Posted: November 14, 2005

Tree Mail - The Wickertree Online Newsletter

USTA Leagues

Many of our USTA teams are cruising right along in first or second place in their divisions. The matches are getting tougher every week, as the other teams in our leagues are focusing on the finish line, as we are. The seasons are around half way finished, so now it gets really interesting. Every match becomes hugely important. Practices are essential. Our teams in first place and their captains are:

Our teams in second place and their captains are:

Congratulations to all the teams and keep up the good work. Everyone can follow the team standings and matches at this USTA web page: http://national.usta.com/Reports/TennisLinkReports.asp?Level=L&LeagueID=10173&CYear=2006

Thanksgiving Weekend Highlights

Our hours of operation on Thanksgiving Day will be from 9 AM to 1 PM for those of you that want to get in a good tennis session before sitting down to the big turkey dinner. Court time will be half price, so jump all over this special!!! We will close for the day at 1 PM so we can all get to our designated chow down tables on time.

On Friday we will open at 7 AM for those of you that want to come in early, and we will be having a junior clinic from 9 to 12:30 so the juniors can get in a good workout. Parents - you can drop the kids off at 8:30 and get in four hours of nice quiet shopping. We will also be having an adult clinic from 1 to 4 in the afternoon, so come on in and sharpen your strokes. Space will be limited for both, so hurry and sign up at the front desk.

On Saturday we will have our regular adult and junior programs during the day until 5 PM. After that we will be having our Fall Pro Calcutta - just like Caddyshack, with over $1500 in prize money, so come on in and bet on your favorite pro teams to win, place or show. The teams will be listed on our web site starting next week. Pizza and beverages will be available for all the spectators for a $5 entry fee. Bet as much as you like, 10% of the pot will go to the Stephanie Spielman Cancer Research Fund. Click here for details.

Sunday will begin as with our usual morning programs, and due to the fact we have no USTA matches this weekend, we will be having a junior doubles tournament beginning at 1 PM. Contact Doug at the club or at wickertree1@aol.com to reserve your spot if you want to play.

Holiday Party and Team Club Challenge

Friday night, December 9 is the big night, and 7 PM is the start of this extravaganza. Team competition and lots of food will be the order of the evening for our Holiday Party. Our pro staff is organizing teams for our interclub competition in tennis, euchre and charades. More details will follow shortly, but reserve this night on your calendar!!! Please bring a wrapped toy for "Toys for Tots" as part of our club contribution to the kids who are in need. More details will be in next week's newsletter.

Bernie Masters Junior Tournament

Saturday night November 11. This Saturday night we will be hosting the Junior Grand Slam Tournament for the Girls 16's and Girls 18's beginning at 6 PM. Stop in and see some good junior play; and sign up for future Slam events, entry forms are in the rack by the front desk.

Singles ladders . . .

for men and women. Ken Tolber is organizing our men's and women's singles challenge ladders. Please contact Ken at the club if you are interested in joining the ladder. The league rules and regulations are listed on our website at www.wickertree.com.

Friday Night Live

Friday nights are still a great time to come to the club and get in three hours of play for $15. Bring friends that are interested in tennis and introduce them to Wickertree. No memberships are required, so once again, bring friends. Some teams use Friday Night Live as a inter team practice time to play among themselves.

Women's 2.5 League

One of our next big pushes is to create a 2.5 women's team for the USTA Leagues. Going along with this we will also be having a 2.5 league during the week for an extra day of inter group play. If we attract a large enough group we will also be able to schedule weekly practices for some extra learning, if that is amenable to everyone. Please contact Stacey Goodwill or Janine Kiser at Wickertree for more details.

Golden Gals / Golden Buckeyes

Our Golden Groups are coming on strong!! We are having some great play every day from our senior players. The men play Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 2 to 4 PM and the ladies play Tuesday and Thursday from 2 to 4 PM. Call Wickertree at 882-5724 or sign up in person at the front desk for a Golden Time. Membership is not required, so bring some senior friends from other locations and join in the fun. Sign up in well in advance, when the weather gets cold the slots fill up quickly and we have to start a waiting list.

Scrimmages

Per our inter club agreement concerning USTA matches, we must have courts available for play on Fridays from 10 AM to 2 PM. When there are no USTA matches for a particular two hour period, we would like to help organize scrimmages between some of our teams, in house, for a little extra match experience. We know the whole teams may not be able to participate, but for those that can, we are offering the scrimmages at half off the regular USTA match price.

Recommendations

If you want the latest in tennis news and some of the most critical and incisive writing about the tennis world and the industry, log on to www.tennisweek.com. This is a magazine and web site run by Gene Scott, a former Davis Cupper and top 20 world ranked player in the sixties, and one of the most influential men in tennis. He is a real down to earth kind of guy, a man of the people and the average tennis player. He believes in making tennis available to the people, and does not get along with the upper crust tennis establishment to say the least. He writes some of the most in depth and pointed commentary you will ever read about tennis.

You are the best, And, please send me anything you want to put in the newsletter, Arnie (email address wickertree2@aol.com).