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Providing
a free standing tennis and fitness complex located away from the
golf clubhouse at our nearby "Chateau", Cheval is home to nine
superbly conditioned Har-Tru tennis courts (seven lighted) including
a grandstand court with tiered seating. All courts have ample
cold water and nearby available shade. Members enjoy our full
service pro shop with several lines of clothing (with member discounts),
accessories and racquets. Overnight stringing and regripping is
available.
Email our Director of Tennis and Athletics for more information.
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SPORTS FOCUS
Going National
CHEVAL TENNIS PRO HEADING TO TEAM TOURNEY
By SHERRI LONON
slonon@mediageneral.com
Allegra Campos has a self-proclaimed passion for tennis.
She began playing at 4 under the tutelage of her father, South Florida tennis pro George Pero. Her career bloomed from there and she even spent two years on the professional tour before putting down her racket for a while.
After a 7-year hiatus, she picked it back up and hasn’t stopped since. At 48, Campos said she has no intentions of giving up the game. In fact, she’ll travel to Hawaii in October to take part in the USTA Adult Team Nationals with the Orlando USTA 4.5 Ladies Team. Campos’ team won the sectional qualifier in Daytona Beach in August.
“When I first got off the tour, I didn’t pick up a racket for seven years,” she said. But, following a divorce, her father encouraged her to get back into the game. “I just missed it,” she said. “I was bored and unhappy and looking for something to do.”
Campos has been a tennis pro at Cheval Golf and Country Club for 20 years. She now serves as the club’s tennis and athletic director and can still be found out on the courts most days giving lessons to players of all ages and levels.
Campos said she’s glad she picked up the racket and went into the teaching end of the game. “Not many people can go to work every day doing something they love,” she said.
“She’s just an inspiration,” said Christine Hoffman, who takes some of the clinics offered by Campos at the club.
Laurie McVay took her first tennis lesson from Campos 18 years ago and is still coming back. “She is the same,” McVay said. “She’s still giving great lessons.”
Debbie Beardsley said she enjoys Campos’ lessons not only because of her prowess on the courts, but also her personality.
“She’s very compassionate on and off the court,” she said. “She’s a very fair person and she’s very dedicated.”
Longtime friend Carol Cotney couldn’t agree more. “She’s an incredible person and an incredible athlete,” Cotney said.
“She doesn’t really flaunt it. She’s stuck with the same job through thick and thin.”
For her part, Campos said sticking with that same job hasn’t been difficult. While some private club tennis pros must give up traveling to tournaments all together, Cheval’s players and management encourage her to take part in events. A club member even sponsored her trip to Hawaii, she said.
“It’s been easy to work here all these years,” Campos said. “These people are great and they have supported me all the way.”
Campos’ team captain Tami Florin is grateful for that support. Explaining how Campos ended up on the team, Florin said, “she was chosen because she’s a top-notch tennis player. She has a great attitude and is tough as nails.”
What impresses her the most about Campos’ style of play is her ability to stick with a game no matter what. “She can outlast anyone on the court,” Florin said. “I could put her anywhere on the line up and be pretty much rest assured she would bring us victory.”
The national event takes place Oct. 13-15.
Campos and her husband, Jose, also a tennis pro, live in Lutz with their daughter Natalia, 11. Allegra also has a daughter from her previous marriage, Ashley Cesare, 23.
In addition to teaching members of Cheval the ins and outs of tennis, Campos helps oversee an after-school tennis program that’s open to children ages 3 to 18 from anywhere in the community. Tennis clinics, too, are also open to the public whether players are members of the club.
Campos is quick to point out that all of Cheval’s tennis pros have a strong background in the sport. “There’s some significant people that (players) can really benefit from here,” she said.
For more information, call 948-2282.
© 2006 The Tribune Co. Reprinted with permission of The Tampa Tribune.
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© 2002 Cheval Golf and Country Club
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