Click here to view the 2010 schedule for the west coast segment of the Florida Grand Prix. Another tournament has been added (how nice to see the St. Petersburg Tennis Center back!) so the season now extends to mid-March.
Kathy Langer, Chair of the Adult/Senior Competition Committee, reports that discussions between the USTA and the ITF won't be concluded until the end of the year. The main sticking point is over whether seeding will be strictly based on ITF ranking points or will follow our traditional "all factors" method.
Click here to view a new list of player's wives or companions. Please, please email with additions (add your buddies' wives too) or changes. Thanks to Carolyn Vredevelt for the concept and initial entries and to Jo Lunsford for dozens more.
Click here to read a thrilling (and lengthy) account of cold war espionage combined with tennis. It's Serge Kovaleski's account of his father, Fred's, exploits as a CIA officer during the 50s (as published in the Washington Post in January 2006).
Making doubles draws at the same time as singles is more widespread and more successful. (Click here to read a full analysis.) What helps is language like the following on applications and tournament web pages:
Doubles and singles draws will be made at the same time. Interested players should enter with or without a partner. Players without partners will be put in contact with each other and refunds will be given to those who remain unpartnered.
Gordy Nichol, following the Morristown Cat II, pointed out another advantage: "Also, starting doubles the first day is really great. A top singles player usually has nothing to do the rest of the day and often feels he didn't get a good workout. This way, he gets a flying start - everybody does."
| Age | Singles Winners | Doubles Winners |
|---|---|---|
| 55 | Fred Robinson | Phil Landauer & Tom Smith |
| 60 | Mike Dahm | Mike Dahm & Jerry McEwen |
| 65 | Evert Jonsson | Phil Lucas & Steve Lunsford |
| 70 | W. Henry Baughman | J.B. Hayes & Peter Homorody |
| 75 | George McCabe | Joe Beeson & George McCabe |
| 80 | Tony Franco | Dick Emmert & Newt Meade |
| 85 | Newt Meade | Joel Arnold & Newt Meade |
| 90 | Doyle Royal |
Seeding mostly prevailed in the 65s as top seed Leland Housman won gold with wins over #5 Allan Carter 6-0,6-3 and then over #3 Bill Bethard 6-2,6-4. Bethard had upset #2 C. Raymond Lake 6-3,6-4. Dean Corley & Mike Stewart, also seeded #1, edged out #3 Richard Ortiz & Tony Pausz 7-6, 7-6 and then dominated #2 Rich Anderson & Ken Robinson 6-3,6-1 in the final. Anderson & Robinson had won over #4 Bethard & Housman 6-2,6-1.
Help! The Aussies have arrived!. Bob Howes won the 70 singles with a string of five convincing wins. Howes lost a total of only 18 games en route to the title ending with wins over fellow Aussie (and doubles partner) Bruce Rehn 6-1,6-2 and then over Rudy Hernando 6-3,6-1. Hernando had ousted Fred Farzanegan 6-3,6-4. Howes & Rehn cruised through the doubles as well. They won comfortably over Don Biedeinger & Hernando 6-4,6-1 in the semis and then over top seeds Henry Leichtfried & George Sarantos 6-3,4-2,ret(inj) in the final. Leichtfried & Sarantos had defeated Farzanegan & Lenny Lindborg 6-2,6-4.
| Age | Singles Winners | Doubles Winners |
|---|---|---|
| 55 | Geoff Cykman | Geoff Cykman & Andrew Stanley |
| 60 | Brent Abel | Brent Abel & Steven Connell |
| 65 | Donald Long | Rich Anderson & Ken Robinson |
| Age | Singles Winners | Doubles Winners |
|---|---|---|
| 55 | Phil Landauer | Joseph Lyden & Stephen Rotblatt |
| 60 | Mike Dahm | Mike Dahm & Jerry McEwen |
| 65 | Donald Long | Phil Lucas & Steve Lunsford |
| 70 | Bob Quall | Robert Hicks & David Hodson |
| 75 | George McCabe | Chuck DeVoe & George McCabe |
| Age | Singles Winners | Doubles Winners |
|---|---|---|
| 55 | Thomas Connell | John Burmann & Michael Vogl |
| 60 | Hugh Burris | Paul Cass & Dennis Reblin |
| 65 | Michael Stewart | David Berg & Del Campbell |
| 70 | George Sarantos | Lee Hamilton & Courtney Henderson |
| 75 | Courtney Henderson | T.C. Chang & Scott Denison |
Neil Hurlbut extended his undefeated record in the 75s, but not without a scare in the final versus Buddy Lomax 0-6,6-4,6-3. Lomax had ousted the (improperly) top-seeded Saul Snyder 4-6,6-2,6-3 while Hurlbut was dominating #2 George McCabe 6-1,6-3. McCabe & Chuck Nelson formed a new partnership and claimed the gold ball with convincing wins over Richard Haskell & Lomax 6-1,6-3 and then over Hurlbut & Dennis Nielson 6-4,6-3. Hurlbut & Nielson had defeated Don Neuman & Snyder 6-2,6-1.
Clem Hopp garnered gold again in the 80s losing a total of only eleven games and concluding with wins over Eyup Tanman 6-1,6-1 and then over Graydon Nichols 6-2,6-4. Nichols had topped Marvin Maxwell 6-3.6-0. Len Bunge & Jason Morton won the doubles with wins over Addison Appleby & Don Bentz 6-1,6-0 and then over top seeds Wayne Hippenstiel & Nichols 2-6,6-4,6-4. Hippenstiel & Nichols had benefited from an injury walkover over Roald Flater & Jack Graham.
Marvin Henderson once again bested doubles partner Bob Sherman 6-4,6-2 to win the 85 singles. Henderson had bested Jim O'Connor 3-6,6-2,6-4 while Sherman was taking out Beong Paik 6-3,6-3. Henderson & Sherman won the doubles with straight-set wins over Vince Fotre & Don Tobey 6-3,6-4 and then over Dyle Anderson & Austin Sellery 6-4,6-1. Anderson & Sellery had defeated Jack Cairns & Sesto Lucci 6-2,6-2.
| Age | Singles Winners | Doubles Winners |
|---|---|---|
| 55 | Larry Saheim | John Callen & Marvin Pearson |
| 60 | Padg Bolton | Padg Bolton & Steve Duffel |
| 65 | Evert Jonsson | L. Hill Griffin & Robert Johnston |
| 70 | Lester Sack | W. Henry Baughman & Lester Sack |
| 75 | Gordon Hammes | Robert Koenig & Joe Roberts |
| 80 | Bill Weathers | Not Completed |
| Age | Singles Winners | Doubles Winners |
|---|---|---|
| 65 | Joe Bachmann | Jim Carlin & Dan Wszolek |
| 70 | Rudy Hernando | Roy Anderson & Gordy Nichol |
| 75 | Dieter Gras | Dieter Gras & Roger Kling |
| 80 | Tony Franco | Tony Franco & Bob Meyerdierks |
| 85 | Larry McDonnell | Larry McDonnell & Owen Roberts |
| Age | Singles Winners | Doubles Winners |
|---|---|---|
| 55 | Fred Robinson | John Callen & Fred Robinson |
| 60 | Brian Cheney | Brian Cheney & Armistead Neely |
| 65 | Jerry Kirk | Bill Plummer & David Taylor |
| 70 | Rudy Hernando | Don Biedinger & Rudy Hernando |
Top seed Roald Flater won the 80 singles title by defeating Gene Wilken 6-2,6-2 and then (overlooked and unseeded) Bill Davis 6-4,2-6,6-2. Davis had bested Lou Wick 6-3.6-3. Davis & Ed Kauder (overlooked and unseeded) scored up the doubles title with wins over top seeds Raymond Stange & Wick 6-2,4-6,6-4 and then Flater & Jack Graham 6-3,6-3. Flater & Graham had bested Dick Eitel & Vernon Larson 6-1,6-2.
In the 85s, fourth seed Don Tobey ousted Marvin Henderson 6-4,2-6,6-3 and nailed down the gold ball by besting Irving Tebor 6-4,3-3,ret(inj). Tebor had dominated perennial winner Bob Sherman 6-1,6-1. Henderson & Sherman, undaunted, won the doubles title with wins over Ted Heisler & W.T. Mathes 7-6,6-1 and then Jim Carleton & Ken Hayes 6-2,6-3. Carleton & Hayes had outlasted Dyle Anderson & Austin Sellery 7-5-3-6,6-3.
Howard Moffett doubled up in the 90s with singles wins over Thomas Whitlow 6-3,6-1 and Tudor Apmadoc 6-1,6-3. Apmadoc had topeed John Deurwaarder 6-3,6-1. Apmadoc & Moffett garnered the doubles gold ball by dominating the round robin without the loss of a set.
| Age | Singles Winners | Doubles Winners |
|---|---|---|
| 55 | Tony Dawson | Cancelled |
| 60 | Brent Abel | Cancelled |
| 65 | Douglas Sykes | Stephen Booth & William Wagley |
| 70 | Larry Dodge | Bob Jones & Bob Quall |
| 75 | Everett Riggle | Everett Riggle & Martin Silverman |
| 80 | Leonard Malherbe | Robert Johnson & Parton Keese |
| 85 | William Graham | Robert Bulmore & Ken Hayes |
| Age | Singles Winners | Doubles Winners |
|---|---|---|
| 55 | Tom Smith | |
| 60 | Larry Back | William Hester & Steve Vaughan |
| 65 | Wojbor Woyczynski | |
| 70 | W. Henry Baughman | Thomas Casey & Lamar Hooker |
| 75 | Ronald Fenasci | |
| 80 | Eyup Tanman | Raymond Breaux & T. Sellers Meric |
Richard Johnson, seeded second in singles and doubles won both titles with a total of ten convincing victories without the loss of a set and with no opponent winning more than six games. Johnson bested Leland Housman 6-1,6-4 in the semis and then dominated Fred Drilling 6-1,6-2 in the final. Drilling had defeated Ray Lake 6-1,6-3. Johnson & Jerry Kirk sailed through the doubles draw finishing with wins over Eric Bojesen & John Popplewell 6-2,6-2 and then over Dean Corley & Mike Stewart 6-3,6-3 in the final. Corley & Stewart had defeated an injured Jimmy Parker & Ken Robinson after playing just one game.
Brent Abel, seeded second, upset top seed Hugh Thomson 6-4,6-4 in the final to win the 60 singles championship. Abel had dominated #3 Terry Ehlers 6-1,6-3 in the semis while Thomson had edged Padg Bolton 7-6,6-4. In doubles the team of Neal Newman & Thomson bested top seeds David & Dan Bohannon 7-6,6-2 for the title. The Bohannons had edged Thomas Bozarth & Kenneth Upton 7-5,4-6,6-4 while Newman & Thomson were the beneficiaries of an injury to Abel & Kenneth Dahl 3-6,7-6,3-0,ret(inj).
Upsets abounded in the 90s as unseeded Howard Moffett bested unseeded Tudor Apmadoc 6-4,6-3 in the final. Apmadoc had squashed #2 Thomas Whitlow 6-2,6-1 while Moffett wiped out top seed Ed Osgood 6-0,6-0. The doubles was run as a four-team round robin but only one match was actually played: the team of Apmadoc & Robert Newman narrowly defeated Moffett & Otto Roemmich 6-4,4-6,7-6.
Christopher Bennett, seeded fourth, won a tight semi-final match over Geoff Cykman 3-6,6-2,7-6 and then easily handled top seed Phil Landauer 6-1,6-2 to capture the gold ball. Landauer had won his semi when doubles partner Tom Smith was forced to retire with an injury after winning the first set 4-6. Undaunted, Landauer & Smith nonetheless managed to win the doubles title finishing up with wins over Brent Abel & Chris Morgan 7-6,6-1 and then Timothy Butorac & Tom Rettenmaier 6-3,6-2. Butorac & Rettenmaier had edged Cykman & Skip Walther 4-6,6-2,7-6.
Youth (relatively speaking) prevailed in Houston as first year players Bob Quall (70s) and Neil Hurlbut (75s) won their respective national indoor singles titles (duplicating their wins at the January Cat II in Rancho Mirage). Quall won five matches without the loss of a set defeating Bob Duesler 6-1,7-6(6) in the semis and Rudy Hernando 6-3,6-4 in the final. Rudy had dominated 2008 three-time winner Fred Farzanegan 6-3,6-0 in their semi-final match. Hurlbut lost a set enroute (to Tom Springer in the quarters) before dispatching Russell Seymour 7-6(4),6-3 and Buddy Lomax 6-3,6-1. Lomax had narrowly defeated George McCabe 7-6(7),7-6(6).
Henry Leichtfried & George Sarantos, seeded second, prevailed in a deep 70 doubles draw. They defeated Don Biedinger & Hernando 6-4,6-3 in the semis and then Tom Brunkow & Sam Corso 6-4,7-5 in the final. Brunkow & Corso had upset perennial champs (and top seeds) Duesler & Jim Nelson 6-4,6-4. Top seeds Dick Doss & John Powless powered through the 75 doubles ending with wins over Hurlbut & Dennis Nielson 6-4,6-4 and then over current world champions McCabe & Jack Vredevelt 6-1,6-4. McCabe & Vredevelt had bested Don Neuman & Saul Snyder 6-4,6-3.
| Age | Singles Winners | Doubles Winners |
|---|---|---|
| 55 | Joe Bouquin | Larry Turville & Sam Vuille |
| 60 | Larry Turville | Mike Dickens & Sam Gornto |
| 65 | Joe Bachmann | Hank Irvine & Evert Jonsson |
| 70 | Fred Farzanegan | Don Biedinger & Rudy Hernando |
| 75 | King Van Nostrand | George McCabe & Jack Vredevelt |
| 80 | Clem Hopp | Len Bunge & Jim Mackey |
| 85 | Ted Heisler | Richard Collier & Ted Heisler |
| Age | Singles Winners | Doubles Winners |
|---|---|---|
| 55 | Fred Robinson | Fred Robinson & Larry Turville |
| 60 | Larry Turville | Jerry Kirk & Hugh Thomson |
| 65 | Peter Adrigan | Hank Irvine & Evert Jonsson |
| 70 | Rudy Hernando | Tom Brunkow & Sam Corso |
| 75 | King Van Nostrand | Chuck DeVoe & Russell Seymour |
| 80 | Clem Hopp | Len Bunge & Jim Mackey |
| 85 | Ted Heisler | Byron Lutman & Bud Slessinger |
| 90 | Vero Ajello | Anthony Coker & Irving Converse |
| Age | Singles Winners | Doubles Winners |
|---|---|---|
| 55 | Don Lesage | Leonard Wofford & Paul Wulf |
| 60 | Ken Dahl | David Bohannon & Dan Bohannon |
| 65 | Dick Johnson | Dick Johnson & Fred Shuey |
| 70 | Bob Quall | Bob Duesler & Jim Nelson |
| 75 | Neil Hurlbut | Dick Doss & Roger Hing |
| 80 | Graydon Nichols | Graydon Nichols & Hugh Stewart |
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