity of our CTC activities ratchets up to accommodate their enthusiasm for tennis.
First, however, the men’s summer league was finishing in September. This was not a team league, but rather an individual competition with a unique format. Dag Grudem organized and calculated each player’s percentage of wins and losses on a weekly basis. Then Dag would pair players from the highest win percentage to the lowest percentage for the next week’s matches. The league has all skill levels of players, so winners will be determined by percentages in each level after the last day of play on September 25. There have been 50 players participating, although some may have played only a few weeks while others have played every week. The league operated for 25 weeks of play with a minimum of five courts each week. According to Dag’s calculations, there were 120 games played per week for 25 weeks amounting to 3,000 games played by this men’s summer league! Now that is a lot of summer tennis! League winners will be revealed in the next month’s court report.
Our last summer social was held on September 18. Keith and Donna Nelson organized this event. Everyone who participated had a terrific time. (This article will be submitted before the social, so I am being presumptuous with the last statement, but history does repeat)!
To officially start our fall/winter tennis, the CTC kicks off with our 10th annual Rainbow Classic Tournament on October 10 and 11. Thanks go to Al Wagner for heading this tournament. Each of the teams have all levels of players and often people are playing with and against new partners and opponents. It is a fun format and a great social mixer event. All Cottonwood Tennis club members are invited to sign-up for this lively tennis tournament.
Soon after that event, we will be the guests of the Iron Oaks Tennis Club for our first inter-club social of the season on October 18. It is always nice to see our friends at the IOTC for some wonderful camaraderie and good competition.
The very next week on Wednesday, October 22 will be our club Kickoff Dinner meeting. Look for the sign-up for this on the tennis board in early October. In fact, all of the previously mentioned events will have sign-up sheets on the bulletin boards in the tennis courtyard. So many activities; so much fun for all!
The Cottonwood Tennis Club is comprised of six Board members and over 170 volunteers who help manage over 7,000 hours of individual play hours for their members. Additionally, members of the club provide free tennis lessons for new and intermediate players each Monday and Tuesday evening at Cottonwood during the fall and winter months. The CTC has over 300 members and is open to all Cottonwood Palo Verde residents. With established quotas the club is open to residents of other Sun Lakes communities.
Please visit our fabulous website at www.cottonwoodtennisclub.com for complete information about our tennis club. Enjoy our photos there, too.