FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | FEBRUARY 2025 61
Tennis Club
So, it's February, the most unfair month of the year.
The month starts with a celebration about a rodent —
Groundhog Day (or Ground Hog Day, if you are partial to
pork sausage), followed by Valentine's Day, which is not a
major holiday for us misanthropes. Okay, there's also a no-mail day
to honor Presidents, but it's too political too mention which ones you
liked, so skip past that and get to the end of this truncated month,
which is no doubt due to a conspiracy to make us pay monthly bills
sooner, downsized from a real month just like a "pound" of coffee is
now 12 ounces. And out here in the senior community a 10 percent
reduction in the length of the month means that we are a month
older sooner than we should be. What if we wanted those three days?
It's not a fair month.
We could have played tennis. The morning tennis group is
booming, with at least two courts full Monday, Wednesday, and
Friday. Busy players include Josie, Bern M., Thekla, Lizzie, Hilario,
Liliana, Chikako, Paul, Gloria, Tina, Richard, and Eddie.
The USTA teams have also been very active. The FSB Men's 6.5
team went 6 and 0 in the Coachella Valley league, but unfortunately,
there is no advancement for that category of league. It did provide
a special opportunity to play a match at Mission Hills Country Club,
where two lines got to play their matches on the grass courts. Maybe
we could annex the putting green and have our own grass-like court.
(Just kidding, ladies.) In January, three new FSB USTA teams started
up for winter leagues against Coachella Valley clubs: Men's 65+
Doubles, Men's 55+ Doubles, and 55+ Mixed Doubles. Some of the
matches will be on our home courts.
Congratulations to Chuck Beckman and Gayle
Vanderlinden for their team's victory in the USTA
Southern California Sectionals. Chuck is the only FSB
member of the Redlands team that advances to the USTA National
Tournament in Scottsdale, Arizona in March.
Playdays are scheduled for the last Saturday of each month. Sign-
ups begin at 8:30 am and play begins at 9 am. Tennis FUNdamental
drills are 9 am on the other Saturdays. Everyone is welcome. Morning
and evening tennis sign-ups are available on the website: https://
sites.google.com/view/tennis-fourseasons/home. ~ Steve Hovey
(951) 712-5319, sahovey47@hotmail.com
Gayle V. and Chuck B. advance to Nationals Demure Randy
Haemmerle celebrates
Larry Martin and Rich Rojko
at Mission Hills
