Chicago Charities ends millennium with a bang

The final Chicago Charities Tournament of the decade/century/millennium was played on a perfect autumn weekend and showcased the top talent in the game. Over 150 teams, competing in four divisions, converged to do battle in one Tournament of the decade/century/millennium was played on a perfect autumn weekend and showcased the top talent in the game. Over 150 teams, competing in four divisions, converged to do battle in one of the most competitive fields ever assembled at an APTA tournament event.

Headquartered at Glen View Club’s new “paddle palace”, the tournament provided some upsets and some near upsets. David Ohlmuller and Chris Gambino, the nation’s number one ranked team, came in from the east to defeat Chicago’s Bill Fiedler and Scott Bondurant (two-time defending champions) in a three set men’s final, displaying some of the finest driving and net play ever. The Chicago team had come off a tight three set semi with four-time defending national champions Scott Mansager and Flip Goodspeed and gave way to the young but savvy Gambino-Ohlmuller who beat Anthony Cosimano and Steve Haller in an “All-Jersey” semi.

While the men’s seeds held mostly true to form, that was not the case in the women’s tournament. Current national champions Patti Hogan and Cindy Prendergast went out in the round of 16 to Cincinnati’s Linda Thompson and Lindy Ward. Sue Aery and Gerri Viant prevailed over Robin Fulton and Sarah Krieger in the Sunday final, but not before overcoming two up-start Chicago teams in their respective semis. Wendy Robbins and Liz Richards-Hayward (the best paddle player in Phoenix) gave Aery and Viant all they could handle in their semi. Mary Doten and Julie Sierks also came up short in the other semi against Fulton and Krieger.

The men’s 45+ saw Hank Irvine pick up right where he left off years ago when he and Wilson’s John Embree defeated former 45′s national champs Jedd (Dr. Detroit) Hodges and Indy’s Jack Hogan in a well-played three set final. The indomitable team of Tom Beach and Peter Morrow bettered Chicago’s Jim Bishop and Rochester’s Mike Hannah in the men’s 55′s to cap off the great three-day event.

Tournament co-chairs Sally Cottingham and Kip Read made sure that things went off as smoothly as David Ohlmuller’s footwork and directed everything from scheduling, to the Saturday night party, to Sunday’s final matches, to a seamless conclusion, and making a huge effort look easy.

As always, the CPTC is indebted to its generous sponsors, players, and many volunteers who make this tournament a continued success year after year. The final budget has not been completed for the event, but the ‘rough estimate’ is that donations to this year’s charity, the Lydia Home Association, will be approximately $5,000.

Sponsors of the event were: APTA, Wilson, Viking, R. J. Reilly Platform Tennis Courts, and Jean Wright Real Estate.

Source: Platform Tennis Magazine, Issue 3, January, 2000