The Gladiator of the Year award is earned by 1 player each year, based on playing performance plus other contributions that strengthen the league for all players. Beth finished 2nd overall in the league in points accumulated over the course of all 3 seasons, plus referred 3 players into the league. Since this was our first year in St. Louis, it was crucial to get it off the ground with enough players. Thanks to Beth and more than a dozen other players who spread the word about the league to get it started!
Beth's tennis story: I was an athlete growing up, playing softball in high school and college as an outfielder. I was always eager to go outside and chase down a ball! However, after college, life became so full of responsibilities (jobs, kids, bills) that for 14 long years it seemed nearly impossible to fit sports in anymore. Then in 2010, a friend invited me to join a small group of ladies in a few basic tennis lessons. We dropped and hit, dropped and hit, slow & steady lesson after lesson . . . but I was dying to start hitting against someone rather than just work on rudimentary skills! Well, the timing couldn’t have been better because just a couple of months later, I learned of a Grand Opening at St. Charles’ newest tennis club – Steel Shop along the river. I couldn’t wait and at the event I drilled with a doubles group all morning long. It was so much fun and I was immediately hooked! I became a charter member and couldn’t wait to drill each week! Gradually that drilling turned into subbing for a tennis team, which then turned into joining a team and I have been playing a lot of singles ever since. I am just happy that I get to run and chase a ball again!
Gladiator Tennis has been a perfect match for my love of the game. Not only do I enjoy playing, but I also enjoy the interaction with other like-minded women. This is the perfect opportunity to meet others who love the game just as much as I do, to have competitive matches, and to have more freedom to experiment and work on my game than when I’m competing for my team. I have found the league to be very well-organized and a great format. I will continue to invite new players into the league and I look forward to playing many more seasons!
Ashley has been undefeated so far in Gladiator competition, and never lost a set during the regular season. But she met a stiff challenge Sydney Loughran Wolf in the playoff semifinals, emerging the comeback victor 4-6,6-4,6-4.
Ashley's tennis story: When my high school cut the field hockey team. I picked up tennis in order to remain a three sport athlete. I had an idea of what the game was about, because my parents play a lot as I grew up. But I had no idea that tennis would grow my character and teach me life lessons. Extreme patience is required! Tennis is not only a hobby, an athletic competition, a social outing, and a workout. tennis is an opportunity to demonstrate love and respect towards yourself and others.
I ended up playing a couple of years at Principia college at the Division III level and thoroughly enjoyed the challenges that came my way, as I learned that this game is 100% mental. I quickly realized after my sophomore year in college that I could not play all three sports, so by my junior year I ended up picking just tennis to focus on, and that was one of the best decisions I made! So now I can continue competing, learning, growing, and loving this sport, and definitely laughing. It blesses me every day!
Tennis clubs understandably devote much of their focus on getting a new generation of kids in the game, but don’t forget about us adults – we want to play too! Congratulations Karen, on getting back in the game and being our first 3.5 champion!
Karen's tennis story: I grew up in Southern California, where everyone took tennis and swimming lessons. I played for recreation until I went away to college then did not pick up a racquet until my son was in the 6th grade. He wanted to take lessons so instead of sitting on the side watching I decided to take some lessons also. While he excelled much faster than I did and soon he was too good to play with me, I had to find others to play with. I joined a club and played a lot of tennis indoors during the winter. Last spring I heard about Gladiator tennis from some friends. I signed up and loved it. It was a great way to keep my skills up and meet other players in the area.
Kevin is clearly the player to beat at our top level. Kevin compiled a perfect 20-0 record during the regular season to earn the #1 seed for the playoffs. He rolled through the tournament without dropping a set to become king of the hill.
Kevin's tennis story: My tennis career began when my grandpa gave me a tennis racket at 5 years old. I became fascinated with the sport quickly as evidenced by the amount of time I spent practicing against the garage door all the while dreaming of being the next Andre Agassi. I played 3 years of college tennis at Creighton University and then finished my college tennis career at Drury University.
I signed up for Gladiator Tennis at the suggestion of Racketman in St Louis in the spring of 2015. I'm really happy I did because I found it to be a great way to meet new tennis players in St Louis and play some competitive tennis.
Jim had a consistently solid performance all summer to finish as the #1 ranked 4.0 player and earn the same seed for the playoffs. He was tested at times but did not drop a set on the way to becoming our 1st 4.0 STL: champion.
Jim's tennis story: I was encouraged by a good friend to start playing tennis around five years ago. I had always enjoyed watching tennis, even as a kid but we didn't have any type of tennis program. Anyway, I got a ball machine from the racketman and started hitting. It turns out that hitting 100 balls in a row is a great workout! I played in my first 3.5 tournament a few months later and won it. I have been playing tournaments ever since. I played on a usta league team, but hardly ever played. Then the racketman sent me an email introducing the Gladiator tennis program and I joined. It has been a lot of fun. I played every week since it has started. The website is great. And the competition has been really good. I feel like I am a fair to solid 4.0 player and I rarely had an easy match. I'm looking forward to next season!
John entered the 3.5 tournament unseeded, but came through when it really counted, winning 3 consecutive nailbiters, capped off by a 6-4,5-7,10-8 final.
John's tennis story: I played tennis in the park for a few years in grade school and then played on the teams in high school and 1 year of junior college. Then I quit for 20 years and played basketball. I have played tennis a lot in the past 20 years and really enjoyed the West County Tennis Ladder in the summers in St. Louis. Gladiator Tennis came along at just the right time to offer great tennis opportunities in the summer. It’s always fun to play and get to know new and different tennis players in the summer. Gladiator tennis is well organized and fun.
Our 3.0 champion is proof that no matter how long you have been out of the game of tennis, you can pick it back up again. Tennis is truly the sport of a lifetime!
Trey's tennis story:I played tennis through High School, before the “Open Era”, and then took 40 years off. During that time I played ice hockey, but eventually that involved too much time at the Chiropractor. Then I did nothing for a couple years and got fat.
I came back to tennis gradually when some friends needed a fourth for some social tennis. Since then I’ve played WTT and USTA consistently, and the West County Tennis Ladder, which led me to Gladiator in St. Louis.
2014 was a slow year, getting both hips replaced, but 2015 has been much better! Looking forward to 2016
