Sunday, May 27, 2001
New on the Web: Fantasy tennis
Local man creates online challenge
By Michael Perry
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Rotisserie baseball leagues are hot. Fantasy football is wildly popular. Fantasy tennis? Well, why not? That's what Tim Geraci figured.
Geraci, 45, is director of operations at Mercy Healthplex in Anderson. He has been involved in tennis since the late 1970s as a teaching pro and club manager. A few years ago, he was reading the newspaper and realized he didn't know many professional tennis players aside from the top stars.
“And I make my living in the business,” said Geraci, a Purcell Marian High School and University of Dayton graduate. “It kind of got me wondering; if I don't know these people, certainly the average person doesn't know them. I wanted to develop fantasy tennis to get people familiar with players ranked in the 20s, 30s and 40s. It was sitting in the back of my mind.”
Until recently.
His daughter Laura got engaged in October to Brandon Stock, who is a Web site designer. Stock developed a site and computer program for the fantasy tennis league that Geraci envisioned.
On www.clubtennischallenge.com, club members and non-members can sign up for free to participate in the Club Tennis Challenge that will be based on results from the French Open (men and women), which begins Monday, Wimbledon (men and women), Sanex WTA Tour-Toronto (women), Tennis Masters Series Cincinnati (men) and the U.S. Open (men and women).
The deadline to enter is 11:59 p.m. today. The contest is sponsored by Wilson Racquet Sports.
The overall winner will receive a weekend trip for two to the 2002 U.S. Open, including airfare, hotel accommodations and tickets to matches.
Other prizes will be awarded. So far, 11 health clubs (five from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, one each from Cleveland and Indianapolis, two from Dayton and two from Illinois) are entered — close to 600 individuals.
How does it work?
There are five groupings of men's and women's players. Contestants pick one player from each group. Points will be accumulated through each round of the five tournaments as players advance. Updated standings will be posted on Tuesdays after each event.
If all goes well this year, Geraci said, the next step will be to add events and take the Club Tennis Challenge national. With sponsors, participation would still be free.
“Brandon and I have put a lot of time and effort into it, and we've incurred some expenses along the way,” Geraci said. “We would like to recoup those expenses.
“But I've been in the tennis industry. I love tennis. And anything we can do to get more people enjoying the game, I'm all for it. We want to increase the awareness and get people following the game. The more they follow it, the more they get excited about the game and the more they will play the game. We want to help tennis grow.”
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New on the Web: Fantasy tennis
