Vero Beach Champions

Perez-Blanco, Hamza Lose Close Doubles Contest At Mardy Fish Tennis

Randy Walker · April 27, 2022 · Leave a Comment

Local Vero Beach teaching pros Chase Perez Blanco of the Quail Valley Club and Slim Hamza of The Moorings Club entertained about 500 enthusiastic fans Tuesday night competing in a main draw doubles match at an official professional tennis tournament at the $15,000 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships at The Boulevard. The two received the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation automatic wild card for the winner and runner-up of the annual “King of the Hill” competition, benefitting Youth Guidance, won by Perez-Blanco. The dup faced Joshua Sheehy of Arlington, Texas and Jakub Wojcik of Delray Beach, Florida and had two set points at 6-4 in the first-set tiebreaker, but lost 7-6 (9-7) 6-4.

Wojcik saved the first set point in the first-set tiebreaker with a ferocious backhand return at 6-4 as you can see here Jakub Wojcik Saves Set Point In Mardy Fish Doubles Against Slim Hamza Serve https://youtu.be/8LFgFbby-Rk and with an unreturnable serve to save the second set point here https://youtu.be/OonkUFAlP7U

The post-match on-court interview with Sheehy and Wojcik can be found here https://youtu.be/f3VHGDcxbX8

The post-match on-court interviews with Hamza and Perez-Blanco can be found here: https://youtu.be/xkkR0Mv8r-k

Slim Hamza, Chase Perez-Blanco pose with some of their fans

Nico Godsick, Son of Mary Joe Fernandez, Faces Top Seed Liam Draxl 6 pm Wednesday at Mardy Fish Tennis at The Boulevard

Randy Walker · April 27, 2022 · Leave a Comment

Vero Beach Locals Perez-Blanco, Hamza Fall In Close First-Round Doubles Match

Nico Godsick, the son of American tennis legend Mary Joe Fernandez and Roger Federer’s agent Tony Godsick, will see if he can knock off his second No. 1 seed in two days at the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships Wednesday night at 6 pm against top-seed Liam Draxl of Canada.

Godsick and doubles partner Ethan Quinn upset the No. 1 seeds Alejandro Franco of Colombia and Antonia March of Ecuador 7-6 (2), 2-6, 10-6 on Tuesday in the highly-entertaining first round match in doubles. He will go for the double sweep of the No. 1 seeds in the tournament against Draxl, the top player from the University of Kentucky who just on Sunday played in the Southeastern Conference team championship match in Athens, Georgia. Fernandez, the two-time Olympic gold medalist in doubles and a singles finalist at the French and Australian Opens, was in attendance at The Boulevard on Tuesday, along with her husband, also known as the co-creator of the Laver Cup team competition. Godsick was also the one-time agent for Mardy Fish during his pro career.

John McNally will start off the tennis “family affair” theme on Stadium Court at noon against a “lucky loser” who will replace Blu Baker, who withdrew with an arm injury after his doubles match Tuesday. McNally is the brother of Caty McNally, a doubles player on the WTA Tour who plays with Coco Gauff.

The full schedule of all 16 first round matches can be found here: https://www.usta.com/content/dam/usta/2022-pro-circuit/20220425_vero_beach_m15/OP.pdf

The updated doubles draw can be found here: https://www.usta.com/content/dam/usta/2022-pro-circuit/20220425_vero_beach_m15/MDD.pdf

The singles draw can be found here: https://www.usta.com/content/dam/usta/2022-pro-circuit/20220425_vero_beach_m15/MDS.pdf

The most anticipated match of the 2022 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships came on Tuesday night when approximately 500 fans came to support local teaching pros Chase Perez Blanco of the Quail Valley Club and Slim Hamza of The Moorings Club. The two received the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation automatic wild card for the winner and runner-up of the annual “King of the Hill” competition, benefitting Youth Guidance, won by Perez-Blanco. The dup faced Joshua Sheehy of Arlington, Texas and Jakub Wojcik of Delray Beach, Florida and had two set points at 6-4 in the first-set tiebreaker, but lost 7-6 (8-6) 6-4.

The post-match on-court interview with Sheehy and Wojcik can be found here https://youtu.be/f3VHGDcxbX8

The post-match on-court interviews with Hamza and Perez-Blanco can be found here: https://youtu.be/xkkR0Mv8r-k

Harvey Fialkov’s story from the early final-round qualifying matches from Tuesday can be found here:

Jesse Flores, Blaise Bicknell Wave Their National Flags At Mardy Fish Tennis

Nico Godsick and Ethan Quinn at Mardy Fish Tennis

Jesse Flores, Blaise Bicknell Wave Their National Flags At Mardy Fish Tennis

Randy Walker · April 27, 2022 · Leave a Comment

By Harvey Fialkov

Not everyone could be a Carlos Alcaraz, the teenage phenom from Spain, who at 18 has already cracked the Top 10 after winning Rio and Barcelona, two ATP 500 events, and the Miami Open Masters 1000 tournament last month.

Most 18 to 20-somethings are toiling in the minor leagues of tennis, traversing the globe on a shoestring budget in search of valuable ranking points that would allow them direct entry into ATP events and Grand Slams where the big money is.

Most never make it in a highly competitive sport that hasn’t seen an American win a Grand Slam since Andy Roddick captured the US Open in 2003 at 21. So why even attempt to qualify at this week’s Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships at The Boulevard Village and Tennis Club, an $15,000 ITF World Tennis Tour Pro Circuit event?

Not every player set their goal to be No. 1 in the world or win majors. They simply love the game and relish playing for their country.

“This is my first full season on Tour and I love it,’’ said Jesse Armando Flores Knowles after defeating Abraham Asaba of Ghana, 6-3, 6-3 in qualifying to make it into the 32-main singles draw which begins on Wednesday. “I love the travel; I love the whole lifestyle, meeting new people, seeing the cultures. It’s the best part of the job.”

Flores, ranked 1080 in singles, is a native of Canada who switched his nationality to his parents’ native country of Costa Rica after high school graduation partly to take advantage of the federation’s ongoing financial support. The Canadians are loaded with Top 50 players, such as 16^th-ranked Denis Shapovalov, who Flores claims he’s 3-3 against when they were juniors.

“I was four years older but even then, you could see Denis had the ‘it’ factor,’’ Flores said.

Flores’ dreams don’t necessarily include winning the US Open but rather to represent his country in Davis Cup and the 2024 Olympics. He has already done the former, wearing his country’s flag colors (blue, white and red) in a Davis Cup tie against Bulgaria, a 4-1 loss in March 2020.

“In order to get into the Group 3 of Davis Cup I had to play 12 matches, singles and doubles, in six days,’’ said Flores, who lost two tight singles matches to Bulgarians ranked 537 or lower; but did win his doubles match.

“That was the greatest weekend of my life representing Costa Rica at home, especially the doubles match which I won on match point (12-10) in the third-set tiebreaker with a diving lob winner. I was five feet off the ground. My dream of playing in the Olympics is alive and it goes without saying that’s the highest honor for any athlete.”

Flores is also an unofficial Floridian, spending summers from 14-17 training at camps run by renowned coach Nick Saviano at Veltri Tennis Center in Plantation. He played college tennis at the University of Miami, finishing in the top 20 in doubles with a win over No. 1 Wake Forest.

Flores lives in Fort Lauderdale and trains with his coach Levar Harper-Griffith, who grew up with Mardy Fish and Andy Roddick in Boca Raton. In fact, Harper-Griffith, once ranked 224 in singles and 184^th in doubles, played doubles with both and won a first-round doubles match with Roddick at the 1999 US Open. Flores patterns his serve and forehand after Roddick, the last American to be ranked No. 1.

Asaba, 24, who played for Virginia Tech and is currently No. 1 in Ghana, not a hotbed for tennis pros, also played Davis Cup and is ranked a respectable 718 in doubles, having won the ITF Orange Park Futures doubles title last week with Sekou Bangoura, the runner-up here in singles and doubles in 2019.

Slim Hamza, assistant pro at The Moorings, who’s playing in Tuesday night’s featured doubles match, also had the patriotic honor of playing Davis Cup for Tunisia.

Blaise Bicknell, 20, who made it into the 32-player singles draw with a 5-0 win over xxx, who retired with a forearm injury, is a proud No. 1 from Kingston, Jamaica, where the most well-known tennis player was Dustin Brown, 37, who was ranked 64^th in 2016.

The blonde-haired Jamaican, ranked 1076, had the thrill of representing Jamaica — more known for track stars than tennis stars — in a recent Davis Cup tie against Greece, where more than 1,000 fans were screaming for his opponent, Petros Tsitsipas, the younger brother of world No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas. However, Bicknell prevailed 6-3, 7-5 over the 808^th-ranked Greek, before losing his next singles match to Thanos Aristotelis, 6-4. 6-4, as Greece won 4-1.

“We surprised everyone on the first day coming out with 2-0 lead,’’ Bicknell said. “It was extremely loud. There’s nothing like playing for your country.”

Bicknell, who did get into the Junior US Open, a few years ago, is hoping to win the year-ending Slam, but for now, he will proudly play for Jamaican pride.

“I’m the No. 1 player in my country so I have something to prove,’’ said Bicknell, who won a national championship with Florida last year before transferring to Tennessee.

Jesse Flores with coach Levar Harper-Griffith

Perez-Blanco and Hamza Ready For Tuesday Night Mardy Fish Clash, Mendoza Nearly Pulls Big Upset In ITF Tour Debut

Randy Walker · April 26, 2022 · Leave a Comment

Most of the players in this week’s annual Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships at The Boulevard Village and Tennis Club are still chasing their dream to be among the sport’s elite.

There’s Sekou Bangoura of Bradenton, Florida, 30, who has notched wins over the likes of No. 17-ranked Reilly Opelka, No. 16-ranked Denis Shapovalov and No. 35-ranked Tommy Paul in their formative years. Or Ryan Shane of Falls Church, Va., who won the 2015 NCAA singles title for the University of Virginia. Or 28-year-old Ricardo Rodriguez, the all-time winning Davis Cup player from Venezuela and a finalist in Vero Beach in 2018 and 2021.

Then there are a couple of local teaching tennis pros like Chase Perez-Blanco and Slim Hamza, who gave up their dreams of playing on the ATP Tour after solid college careers at University of Florida and University of Utah (and University of Las Vegas), respectively. But they are quite content teaching juniors and adults in Vero Beach.

However, the two will get their chance against a field of ATP-ranked professional players when they compete in the main draw of the doubles competition of this $15,000 ITF World Tennis Tour event that is part of the U.S. Tennis Association Pro Circuit. Perez-Blanco, a teaching pro at Vero Beach’s Quail Valley Club, and Hamza, who works at The Moorings Club, will play their first-round match in the featured evening match on Tuesday not before 6 pm. The two earned their position in the doubles tournament by finishing first and second, respectively, via Vero Beach’s annual “King of the Hill” competition, featuring local tennis talent.

“We’re obviously excited to play,’’ said the 26-year-old Perez-Blanco. “There’s not a lot of pressure on us to win the tournament or the match. We’re just excited to go out and play competitive tennis, which we don’t do very often anymore. It’ll be fun for the tennis community of Vero Beach. That’s why we love to do it, to see everyone out there cheering. It brings two different clubs together, The Moorings and Quail, all rooting for one team. We just hope we put on a good show.”

Perez-Blanco, a Miami native who had an outstanding high school and college career, with his highlight in Gainesville being part of the 2016 SEC championship Gators squad. He’s ranked sixth all-time in Gators history for most combined singles and doubles victories.

Perez-Blanco, who’s just 5-8 but has a, “scary forehand,’’ according to Hamza, has won the “King of the Hill” tournament the last three years it was held. He only played the Fish event in 2019 when he and his brother-in-law Andrew Butz lost a third-set tiebreaker (10-8) to the ATP-ranked doubles team of Andrew Watson and Paul Oosterbaan. Perez-Blanco skipped the 2020 event because he had just got married to Christiana Butz and decided to, “party instead of training.”

“I played some Futures, but I knew once I graduated that would be the end of competitive tennis, and it would be time to move on to start a new chapter,’’ he said.

Hamza, 29, who played Davis Cup for Tunisia, was once ranked as high as No. 69 in the ITF World Junior rankings. However, serious knee and back injuries punctuated an outstanding college career (No. 34^th in singles, two-time PAC Player of the Week), and all but dashed his professional aspirations.

“That was the dream, but my body let me down,’’ said the 6-foot Hamza, who earned three ATP singles ranking points after winning three matches in three Futures events in Tunisia in 2010 and ’14. “It was very hard coming from a small country that doesn’t give much financial aid. …I left competition behind and am a tennis pro at The Moorings. My priority on Tuesday is to entertain the people.”

To prove Hamza’s point, the highest-ranked Tunisian in men’s tennis is Aziz Dougas at No. 418. However, Ons Jabeur is ranked 10^th in the WTA and is the first Arab to win a title (the pre-Wimbledon event in Birmingham, England last year) and first to reach the quarterfinals of any Grand Slam tournament. Also, in the pre-Open Era, Hall of Famer Nicola Pietrangeli, who played for Italy but was born in Tunisia, won 44 titles, including two French Opens (1959 and ’60).

“We have nothing to lose, just go out there, swing freely and if it goes our way we’ll take it,’’ Hamza smiled. “Then Roland Garros. Don’t get me dreaming!”

Segura Stars In Qualifying Win, Mendoza In Qualifying Loss

Many of the first round qualifying matches in singles Monday were one-sided, but one of the more exciting matches featured Vero Beach’s Sebastian Mendoza, who briefly threatened to pull off a major upset. Playing in his first ever match on the professional ITF World Tennis Tour, Mendoza, who was the No. 1 player on Vero Beach High School’s team in 2021, lost 6-1, 7-5 to No. 1214-ranked Joao Loureiro of Brazil, nearly extending the match to a match-deciding 10-point match tiebreaker, which is the format for qualifying round matches at this level of professional tennis. Mendoza, who is taking a year off before deciding on where to play college tennis, actually served for the second set at 5-4 against his much more accomplished opponent, before losing. However, the loss proved a valuable experience for Mendoza and his confidence, proving that he can compete against professional competition as he explained in this post-match video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeP9a-A9W_E

James Van Deinse, the co-owner of the Vero Beach Tennis Club and the boys’ coach at Vero Beach High School, was defeated by Hernando Escurra, a member of Paraguay’s Davis Cup team, 6-1, 6-1.

Matthew Segura, the three-time champion of the Mardy Fish “Wild Card” event at Sea Oaks, successfully won his first round qualifying match beating 15-year-old Meecah Bigun 6-3, 6-4

Blaise Bicknell, a member of Jamaica’s Davis Cup team, capped his 6-0, 6-0 win over Michael Defelice with an under-hand ace.

The match schedule for Tuesday can be found here: https://www.usta.com/content/dam/usta/2022-pro-circuit/20220425_vero_beach_m15/OP.pdf

The updated qualifying draw can be found here:

https://www.usta.com/content/dam/usta/2022-pro-circuit/20220425_vero_beach_m15/QS.pdf

The main draw for doubles can be found here: https://www.usta.com/content/dam/usta/2022-pro-circuit/20220425_vero_beach_m15/MDD.pdf

The main draw for singles can be found here: https://www.usta.com/content/dam/usta/2022-pro-circuit/20220425_vero_beach_m15/MDS.pdf

The DRAW CEREMONY for singles can be found here: https://youtu.be/23Yrp9bOxpc

MONDAY AGATE SCORES – FIRST ROUND QUALIFYING

Blaise BICKNELL (JAM) [2] def. Michael DEFELICE (USA) 6-0 6-0

Alvaro GUILLENMEZA (ECU) [1] def. Jakub OSTAJEWSKI (USA) 6-1 6-2

Jakub WOJCIK (USA) [4] def. Tom DYNKA (CAN) 3-6 6-1 [10-4]

Drew VAN ORDERLAIN(USA) [16] def. Andy ZHU (CAN) 6-1 6-4

Noah SCHACHTER (USA) [6] def. Caleb STROTHER (USA) 6-1 6-0

Kaylan BIGUN(USA) def. Fabian HANSCH MAURITZSON (SWE) [12] 6-1 6-1

Stefan SIMEUNOVIC (CAN) [13] def. Rodrigo RAMOS CODES (ESP) 6-1 6-0

Hernando Jose ESCURRA ISNARDI (PAR) [15] def. James VAN DEINSE (USA) 6-1 6-1

Joao Victor Couto LOUREIRO (BRA) [5] def. Sebastian Mendoza (USA) 6-2 7-5

Joshua SHEEHY (USA) [7] def. Codrin MILLER (USA) 6-3 6-2

Jesse FLORES (CRC) [3] def. Rihirt SAUNDANKAR (USA) 6-0 6-0

Abraham ASABA (GHA) [14] def. Yuki IKEDA (JPN) 6-4 6-1

Kevin MAJOR (BAH) [10] def. Jake KRUG (USA) 6-3 6-3

Hillel ROUSSEAU (HAI) [11] def. Varun JAYARAM (USA) 6-3 6-1

MatthewSEGURA (USA) [8] def. Meecah BIGUN (USA) 6-3 6-4

Nikolay SYSOEV (RUS) [9] def. Luca- Julian HOTZE (USA) 7-6(6) 7-6(2)

Former U.S. Open Competitors Lead 2022 Entries To Mardy Fish Tennis At The Boulevard

Randy Walker · April 16, 2022 · Leave a Comment

VERO BEACH – Five players who have competed in the main draw in either singles or doubles at the U.S. Open tennis championships highlight the field of players scheduled to play in the $15,000 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships to be held April 25-May 1 at The Boulevard Tennis Club.

John McNally of Cincinnati, Sekou Bangoura of Bradenton, Fla., and Martin Damm of Bradenton, Fla., all of whom have competed at the U.S. Open main draw in doubles, are among the leading entries into this entry-level professional tennis tournament that benefits the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation, created by Vero Beach native son and 2004 Olympic silver medalist Mardy Fish. Collin Altamirano of Sacramento, Calif., who competed in singles at the U.S. Open in 2013 and 2018, and Ryan Shane of Falls Church, Va., who played in singles in the 2015 U.S. Open, are on the entry list to compete in the qualifying rounds of the event.

“It’s exciting to have players who have already competed on our country’s grandest stage, the U.S. Open in New York, play here in Vero Beach at The Boulevard in our tournament this year,” said Tom Fish, President Emeritus of the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation and the father of Mardy Fish. “Every year, players who have competed in our event in Vero Beach have gone on to achieve great things around the world in tennis and this year will be no different. We are excited to host our enthusiastic, knowledgeable and appreciative fans whose patronage benefits such a great cause in our Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation, which benefits at-risk children in our community.”

McNally, a former standout at Ohio State University and the brother of WTA doubles standout Caty McNally, competed in the 2016 U.S. Open doubles tournament alongside J.J. Wolf, falling in the first round to Chris Guccione of Australia and Andre Sa of Brazil. Bangoura, who was also the singles and doubles runner-up in Vero Beach in 2019, played in the 2010 U.S. Open doubles tournament with Nathan Pasha, falling in the first round to Michael Kohlmann of Germany and Jarkko Nieminen of Finland. Damm, the son of 2006 U.S. doubles champion Martin Damm, Sr., advanced into the second round of the U.S. Open in doubles in 2019 alongside Toby Kodat, becoming the youngest men’s doubles team to win a U.S. Open match in the Open Era. They defeated Americans Mitchell Krueger and Tim Smyzcek in the first round before losing to French Open champions Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies of Germany.

Altamirano qualified for the U.S. Open in 2018, beating current top 30 player Lorenzo Sonego of Italy and former top 20 player Ivo Karlovic of Croatia en route, before losing to Ugo Hubert of France in the first round. He also played in the 2013 U.S. Open as the reigning USTA National Boy’s 18 champion, losing in the first round to Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany. Shane competed in the main draw of the 2015 U.S. Open after winning the NCAA singles title for the University of Virginia, losing in the first round in four sets to Jeremy Chardy of France.

Other leading Mardy Fish entries include several fan favorites from previous editions of the event including three-time Mardy Fish “wild card” event winner Matthew Segura of Apopka, Fla., the great nephew of tennis legend Pancho Segura, 2018 and 2021 Mardy Fish runner-up Ricardo Rodridugez of Venezuela and Liam Draxl of Canada, who was the No. 1 seed at the 2021 NCAA singles championship competing for the University of Kentucky and a semifinalist in Vero Beach in 2021.

Top-ranked American junior players Cooper Williams of New York, Nico Godsick of Chagrin Falls, Ohio (the son of two-time Olympic gold medalist Mary Joe Fernandez and Roger Federer’s agent Tony Godsick), Alex Bernard of Naples, Florida, current Easter Bowl champion Alex Michelsen of Aliso Viejo, Calif., and Nishesh Basavareddy of Carmel, Ind., are also scheduled to compete in the tournament.

After a two-year hiatus, daily tickets will once again be sold at the tournament and can be purchased for a 25 percent discount of $30 online at www.MardyFishChildrensFoundation.org. Tickets at the door will cost $40 per day. Reserved seating, season tickets and sponsorships are also available on the website or by contacting Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Executive Director Lynn Southerly at LSouth1072@gmail.com The tournament is returning to its traditional late April date after being held in October the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All proceeds to the event benefit the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation, that benefits at-risk youth in Indian River County. The Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation is a U.S. Tennis Association Pro Circuit event that is part of the International Tennis Federation World Tennis Tour. In addition to prize money, competitors compete for ATP Tour ranking points at this entry-level professional event.

Founded in 2007, the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation (www.MardyFishChildrensFoundation.org and @MardyFishFound on Twitter) currently supports over 2,400 children in 15 elementary schools, six middle schools, and several other community organizations in Indian River County, Florida by funding after-school exercise, nutritional and enrichment programs in a safe environment to prepare them for healthy, productive and successful lives. The Foundation introduced the “Six Healthy Habits” in 2012 which are Get Sleep; Drink Water; Exercise Daily, Eat Healthy; Brush and Floss; Make Friends.

Some of the past competitors at the USTA Vero Beach Futures have gone on to succeed at the highest levels of professional tennis, winning major singles and doubles titles, Olympic medals and Davis Cup championships and earning No. 1 world rankings. Andy Roddick, the 2003 U.S. Open champion who attained the world No. 1 ranking and helped the United States win the Davis Cup in 2007, competed in Vero Beach in 1999. Thomas Johansson of Sweden, who reached the second round of the Vero Beach Futures in 1995, won the Australian Open seven years later in 2002. Nicolas Massu, the 1998 singles runner-up in Vero Beach, won the singles and doubles gold medals at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, beating Fish in the gold medal singles match. Kyle Edmund, the 2013 champion in Vero Beach, helped Great Britain to the Davis Cup title in 2015. Other notable former competitors in Vero Beach include former world No. 2 Magnus Norman, former world No. 4 Tim Henman, 2016 Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic and most recently new top 10 start Denis Shapovalov, who played in Vero Beach in 2016. Former Vero Beach competitors have combined to win 19 titles in singles, doubles and mixed doubles at Grand Slam tournaments. Eight former Vero Beach players have gone on to play Davis Cup for the United States – Roddick, Fish, Taylor Dent, Jared Palmer, Donald Young, Ryan Harrison, Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul.

Leading tournament sponsors for 2022 include Grand Slam Sponsors: George E. Warren Corporation, The Jake Owen Foundation, John’s Island Real Estate, Tom Collins Insurance Agency, Cabana/Box Seat Sponsors: Michael and Kathleen Pierce, Gene Simonsen, John and Charlotte Klein, Peter and Maureen Lee, Bob and Lace Milligan, Micky and Rob Stein, Bob and Emilie Burr, Lynn Southerly, John and Sara Marshall, John and Marie McConnell, Shirley Becker, Hadleigh Investments LLC, Peter and Ellen Kendall, Cliff Norris Real Estate LLC, Indian River Primary Care and Supporting Sponsors: Syde Hurdus Foundation, Mike and Meg Hickey/M&M Realty, Nalzarro Music, Hoskins, Turco, Lloyd & Lloyd, Center Court Outfitters, Foglia Contracting, Offfutt, Barton, Schlitt, Inc, Orchid Island Real Estate, Joe and Gloria Papalardo, Linda Delaney, Dave and Nina Piacquad, Jaime Yordan, Katharine “Kissy” Russel, Wilmington Trust, Rebecca Emmons, Linda Johnson, Anne Faunce, Kaye Manly, Mark Thurn, Estee Brashears, Roby Pierce and Ron Hartwig, Matt Wynne, Willem and Marion DeVogel, Ron Chesley, Dorothy Sprague and Bill Benedict, Dr. Collin Kitchell, Tim Palmer of Treasure Coast Tennis Association, Minuteman Press and The Boulevard Tennis Club.