LIPTA hosts Viking Junior Tour event

On Saturday, December 13, 2008, the Long Island Platform Tennis Association (“LIPTA”) hosted its 6th Annual Viking Junior Tour tournament at the Garden City Country Club, the Cherry Valley Club and the Garden City Community Park.

With Christmas less than two weeks away, the children received a surprise early morning visit from that jolly old Nordic man with rosy cheeks and a little round belly – that’s right, David Kjeldsen, founder of Viking Athletics, was there to provide his support, wearing his trademark “horns”! LIPTA is grateful to Viking Athletics for its sponsorship of the Viking Junior Tour, and for providing the children with a memorable platform tennis experience (and great favors).

Among the four age divisions, thirty-two (32) teams participated, and countless parents and grandparents cheered. The level of paddle was extraordinary, the good sportsmanship was commendable, and the smiles were constant!

John Cerga and Alex Bancila, the Directors of Racquet Sports at the Garden City Country Club and the Cherry Valley Club, respectively, and Taylor Stanton, Racquet Sports Professional at the Cherry Valley Club, volunteered their time and helped make it a memorable day for the players. Additional thanks to Mike Sparacino for his behind the scenes work with the program and drawsheets.

Source: Mark J. Brosnan, Platform Tennis Magazine, Vol. 10, Issue 4, February, 2009

“I’ve traveled all the way across the country for you to show me how to hit more winners.” Hank Irvine had a suggestion!

Rod Workman, PPTA Professional Director of Racquets at the Onwentsia Club in Lake Forest, IL, recounted the experience in a column on intermediate and advanced instruction in PTM:

Sixteen years ago, I was teaching a paddle camp in Eureka, Montana with the “Godfather of Paddle,” Hank Irvine, when my ideas on the winning shot began to take shape.

A gentleman from Long Island arrived at the camp and said to Hank, “I’ve traveled all the way across the country for you to show me how to hit more winners when I play.”

Hank’s blood pressure spiked and he swiftly responded, “Sir, my suggestion is that you get on the next available plane back to New York because we won’t be teaching winners at this camp. The game is not about hitting winners but never making errors!”

With that, I adopted Hank’s style of teaching and playing, which I still use today.

Source: Platform Tennis Magazine, Vol. 10, Issue 2, December, 2008

Museum and Hall of Fame makes progress towards reality at Centercourt Athletic Club, Chatham, NJ

Chuck Vasoll filed an update with PTM:

We are up and running. Our web site, that is. The address is platformtennishalloffame.org. We encourage you to visit the site which has: a video history of the sport, a snap shot biography of the Hall of Fame inductees, information about how you can help provide funds and memorabilia to the museum, a list and background of the Trustees of the Foundation, a photo gallery of progress in the construction at the Centercourt Athletic Club in Chatham, New Jersey, and other historic photos from the sport’s archives. It is truly worth a few minutes of your time to view this very interesting presentation about our sport.

The Trustees are hard at work in many areas of the development of the museum. Chairman Robert Brown, President Richard Lombard, Treasurer Joseph Rogers and Curator James McCready met with a representative of a firm that designs the interior of museums. That firm just completed the Arnold Palmer wing of the United States Golf Association museum in Far Hills, New Jersey, which the group visited.

President Lombard, who is chairing the fund-raising activity, has compiled a team of over 30 individuals located in all areas where our sport is played, to assist in the fund-raising project. League members, individuals and business representatives will be contacted to make monetary contributions for the capital costs of developing the museum and providing an endowment fund for continuing its operation.

Foundation Treasurer Joseph Rogers has established several means by which donations can be made. For example, the procedures to accept gifts of securities and gifts by credit card are now in place. Please visit the web site for details.

Legal arrangements to solicit contributions, which are tax-exempt, have been made through the offices of Vice President Charles Updike. All states in which the Foundation is planning to campaign for funds have been contacted and filings are completed.

Trustee David Childs has been assigned the work of collecting memorabilia. He has already obtained some outstanding items, such as books and articles about the game, historic clothing and equipment including paddles and balls, photographs of the early days and some movies and videos of championship action on the courts. Contributions continue to be welcomed and Childs can be contacted at his e-mail address, dechilds@charter.net

The design and construction of storage space for the museum at Centercourt Athletic Club is under the guidance of Trustee Howard Patterson. Items that are being held for future display will be placed in this area. Also files of historic information about the sport will be located in this separate section.

As progress in all areas moves ahead, future issues of Platform Tennis Magazine will contain updates about what is happening as the dream of a Hall of Fame Museum comes closer to life.

Premier Cup at Plainfield CC, NJ won by Cochrane and Estes

On October 11th & 12th, Region 1 and Plainfield Country Club (Edison, New Jersey) played host to the 4th Annual Premier Cup. An invitational event for the top eight Men’s
teams from the final year end standings.

This year, such as others, a few teams had scheduling conflicts which allowed teams just outside of the top 8 to grab the opportunity to spend the weekend playing against the best in the country.

Event coordinators David Dodge(Premier Platform Tennis) and Jason Gray decided to go east after Guy Moore (Director of Racquet Sports at Plainfield Country Club) put together a package that would be perfect for the event. Plainfield is located 30 minutes outside of NYC has a pristine tennis and platform facility and program featuring four platform courts situated beautifully around a platform hut that overlooks all courts.

Presenting sponsors Premier Platform Tennis along, with Wilson Racquet Sports, combined to showcase high-end quality courts and the latest platform apparel and technology. And for the first time, coordinators were able to provide APTA members real-time match results on the website thanks to Ann Sheedy (Executive Director of the APTA) who graciously worked with the tournament on behalf of the APTA for support both days.

The format for the event (which plays similar to the ATP Tour’s Master’s Cup) featured a two groups of four teams. Saturday consisted of round robin play within each group (three matches) determining who the top two teams from each group would be moving on to the semi-finals (also known as the “money rounds”). Four courts allowed all matches from both groups to be played two out of three sets simultaneously, and allowed the spectators to view a dazzling display of skill everywhere they looked.

The weather was ideal for players and spectators and was topped off by the generosity of the NJMPTA (New Jersey Men’s Platform Tennis Association) as they provided a “Beer Garden” featuring several kegs of beer by the courts for both days for all to enjoy. PCC and it’s staff did a wonderful job on Saturday by offering up a poolside BBQ open to players and spectators and then invited players, family and friends up to the clubhouse after play was completed for the day to unwind for a private cocktail party compliments of the club.

With the help of Guy Moore, an interview was secured with the Newark Star-Ledger (New Jersey’s largest newspaper) that ran on Friday before the start of the tournament. The article covered the event, the club and specifics about the sport’s growing popularity. Ann Sheedy provided many of the necessary details for the article about the sport as platform made the front page of the sports section.

Sunday provided another great day for platform and, once again, members and locals came out to watch the finest action around on that weekend and cheer on their favorites (mostly Guy Moore).

The semi’s provided some high-caliber teams along with high-caliber action. Emerging from the Green group were Mike Cochrane/Scott Estes and Mike Marino/Mike Stualc. The Purple group consisted of David Caldwell/Blake Cordish and the sleeper team of Brad Easterbrook/Jon Milbank

During the semi-finals, placement matches for Sth-8th place were also played. In the semi’s, Mike Cochrane and Scott Estes prevailed in an epic battle over David Caldwell and Blake Cordish 4-6, 6-0, 6-4 and the other semi had Mike Marino/Mike Stulac playing solid platform in route to winning over Brad Easterbrook/Jon Milbank 6-0, 6-2.

The finals set an exciting match-up between two teams that know each other quite well and typically find themselves in marathon battles. On this day, Mike Cochrane/Scott Estes proved to be the stronger team winning their first Premier Cup title in front of an enthusiastic and appreciative crowd.

Anthony Cosimano concluded, “As always, Premier Cup was a topnotch event. Surprisingly, in all my years of platform, I’ve never played at Plainfield. It’s one of the nicest facilities I’ve ever seen. Guy Moore and Jason Gray put together a flawless platform presentation, excellent competition & classy recognition of the sponsors and players alike. David Dodge goes out of his way year after year to support the Premier Cup both financially and with his presence. We thank him for keeping this tradition going. The Wilson ball played extremely well in the warm conditions, the flocking held well and I can’t remember any in the batch that were off balance.”

The Premier Cup was a great success on and off the court thanks to Plainfield Country Club, Guy Moore, Premier Platform Tennis, Jason Gray, Wilson Racquet Sports and Ann Sheedy for everything they did in their commitment to promoting the sport of platform and making this a quality organized event for players and spectators to enjoy!

Source: Platform Tennis Magazine, Vol. 10, Issue 2, December, 2008

Doten and Keane, DeRose-Lubow Offer No Charity in Chicago

Every year, nearly all of the nation’s top players converge in Chicago for this early-season tournament. As the second highest-ranked tournament of the year (next to the APTA National Championships), players wishing to attain a high rank see the Charities as a must fight for.

The 36-year history of the Charities is one of great generosity. This year’s charitable recipient is JDRF – an organization committed to Type 1 Diabetes research.

The Charities is the first major tournament of the season and that means that seedings are based on ranking points earned the previous year. In the summer off-season, teams switch around and new ones form. What does this mean? It means that the Charities is the new status quo for how the new teams will be judged for the rest of the season. If you want to prove yourself, perform well in Chicago.

With below-seasonal average temperatures, mixed with occasional light rain, the Charities weekend offered challenging paddle at the highest levels.

Women’s: The seeded women’s teams were:
1. Delaney – Mangan
2. Delmonico – Main
3. Dardis – Shay
4. Prendergast – Sheldon
5. Doten-Keane
6. Ohlmuller – Prop
7. Manley – VanCalcar
8. Cottingham – Hayward

While the top-seeded teams had been long-standing partners, the 4th, 6th and 8th-seeded teams comprised new team pairings.

The deep women’s field was absent of arguably the two most dominating women on the tour – Lauren Zink (2008 National Champion who normally plays with Cindy Prendergast) and Laura
Parsons (the 2008 National’s Finalist with Annica van Starrenburg).

With the exception of a tight three-setter where 5th-seeded Doten-Keane defeated Frei-Sierks, the top eight seeds advanced to the quarter-finals without dropping a set.

It’s hard to claim any quarter-final upsets with a field so deep, but technically speaking, the Doten-Keane victory over third-seed Dardis-Shay and the elimination of the fourth-seeded Prendergast-Sheldon by sixth-seeded Ohlmuller and Prop had to be labeled as such.

In the women’s semi-finals, Doten and Keane defeated the second seeded Delmonico-Main. Delaney-Mangan arrived at the finals by besting the new team of Ohlmuller-Prop

A hard-fought women’s final saw the 4-time National Champions Mary Doten and Susie Keane edging out the topseeded Bobo Delaney and Tonia Mangan 6-7, 6-1, 6-3.

Winners in other draws:
Quarter Reprieve: Dardis-Shay
16 Reprieve: Rohrbach-VanStarrenburg
2nd Round Cons.: Budde-Welsher
2nd Round Consolation Reprieve: Broccolo-McGuire
1st Round Consolation: Taylor-Vinson
1st Round Cons. Rep.: Pelletier-Stevens

The men’s 2008 Charities was equally as thrilling as the women’s event – and with more upsets along the way.

Men’s: Based on rankings from last season, the top-seeded teams were dictated. Notably absent in men’s event was the respected team of Mike Cochrane/Scott Estes. Also, Flip Goodspeed’s absence presented Scott Mansager the opportunity to play with fellow Chicagoan Bill Fiedler.

The top-seeded teams for the men’s event were:
1. Keevins – Uihlein
2. Caldwell – Cordish
3. Gambino – Ohlmuller
4. Marino • Stulac
S. Fiedler – Mansager
6. Broderick – Moore
7. Bondurant – Johnson
8. English – Heil

With a pulled muscle, the second seeded team of David Caldwell and Blake Cordish had to pull out in their first match of the day. This left the eighth-seeded team the opportunity to capitalize by following the top-seeded team’s draw.

On the other half of the draw, two upsets occured in the round-of-16: Keevins-Uihlein (#1) fell to Berka-Eberly (#13) while Bondurant-Johnson (#7) lost to Lubow-DeRose (#12).

In the quarter-finals, Marino-Stulac defeated Fiedler- Mansager; Lubow and DeRose defeated Berka-Eberly; Gambino-Ohlmuller defeated Broderick-Moore; and, Heil-English defeated Barnes- O’Neil.

The semi-finals saw two thrilling upsets as Heil and English bested Ohlmuller and Gambino 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 and DeRose-Lubow overcame Marino and Stulac 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

The finals paired two teams who had never made it to the finals of a major championship, now in a battle to attain arguably the most coveted title in regual season platform tennis.

In the final showdown, 12th seeded Steve DeRose and Jon Lubow from Morristown, New Jersey, took the title defeating 8th seeded Brian Heil and Denny English form Columbus, Ohio, in 3 sets, 5-7, 7-5, 6-3.

Winners in other draws:
Quarter Reprieve: Berka-Eberly
16 Reprieve: Reed-Ward
32 Consolation: Bakker-Mott
Consolation: Smith-Sullivan
Last Chance: Moran-Neave

Source: Platform Tennis Magazine, Vol. 10, Issue 2, December, 2008

Buffy Briggs

Elizabeth “Buffy” Briggs (1926-2008)

Buffy Briggs died on October 30, 2008, after a long bout with cancer. She was 82 and lived in Vero Beach, Florida.

Buffy teamed with Charlotte Lee to win the Women’s Nationals in 1963 and 1964, and in 1968 she was runner-up with Do Deland. Shortly thereafter, her playing career was curtailed by a fall from a ski lift, seriously injuring her shoulder.

Although her competitive activity was ended, Buffy was a major contributor to the administration of women’s activities , serving as Women’s Tournament Director for the APTA over a period of ten years during the 1970’s. She also served on the APTA Board. She was responsible for creating the point system, still used today, for ranking players and for use in doing seedings in women’s draws. She also created reprieves for women’s events, to provide further information for ranking and seeding. She traveled extensively to all of the women’s ranking and national events, and many commented that she was a star at solving problems, making decisions, and resolving women’s issues.

In a quote from her own writing, she commented that her ten year involvement in administering women’s activities “was frustrating, exhilarating, demanding, time consuming, but overall rewarding for the many experiences I had and the marvelous people I was involved with. I loved my job”.

Buffy Briggs was inducted into the Platform Tennis Hall of Fame in 1999.

Source: Platform Tennis Magazine, Vol. 10, Issue 2, December, 2008

Mixed Nationals coverage and Rankings. Delmonico and Stulac win Mixed and Husband/Wife on same weekend

March 2nd, 2008, New Canaan, CT – Judging by the number of silver-plate platters they took home, you would think that newlyweds Kerri Delmonico and Mike Stulac of New York City registered at the New Canaan gift store “That Personal Touch.”

Delmonico and Stulac, who were married this past year, pulled off a rare double feat, winning two National Platform Tennis Championships in a single weekend. On Friday, February 29th, they won their first National Husband-Wife Championship, defeating Tonia and Tim Mangan of Bayville, NY by a score of 6-1, 6-3. Two days later on March 2nd, they won their first National Mixed Doubles Open title, defeating three-time winner Cindy Prendergast of Wilmington, DE, and her partner, Rusty Wright, also in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2.

It was an exciting weekend of platform tennis in New Canaan as the three-day event drew 188 players from across the country, traveling from as far away as Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Rhode Island, and even Canada, to play in the prestigious championships.

Tournament Director Mike Gillespie said that hosting a National Championship tournament is a tremendous honor for New Canaan. “We were very excited when the APTA, recognizing the tremendous rebirth and growth of platform tennis here, allowed us to host such a prestigious tournament in a town that is such an important part of the game’s rich history.” Gillespie himself is a former mixed doubles champion, winning in 1989 with fellow teaching pro Gerri Viant, as well as being a finalist in 1988 and 1990.

Co-Tournament Director Scott Slobin said that the 2008 tournament was among the broadest and deepest talent in recent memory. In addition to defending champs Bobo Delaney and John Milbank, both of the reigning men’s National Champions were in the draw: Mike Cochrane partnered with Aila Main; and Scott Estes, Jr., played with his sister Jill Feher. Slobin, who also played with his sister, Sheri Shea, added that because platform tennis is a game that rewards patience and thoughtful shot making over speed and raw power, it is a perfect game for players of both genders and different generations to compete on the same court. In addition to Scott Estes, Jr., his father Scott Estes, Sr. played in the tournament, partnering with Joanne O’Shaughnessy. And there was even a mother-son team in the draw; Christy and Todd Schaefer of Hinsdale, IL teamed up to win the Mixed Open Consolation Final.

New Canaan Park & Recreation Commission member Steve Caccam, who also oversaw the Husband-Wife and Husband-Wife Over 50 events on Friday, was especially pleased to have a number of local teams take the opportunity to compete in the various draws. “Ever since the construction of the four new public courts in Waveny Park in the fall of 2004, and with the renovation of Waveny Lodge nearly completed, participation in our local men’s and women’s leagues is at record levels. This tournament was a great opportunity for some of our best local players to experience and witness competition at this level.”

God smiled brightly on the first day of competition as bright sunshine and temperatures in the low 40s set the backdrop for some great paddle in the Husband-Wife and Husband- Wife Over 50 championships.

Things started off as expected in the first two rounds with all top four seeds advancing to the quarter-finals. In the bottom-half of the draw, Long Island favorites Tonia and Tim Mangan headed straight to a place they’ve been many times before, defeating Aila & Tim Main in the quarters and edging out Daniela Pino & Rusty Wright in the semi’s, setting up an all-New York final. The only question was whether their opponents would be Delmonico & Stulac from NYC or upstaters Fritz & Sandra Odenbach. The Odenbachs, gracious to come down and compete less than two weeks before they hosted the Open Nationals in Rochester, battled the newlyweds for nearly two hours in what was until then the best match of the day. Delmonico & Stulac won their semi, 6-3, 6-4, advancing to the finals. The final was an exciting finish for dozens of spectators at the New Canaan Field Club who witnessed Delmonico & Stulac defeat the Mangans, 6-1, 6-3.

Also on Friday, Rhode Islanders Karen & Peter Lyons defeated New Jerseyans Dori & Ken Persson in the Husband-Wife Over 50 final. The thrilling three-set victory, 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 over the defending champion Perssons capped off an exciting week for Peter.

An overnight storm Friday night left a thin dusting of snow on the courts for Saturday morning, but maintenance crews at the sixclubs made sure the courts were all safe and dry for the 8 a.m. matches. Morning matches were played in a wide variety of weather conditions. Dark clouds required the use of lights at 9:00 a.m., only to make way for bright sunshine an hour later that had nearly all players using sunglasses. But before the lunch break, a light drizzle shifted to snow flurries, requiring wardrobe
changes at nearly every changeover.

As a testament to the growing competition in platform tennis, there were two major upsets in the main draw In the third round, the No.1-seed, four-time winners and current defending champions Bobo Delaney and John Milbank were ousted by the very steady Sandra Krusos and big-hitting Randy Vigmostad of Long Island, 7-5, 2-6, 7-5. Both are very accomplished tennis players; Krusos won two Pac 10 and NCAA Division I singles tennis titles while at Stanford University. Vigmostad, played on the men’s professional tour. Another surprise occurred in the quarter-finals of the tournament when Kelly van Calcar and Mark Ruppert upset the No. 2-seeded team of Aila Main and Mike Cochrane, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4.

Among the many local teams competing in the Steve & Trish Griggs, Katie & Mark Bliss, Winners and Finalists of Husband-Wife Over 50 championships, New Canaan’s Meg Brossy paired with Juan Arraya of Greenwich and played one of the most exciting matches of the tournament, being narrowly edged out in the quarter-finals by Krusos-Vigmostad, 7-6 (6), 7-5.

Day 2 of the Mixed Open had cold and breezy but sunny weather. Van Calcar-Ruppert put up a valiant second-set effort after a disappointing first set, but eventually succumbing to the more experienced Delmonico-Stulac, 6-0, 7-5. In the other semi, three-time winner Cindy Prendergast and partner Rusty Wright outlasted a bold effort from Krusos-Vigmostad, winning 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 to get to the final.

The final played was a classic contrast in playing styles. On one side of the net was the always crafty Wright with his variety of reverse-spin serves and last-second flicking drives off the back screen, paired with the incredibly steady veteran champ Prendergast. On the opposing side of the net were the very athletic Delmonico and aggressive, poaching, slashing Stulac. In the end, on this day, it was the constant pressure of the hard-driving Delmonico-Stulac pair that won out, 6-3, 6-2, in an exciting final match of the tournament.

Source: Platform Tennis Magazine, Vol. 9., Issue 5, May, 2008

Senior Men’s Nationals coverage and Rankings

Men’s 45+, 55+ and 65+ Nationals:
After a ten year absence, the Senior Nationals returned to Chicago this March and 3 National Championships were claimed.

Starting what promises to be a record-breaking streak, Scott Mansager and Flip Goodspeed took their first 45’s crown together without dropping a set. They beat always tough Scott Bondurant and Bill Fiedler in the finals after defeating Rob Pierce and Leo Power in a 2 1/2 hour 6-3, 6-3 semi. Bondo and Fiedler took down Todd Ward and Dan Mott in the other semi in a tough two-setter. Thirty teams played in the division and the competition was strong all weekend.

In the 55’s, Jean Kempner and Jim McNitt defeated Hall of Famers Hank Irvine and Steve Baird 6-2, 6-3 in the final after Irvine and Baird had beaten Scott Estes and Jeff “Dr. Detroit” Hodges in a close and entertaining semi.

The 65’s saw the team of Jim Bishop and Mike Hannah claim their first ever National title. They defeated past National Champions Alan Graham and Stu Opdyke in a tight 3-setter that was in doubt until the final game. Congratulations to Jim and Mike on their first medal performance.

The tournament committee of Alan Graham, Howard Sipe, Jean Kempner, and John Noble wants to thank all the volunteers and the players who traveled for the event. Overall, 54 teams competed and everyone was treated to lots of paddle and the usual great Chicago hospitality.

Source: Jean Kempner, Platform Tennis Magazine, Vol. 9, Issue 5, May, 2008

Men’s 50+, 60+, 70+, 145+
The 2008 Platform Tennis Senior Nationals for age categories 50+, 60+, 70+, and 145+(combined ages) were contested over the four day weekend February 21-24, 2008.
The 145+ event was held at Sleepy Hollow Country Club, chaired by Rich Lombard. The other three senior events were held at the Fox Meadow Tennis Club in Scarsdale, New York, and were chaired by Bob Brown and Paul Doyle.

The 50+ event was won by Bob Kleinert from Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, and Jim Kaufman from Greenwich, Connecticut, in straight sets 6-4, 6-2 over the top-seeded team of Tim McAvoy and John Stefanik from Pennsylvania.

In the 60+ event, Gary Cochrane of Scarsdale, New York, and Tom Caputo of Greenwich, Connecticut, reached the final, losing to the defending champions- Scott Estes, Sr. from New Jersey and Dan Galves from Savannah, Georgia, 6-0, 6-3.

In the70+ event, Bill Childs from Vermont and Rich Lombard from New York City defeated Roy Anderson and Bob Callaway, both from Greenwich, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.

In the 145+ event, Childs and Lombard repeated, winning the final over Bob Brown of Scarsdale and George Lynch from Vermont, 6-4, 6-3.

For the first time in many years, the weather was a factor, as the snow storm on Friday caused the postponement of the 60+ tournament to Sunday. Most teams were able and willing to accomodate the change in schedule.

Over the extended weekend, some stellar platform tennis play was witnessed by some small, enthusiastic audiences, especially in the final of the 50+ championship.

Source: Platform Tennis Magazine, Vol. 9, Issue 5, May, 2008

Men’s 145+ is Alive and Well (Mostly)!
February 21st at the Sleepy Hollow Country Club in Scarborough, New York, turned out to be clear and cold as 13 teams battled for a day of old-time paddle camaraderie.

The sign-up draw was a full 16 (a record for the event) but three teams withdrew due to two heart attacks, one pacemaker implant, one hospitalization with leg injury and a bad back (all normal occurances for those at this age).

For those 26 players who showed at 9:30 a.m., there were up to five matches with the tournament concluding at 4 p.m.; after which an early dinner at a local restaurant was well attended.

The consolation evolved into a five-team round robin where 80-year-old Vince Greco and younger/faster partner Rick Reuter edged out John Stofell and Sid Schwager for top honors. Thank you to Beach Kuhl for traveling from Ross, California, to participate with Carlos Vallejo in the consolation.

The day’s best match award went to Alph Beane and newcomer Bob Cushman in the reprieve who were bested in the finals by veterans of senior paddle- Dick Bower and Larry Sturgis
6-7, 7-6, 7-5 in a show of endurance in their fourth match of the day.

In the championships, the semi-finalists found Alan Goldman and Roger Kling being outlasted by the 80-year-old veteran Bob Brown and his youthful friend George Lynch 2-6, 6-4, 6 4. Meanwhile, the defending champions- Blair LeRoy and Herb Bascome succumbed to a new pair of younger upstarts – Bill Childs and Rich Lombard, 6-3, 6-2.

The finals were hotly contested with Childs and Lombard emerging victorious, 6-3, 6-3.

The good news – 26 players from eight states had a wonderful day with everyone playing all day. Thank you to Bertan Cikigil for managing the day.

The bad news – during the walk to the bathroom facilities (50 yards), the majority of players forgot the four-digit door combination code – so adjustments had to be made.

Source: Richard Lombard, Platform Tennis Magazine, Vol. 9, Issue 5, May, 2008

Women’s 40+ and 60+ Nationals coverage and Women’s Senior Rankings

The weather forecast was dire. The flu bug was hitting the area hard. By Wednesday morning, the draws had shrunk to a total of 50 pairs. Those who played enjoyed a great day of paddle, friendship, camaraderie, favors, food and fun – and mostly good weather.

In the 60-and-over tournament, Helen Garrett and Sandy Simmers won for the 4th time in a row (and 5th overall) and took their gold medals home to Virginia. Betsy Heidenberger and Jan Shelburne took the 40-and-over gold medals back to Maryland.

The new team of Louise Cash and Mary Fenton kept the 60+ silver medals in New Jersey, and Bobo Delaney and Tonia Mangan kept the 40+ silver in Region I.

Other winners include:
60+ 3rd Place – Ginny Sniatkowski & Ruth Weil;
60+ 4th Place – Winnie Hatch & Sharon Hummers;
60+ Consolation – Colleen Burns-Keenan & Birgit Maio defeated Christa Ruppert & Dolores Krzanowski;
60+ Last Chance – Betty Michinard & Alice Silkworth defeated Carol Browne & Jennifer Fischer.

40+ 5th Place – Nancy Budde & Susan Penney;
40+ 6th Place – Tina Kelly & Carol Powers;
40+ Reprieve – Ruth Alin Connors & Nancy Harwood defeated Darlene Finnegan & Dede O’Brien;
40+ Consolation – Karen Gruenberg & Trish Griggs defeated Lorraine Preziosi & Charann Claire;
40+ Last Chance – Lamia Beydoun & Debra LaMountain defeated Ann Delaney & Leigh Williams.

All participants received a sterling silver paddle charm necklace, which tournament director Marjorie Hodson had commissioned specifically for this event. The “familiar blue” bags were a hint that something silver was inside!

Source: Platform Tennis Magazine, Vol. 9, Issue 5, May, 2008

Rule changes – “carry” and “double hit” allowed if stroke is continuous, and modification to rule when ball rebounds off screen into strikers court

The APTA Rules Committee (Martin Sturgess, Bob Callaway, Steve Nycum and Mike Stulac) filed this update with PTM:

There have been a couple of rule changes that you should be aware of before your next venture on to the court.

No, the let rule has not been changed and lobs out of the court are still a loss of point.

However, a major change passed by the Board at the May 2008 meeting is that a “carry” or “double hit” is now a legal shot providing that the player uses a continuous motion, and hits the ball before it reaches the screen. This rule has been changed mainly because it is felt that a “continuous motion” is a much clearer concept and thus should eliminate disagreements. Tennis made this switch many years ago for the same reason.

To summarize this rule, any ball struck using a continuous motion is now legal.

In 2007, a rule was established that if player A strikes a ball which lands in the opposite court and then hits the screen and rebounds all the way back into player A’s court without being touched, player A loses the point. This rule has been amended to apply to only those balls that rebound off of the back screen (including either corner). In other words if a player hits a ball into the opposition’s court that hits a side screen and returns into the ball striker’s court without touching the back screen it is a legal shot. Yes, it is apparently possible to do this, although I wouldn’t advise trying it too often!