Left to right: Mary Park (third place), Neda Mead (second place), Adriana Michael (Ace Queen), and first-place winner Linda Dirksmeyer
Susie Dunn
Our Women’s Monday Extended Spring League started a few weeks later, on April 19 this year. We played three sets of eight games each, switching players at each set. This format allows us to play for ourselves rather than with a team, and we get to play with a variety of different players.
One of our subs, Dorothy Thurman, achieved the highest score in three sets, scoring a total of 19 points, as did Linda Dirksmeyer, who, with her speed, persistence, and accuracy, won her the first-place position this season. Ollie Johnson had the next highest score with 18 points in three sets.
Neda Mead, one of our longtime, veteran players, came in second place. Mary Park, if you remember her back in 2019, was getting real high scores and suddenly broke her right wrist during the middle of that season. Low and behold, she came back full strength, determined that this break would not stop her, so she learned to play with her opposite hand, and with lots of practice, dedication, and determination, she ended up in third place. Quite an accomplishment for sure.
I included a new category this year—The Ace Queen. An Ace in tennis is when the server uses maximum force and strategically places the ball in the service box out of reach by the receiver and wins the point. This new award went to our past president Adriana.
Our last day of play was May 24. After the games, we all gathered on the veranda for our awards and a nice, cold ice cream. We were all grateful that COVID did not interfere with our tennis, and everyone was happy to get out and enjoy their friends, get exercise, fresh air, and appreciate one another. Hallelujah!
Our fun league players this year consisted of Sandy Casale, our red player, and our green players included Adriana Michael, Gwen Lucas, Neda Mead, Toni Reider, Mary Park, Linda Dirksmeyer, Anita Frindel, Ollie Johnson, Susan Aparicio, Betty Dunn, and myself, Susie Dunn. Our faithful subs included Kim Vargas and Dorothy Thurman.
Please visit our website at www.cottonwoodtennisclub.com to find out the latest activities in our club.