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By NANCY MORGAN
© St. Petersburg Times, published October 4, 2000
Fern Lee "Peachy" Kellmeyer considers herself a lucky woman.
She loves her work, the people who work with her and the friends she's made in her job over the last 30 years.
Except for the fact her nickname, "Peachy," came about for no apparent reason when she was a youngster, peachy might be one way to describe Kellmeyer's feelings about women's tennis and her career in the sport.
In fact, Kellmeyer can't think of anything she would rather do than serve as the Sanex WTA Tour senior vice president.
"This is not work for me," Kellmeyer said.
"The state of women's tennis couldn't be better and, since this office handles the day-to-day operations of the women's tour, we're on the front line with the players and tournament directors every day," she said.
The WTA St. Petersburg office is one of three for the women's tour, with the business office in Stamford, Conn., and the European branch in London, England.
A staff of 16 works with Kellmeyer to oversee the operation of the 50-plus tournaments around the world.
Kellmeyer was in her share of matches during her pro career, including Wimbledon 10 times and a top-10 ranking in singles and top-four in doubles.
The West Virginia-born Kellmeyer was a junior champion in the 1950's, including the prestigious Orange Bowl Championship for 13-and-unders in 1957.
She was the youngest player at 15 to compete on the U.S. Junior Wightman Cup Team and was the first woman to play on the University of Miami men's team.
"I was lucky with some great coaches," Kellmeyer said.. "One of those was Bill Lufler when I was in Charleston, W.Va.
"Probably, I was most influenced by my brother, Fred, who I followed around when I was little. In the winter, we played basketball; in the summer, we played baseball and tennis."
After Kellmeyer finished school and was teaching and coaching at Marymount College in Boca Raton, she challenged the system to allow athletic scholarships for deserving women. Many think this effort was the front-runner to Title IX.
At the conclusion of Kellmeyer's competitive career in the late '60s, she was tapped to be the first tour director of the Virginia Slims circuit in 1973 and has continued working for women's tennis since.
"Today, players are stronger, hit harder and are surrounded by a lot of money," Kellmeyer said.
"Tennis has become big business, but at the end of the day, it's only those two players that step out on the court and play the game. That's unique among sports," she said.
Over the years, Kellmeyer has received accolades for her contributions, including the Davis Gray Special Service Award in 1987, the Distinguished West Virginian Award in 1988 and the Virginia Slims Tournament Directors Award in 1992. Kellmeyer even had a court at the Charleston Tennis Club named in her honor.
Recently, she was inducted into the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Women's Hall of Fame, joining legends such as Althea Gibson, Billie Jean King and Betsy Naglesen McCormack.
"I was just thrilled with being chosen," Kellmeyer said. "It's one of the nicest things that ever happened to me. I was impressed with being chosen to be among so many great women."
TO NATIONALS: The men's 4.5 USA League Tennis team from the Treasure Island Recreation, Tennis and Golf Center leaves today for the USA League National Championships in Tucson, Ariz.
The squad opens competition Friday with an 8 a.m. match against Texas, followed by an afternoon meeting with Puerto Rico. Saturday, the local team battles Northern California.
In all, there will be 17 teams representing the 17 sections of the U.S. Tennis Association structure.
Representing Florida from the Treasure Island center are Steven Reilly, Jim Cohen, Bill Funk, Paul Reilly, Pierce Kelly, Jeff Julien, Pat and Tim Brady, Robin Kippenburger and Darrell Stewart.
NET SHOTS: Jonanne Pearson and Jack Carey won the 4.0-plus mixed doubles competition at the Treasure Island Recreation, Tennis and Golf Center last month.
Ann Worthington and Ken Jones took the 3.5 Division I title, and Ellen and Tom White won Division II.
Evangelina Soriano, who's moved back to Florida after two years in California, won the girls' division for 18-year-olds in straight sets in last weekend's Pete Wolfberg Super Series.
Goran Dragicevic did the same in the boys' 18s.
Jose Luis Muguruza survived a first set 6-0 loss to win the 16s in three. Second-seed Kaela Kennedy battled top seed Miranda Gutierrez in the girls' 16s final but fell in three sets.
Sign-ups are on-going for the Oct. 14-15 Fifth Annual Benefit Tournament for the Suncoast Tennis Foundation at the McMullen Tennis Complex in Clearwater.
Call Peter Laker, 785-2537, to register for the skill-level men's, women's and mixed doubles competition.