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Senior Tournament TennisUpdates from tournaments and USTA ranking and informational updates...an adjunct to www.carolynnichols.com
May 14 La Jolla Day 3, Wednesday Some players are in the semis and others are getting ready to play their first matches in La Jolla today. The sun came out too, and after a foggy Monday, it's supposed to be in the 80s by Friday! (May Gray is Sunny May this week.) It's pretty here even in the fog...when the sun comes out it's spectacular. 50s: There was one upset yesterday, Colleen Ferrell, the manager at Balboa RC and a 5.0 league player, edged Sherri Bronson 26 64 60, playing very consistently and moving Bronson up and back well. She also beat Debbie Burgess first round in 3 sets. Today she brought a huge support group from her club and also students of hers to the LJBTC. Her run ended in a 61 62 loss to Carolyn Nichols in a match that was closer than the score indicated in the 2nd set. Today in the 50s Phyllis Blackwell, a former touring pro from Alabama and current teaching pro in Reno, NV continued her undefeated play by beating Robin Harris 75 64. Phyllis hits the ball early and hard and had Robin running around the court hard, which Robin does well. She also possesses a wicked underhanded serve which she used at times. Robin rallied from 14 first set to 54 1st set at which point Phyllis rallied herself to finish off the set. She faces Nichols tomorrow. Both Tracy Thompson and Susan Wright advanced without trouble to the semis, over Chris Ramsower and Mary Morgan respectively, and face each other tomorrow. In the 60s so far the seeds have advanced to the quarters and none of them has even lost a set, though Carol Clay had to win a first set tiebreaker to subdue Janet Watanabe before winning the 2nd set 62. In the 70s, the top 7 seeds easily advanced to the quarters. In a minor upset, Cathy Kestle, seeded 9, edged #8 Carol Wood 26 31 ret injury (muscle strain). The 80s began play today and there were no upsets. (Kudos to the seeders.) There's a dinner tonight on the beach and a cocktail party tomorrow. I'll try and post some photos tomorrow if not sooner. April 28 Photos from Huntsville & Mary Ann Plante's 75th Birthday by Carol Clay
Brenda Carter, 60s; Irene Shepard, 80s and Dorothy Matthiessen, 70s, took home singles and doubles titles from the national clay courts in Huntsville. Carter beat her doubles partner, Betty Wachob in the singles final and combined with her to defeat Kathy Bennett/Lianne Bryson. Dorothy Matthiessen likewise beat her doubles partner, Dori deVries in the final before combining with her to beat Roz King/Nancy Reed. Shepard staged a terrific singles comeback, trailing a set and 3-0 to Rita Price before rallying to win in 3 sets. She and Maloney beat Jane Lutz/Marilyn Skiffington in the doubles final. For all results, click here.
The men’s 45s clay courts were held last week in Ft Lauderdale. There was a plethora of upsets. Horacio Rearte beat Michael Rose in the final of the singles. Charlton Eagle/Paul Smith won the doubles over Tres Cushing/Kim Forsythe in three sets. For all results, click here.
April 18 Cheney, Swetka, Parker Win Singles Titles in AprilThe men’s 65 Clay Courts and men’s 60 Hard Courts were held last week, the former in New Orleans and the latter at Mission Hills near Palm Springs, CA. Jimmy Parker, above left, won the 65 clay courts beating surprise finalist Joe Bachman in a tough 75 64 match. Bachman upset the current world champion, Fred Drilling, in the semis. Parker combined with Ken Robinson to win the doubles over Drilling/Ray Lake. For all results, click here. Brian Cheney, above right, successfully defended his men’s 60 hard court title with a hard fought three set win over Hugh Thomson. It was Thomson’s 4th straight three set match. David and Dan Bohannen won the doubles over Laurence Hammel/Stuart Malin. Hammel/Malin took out the top seeds, Cheney/Nash, and the Bohannens beat the 2nd and 3rd seeds en route to the final. Alex Swetka won the 90 singles over Fererica Barbero and doubles (with Robert Mix. All results, click here. April 01 Pensacola Photos Courtesy of Carolyn Wei; Final ResultsSusan Wright won her first singles gold ball on clay in Pensacola. Seeded 2nd, she beat the 4th seed, Leslie Murveit in the rain delayed final. She then combined with Marianne Robertson to win the doubles over Airola/Sherri Bronson in a lengthy match which concluded at 11:15 pm on Saturday. Airola/Bronson led by a set and 5-3, but the defending champions hung on to eke out the win. Top seeded Diane Fishburne came down with the flu and had to default in the semis of the singles and doubles, and several other players were hit hard by the flu later in the week. Rentata Marcinkowska successfully defended her singles title, dropping only a few games en route to the win. She took out Anna Zimmerman, unseeded, in the final. Vesna McKenna/Joanne Russell won the 40 doubles over Carolyn Wei/Chris Ramsower-Pearlstein. It was McKenna’s first gold ball! Click here for all results. March 10 Houston Round Up: great tennis on the weekend
There were some terrific finals played on Saturday under much better conditions than Friday…cool but relatively calm.
The 55s final was played between Martha Downing, the top seed and Chieko Holt, the defending champion. Downing, playing in her first national clay court final, eked out the first set 76, the difference being her willingness to go forward. Holt though, kept Downing off balance the rest of the match, keeping the ball deep, defending beautifully and mixing up deep drives and beautiful drop shots. Holt won the 2nd set 62, with the 7th game of that set, which went on for a long time, being the critical game. Downing rallied from 14 in the 3rd to level the set, but Holt held her nerve to finish the win and defend her title. Sue Bramlette took the bronze by default over Kerry Young.
Downing didn’t go home without a gold ball though…filling in for an injured Margie Cooper, she teamed with Young to beat Cindy Leprevost/Sue Bramlette 61 64. Babb/Peiffer took the bronze.
The match of the day though was that between Heide Orth, the defending champion, and Charleen Hillebrand, who beat Orth in their last encounter (in NZ on hard courts). Orth won the first set and led 54 40-0 in the 2nd, but failed to finish off Hillebrand…a couple of fine shots by Hillebrand and an error by Orth and the match points were erased. Hillebrand tied the match at a set apiece. I saw the third set which was full of incredible tennis by perhaps the two best 65 players in the world, at least on Saturday. They used every inch of the court, going from deep in one corner to the opposite service line; drop shots and volleys, offense and defense…it was all there. Hillebrand seemed especially fond of the area just inside, on and outside the lines…she hit a lot of lines going for her shots and made Heide do a lot of running. Orth played slightly more conservatively (a foot from the lines), and that paid off, since she earned a 53 lead in the third when Hillebrand missed a few shots after extensive rallies, and Orth also made some nice volleys after opening up the court. At 53, Hillebrand increased her aggressiveness, hitting early, and forged to a 65 lead. Orth then raised her game, hitting some nice aggressive serves and groundstrokes and running Charleen ragged. Orth won the tiebreaker 73, scoring with drop shots and Hillebrand seemed the more fatigued player in the final few points.
After that match, the two faced each other in doubles, Orth pairing with Lurline Fujii and Hillebrand with Suella Steel. Fittingly, the match went 3 sets and the defending champs pulled it out. Uta Hegberg/Diane Willauer upset Sinclair Bill/Cathie Anderson in three sets.
Angela Simon remained undefeated in the 35s, beating Julie Cass 62 63 and teaming with Amy Alcini to win the doubles over Cass/Michelle King.
On Saturday, Cass had a real battle with Rachael Gale, holding off set points in the first set to win it 76, then dropping the 2nd 61 before storming back to win the third 62. Gale had upset the 3rd seed, Trish Riddell on Friday in three sets. Gale beat Shelly Works 60 63 to finish third.
Mai Ichikawa/Erika Smith rallied from 36 15 down to upset Phillipa Palmer/Margaret Kitchen in the quarters, (and from 56 0-40). (Final score: 36 76 30 ret.). Smith had turned to Ichikawa at 1-5 down and commented that their comeback would be the main dinnertime conversation…and of course it was). They lost 63 63 to Alcini/Simon and went on to beat Hartley/Hulsen (who upset Cooke/Croft in the quarters) 75 63 and claim the bronze.
Susan Boyer won her 2nd gold ball in Houston, teaming with Fran Chandler to beat Emily Schaeffer/Kathy Vick 75 61. They missed very few shots in winning the title. Cooke/Croft edged Fahrenholz/Lackey in the ¾ playoff, 75 in the third.
Nancy Reed cruised to the 75s title on Saturday (after barely escaping from the semis, where she was match points down to Mary Boswell), beating Anneke Balics 60 62. Boswell beat Ann Munro to take the bronze 60 61.
Betty Cookson/Dodo Cheney won the 85 doubles.
That’s it from Houston.
March 07 Houston, Friday, Wind, Cold, SurvivalIt was a horrible day to play tennis in Houston, windy, gusts up to 30mph and cold, 30s and 40s and overcast till the late afternoon. But the senior players persevered from 35s to 85s. The main draws conclude tomorrow except for the 35s. The 65s and 75s finals were postponed till Saturday; the 55s semis were played today and the 45s final was played in singles, as was the 75 doubles final. The 35s really got underway today and there were a couple of upsets. Rachael Gale, a solid lefty rallied from an 06 first set to upset Trish Riddell in 3 sets under gusty, cold conditions. In doubles later on, Kristen Hartley/Jeanne Hulsen rallied from 14 down in the third set to beat Pam Cooke/Debbie Croft, a team to whom they lost 63 60 in the 45s under milder conditions a couple of days earlier. The remaining seeds advanced. In the 45s, Fran Chandler moved beautifully and made few errors in ousting Carolyn Nichols 63 63. Susan Boyer, using her "consistency" strategy, outrallied Kathy Vick 63 61...and finished before both Chandler/Nichols and Smith/Schmidt. Erika Smith played her longest ever match, 3 hours 20 minutes, against Andrea Schmidt, winning the quarterfinal consolation match 76 (5) in the third. She next takes on Heidi Gerger who received a walkover to advance to the consolation semis, and force a rematch of their first round encounter. In 45 doubles, the top 2 seeds advanced to the final but not easily. Kathy Vick/Emily Schaeffer needed three sets and well over 2 hours to beat Lori Fahrenholz/Kim Lackey. In a rain interrupted match, Chandler/Boyer played flawlessly in the wind to beat Cooke/Croft 67 63 63. The latter team led by a set and 32 when it started raining yesterday but the delay really helped Boyer/Chandler, who lobbed effectively and made few errors today, covering the court like an octopus. Martha Downing, who, prior to this event had never gone past the quarters at a clay court national, looked at home on the surface, beating Kerry Young 64 75. Young rallied from 25 down in both sets before Downing finished off the sets. The two play much alike both tall, all court players, who used a lot of variety and both of whom possess good serves. Martha faces last year's champion, Chieko Holt, who beat Sue Bramlette 76 62. Downing/Young will play Leprevost/Bramlette in the doubles final tomorrow. The latter team beat Torrance/Mauldin in a very entertaining match...lots of extensive rallies in that one. Downing/Young beat Babb/Peiffer, 64 63, winning the final 6 games of the match. The 65s singles final and 3/4 playoff were postponed till tomorrow, but the doubles semis were played. Heide Orth/Lurline Fujii tooled Anderson/Bill, winning 63 61. The face Hillebrand/Steel who dominated fellow SoCal players Willauer/Hegberg 2,0 in the other semi. The 75s singles final was postponed till tomorrow which was good since the doubles final lasted about 3 hours. Last year gold slam winners, Mary Boswell/Louise Russ fell to Nancy Reed/Lee Burling 67 63 63. Some games lasted 15 minutes, and the match was of high quality. Canby/Ray took the bronze over Munro/Balics. The 85s was won by the seemingly ageless Betty Cookson and Dodo 64 75 over Betty Eisenstein/Olmstead. Dodo defaulted the 85s singles final to Eisenstein (2 rounds of doubles were played today by Cookson/Cheney). Lovie Beard took the bronze when Loucille Scoggins, who has been ill with the flu, had to default. Lucille Kyvallos, who withdrew from the tournament Monday, with the flu, ended up in the hospital last night, but has been released and is feeling better. That's all for today, I hope to have some photos tomorrow if it's warm enough to walk about. It was just so cold today, 3 layers weren't enough to keep the chill off unless one walked into the "warm room" in the pro shop. For all results, click here. March 06 Thursday Update from HoustonIt was a nice day in Houston, not too cold or windy...till about 3:30 when the thunder and lightening storms finally hit the Houston Racquet Club. Play was suspended in the 35 and 45 doubles and 55 consolation singles till tomorrow. Tomorrow the forecast is for cold and very windy, 20 mph plus winds most of the day with temps feeling as if they are in the low 40s. But the rain should cease?
In the 35s, there were no upsets in singles and the draw is out to the quarters. The 35 doubles saw only one match completed...Amy Alcini/Angela Simon advanced to the quarters.
In the 45s, Fran Chandler continued to dominate her opponents, using her deep groundstrokes and deadly dropshot to oust Kathy Vick 61 61. Carolyn Nichols beat Susan Boyer 62 64, rallying from 2-4 15-40 to win the set. Update on Myke Loomis...she was walking today but still suffering from the cramps she suffered when playing Boyer yesterday. Also, I talked to Susan and the score was 16 75 60 and Susan was down one match point at 0-5, 30-40 and told me she was at the net and Myke hit a great shot to pass her but Susan hit was she termed "the best backhand volley of my life" to save the match point...and the rest is history.
In the doubles, Kim Lacky/Lori Fahrenholz advanced to the semis with a straight set win over Susie Brown/Mary Johnson. The semis of the top half were underway when the lightning surfaced. It was a great match between Chandler/Boyer who were counterpunching, lobbing, and finding the middle with their groundstrokes and Debbie Croft/Pam Cooke who were hitting lots of overheads, angles and drop angles. The match will resume tomorrow under much different conditions as it's going to be in the 40s with 20 plus mph winds (ugh) tomorrow. Forgot to mention that the score was 76 (5) 3-2 Susp. for Cooke/Croft when the lightning appeared.
The 55s also has the 4 top seeds into the semis. Martha Downing beat Susie Peiffer 62 62, Kerry Young beat Cindy Babb 61 60; Chieko Holt beat Carla Brown 64 62 and in the most watched match of the day, TD and NSWTA pres, Sue Bramlette, beat Roxanne Schazenbach 67 62 62, despite a hard fall during the 2nd set. It was a long match, starting at 9am (Bob Bramlette told Sue that at one point it looked like her match would finish after that of Nichols/Boyer who began an hour later...but that didn't happen). Sue plays Chieko and Martha plays Kerry tomorrow.
Martha and Kerry looked tough in ousting Norma Taylor/Lil Peltz-Petow today 61 60. They next play Babb/Peiffer. Leprevost/Bramlette won easily today and they next play Jan Mauldin/Shelby Torrance who upset Carla Brown/Jan Kirkland-Cochran in a crazy, long match. There were lots of good points in that match by both teams.
The 65s finally had a mild upset, since Charleen Hillebrand upset Suella Steel 64 61. One onlooker said Charleen was playing better than last year and another said Steel made a lot of errors. Charleen plays Heide Orth in the final. She beat Cathie Anderson 63 61. The top 4 seeds are in the doubles semis.
In the 75s, Nancy Reed rallied from 2 match points down to edge Mary Boswell 46 75 63. She faces surprise finalist Anneke Balics from that hotbed of clay court tennis, NorCal (don't laugh, there are already 2 singles finalists from NorCal , Balics and Nichols and Martha Dowing has the potential to join them in singles and doubles as do Kim Lackey and Cooke/Croft, who are in the 45 doubles semis). Balics beat her doubles partner, Ann Munro 63 61 today. Reed/Burling and Boswell/Russ play in the doubles final.
Dodo and Betty Eisenstein are in the 85s final tomorrow. Dodo said jokingly, that the only chance she had for a game was if she could run Betty enough so Betty tripped and fell, since Betty moves so beautifully. Due to the rain and other circumstances, the 85 doubles semis on the bottom half of the draw have not yet been played, though Eisenstein/Olmstead are in the final.
That's all from Houston for now. All the results from completed matches are posted for today, click here for the draws.
March 05 Wed UpdatePam Cooke and Debbie Croft narrowly avoided a first round upset in the 45 doubles, rallying from 26 25 15-40 to beat Pam Dodman/Joy Passalaqua late yesterday. They played well today, beating the 6th seeds, Hulsen/Hartley in straight sets to advance to the semis.
Anneke Balics is enjoying her first year in the 75s. She upset Louise Russ 64 64 in singles and then combined with Ann Munro to beat the 4th seeds in doubles, Cofer Lasby. Balics faces Munro in the bottom half of the draw while Nancy Reed plays Mary Boswell (who was impressive in beating Suzanne Ryerson 60 60 today) in the other semi.
There were no upsets in the 65s and the top 4 seeds advanced to the semis. Cathie Anderson beat 2006 champion Suzanne Clark 62 60. She plays Orth and Hillebrand plays Steel tomorrow.
In the 55s, the seeds advanced to the quarters, joined by Roxanne Schanzenbach, who was in Anne Guerrant's quarter of the draw. Cindy Babb struggled to beat Vicki Williams 16 75 61. Barb Sasser lost to Carla Brown 63 63 (not in 3 sets...I happened to ask Barb how she did and that was the score she told me).
Martha Downing replaced and injured Margie Cooper in the 55 doubles (bad elbow) and she and Kerry Young advanced as did the remaining seeds who played.
Susan Boyer upset Myke Loomis in the 45s, rallying from a set (a 61 set I heard, not a 76 set) and 0-5, match point to win the final 13 games. Loomis cramped during the match and Susan didn't miss and kept the ball deep. She plays me tomorrow, and Fran Chandler plays Kathy Vick who survived another 3 set, 3 plus hour match against Susie Brown.
It was a really nice day today, 70s and not too windy...tomorrow...well we'll see.
March 04 Houston, TuesdayBrrrrr! That's the official weather forcast for today....but the
 was shining. It was 40 for the 8:30 matches, and felt like 32.
Anyway, one upset in the 45s, Mary Johnson lost to Martha Condyles. The remaining 6 seeds advanced.
The Houston tournament committee and sponsors are feeding everyone awfully well....extensive breakfasts including rice, cheese, bagels, fruit etc and today a potato, soup and chili lunch. And there was some tennis too.
Susan Boyer reported a record (for her) short match, 1 hour 5 min, to beat clay court rookie Kim Lackey and advance to the quarters against Myke Bodisch...which match I would bet will take more than an hour. Kathy Vick had a tough match with the top German 45 player, Andrea Schmitz, winning 56 62 62. There were lots of long, deep rallies, but Kathy mixed up the pace better in the 2nd and third sets and her superior conditioning was a factor too.
Sally Graham upset Janel McGinley in three long sets to advance to the round of 16. A bad back put Greta Watson out, she retired down 2-1 to Barbara Sasser.
All 8 seeds are out to the quarters in the 65s. Lurline Fujii, who played way past 10pm last night, advanced more easily today.
#2 seed, Lucille Kyvallos withdrew from the 75s, due to illness, after play began. Anne Guerrant withdrew also from the 55s late last week.
All results, click here. Houston Results 08
HoustonRain for most of the day forced play to begin after 3pm yesterday. It was cold after the storm came in, and very windy, horrible playing conditions, but there weren't many complaints, the singles matches were completed and it's now in the low 40s/upper 30s with 15-20 mph winds, but will warm up to the 60s. The one upset I know of occurred in the 45s, with Erika Smith beating the 8th seed, Heidi Gerger 36 62 62. March 02 Women's 90 clay and grass to be held at Forest Hills in JulyThe women's 90 clay and grass courts will be held in the same week this year at Forest Hills. For more information, click here. St Petersburg Wrap UpThe St Petersburg Men's Cat II concludes today in St. Petersburg, FL Click here for all results. The 55s was won by Fred Robinson, the 5th seed, who handed Larry Turville a rare clay court loss. The two battled to the end in the semis before Robinson won 75 in the third. He beat 2nd seeded Mark Peterson 62 62 in the final. Turville and Robinson won the doubles over Cantrell/Maharaj. John Davis also scored a big upset, beating the third seed, Mark Mazo in straight sets in the round of 16 before falling to Robinson in the quarters. The 60s was a tough division. Bob Litwin, playing his first 60s tournament, upset Hugh Thomson in the quarters and Michael Beautyman in the final before falling to David Nash 75 ret (inj) in the final. Armistead Neely, who lost to Nash in three sets in the semis, edged Beautyman in the 3/4 playoff in a tight 3 setter. Nash/Neely, seeded #1, lived up to their seeding, beating the unseeded Thomson/Kirk in the final. The 65 singles was won by Rudy Hernando, who lost a set early on to Richard Schmidt and then won his final three matches in straight sets, ultimately beating 5th seeded Bob Howe in the final 61 76. Joe Bachman, the 2nd seed, withdrew from the tournament in the 2nd round. Don Biedenger/Hernando are in the doubles final against #2 seeded Irvine/Jonsson. King Van Nostrand continued his domination of the winter clay court events in the men's 70s, cruising past #2 seed Fred Farzanegan 60 61 to win the title. Farzanegan though combined with Biedenger to win the 70 doubles, beating #2 seeds, Dodson/Vredevelt in the final 75 61. In the closest of finals, George McCabe edged Jack Vredevelt to take the 75s title, 76 in the third. Main/Sutcliffe, unseeded edged McCabe/Crew in three sets in the semis and went on to win the 75s doubles title over Boone/Morse 75 62. Clem Hopp won his second Category II of the year in the men's 80s, a division he entered this year. He beat Bob Meyerdierks in three sets in the final. Bunge/Mackey won the doubles over Bill Weathers/Hopp 75 64. Edmond Heisler beat Robert Threadgill to take the 85s crown 63 63. Click here for all results. February 29 Happy Birthday to Photographer Pat Parsons!Pat Parsons took many of the photos that are showing on my website and in the blog just below this one. It's her birthday March 1st, so join me in wishing Pat a very very happy 65th birthday, and in thanking her for sharing her super photgraphy skills with the NSWTA.
Happy 65th Birthday Pat!
February 26 Spring Grandes Dames, The End
Saturday it rained much of the day, till about 1:30 pm and matches started about 3pm and went on till after 9pm.
On Saturday the main draw of the 40 and 60 singles was completed since they were only out to the semis, and the semis of the doubles in the 40s, 50s and 60s were played.
Vesna McKenna and Jami Patterson played a good singles semis in the 40s. McKenna used her big serve and newly found flat forehand well in beating Jami Patterson 62 75. Jami nearly pulled out the 2nd set, rallying from 2-4 down to go up 5-4, serving, but McKenna steadied herself to win the set. Renata Marcinkowska beat Susie Brown to reach the final. McKenna however pulled a muscle in the final and had to retire at 2-4 in the first set. Marcinkowska remains unbeaten in 40s play in the US.
Pat Keleman played well in the semi, but came up short, losing 75 62 to Brenda Carter. Betty Wachob beat Jan Dennis more handily. Carter won the final in a topsy-turvy final, dropping the 2nd set 60 before rallying to win the match. Keleman also had to play her doubles parnter in the 3/4 playoff, and held off a tenacious Jan Dennis, who rallied to win the first set 76 after being down, rallied in the second set after being down to force a tiebreaker, but this time failed to win it, and Keleman ran away with the third set 60.
Diane Fishburne didn't lose a game till the final. Carolyn Nichols and Sherri Bronson battled much longer than Fishburne and Suzanne Siegler did in their semi, with Nichols prevailing 62 63. Bronson mixed up her game a lot, combining moonballs with serving and volleying and aggressive returning, but Nichols managed to defend well. The final was, according to Belmar Gunderson, a classic "puncher vs a counterpuncher". Fishburne, when down, plays bold, aggressive tennis...the same tennis she plays when ahead...she goes for the lines and hits them often on big points. She won 64 62. Suzanne Siegler scored one of her biggest wins, taking out Sherri Bronson in the 3/4 playoff 16 75 64. Siegler has been striking the ball well...she also beat Nancy Szen 61 63 in the quarters. Bronson rallied in the third set, after trailing at least 52, holding off one match point with a volley on the line ,but Siegler finally closed out the match.
Ria Graham won the 70s, beating Rachael Spease (who took out Nancy Reed), 75 64 in the semis and then played flawlessly in the final, beating Burnett Herrick 6262. Carol Wood lost 64 63 to Herrick in the semis, but beat Spease, and found the range on her nefarious drop shot, to place third.
Jan Kirkland-Cochran and Becky Holland played a long 3 setter against the 2nd seeds, Kathy Foulk and Terri Thompson in the semis, finally winning under the lights and received a walkover from McKenna/Brown in the final; Mckenna pulled a muscle and Brown hurt her Achilles tendon. In the 50s they lost the 3/4 playoff in two close sets to Margie Cooper/Kerry Young.
Fishburne/Bronson won the doubles, beating Nichols/Szen 46 64 62 in a good match.
The 60s were won by Carter/Wachob over Dennis/Keleman in 3 sets. Clay/Goodman placed third.
The 70s were won by Wood/Graham over O'Sullivan/Kossowsky 61 63. Herrick/Caroline Haynes placed third. They were ousted by O'Sullivan/Kossowsky in 3 sets in the semis.
That's it from the Florida Spring Grandes Dames. Houston starts Monday March 3, and I'll be blogginperiodically from there and posting photos.
February 22 Spring Grandes DamesFriday update. Rain yesterday put the doubles in some divisions a day behind, but the weather today was nice, albeit a bit warm for some of the northerners in the draw...in the mid 80s and a little breezy...and dry. The top seeds were all in play in the 40s today and all advanced easily, Renata to play Susie Brown and Jami Patterson to play Vesna McKenna. The final is set for the 50s, with Diane Fishburne taking out Suzanne Siegler and Carolyn Nichols beating Sherri Bronson. The doubles semis are set too, with Becky Holland/Jan Kirkland-Cochran facing Bronson/Fishburne and Nichols/Nancy Szen taking on Margie Cooper/Kerry Young. In the 60s, Carol Clay, seeded 3rd, was upset by Jan Dennis who played a terrific match, dropshotting beautifully with the Gamma balls. She faces Betty Wachob while Brenda Carter takes on Pat Keleman. The 70 singles final is also set, Burnett Herrick took out Carol Wood, in a battle of dropshots...and Burnett's were better as too many of Carol's found the net today (according to Carol, whose dropshots apparently did not like the Gamma balls). Burnett faces Ria Graham in the final I think. For all results, click here. For photos from the tournament, click here. February 18 NSWTA Members, Attention!!!!NSWTA Members: A new directory will be published soon. Please email your current snail mail address (winter and summer if relevant) to Marian Petersen, pigpenny@earthlink.net. Thank you for your help! Carolyn February 10 Checket Cup, EndChecket Cup finished today on a breezy note. I didn't blog yesterday because Mariana Hollman and I were involved in the longest match of the tournament in terms of time, 5 hours. I rallied from 0-4 down in the 2nd set to force a tiebreaker, but lost it...Mariana rallied from 0-4 in the third, changing tactics in the end to win the match. Fran Chandler beat her doubles partner, Susan Boyer 75 53 in a three and a half hour match. Susie Brown and I then lost to Fran and Susan in three sets in a rain delayed doubles match, while Joanne Russell/Mary Dailey won the 45 doubles over Mary Ginnard/Hollman.
Chandler won the 45 singles today in a repeat of last year's final, but this year took the match in straight sets. Nichols finished third, attacking the net often to beat Boyer 62 61.
Trish Riddel upset Carolyn Wei, whose flat groundstrokes were affected by the windy conditions and by Trish's fine play. Vesna McKenna beat Michelle King who retired when down 2-4 in the first set, after a fall on the clay, which hurt her left wrist. She rallied to win the doubles with Riddel over Wei/McKenna.
Martha Downing used a terrific serve and backhand and steady forehand to beat Kerry Young in a well played 55s final. Sue Bramlette/Cindy Leprevost won the 55 doubles for the 2nd straight year, beating Young/Margie Cooper in three sets. Janel McGinley/Lou Armstrong were third, edging Carol Clay/Ellen Goodman.
Donna Fales cruised through the 65s draw, beating Luisa Tinelli from Italy in the final. Suzanne Clark beat Sheila Weinstock to finish 3rd.
In the 75s, Mary Boswell, US and World #1, was upset in the semis by the Tennis Club's Lucille Kyvallos in 3 sets. Nancy Reed beat Rosie Asch in 3 sets in the other final and then beat Kyvallos to win her first 75s title. Asch beat Boswell when Boswell retired after injuring her back. Boswell/Russ won the doubles yesterday over Lee Burling/Nancy Reed.
Betty Eisenstein ran away with the 85s division...her superior mobility should lead her to many victories this year.
Many thanks to the Checkets, Patty Crawford and her crew and the Tennis Club for putting on a great tournament, the Checket Cup. February 08 Checket Cup Friday Play was underway in all age divisions today, 35s through 85s. Mary Boswell, winner of the world championships and the Gold Slam in singles and doubles last year, fell in three sets to the vastly improved Lucille Kyvallos, who used her home court advantage to beat the world #1 for the second time. However, Boswell rebounded to take the doubles title with Louise Russ over Nancy Reed/Lee Burling. Kyvallos plays Reed for the singles final after Reed edged Rosie Asch in three sets in the other semi. The 85s have had a bunch of competitive matches, with the exception of Betty Eisenstein, who has cruised to the singles and doubles finals. Dodo Cheney edged Mildred Southern 16 64 64 to face her doubles partner in the final. Betty ousted Ruth Webb who had to be tired from her three set battle with Loucille Scoggins the day before which Ruth won 46 76 76 (5). Eisenstein/Cheney play Southern/Webb in the doubles final. The 65s has run true to form with the top 4 seeds reaching the semis, though both Luisa Tinelli (vs Carol Wood) and Sheila Weinstock (vs Grace Woo) had to battle three sets before winning. Wood/Weinstock face Suella Steel/Jane Pang in the doubles final. Pang/Steel beat Wasser/Weiss in three sets. Lauderdale TC members caused the upsets in the 55s. Kathy Keating edged Sue Bramlette in three sets, playing consistently on her forehand and aggressively on her backhand to win 62 in the third. Carol Clay, the 5th seed, didn't drop a game in ousting 4th seeded Carla Brown. Three of the top 4 seeds remain in the doubles, joined by Lou Armstrong/Janel McGinley. In the 45s, Sue Boyer and Shelly Solomon Heller played for 2 hours before Boyer won the first set 64 (rallying from 04 down to win the set). She won the 2nd set 61 in under an hour. Fran Chandler, Mariana Hollman and Carolyn Nichols also advanced. Mary Ginnard/Hollman beat Chandler/Boyer in a mild upset 75 63 and face Mary Dailey/Joanne Russell in the doubles final. In the 35s, the top seeds advanced without incident to the quarters. Click here for all results. February 07 BallenIsles 2008BallenIsles Cat II/ITF Grade 3: Trish Riddell won the 30 singles and doubles (with Mary Dailey); Renata Marcinkowska won the 40 singles; Mary Dailey/Joanne Russell won the 40 doubles; Diane Fishburne blitzed the field in singles and doubles (with Sherri Bronson) in the 50s; Brenda Carter won the 60 singles; Trish Faulkner/Mary Wilson took the 60 doubles; Burnett Herrick won the 70 singles and Betty Weilss/Dorothy Wasser took the 70 doubles title; Jane Lutz won the 80 singles and Ritz Price/Diane Hoffman won the 80 doubles, at the BallenIsles Country Club in Palm Beach Gardens. The tournament ended on Sunday Jan 20th. Click here for all results.
February 05 Naples Super Senior, Men55s: Larry Turville won the 55s over Joe Rasgado. 60s: 5) Michael Barnes d. Laurence Hammel; Barnes beat #2 seed David Nash and Hammel beat #1 seed Hugh Thomson en route to the final. 65s: Jimmy Parker, "young again" in the 65s, beat the 2007 world champion, Fred Drilling in the final 70s: King Van Nostrand made a victorious return to top national play, beating Francis Juhasz in the final. 75s: Lorne Main continued his domination of the men's 75s world wide, beating David Rothgaber in the final. 2nd seeded Chuck Devoe lost in the quarters (but rebounded to win the 75 doubles) 80s: Another newcomer to an age division, Clem Hopp, beat Bob Meyerdierks in the final. Meyerdierks beat Jason Morton earlier in the tournament. 85s: (1) Edward Selfe d. (2) Robert Threadgill 90s: Anthony Coker won the 90s over Ira Boris. Doubles: 55s: ) Maharaj/Turville d. (2) McEwen/Thomson 60s: 1) Nash/Parker d. (5) Broome/Burris (by default) 65s: 3) Drilling/Hall d. (2) Barbic/Griffin 70s: (1) Dodson/Vredevelt d. (4) Shakespeare/Winters 75s: 2) De Voe/McDonald d. (1) Main/Sinclair 80s: Martinetti/Weathers d. Adams/Bunge
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