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Senior Tournament TennisUpdates from tournaments and USTA ranking and informational updates...an adjunct to www.carolynnichols.com
June 21 Doris Hackman This is from Emmy Lou Armstrong, re Doris Hackman. Rita Price asked me to pass it along. Dear Rita, You may remember meeting me at the Virginia Beach Senior Olympics about 4 yrs. ago. I just came from visiting Doris and she wanted me to let you know why she didn't make it to New Zealand. March 15 she was diagnosed with a rare form of bone marrow cancer and has been given a few months to live. I just found out 3 days ago. She is mostly bedridden, cannot walk although she is home and doesn't want to go in a nursing home. Her spirits are good and she has her sense of humor. Doesn't look too bad. Had her lipstick on. She seems to have 9 lives so may come back from this. Who knows? She is too weak to sit at the computer and that is why I am writing to you. She did want the "gang" to know why she hasn't been around. If you want to send her an email, you can send it to me and I will take it to her. How are you? Still tap dancing? I'm still playing tennis, but decided I don't like to play competitive any more. Therefore, haven't done any tournaments. I would have to practice to get tournament tough again. Bye and good luck in any endeavors you undertake. Emmy Lou Armstrong (Emmy Lou's email is nanawooo@hotmail.com) June 15 Marin Seniors Tired of the summer
heat...longing for winter...then come to the Marin Seniors where the
natural air conditioner (fog) keeps the daytime temperatures moderate
(though I heard it was warm on the first couple of days of the
tournament)...by the weekend it was in teh 60s and 70s sunny and not
too windy.The tennis on the weekend featured some really good matchups. The events offered were 35-65 M/W S/D and 100+ and 100- combined age (min age 35) mixed. Women's: Mai Ichikawa won the 35s, avenging her loss to Valerie McKinney here last year with a 64 62 win...lots of long rallies in this match. Mai and Carolyn Wei won the doubles. Carolyn Wei won the 40s, fresh off her first national title, beating tournament referee Chrissie Costamagna in the final. Chrissie works a demanding job full time, volunteers for USTA NorCal, works with Special Olympics, referees tournaments...and plays national tournaments and leagues...someone who gives back a lot to tennis. She also reached the 40 doubles final but her partner woke up ill so the 40 doubles title went to Alyssa Finerman/Erika Smith. Tracy Houk (thanks to the miracle of Celebrex :-)) played well to beat Mary Johnson...lots of good points, but Tracy's backhand was as lethal as ever and finished off many points in her favor. Tracy and Judy Rakela beat Jeanne Haskell/Karen Burns to take the doubles title. I won the 50s, edging Phyllis Blackwell in three sets...in a match closer than the score indicated. Carrie Zarraonandia and Helle Viragh won the 50s doubles over Shelly Thigpen/Diane DiMartini. Tina Karwasky was flawless in the 55s final, beating Martha Downing 60 62. She used the length and the width of the court and didn't let Martha rally or work her way into a point...she just took control off the return and the serve. She also moved really well. She also won the doubles with Ellen Carlton 62 62 over Downing/Leslie Vallejo. Greta Watson survived 2 long three set matches to win the 60s, first beating Sandra Adams, then Heather Fiscallini. Bryson/Gay won the doubles over Hillebrand/Meigs. Charleen Hillebrand won the 65 singles over Brooks Byrd. Shibu Lal, a classic counterpuncher, quick, slice backhand, playing pretty far back in the court, edged Jake Bragoinier, an aggressive baseliner, 2 handed backhand, 63 64. The 2nd set was a dogfight with Jake rebounding from 0-3 to tie the set at 4-4. Lal fought for the last 2 games and after winning the match collapsed on the court with cramps (we were playing next to them). He recovered to win the 35 men's doubles but not the mixed. Other men's singles winners were: Curtis Dunn, Kevin Pope, Nigel O'Rourke, Geoff Cykman, Brent Abel, and Douglas Kurdys in men's 40-65 respectively. For all results, click here. June 11 Vicky Condon This is from Karin Fox: Vicki Condon -- she's a tournament player from Chicago has recenlty been diagnosed
with Multiple myeloma. People can post messages to her at this link: http://www.carepages.com/ServeCarePage?cpn=vickicondon&ipc=cpinviteemail You will have to register to leave a note but it's free and easy and I'm sure Vicky would appreciate hearing from any of her former tennis buddies. Carolyn June 07 40/50 Indoors, Photos by Carolyn Wei
Carolyn Wei (who supplied the photos you see above), won her FIRST GOLD BALL at the 40 indoors today. She beat the #1 seed, Sue Kaleel, the quarters and the #2 seed, Anna Zimmerman in the final but her toughest match was against unseeded Amy Alcini. Wei won that one in 4 hours, and led by a set and 52 and also 5-1 in the third before finally closing out the match. Alcini took the bronze over Michelle Wright.
Susan Wright (no relation) won her THIRD 50s singles title of the year (one more for a gold slam), beating 2nd seeded Leslie Murveit in the final. Suzanne Siegler outlasted Sherri Bronson in 3 sets for the bronze. The doubles finals will be played tomorrow. Joanne Russell/Kaleel play for the 40s title against last year’s winners, Susan Keane/ Eve Welsher and Russell and her sister Lynn Taylor play for the 50s against Wright/Marianne Robertson.
Judy Van Raalte unfortunately fell when playing Alcini, in the first game after they'd split sets...she tore her ACL. Vesna Mckenna arrived with a small blister on her hand and despite using her doubles partner's glove for part of the week, left with a bigger one. The weather there started cool and play indoors was great since it was raining outside. However, the midwest heat wave hit, turning the unairconditioned building into a sauna for the players. On the plus side the lighting is good and the ceilings high.
65/75/85 Indoors In Kansas City, the emergency room had a workout from tournament players. The 65 singles and doubles finals were no-gos because Charleen Hillebrand was ill and couldn’t play. Suella Steel won the singles and Cathie Anderson/Sinclair Bill won the doubles. In the 75s, winners were Mary Boswell in three sets over Anneke Balics and Boswell/Russ over Canby/Ray in doubles. Betty Eisenstein raced through the 85 singles draw, beating the legendary Dodo Cheney in the doubles final; Cheney/Betty Cookson took the 85 doubles title, their second of the year. For all results, click here. June 02 Father Daughter, Mother Son Hard Courts
The Father/Daughter Open, Senior, Super Senior and Ultra Senior F/D hard courts and open Mother/Son finished up yesterday. The Brocks dominated the father/daughter, beating the top seeds, John and Hannah Holladay 60 63 in the semis (they rebouned to take the bronze) and then the Schultz, Kaley and Steve 64 63 in the final. The Schultz upset the #7, 2 and 5 seeds before being stopped by the #4 seeded Brocks. In the senior F/D, the top seeds, Stephanie and Bill White, prevailed over Julia/Richard Cohen in straight sets. The Cohen's had prevailed in their previous meeting, 76 in the third and also won the clay courts last fall. Julia covers a lot of the court and very well, but the White's more balanced attack was the difference on Sunday. In the super senior F/D, the top seeds, Ahlers/O'Connor, and the defending champions, had to go 3 sets in the quarters against Tiffany Fong/Gary Lee and again in the semis to beat Emmerson/Turner. However, they peaked for the final, beating 2nd seeded Heidi McCandless/Leonard Wiedenmeyer 62 61. The second seeds had advanced smoothly to the finals before running into Ahlers/Oconnor. In the Ultra SS F/D (the father must be 80 by Dec 31st), the Settles, who won the indoors, had some trouble in the quarters against WT Mathes (88) and Myra O'Dell, winning it 64 75. The Nichols beat the Settles 61 60 in the final. Bentz/Matelski took the bronze. The Mother/Son had all sorts of interesting matches. Lisa Naumu/Miles Seeman beat Cherise/Luke Meoli, #3 seeded Chris/Stefan Parker, #1 seeds (and defending champions and the indoor winners), Chriss/Mark Schaeffer, all in straight sets to reach the final. There they met Carolyn/Cameron Bernhardt who beat the #2 seeds, Libby/DJ Jaehning in the semis. Lisa and Miles won the final in three sets. Miles is only 14, and small but has a big and controlled game, and really good doubles sense for a 14 year old (or for that matter for a 22 year old!). Cameron is about 15, bigger, but also a fine player, as were both mothers. It was good tennis. The Jaehnigs beat the Schaeffers in a close 3-setter to take the bronze and the Meolis beat the Parkers for 5th, in 3 sets, of course. The tournament, at the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego was low key and very nice, run by Ann Podney and Ralph Anderson very capably. For all results, click here. May 30 F/D M/S HardcourtsThe top seeds in the 70+ division, Herm Ahlers and Krista O'Conner had a tough match with Gary and Tiffany Lee...it went 3 sets before the top seeds won. it was nice to see Christy Schaeffer who is playing M/S with Mark..her "midget" child who is "only" 6'2". they played an 11 year old and made it fun for the boy and his mom. F/D HardcourtsThe national father/daughter hardcourts began in San Diego today. the Mother/Son also takes place here. there are 4 divisions of father/daughter because the daughters have been persistent, along with Bill White to grow this event. I am playking in the 80+ division which means the father must be 80. There are 8 teams and we are seeded 1 and the Settles are seeded 2. May 18 La Jolla SaturdayAnother warm and sunny day in La Jolla (80s!) and tons of good tennis. Dodo won gold ball #371...is 400 in within reach? She beat Jean Harris in singles in the RR. In the 80s, Irene Shepard captured her 2nd 80s singles title of 2008, beating Jane Lutz in the final in straight sets. Nancy Stout beat Rita Price to place third. Nancy though won her first gold ball, in doubles, a surprise to her since she normally does not play doubles. She teamed with Elaine Mason, who was making a comeback from knee replacement surgery. They beat the top seeds, Lutz/Marilyn Skiffington in the final. The eventual winners led 41 ad in and by a set when I sat down...and promptly lost 4 straight games and were down a set point at 45. They rallied for the win, overcoming nerves and surviving a spate of excellent lobs by their opponents. No change in the pecking order in the 70s happened today. Dorothy Matthiessen beat long time rival Dori deVries 63 75, holding off a set point in the 2nd set to do so. Dorothy then combined with Lynn Little to win the doubles, but it was a battle and a terrific showcase for senior women's tennis. They edged Lyn Tietz/Kathy Langer 64 in the third and there were great volleys, lobs, drives down the middle and angles all match long. Little and Matthiessen were a little more powerful in the end. Brenda Carter won again in the 60s and as in Huntsville at the clay courts, beat Betty Wachob in 3 sets in the final, before combining with her to win the doubles, also in 3 sets, over Kathy Bennett/Molly Hahn. The 50s run of Phyllis Blackwell came to an end today. In a match worthy of any pro tournament, Susan Wright beat Blackwell 75, 63, rallying from 03 in the second to win the match. One onlooker marvelled at Wright's movement and ablility to get to Blackwell's hard hit drives in time to pause and hit a bullet back. It was a high level match. Nichols beat Tracey Thompson 60 62 to earn the bronze (and the 2 matches were played simultaneously and finished within minutes of each other). Wright added to her gold ball total by combining with Kathy May Fritz to beat Thompson/Robin Harris 67 62 61. It was her 6th straight 50s title and she's half way to a gold slam this year in singles and doubles (as are Irene Shepard in singles and Matthiessen in singles and doubles, Carter in singles and Carter/Wachob in singles/doubles). 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.
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