The Punta Gorda Cup to be Awarded Tonight -- Intracity Tennis Championship Tournament Winner

The first Punta Gorda Cup will be awarded tonight as part of the City's 125th Anniversary Celebration.  For the last month or so teams throughout the City have been competing in this first intracity tournament as one of the event's surrounding the City's anniversary.  Why tennis?

Punta Gorda is actually an ideal tennis community with lots of courts at various clubs across town as well as public facilities.   And tennis has played an important role in the history of our town.  There were places to play tennis early in the City's history.  The Punta Gorda Hotel had tennis courts to attract visitors to the area and increase railroad travel.  Then back in the early 30s, after Baron Collier bought the hotel renaming it the Hotel Charlotte Harbor  -- the one we always talk about -- the hotel hosted the first professional match of the greatest tennis player of his day -- "Big" Bill Tilden.   It was played right on Punta Gorda's harbor on courts redesigned for the occasion.   Tilden, topping the world’s singles rankings six times in seven years 1920-1926, also held three Wimbledon championships.  His relationship to Punta Gorda is memorialized in the Hotel's mural on the Charlevoix Condominium and will also be included in the mural the Punta Gorda Historic Mural Society in developing for the Punta Gorda Tennis and Fitness Club wall (see above).  

Eileen Shore of Village Racquet Club wacks the ball over to Vivante competitor during final 8.0 match.  This match was played at the Village Racquet Club which is just minutes on the harbor from where Bill Tilden played.

Over the past weeks, six teams participated in the Punta Gorda Cup tournament: Seminole Lakes, Village Racquet Club, Punta Gorda Tennis and Fitness Club, Twin Isles County Club, Punta Gorda Civic Association,  and Vivante.  There were others that wanted to field teams, but according to organizer, Gene Murtha of the Punta Gorda Kiwanis Club, who sponsored the tournament, they weren't able to field teams in time. The action on the courts was exciting and, as was reported in the Charlotte Sun, players enjoyed the unique playing opportunities.   Ultimately the grand champion accepting the Punta Gorda Cup Championship trophy tonight will be  Village Racquet Club whose teams won 5 out of the 9 divisions.

Here are the overall results:

Men 6.0  PGICA
Men 7.0  Vivante
Men 8.0  Village
Women 6.0 Vivante
Women 7.0 Village
Women 8.0 Village
Mixed 6.0 PGICA
Mixed 7.0 Village
Mixed 8.0 Village

Some other photos:

Seminole Lakes 7.0 Women, from left Martha Scribner and Mary Couvillion,  play in final vs.Village Racquet Club. 

Linda Wholean and Nilgrin Kapucuglu (Village Racquet) follow Seminoles Ladies off the Court. 

Village Racquet Club 8.0 Winners from left Diane Goode and Eileen Shore 

(Mural photo from Punta Gorda Historical Mural Society)