By Kathy Miller
sat down to write this article (late as always because I always struggle with what to write), and due to procrastinating, decided to check my email first. I opened the email below and was smiling ear to ear as this is what it’s all about! We are living in such crazy times and this year’s goal for the USTA league was to just get people who are comfortable, out there playing again. I still heard stories about bad line calls, some nastiness on the court, and basic bad sportsmanship. It baffled me as we are living through a pandemic and playing a season of USTA league tennis that doesn’t even count for ratings or advancement. And then, I got this email.
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“Hi Kathy! I know that you receive daily emails with complaints about players & matches, but today I wanted to send you something on a more positive note. Last night, our club (Deer Park Tennis) had our last match of the season, scheduled on our home courts against Lynbrook. Aliza Bitton is the captain of their 4.0 team. She texted me a little after 3:30pm the day of the match (match time was set for 7pm) giving me a heads up that she might be short 1 player on a doubles court. She said that she’d know by 5:30pm for sure. Right on time @ 5:28pm, Lizzie texted me to LMK that her player was stuck at work & definitely wasn’t going to be able to make it to the match & they would have to forfeit 2nd doubles. Without any hesitation or prompting from me, she immediately took responsibility for her team & said that their team would be 10
paying for the forfeited court. Lizzie immediately did the right thing & was so honest & forthcoming, that before I even had a chance to call my club & let them know what was going on, she had already called in her full payment by credit card to the club...even though she was onsite at the club to play her match! And of course, we had a fantastic, friendly, competitive match that timed out at the bell...the most exhausting doubles match that I’ve played all season! I just wanted to let you know that Aliza Bitton is one of the nicest players I’ve met through playing USTA & her sportsmanship is TOP NOTCH...always, not just last night!!! We are so lucky to have the USTA league...I’ve met so many great people over the years & it’s such a great outlet for us...I’m so happy that we were able to get a season together with all of the crazy things that are going on in our world! Thank you for all that you do to keep us playing, Kathy! All the best, Traci Stevenson Deer Park Tennis 4.0 Night – Summer 2020 18+ Over Women” Thank you Traci and thank you Lizi! Not one but two wonderful people that get it! Not only did you both show such great sportsmanship but Lizi, knowing it’s a rule, called and paid the club for a late canceled court. Total class act Lizi, thank you! So, for the summer we were able to run the 18 & over USTA league, the 55 & Over and the 65 & Over. Most just
Long Island Tennis Magazine • September/October 2020 • LITennisMag.com
finished up and the winning teams and their captains are: 18 & Over Ladies l 3.0 Day: Point Set, Brenda Blum & Rosemarie Castellano l 3.0 Night: Lynbrook, Jamie Devine l 3.5 Day: Carefree, AnnMarie Conniff & Grace Grantio l 3.5 Night: Syosset, Dawn Schosberg l 4.0 Day: Huntington, Tracy Kleinberg & Lisa Newell l 4.0 Night: Syosset, Gigi Banks 18 & Over Men l 3.0: Deer Park, Ed Sinn l 3.5: Deer Park, Ed Sinn l 4.0 Point Set, Dan Bindler 55 & Over Ladies l 6.0: Bethpage, Mary Alice Ruppert l 7.0: Blue Point, Lisa Pomerantz 55 & Over Men l 8.0: Kings Park, Russ Difazio l 9.0: Nassau Indoor, Larry Lehman At the time of this article being due, the 65 & Over 7.0 men and the 65 & Over Mixed Doubles League is still playing. We will be starting the 18 & Over Mixed Doubles league mid-October and the 40 & Over Mixed Doubles League in January of 2021. If anyone is interested in joining a team, please let me know! Wishing you all a happy & healthy fall with lots of great tennis! Kathy Miller is the manager at Carefree Racquet Club and is also the Adult League Coordinator for USTA/Long Island. She may be reached at kathym65@aol.com.
