Wow, the past few weeks have been a whirlwind!  August 19th at the Winston-Salem Open, Abilities Tennis was featured in an exhibition match before the pros donned the court.  The father-son dynamic duo, Charles and Justin Hunsucker, took on Kristine Hughes and Lou Welch, first time partners.  The competition was exciting with all four at the net battling out most of the points.  Charles’s deceptively spinny serve posed a problem for Lou as did Justin’s line drive shots at Lou at the net.  Kristine held her own as we battled over every point!  A grand time was had by all….looking forward to next year!

Then it was on to our fundraiser sponsored by RTA (Raleigh Tennis Association) on September 5th.  The fundraiser was aptly named Footprints on the Court and was under way back in early 2013.  Over 35 creative baskets were made by league tennis teams to be auctioned off  at the tournament being held at North Hills Club in Raleigh.  Over 120 people signed up to play mixed doubles and women’s doubles on this Friday evening from 6:00 – 10:00 pm.  Truly it was like a swarm of bees came in and worked diligently creating an exciting ambience for the athletes and participants.  By 6:00 the athletes were warmed up and ready to play in the exhibition matches.  We had one court of singles and a court of doubles.  Participants included Brian Buker, Matt Carpenter, Darek Alexiou, Jacob Melcher, Adam Martin, Ruth Hochstrasser and Kristine Hughes.  Many of the athletes played for 4 hours, taking a short break to enjoy dinner.

Though the rain cut short play for some, many continued through the drizzle.  Because of the rain, we did not have time to thank so many who made this event such a huge success.  Susan Flanagan and her team worked tirelessly for months.  They were amazing and I heard many comments on the professional quality of this tournament.  Also, we thank Wells Fargo, Merz Aesthetics and North Hills Club.  Shane Wells went out of his way to be accommodating, making all the courts available for our use and providing the balls.  Many club members played in the tournament and asked for it to return next year!  Yes, we will!

Now it is on to planning the Winter Chill!  We will keep you posted as we nail down dates and places.