Spinderellas Awards Dinner

Thursday, September 30th, our team gathered for our end of the season awards dinner at Village Social in Mt. Kisco. Beautifully organized by Kat Gilston, we had a convenient table, (near the bar), fantastic food, and great company. We even had a last minute surprise - Jacques joined us! Once the group was all there, I proceeded to hand out the awards, and for those of you who could not be there, (or couldn't hear), I will now recap the winners....drum roll please.....

For "Best Sportsmanship", the award went to Ann Leathers. We could always count on Ann being at every match, home or away, whether she was in the line-up or not. She always brought wine, food, encouragement and positive vibes. She was willing to play singles or doubles with any partner, and showed us all how to gracefully perform for a crowd. A true lady, we are grateful she retired and chose to spend her free time with our team!

The "Comeback of the Season" award went to Tanya Schwarz. An amazing player with a bullet serve, an impossible to return slice forehand, and great poaching skills, she won her first singles match with no trouble at all. Then she was stuck playing doubles with me and we lost three games in a row....we weren't in Kansas anymore. After never losing together last year at 3.0, it was quite humbling for both of us. Switching her to singles, she came back with a vengeance to win 4 out of 4 singles matches and one more doubles match (with me!), to end her season with an impressive 5 game winning streak. She even beat the #1 singles player on the #1 team in our division; The Proform Ninjas!

The next award goes to the person who imbued our team with energy, fun and passion. Being a captain was a bit distracting and stressful for me, but this person was always positive and supportive when I needed it most. Always available to play, she has a passion for the game of tennis like no one else I know. Emotional on the court, (but in a goofy, fun way), Kathleen Gilston gets the "Most Passionate Player" award. Thank you so much for helping me to co-captain the Spinderellas, and for setting up our awards dinner!

We could not have chosen a more opposite personality to partner with Kathleen than Amy Baker, but Jacques assured me they would be good together. Calm, cool and collected, Amy is a steady, reliable partner with a Zen-like demeanor, a strategic mental game, freakishly accurate placement and the warmest of hearts. So to Amy I give the "Zen Master of the Tennis Court" award. I also want to thank you for your all your level-headed practical advice when I was dealing with drama, and all the yummy food you brought to the matches. It sure beat my Costco bags of M&M's.....

The next two awards went to a doubles team who won an impressive 4 matches out of 6 at the 3.5 level whenever they played together. Rated at 3.0, these ladies gave an equally impressive performance on their 3.0 team, Rhythm and Hues, winning all 7 of their regular season matches, winning in the first round of the district championship, then sadly losing in the 2nd round. They have a big tennis future ahead of them; Joy Casciano and Malyn Sheridan get the award for "Best Rookie Doubles Team". Thank you both for always being available when I needed players and for supporting the team even when you weren't in the line-up. And thanks again to Jacques for knowing these two would make good partners.....

"The Best Doubles Team" award goes to Karen Piazza and Gale Ritterhoff with an impressive 6 out of 6 wins. These two ladies were the most consistent players this season. Karen, with her powerful forehand, set Gale up for poach after poach, served bullets, overpowered her opponents with her forehand and looked like a movie star in our turquoise uniform. Gale; consistent, consistent, consistent. Fabulous poacher, great ground strokes and perfect placement made her the player that everyone wanted to partner with. Karen was the lucky one most of the time, but I got to enjoy her as a partner a few times myself. We were lucky to have these two great players on our team this year, and I hope you both come back to us next year!

The final award goes to Gale Ritterhoff. Awarded "The Best Record of The Season"; she won 8 out of 8 games played, to garner the title. Gale's game always amazes me; it's not with brute power that she wins, but with mental toughness, aggressiveness at net and a laser-like focus. She is one with the yellow ball. She tracks it, then attacks it. Kind, smart and generous, she was a great asset to our team this year. Thank you Gale for being such an important member of the Spinderellas!

____________________________________________

I want to say thank you to everyone who contributed to my wonderful captains' gifts. I can't wait to go shopping at Pedigree! I'm saving the wine until I can snag a bag of M&M's to go with it......

Watch for my emails later in the year. I'm hoping we can start team practices in February so we will be ready for the 2011 USTA season. I am also trying to arrange a round robin with the Fly Girls and our team, which I will let you know about as soon as we have chosen a date.

See you on the courts!!

XOXO Cathleen