Penny Petersen
Cottonwood Tennis Club’s Mixed Doubles Tournament began Sunday, February 10, in rainy conditions and ended Saturday, February 16, in great weather. First, Second and Third Place winners in four different ability levels emerged by the end of the week-long tournament. There were 74 players participating. Most teams played three matches prior to the semi-finals. The Tournament was only open to members of the Cottonwood Tennis Club.
The Mixed Tournament is the only one where husbands and wives are able to play together, or if they don’t have the same ratings, can play with other partners. CTC has quite a few couples participating, and they welcomed the opportunity to play in the Doubles event.
Tournament Director Jerry Higgins commented that except for the first day when it rained, the Mixed Doubles had a higher number of spectators than any other tournament this year, except the Bradshaw. Husbands cheered (not loudly) for their wives and vice versa. Women got to see players competing who they don’t normally watch, and men got to see how the women players they rarely watch can smack the ball.
Champions in the Four Divisions:
Red Division: Champions – Bill Gosiak and Barb Jorgensen; Second Place – Armin Flachsman and Kathy Moliter; Third Place – Bob and Rae Lewis
Green Division: Champions – Bruce Brooks and Jenette Curran; Second Place – Harvey Brooks and Mary Braton; Third Place – Dean and Maryann Sinerius
Blue Division: Champions – Jay Ketter and Tina Carr; Second Place – Wade Knoss and Kim Vargas; Third Place – Garnet Jones and Jeanne Tooley
Silver Division: Champions – Joe Fleming and Julie Tunnell; Second Place – Jeff Carr and Ruthanne Strohn; Third Place – Carl Day and Penny Petersen
The Mixed Doubles Tournament was the last major tournament of the spring season. But that doesn’t mean the tennis is over. There are spring leagues for both men’s and women’s doubles, weekly sign-ups on Monday and Wednesday for women and Tuesday and Thursday for men and Friday for mixed-doubles. The men also have a summer-long “sweat and have fun” league.
Although many of our Canadian, East Coast, Northwest and Colorado members leave in April, there are still plenty of us around to get a game together. Depending upon the weather, the matches that normally start at 8:30 a.m. are pushed back to 7:00 a.m., and some people even get up at the amazing morning time of 5:00 a.m. to play earlier than that. Many matches are also scheduled in evening hours during the summer. Sign up at the bulletin board.
And don’t forget that CTC offers free lessons on Monday and Tuesday evenings during the regular season. For information, contact Pierre Moresi at [email protected].
For information about Cottonwood Tennis Club membership, contact Barb Jorgensen at [email protected].