National Championship results and coverage of Men’s and Women’s Nationals

New Jersey Hosts the Best and Brightest in the Game

On the shores of Franklin Lake, New Jersey, players from all over the nation converged on the Indian Trail Club (and 17 other area clubs) in early March for the APTA Men’s and Women’s National Championships. They were met with cheerful faces and crisp lake breezes. APTA Men’s and Women’s

Day One: President’s Cup
Despite the best laid plans of organizers and Tournament Director Michael Gillespie, a driving wintery mix of snow, sleet and rain welcomed the participants to the Men’s and Women’s President’s Cup on Thursday morning, March 7th.

Coming off a two-year winning streak, the Region V (Chicago/Midwest) ladies had high expectations going into the President’s Cup. 2013, however, was not to be their year in the six-region match-up. In round-robin play, Region I dominated Pool A and Region III in Pool B. In a four-team playoff, Region I defeated Region V four matches to zero, and Region III defeated Region VII, 3-1. Region I (NJ/Eastern NY) would not be denied in the finals, as they defeated Region III, 3-1.

Like their regional sisters, the Region V men are no strangers to the President’s Cup — having won the title the past three consecutive years. Again, like their Midwest ladies, the men ran into a brick wall in New Jersey. In the two-pool round-robin format, Region III carried Pool A and Region II won Pool B. The two teams competed in the finals with Region II (New England), heavily laden with previous National champions and finalists, taking their first title since 2008.

Day Two and Three: Early Rounds Heat Up
On Friday morning, the women kicked off the early rounds of the 2013 National Championships. Over night, Mother Nature paid Northern Jersey another visit and left behind eight inches of wet winter wonderland.

Cynthia Dardis and Amy Shay came into the tournament as the nation’s top-ranked team and seeded first above the 96-team women’s field.

The Indian Trail Club was pulling for their home pro, Ana Brzova, with partner Viktoria Stoklasova, who were seeded second. Many spectators had their money on Lauren Zink and Cindy Prendergast, three-time and defending Women’s Open Champions (’08, T I and ’12), who were down the list as seventh seeds due to 2012-13 tournament inactivity. Liz Jaffe and Lisa Rudloff were Nationals finalists in 2011 and 2012 and were seeded third.

Kerri Delmonico and Sandra Birch-Krusos rounded out the fourth spot.

Throughout the challenge of unpredictable weather, 15 of the 16 seeded women’s teams reached the round of 16. The sole upset came when Suzanne Lemery and Kelly Rohrbach defeated Pam Ruoif and Kelly Van Calcar, seeded eleventh.

Six of the top-seeded teams advanced into the quarterfinals after Maria Manley and Lauren Cash (seeded sixth), were bested by perennial favorites Bobo Delaney and Tania Mangan. Jaffe and Rudloff were taken outbyAnia Kazakevich and Marina Ohlmuller.

Day Three: Quarterfinals and More
Saturday dawned bright and much warmer, a spectator’s delight, as the women’s quarter-finals began. Brzova and Stoklasova defeated Zink and Prendergast, Keri Flynn and Sue Tarzian outplayed Kazakevich and Ohlmuller, Mary Doten and Chelsea Nusslock overcame Birch-Krusos and Delmonico, and Dardis and Shay outlasted Delaney and Mangan.

In the afternoon, the semi-finals were highly watchable, which was good news for the hundreds of spectators. Chicago’s Doten was out to show the top-seeded Dardis and Shay how she s earned her previous six Nationals Open Titles (with Susie Keane).

For the third year in a row, she was partnered with hard-hitting Nusslock. After a tight 7-5 first set, Doten and Nusslock turned up the heat and took the second set 6-1, advancing them to the finals.

The other semi had the local crowd cheering for their pro, Brzova, and her partner Stoklasova over Flynn and Tarzian. The local favorites were perhaps a little nervous, dropping the first set in a tiebreaker.

Feeling the crowd’s energy, Brzova and Stoklasova rallied back 6-0 and 6-4 to make the trip to the finals.

On Friday afternoon, March 8th, the 128 men’s teams took to the courts. Last year’s champions, Drew Broderick and Chris Gambino, were looking for a repeat of the 2012 Nationals where they defeated Johan du Randt and Matt Porter, 7-6, 6-3, in the finals.

There was no rest for the “wicked” top seeds early on. With a full draw, no one was lucky enough to receive a bye. The first four rounds saw the usual suspects earn their spots into the round-of-16 where 11 of the top 12-seeded teams advanced.

Three unseeded teams—Rob Bakker and Doug Jones, Jerome Barnes and Rick Witsken, and Dan Rothschild and John Schmitt— scrapped their way in and deserved notice.

The quarterfinals provided the after-dark evening entertainment for hundreds of spectators.

Mark Parsons and du Randt advanced 6-2, 6-0, over Barnes and Witsken to earn their semi-final spot. Juan Arraya and Lennart Jonason outlasted Drew Eberly and Brian Uihlein 11-9 in a third set tie-breaker. Steve DeRose and Jon Lubow also had a marathon matchup but overcame Alex Bancila and Matt Porter. In the final quarter, looking for a 2012 repeat, Broderick and Gambino cruised past Ben McKnight and Peter Rose. The semis were set for Sunday.

Day Four: Semis and Finals
Spring arrived early for the women’s final, which were standing room only for a packed crowd of over 250. Doten and Nusslock had an early lead, but Brzova and Stoklasova made the most of their powerful groundstrokes and complemented them with touch and finesse at the net. The 7-5, 6-2 decision marked the first time two foreign-born women partnered to win the Women’s Championship.

Earlier that morning, the men’s semi-finals started up. On court one, du Randt (2010 champion and finalist in 2011 and 2012) was out to prove why most consider him the best player in the game. Partnered with Parsons (a contender for the top-player designation), the duo seemed unbeatable. Their semi-final matchup was with Arraya and Jonason. Arraya’s devastating spin overheads and Jonason’s aggressive backhands kept du Randt and Parsons on their heels. After two hours of blood, sweat, and tears, du Randt and Parsons took the match 7-6, 7-6, and walked one step closer to the finish line.

The second semi-final witnessed reigning champions Broderick and Gambino being taken on by DeRose and Lubow. Broderick and Gambino set aside their power game in exchange for long, controlled points with carefully selected offensive shots. DeRose and Lubow, on the other hand, took their chances with risky overheads, drop shots and aggressive groundstrokes. In the end, fortune favored the risk-takers as DeRose and Lubow won, 6-4, 7-5.

The finals were played just after the women had concluded their entertaining match. All four men wore smiles in the warm-up, which somehow never faded as the match began.

Point by point, du Randt hit crushing forehands while Parsons unleashed his trademark backhands. Whenever the match tightened up, it seemed that Parsons and du Randt would kick it into overdrive for a few points to regain the lead. DeRose and Lubow were outgunned on this day by a final score of 7-6, 6-3.

This year marked the first year that both the Men’s and Women’s National Champions were foreign-born. Brzova’s highly contagious energy seemed to be the hallmark of the Indian Trail Club. With ten courts, a grandstand center court, a two-story clubhouse with all the amenities, and an endless number of employees and volunteers on hand the 2013 Nationals was as memorable for the venue as the competition. Next year, the National Championships will go to the Golden Triangle in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.