New ownership at Village Glen
Southtowns Tennis Club acquires Mill Street center

Tom LaPenna

The Village Glen Tennis and Fitness Center will be under new ownership in the next two weeks.

The Glen, located at 162 Mill St., Williamsville, will be acquired by the Southtowns Tennis Club in Orchard Park.

"The partners were looking to move on and we had an offer that was acceptable," said Village Glen owner Tom LaPenna, who purchased the facility in May of 1982.

LaPenna said he would retain responsibilities with the Glen as full-time tennis teacher and facility director.

Tom Haney, former Glen Executive Director and managing partner since 1982 and a Western New York fixture in fitness and health promotion, recently left to become a full-time consultant and lecturer in the health promotion industry, some with his son Sean.

Haney, who has worked with a number of organizations including the Buffalo Sabres and Buffalo Bills and is a regular on radio and television, said he would be working with local and national companies hoping to start or improve their work site wellness programs. He also conducts a fair number of presentations and will continue to look for opportunities to spread the health promotion message, he said.

Tom Haney

Haney said leaving the Glen was a tough decision.

"It is very difficult to leave the people that have meant so much to me over the years," he said. "The members and staff have been like family and they will always remain in my heart. I would like to thank each of them personally for their loyalty and especially their friendship. On the other side, I am looking forward to working with my son Sean on new projects and accepting new challenges."

"My goal was, and is, to help people to improve the quality of their lives through a positive and physically active lifestyle," he added. "If I was able to influence some people in a way that made them feel better about themselves, then that's what I hope they remember."

Haney has been appointed by Governor Pataki to serve on the New York State Osteoporosis Prevention and Education Advisory Council for the NYS Department of Health, is on the board of directors for Western New York Wellness Works and is fitness chair for Walk The Villages. For ten years, he volunteered to train the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's "Team In Training" marathon team and in 2003, was recipient of the Society's Volunteer of the Year award. He also won the Community Service Award, presented by University at Buffalo's School of Health Related Professions, Exercise Science program.

The change in ownership at the Glen will not affect the nearly 2,000 members but will undergo some aesthetic changes.

"We're hoping for bigger and better things," said LaPenna. "The Southtowns people did a great job updating their facility and are looking to do the same here with some new equipment and adding a fitness area and more Pilate classes. The configuration will change a bit to be more user friendly."

In other Village Glen news:

University at Buffalo men's assistant tennis coach Nick Zieziula has been named part-owner of The Pro's Shop. He is joined in the partnership by former UB tennis standout Russ Tringali. The Pro's Shop, located on the second floor of the Glen, sells tennis equipment and supplies, including many major brands.

Additionally, Zieziula, a 2005 graduate of UB, will also serve as a teaching professional for players of all ages and abilities at the Village Glen.

Zieziula, who played locally at St. Francis High School before joining the UB program, was a nationally-ranked junior player by the United States Tennis Association (USTA) and among the top 15 players according to the Eastern Tennis Association. At UB, he set school records for single season and career victories in both singles and doubles. Zieziula also scored several doubles wins over top-25 collegiate teams and captained the Bulls in 2005 to their highest finish in the Mid-American Conference.

He also has more than five years of experience as a tennis teacher for both beginners and nationally-ranked juniors and has achieved the highest rating given by the Professional Tennis Registry.

The Glen serves as the home indoor courts for UB's NCAA Division I tennis programs. Four former UB players or coaches are among the staff at the Glen, including Zieziula. Others include LaPenna, who served as men's head coach from 1976-83, Tringali, a SUNY singles and doubles champion while with the Bulls from 1981-84 and Ross Nwachukwu, a women's assistant coach in 2002-03.

(Reporter Patrick J. Nagy contributed to this article).