Timber Pines Tennis Club

Terry Suchanek

 

Terry discovered tennis in her late 50’s after they bought a vacation home here in Timber Pines. Her friend, Lois told her that there were free tennis lessons at the courts on Tuesday evenings and asked if they wanted to join her.  Frankly, it was just something to do. She never imagined it would lead to such a passion.  Lynn Budnick was the instructor. She devoted her time to help people like Terry learn the game of tennis.  She will always be grateful to her for that.

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Terry enjoyed tennis but was a total novice. She needed to play consistently to get better. Thankfully there were more wonderful, generous people that helped her.  She thanks Ann O’Connell, Josie Dziarkowski and Maryann Apone that they included her on their teams. And last, but definitely not least, she praises her Coach (a.k.a. John Dziarkowski) “who taught me that nasty hammer shot and so much more. You’re the best!”   Also, Terry thanks all those wonderful people in the Timber Pines tennis club that had to suffer through her learning curve but always did it with good humor and kindness.

Her first racquet was given to her by a dear friend, Joan Longenecker.  It was a Babolat.  Joan had been a member of the Timber Pines Tennis Club for years.  Sadly, Joanie wasn’t able to play any longer due to a cancer diagnosis but knew how much Terry was enjoying the time on the courts and gave Terry her racquet.  Joanie passed about four years ago but Terry thinks of her every time she looks at the Babolat and hopes she’s up there cheering her on.

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This is one of Terry’s comments on the tennis celebrities: “I’ll apologize in advance to all the Djokovic fans but the guy comes off as a bit arrogant sometimes. That said, I think he’s probably the best in the world. I love when Nadal beats him! I think Rafa is the sweetest.”

Terry gets up every morning and pinches herself to make sure she is not just in the midst of a lovely dream. Timber Pines is a paradise to her. In her own words: “Life is full of challenges and annoyances but before I go to bed each night, I smile and think to myself , Yay! I get to play tennis tomorrow morning. If not for the timber Pines Tennis Club I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to get to know so many incredible people.  Win or lose, I cherish my time with all of you.”

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Anyone that knows Terry, knows that if they don’t see her on the courts, she is probably at the Club pool.  She admits:  “I’m a pool rat. I love working out in the water with my weights. I also love sitting pool side playing backgammon and hanging out with my husband and friends.”

 

Terry was an R.N. for decades and had the opportunity to work in a number of different areas from Med/Surg. to Staff Ed. Besides tennis and swimming, Terri also likes writing and wrote a novel years ago. Some of you have read it. She kept writing and giving her friends chapters and they kept after her for more. They were hooked! Before she knew it (about 9 months) she ended up with, “Berta DeLuca”, a historical fiction inspired by her grandfather’s real life struggle as a child coming to America from Italy in the early 1900’s.

Book was self-published and available on Kindle and in paperback on Amazon. Unfortunately her publisher has since gone defunct and so it’s no longer available. She was told that the book is available in the TP library.

                         -  By Ace Reporter Josephine