Rob Manter, Owner
E-mail: rmanter@gwi.net

Rob started playing tennis at age
13 on the clay court his father built behind his house in the Bangor, Maine area. Much to his fathers chagrin because of the wear and
tear on the natural clay surface,
Rob played tennis baseball on the court with buddies until he finally
got the tennis bug.

He spent much of his teen years
on this court and playing at the
local indoor club in Bangor where
he really came to appreciate the value of a club in terms of
recreation, fun and camaraderie.
Rob well remembers the old 4-6
club where he played every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday during the time mentioned. A diverse
group of men and women, consisting of business people, doctors, lawyers, college professors, and some other kids with skill played both competitively and for fun. Rob’s high school did not have a
team but he started all 4 years for his college playing as high as #1 doubles. Rob majored in
business and economics in college. He taught tennis at the local recreation department, country
club, and indoor club through out his high school and college years at UMAINE.

After a year with Merrill Lynch in Boston, Rob went back to tennis teaching on Sanibel Island in
Florida and continued teaching in various places such as Vermont, Massachusetts and Virginia .
Each time he landed a teaching job, Rob thought this would be his last tennis job before he got
a “real” job. That never happened. Rob did land a job in the Washington DC area working for a
sports management firm where he sold tennis management services to clubs all over the country
in the mid 80’s. Moving back to Maine in 1987 after deciding life inside the DC beltway was not
for him, Rob was the tennis director for Maine Pines (then called Merrymeeting Health & Fitness
Center though at that time the club only had tennis) for ten years. Rob was one of 3 Pro’s that
started the USTA Leagues Program in Maine back in 1988, and with Lisa Gilbride started the
very successful summer camps business at Bowdoin.

Rob also very much enjoyed coaching the Brunswick High Boys team where he led them to four
regional and three state titles over an 11 year period. Rob left the club for 6 months in October
of 1997 to negotiate and buy the club where he signed “the deal” on April Fools Day of 1998.
Since that time, he has been named Facility Manager of the year twice, the club was New
England Tennis Club of the year in 2007, and the club has been considered one of the top 50
Tennis Welcome Centers in the country since 2006. Rob was able to get help from EfficiencyMaine
in 2006 to add a very reflective internal ceiling system that has cut electric and oil use dramatically
while improving the over all quality of lighting for tennis play.

Maine Pines has since developed into a fitness center to go along with the very successful tennis division. The areas largest aerobics studio, along with fully equipped cardio and strength training
rooms have added much to the club. The Pine Tree Studio has recently been added for Yoga and
similar exercise disciplines.

Rob has two daughters – Sarah and Lydia. Rob’s passions are spending time with his family,
skiing and Sugarloaf (Loafer since 61), and most outdoor activities. Tennis has taken a back
seat for Rob due to shoulder issues, but he still manages to play once or twice a week.