NATHAN AND THIAGO CELEBRATING A GREAT POINT
Happy New Year! 2024 is in the books, bring on 2025! Like many of you at the Landings, I took up Tennis “late” in life. But boy am I ever glad I did. The exercise is fantastic but meeting so many wonderful people through Tennis has been a huge blessing in my life.
As always, lots has happened since my last column. On December 14 a “Share the Love” event was held at Picnic Pointe to benefit the Lee County Girls’ High School Invitational. Thanks to the incredible generosity of women all over Lee County, young female athletes were able to pick up clothing, shoes and racquets for free. It was fun to see the excitement of the girls and great to see coaches, athletic directors and school staff show up for “their girls”.
The first event of 2025 was a Men’s Doubles Tennis Exhibition held on January 5th. Landings pros Nathan Smiley and Tyler Cooper were joined by Thiago Petry and Marco Moreno, two very talented young men from Brazil who currently play on the Milligan University Tennis team (Nathan Smiley was one of their team members). The crowd on Stadium Court enjoyed watching the spirited play and camaraderie of the men. Thanks go to Herbert and Steve for their excellent work in preparing Stadium Court, Joe Bavender for DJing, Food and Beverage for the great food and drinks, and the incomparable Sandy Mohlman for umpiring with fairness and his usual great sense of humor.
The last Racquet Sports Team Member that I want to highlight is Isabella (Bella) Graf. Bella became the Director of Racquet Sports in May 2024, and we are lucky to have her! She was born in Munich, Germany and started playing tennis at the age of seven. As well as competing in High Performance Junior tournaments, Bella also competed in long jumping and 15-meter sprints. In 2006 she moved to New Jersey and joined the High School Tennis team at Northern Valley Regional H.S. in Old Tappan. Bella attended Methodist University in Fayetteville, NC where she was part of three USA Southern Conference Championship titles. After graduating in 2016 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a concentration in Professional Tennis Management she started her professional coaching career at various clubs as well as becoming the coach for the International Tennis: Europe program. In 2018, looking for more consistency in her life, she joined the Landings. 2019 saw her promoted to Head Pro. As well as directing the Racquet Sports program at the Landings, she serves in a leadership role with USPTA and holds many accreditations. In her spare time (?) Bella enjoys music, volunteering at animal shelters, cooking, traveling, photography, spending time with family and friends, and espresso (maybe German beer too).
“COURT” JESTER
Coming up: Lee County Girls’ High School Invitational – February 15 & 16, 2025; Madisen’s Match (a fundraiser for pediatric cancer) – March 15 & 16, 2025; Landings Cup – March 29 & 30, 2025.
Remember to always keep your eye on the ball!!
