A Senior Tennis (USA and International) & Travel website by Carolyn Nichols
June 30, 2020
The USTA has announced the teams it has selected to represent the USTA in the ITF Super Senior World Team Championships in October. (Fingers crossed that this event happens as scheduled, October 11-16 in Mallorca, Spain with individuals to follow October 17-24).
The players selected are listed below; players whose names are in bold font are the playing captains. The players are listed alphabetically by first name.
The USTA has announced the rosters for the ITF Young Seniors World Team Championships to be played in Umag, Croatia in September.
2020 Young-Seniors World Championships (35/40/45)
Team Tournament: Sept. 13 – 19, 2020
Individual Tournament: Sept. 19 – 26, 2020
Location: Umag, Croatia
The list of players can be found here and are also listed below.
Here is the link to the list of players who applied for the USTA Super Senior teams. The event is scheduled for Oct 11-16 in Mallorca, Spain. So far this event is still on the ITF schedule. Team announcements will be made on July 30th.
For more information go to the USTA Senior International page.
23 April 2020
ITF Statement regarding ITF Seniors (50-55-60) World Team & Individual Championships
In response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the ITF has suspended all Tours, including the ITF Seniors Tour until 13 July 2020, aligning with the ATP and WTA Tours respectively. This includes the postponement of the ITF Seniors (50-55-60 years) World Team & Individual Championships which had been scheduled to take place In Boca Raton and Palm Beach Gardens, USA from 26 April to 9 May 2020.
The ITF has been working with the host organiser, venues, event partners and independent travel advisors in recent weeks to identify a safe and viable date to reschedule the event in 2020. Protecting the health and well-being of players, officials, guests, club members and local communities has remained the priority.
Due to the ongoing global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has not been possible to achieve the criteria set for the event to be rescheduled in 2020, and as such the ITF Seniors (50-55-60 years) World Team & Individual Championships will not be held in 2020.
The 2021 ITF Seniors (50-55-60 years) World Team & Individual Championships will therefore take place in Boca Raton & Palm Beach Gardens, with the precise dates to be announced in due course.
The ITF will continue to closely monitor the COVID-19 situation alongside tournament hosts and partners, with the aim of resuming ITF tournaments as soon as it is safe to do so.
The ITF Young Seniors (35-40-45 years) World Championships scheduled for 13-26 September 2020 in Umag, Croatia and the ITF Super-Seniors (65-70-75-80-85 years) World Championships scheduled for 11- 24 October 2020 in Mallorca, Spain both remain on the 2020 calendar.
If you have any queries, please contact the ITF Seniors Department by email – seniors@itftennis.com
The USTA has posted a link here regarding the postponement to 2021.
The USTA Board has approved the Senior International Selection Committee’s extension and revision of the eligibility (minimum play) requirement and timelines as follows:
The application deadline for the 2020 Young-Seniors and 2020 Super-Seniors has been extended thirty days from the original deadline; For Young Seniors May 11th and Super Seniors May 31st.
The USTA Board has approved the relaxation of the eligibility (minimum play) requirements for 2020 (For Young Seniors and Super Seniors ONLY) and for Young Seniors, Seniors and Super Seniors for 2021 as follows:
1: A Category I USTA Championship must be played within 24 months prior to the posting of the Final Applicant List on USTA.com OR
2: A Category 2 or Super Category 2 event must be played within 12 months prior to the posting of the Final Applicant List on USTA.com
What does this mean?
A: Super Seniors can apply here to be considered for a 2020 Super Senior team up till May 31, 2020
Super Seniors must have played a Category I within 24 months of June 9, 2020 or a Category II or Super Category II within 12 months of June 9, 2020.
B: Young Seniors can apply here to be considered for a 2020 Young Senior team up till May 11, 2020
Young Seniors must have played a Category I within 24 months of May 19, 2020 or a Category II or Super Category II within 12 months of May 19, 2020.
The original Guidelines can be found here: USTA International Selection Guidelines. Section 7 is amended as described above.
The new timelines can be found here.
The 2020 ITF Super Senior Teams Application is now live. The deadline for applying is May 1, 2020. UPDATE: the deadline is now June 1, 2020.
From the ITF website: https://www.itftennis.com/en/news-and-media/articles/2020-itf-seniors-world-championships-dates-locations-information/
2020 ITF Seniors (50-55-60) World Team & Individual Championships
*POSTPONED*
Updated April 23, 2020: Postponed till 2021, dates TBA
Location
Team Championships: Boca Raton, Florida, USA
Individual Championships: Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA
Dates
As of 17 March 2020, the ITF Seniors (50-55-60) World Team & Individual Championships is postponed as a precautionary measure linked to the potential impact of the COVID-19 virus on the event.
Every effort will be made by the host organisers, USTA and ITF to reschedule the event for a later date in 2020 provided a safe, viable date can be identified. Further updates relating to this will follow in due course.
Venues
Team Championships: Boca Raton, Florida, USA
Individual Championships: Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA
Fact Sheet
The fact sheet for both the Team & Individual Championships are available below should they be helpful to you in contacting hotels in the City. They will remain until the end of March for this purpose.
The application for the Men’s and Women’s 35/40/45 (Italia, Trabert, Dubler, Lenglen, Young & Court) Cups is now open. The deadline to apply is April 11th. UPDATED: MAY 11, 2020
Click here to apply: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ITFYoungSeniors
The Young Seniors Team Competition will be held in Umag, Croatia September 13-19. (The individual competition, open to all players meeting the minimum age requirement and possessing an IPIN will be held September 20-27 in Umag).
The teams will be announced May 11th, 2020.
If you have any questions about the application, please feel free to contact Rob Gorden at robert.gorden@usta.com.
| Maria Esther Bueno Cup Women's 50 | Fred Perry Cup Men's 50 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrea Rice | Bethesda | MD | Art Hernandez | Huntington Beach | CA |
| Jenny Klitch | Palm Beach Gardens (captain) | FL | Dana Gill | San Jose | CA |
| Julie Cass | Austin | TX | Eoin Collins | Houston | TX |
| Vesna McKenna | Hollywood | FL | Oren Motevassel (Captain) | Boynton Beach | FL |
| Maureen Connolly Cup Women's 55 | Austria Cup Men's 55 | ||||
| Fran Chandler | Jackson | TN | Bill Moss (captain) | Malibu | CA |
| Mary Dailey | Delray Beach | FL | Eric Luxembourg | Sarasota | FL |
| Shelly Works (captain) | San Antonio | TX | Leo Young | Eagle | ID |
| Vicki Buholz | Dallas | TX | Wilie Alumbaugh | Leawood | KS |
| Alice Marble Cup Women's 60 | Von Cramm Cup Men's 60 | ||||
| Robin Harris | San Diego | CA | Daniel Waldman | Washington | DC |
| Pat Purcell | St. Louis | MO | Mark Vines | Naples | FL |
| Shannon Gordon-Carney | St. Louis | Mo | Mike Fedderly | Palm Desert | CA |
| Susan Wright | Orlando | FL | Mike Tammen (captain) | Portland | OR |
From USTA.com: (note that Robin Harris has replaced Diane Barker on the Women’s 60s team; Barker is injured.)
From itftennis.com:
2020 ITF Seniors (50-55-60) World Team & Individual Championships
Location
Team Championships: Boca Raton, Florida, USA
Individual Championships: Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA
Dates
Team Championships: Sunday 26 April to Friday 1 May 2020. If there is inclement weather, matches may be played on Saturday 2 May
Individual Championships – Saturday 2 May to Saturday 9 May
Venues
Team Championships: Boca Raton, Florida, USA
Individual Championships: Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA
Fact Sheet
The fact sheet for both the Team & Individual Championships are now available. Please note that the listed venues for the individual world championships may change.
2020 ITF Seniors World Championships, Men’s and Women’s 50, 55, 60
Team Tournament: April 26 – May 2, 2020
Individual Tournament: May 2 – 9, 2020
Location: Boca Raton (team) & Palm Beach Gardens (individual), Fla.
Important Dates:
October 1, 2019: Application posted on USTA.com.
November 10, 2019: Application deadline.
November 13, 2019: Players who have applied for consideration will be posted on USTA.com.
November 18, 2019: Deadline to notify the USTA of any omissions to the posted applicant list (cutoff date for 24 month period for which to consider results).
December 16, 2019: Team selection posted to USTA.com and players will be notified of their status.
January 20, 2020: All paperwork (excluding travel itinerary) due to USTA staff (including player agreement, media packet, copy of passport, & IPIN).
February 1, 2020: Players may begin to make their travel arrangements.
March 1, 2020: Travel arrangements due to staff.
April 26, 2020: Seniors World Team Championships begins.
2020 Young-Seniors World Championships (35/40/45)
Team Tournament: Sept. 13 – 19, 2020
Individual Tournament: Sept. 19 – 26, 2020
Location: Umag, Croatia
Important Dates:
March 1, 2020: Application posted on USTA.com. Click here to view
April 11, 2020: Application deadline.
April 14, 2020: Players who have applied for consideration will be posted on USTA.com.
April 19, 2020: Deadline to notify the USTA of any omissions to the posted applicant list (cutoff date for 24 month period for which to consider results).
May 11, 2020: Team selection posted to USTA.com and players will be notified of their status.
June 11, 2020: All paperwork (excluding travel itinerary) due to USTA staff (including player agreement, media packet, copy of passport, & IPIN).
July 11, 2020: Players may begin to make their travel arrangements.
August 10, 2020: Travel arrangements due to staff.
September 13, 2020: Seniors World Team Championships begins.
2020 Super-Seniors World Championships (65/70/75/80/85)
Team Tournament: Oct. 11 – 17, 2020
Individual Tournament: Oct. 17 – 24, 2020
Location: Mallorca, Spain
Important Dates:
April 1, 2020: Application posted on USTA.com.
May 1, 2020: Application deadline.
May 5, 2020: Players who have applied for consideration will be posted on USTA.com.
May 10, 2020: Deadline to notify the USTA of any omissions to the posted applicant list (cutoff date for 24 month period for which to consider results).
June 1, 2020: Team selection posted to USTA.com and players will be notified of their status.
July 1, 2020: All paperwork (excluding travel itinerary) due to USTA staff (including player agreement, media packet, copy of passport, & IPIN).
August 1, 2020: Players may begin to make their travel arrangements.
September 1, 2020: Travel arrangements due to staff.
October 11, 2020: Seniors World Team Championships begins.
Click here for the 2019 Senior International Cup team selection guidelines.
Young Seniors Individual Round Up: Marvin Colley & Anda Perianu Reach Singles Finals
Writing from California, USA
The Young Seniors Individual World Championships finished November 2nd in Miami Beach, Florida.
Photos below courtesy of cameraworksusa (Susan and Fred Mullane).
Anda Perianu, silver and Kaysie Smashey, bronze were on the medals podium for the USA in women’s 35 singles. They teamed together in 35 doubles to reach the semis and earn bronze medals. Perianu was seeded 4th.
Marvin Colley, unseeded, reached the men’s 40 singles final. He also teamed with Brandon Blankenbaker to reach the 35 doubles final. Marvin and Brandon took out the 2nd and 4th seeds along the way.
Neither Perianu nor Colley were members of a USTA national team this year. Perianu was a member of the Suzanne Lenglen Cup team in 2018 which finished second. Smashey and Blankenbaker were members of the W35 and M35 USA teams respectively in 2019.
Jenny Klitch and Andrea Rice, both of whom are in the 50s, reached the 45 doubles final. They won the 50 clay courts in 2019. Klitch was a member of the W45 team which won bronze in Miami Beach while Rice was a member of the gold medal winning W50 team this year in Lisbon, Portugal.
Individual Draws Now Posted for ITF Young Seniors World Championships
Final results:
USA Margaret Court Team (W45) Wins Bronze in Miami Beach; Young Cup (W40) Finish with Copper Medals
Last week the USA Margaret Court Cup team, Jenny Klitch, Nancy Hilliard, Tracie Currie and Sophie Woorons Johnson were edged by France in the semis (France went on to win) then rebounded to beat Germany decisively in the 3/4 playoff to finish fourth. It was the highest finish of any of the USA Young Senior teams. Shown below are Hilliard, Currie and Klitch (Woorons is missing). Spain finished second. Photos courtesy of Jenny Klitch.
The USA Young Cup team, Millie Yablonicky, Yulia Bolotova, Amanda Parson Siegel and Lizl Kotz finished fourth; they won their round robin group, advanced to the semis with a bye, then fell in the semis and 3/4 playoff. Photos courtesy of cameraworksusa.
The other four USA teams finished:
M35: 5th
M40: 7th
M45: 11th
W35: 5th
Draws:ITF Young Seniors, Miami (team)
Writing from California, USA
France has taken out most of the USA teams in the past two days. Today France beat USA in the women’s 40s, winning both singles matches in straight sets. The doubles was not played.
In the women’s 45s, at #2 singles, France narrowly won at #2 singles 75 in the third. The #1 singles is going on now. Interestingly, USA’s #1, Sophie Woorons, is a French native, which may give USA an edge.
In the Tony Trabert Cup, M40, 5-7 place playoff, the USA is playing Great Britain and lost at #2 singles, with #1 singles and hopefully doubles to follow.
The women’s and men’s 35 & 45 teams are off today and play for 5th tomorrow.
The men’s 45 team plays this afternoon in the 8-11 place playoff bracket vs Russia. Update: USA won the #2 singles point and lead 1/0!
I will update this later tonight after the men’s 40 and women’s 45 finish.
UPDATE: Sophie won in straight sets at #1 singles; France won the doubles 64 in the third over Sophie & Tracie, so France advances to the final and USA will play for third on Friday in the women’s 40 & 45.
Draws:ITF Young Seniors, Miami
USA W 40 & 45 Reach Semis in Miami Beach; M35, 40, W 35 Fall in Quarters
Writing today from California, USA; Oct. 23, 2019
The USA W45 team (Margaret Court Cup) were in action on Wednesday at the North Miami Beach Tennis Center. After having two days off (having received a default from Brazil and a bye), they faced Canada. Nancy Hilliard at #2 and Sophie Woorons at #1 easily won their matches and Jenny Klitch/Tracie Currie looked to be on their way to doing the same, having won the first set 60, when the Canadians roared back and won the second set. No worries though, Jenny/Tracie won the match tiebreak (played in the knockout rounds only in this event in non-deciding matches) 10-5. They play top-seeded France in the semis on Thursday.
The USA Women’s 40 team, the Young Cup, advanced to the semis by winning their round robin group, then receiving a bye in the quarters. They play #1 seeded France in the 40s.
The USA Suzanne Lenglen Cup team (W35), finalists last year, fell to…you guessed it, France, in the quarters. Kaysie Smashey lost in three sets at #2 singles; Cup team rookie Heather Nobler was defeated in straight set. Evgenia Dockter/Julie Thu were edged 12-10 in the match tiebreak, giving France a 3/0 win.
The Italia Cup team, M35, after beating Canada yesterday, faced Netherlands in the quarters and lost both singles; Netherlands then defaulted the doubles point. Matt Hane at #2 singles lost in three sets; Jonathan Sucupira lost in straights at #1. They will now play for fifth place.
The Tony Trabert Cup team also lost to France, 2/1 (France defaulted the doubles point. Paulo Barros at #2 and Ross Duncan at #1 fell in tight two-set matches.
The Dubler Cup team (which won yesterday in the round robin), had today off and is now playing for 8th-11th.
Here are a few photos (courtesy of cameraworksusa, aka Susan & Fred Mullane).
Draws:ITF Young Seniors, Miami
USA Goes 5/0 On Day 2 of ITF Young Seniors World Championships
West Palm Beach, FL
Scores are at the end of the post.
The USA women’s 35 overcame a 0/1 deficit vs Paraguay to win their Round Robin. They have a day off Tuesday.
The Women’s 40s trounced So Africa to win their round robin group and advance.
The women’s 45 received a default from Brazil. They have today off and now play Canada in the QF (instead of having a bye, to avoid 3 consecutive days off).
The men’s 35 swept India with the loss of only 2 games! They play #7 seed Canada today for a spot in the quarters. Photo below of Matt Hane, courtesy of cameraworksusa.
The men’s 40s advanced 3/0 over Costa Rica to win their round robin.
The men’s 45 had a bye Monday and play today to try and finish 2nd in their group.
Draws:ITF Young Seniors, Miami
USA Win Five of Six Matches on Day 1 of Young Seniors World Team Championships
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
The ITF Young Seniors (ages 35, 40 and 45 and over) World Team Championships began today in Miami Beach at the Flamingo Tennis Center and North Miami Beach at the Tennis Center there.
The opening ceremonies were held yesterday in North Miami Beach. In addition to the parade of nations, the opening featured a person jumping out of a plane and entertainers from South Beach singing and dancing.
It’s very very hot here, high 80s or better and very humid.
Today, Monday, all USA teams were in action. I watched the women’s 45 team of Sophie Woorons, Jenny Klitch, Nancy Hilliard and Tracie Currie. They played Paraguay, who seemed to have stacked their lineup…the #2 player had recently beaten the #1 player in an ITF tournament 63 60. So Jenny had a good match against a feisty player who served well and moved well, but was streaky. Jenny won 64 63. Sophie made short work of her opponent at #1 and showed off some flashy (and effective) jumping forehands and backhands. Nancy and Tracie won the doubles point.
In other action, the men’s 35s won 2/1 against Finland; Matt Hane at #2 and Jonathas Sucupira both won in straight sets to clinch the tie though Brandon Blankenbaker and rookie Quinn Borchard fell in three sets in the doubles.
The women’s 35s & 40s both won 3/0 against Ireland and Mexico respectively. The 35s had Kaysie Smashey at #2 singles, Heather Nobler at #1 and Julie Thu/Eugenia Dockter won the doubles point. On the 40s team, Lizl Kotz at #2 and Amanda Parson at #1 won the singles points while Millie Yablonicky and Yulia Bolotova won the doubles point.
The men’s 40s beat Turkey 3/0. Paulo Barros played #2 while Michael Halperin played #1 singles; Ross Duncan/Chris Groer took the doubles point.
The men’s 45s were the only USA team to be unseeded. They played a seeded team, Australia first round and unfortunately lost both singles matches; rookie Raj Vaswani fell at #2 and Michael Chang (no, not that Michael Chang) lost at #1 singles before Neil Grover and Art Hernandez won the doubles point.
Draws and results are here (click on “matches” to see the schedule and daily results).
From Brenda Carter, Captain of the Althea Gibson Cup team:
Amazingly, we did it. We won the Althea Gibson Cup by defeating the team from Great Britain. Both singles matches were nail biters — however, both were won in straight sets. Judy started the day winning in two very tight sets, then Toni took the court and defeated her opponent in straight sets. Shortly thereafter, Liane and I defeated GB’s remaining two players. We are very excited.
The team competition ended today. USA won 5 of the 10 Cups and finished in the top 3 in the remaining 5 Cups. The individual World Championships begin tomorrow. Many of the Cup players will remain in Umag to compete for singles, doubles or mixed doubles titles and will be joined by many others who choose to compete from all over the world. However, many choose not to compete in the Individuals and head back to their home countries (including me) this weekend.
I’m so happy for my teammates as they all earned their places on the team with stellar national competition leading up to team selection. We all are very honored to be selected by USTA to represent USA. I’m attaching a photo of our team taken at the awards ceremony.
Thank you so much for supporting us.
Warmly and sincerely,
Brenda
Writing from California, USA
The USA has won five gold medals in Umag so far by Friday, two silver and three bronze. What a fantastic effort by our “super” Super Senior Teams!
The Kitty Godfree Cup, W65, trounced Germany 3/0 with Wendy McColskey at #2 and Tina Karwasky at #1 winning in straight sets. Jan Kirkland Cochran/Lil Peltz Petow completed the 3/0 win.
The Althea Gibson Cup, W70, battle hardened after winning two matches in deciding doubles to reach the final, won both singles against Great Britain to win the gold. Judy Dixon edged Shirley Fox at #2 76 75 and Toni Novack beat Margory Love by a similar score 75 75 to secure the win.
Queens Cup, W75, fell to France, losing both singles decisively. France was a level above the rest of the competition this year with Sylvia Galfard at #2 and Michelle Bichon at #1. The USA finishes with silver medals which is a fantastic finish for the team.
The Women’s 85, who played Argentina several times this week, split singles yesterday and had an unbeatable lead of 5-1 after that.
The Women’s 80 playoff bracket was a 3 team round robin. The USA lost yesterday 2/1 to Argentina, and beat France on Wednesday. Argentina beat France today 2/1 so USA finishes second.
The Bitsy Grant team, M75, handed Peter Pokorny rare losses in beating Austria to win the Cup. Don Long apparently hit the wall in singles after a series of marathon singles wins and lost at #2 singles, but Jimmy Parker beat Pokorny at #1 60 76 and Parker/Long won the doubles point 60 61.
The Britannia Cup, M65 placed third, beating Australia in both singles matches. Gary Jenkins won in three sets at #2 singles and Geoff Cykman won at #1. USA #1 Mark Meyers and AUS #1 Andrew Rae didn’t play today.
In Jack Crawford Cup, M70, the USA beat Switzerland 3/0 to win bronze with singles wins by Geoff Moore at #2 in three sets, Bob Litwin at #1 in straight sets and Steve Gottlieb/Brent Abel in doubles.
The Gardnar Mulloy, M80 team edged Sweden 2/1 to finish third. Lester Sack was the MVP today, winning at #2 singles 13-11 in a Match tiebreak and then combining with Wilbur Jones to win the deciding doubles (after Quall fell at #1 singles) in two tight sets.
I will add more photos later.
Draws for 2019 Super Senior Cups in Umag Now Posted
Reporting from California, USA
I will update the results of the Men’s 65 & 80 later today.
Update, 10 pm CET:
USA lost 2/1 to Chile in the M80 and 3/0 to France in M65. Both teams and M70 play for third tomorrow.
W65/70/75 play for first along with M75 & 85.
W85 have won their division.
The Bitsy Grant Cup team, Men’s 75, led by Jimmy Parker, won both singles against France to advance to the final on Thursday in Umag. Don Long put in a gritty performance against Francois Pierson, winning 76 (5) in the third set to give the USA a 1/0 lead. Parker sealed the win with a 64 63 win over ?Serge Andres to send the USA into the final. Dean Corley/David Dollins were scheduled to play the doubles.
The USA Men’s 70 team (Jack Crawford) fell to Denmark in two tightly contested singles matches. Brent Abel lost 64 in the third to Claus Peterson at #2 singles and Bob Litwin fell to former top 50 player Kasper Rud 63 in the third. They will play for third place tomorrow.
The Men’s 65 team (Britannia Cup) is down 1/0 to France. Bruno Renault, last year’s world champion, playing #2 singles, beat Geoff Cykman handily; Mark Meyers is playing Didier Kaisserian at #1 singles; if he wins, he’ll play the deciding doubles with Tom Smith.
The Gardnar Mulloy (M80) team is up 1/0 vs Chile behind the strong singles play of Lester Sack at #2 singles. Bob Quall is playing the very tough Jaime Pinto Bravo at #1; Wilbur Jones/Sack are scheduled for doubles.
The Doris Hart Cup team (W80) lost 2/1 to Argentina; Burnett Herrick won at #2 singles; Dorothy Wasser lost at #1 to Romero and Flint/Romero beat Herrick/Wasser 76 75. Argentina plays Great Britain tomorrow in the three team round robin. If Argentina wins, USA finishes second. If Great Britain wins, then it will come down to sets and games to determine the order of finish. The USA will finish 1, 2 or 3.
The following teams are off today: Kitty Godfree (W65); Althea Gibson (W70); Queens (W75); W85 (who have already won their division) and Men’s 85. All play for gold tomorrow and are guaranteed silver. In fact, all 10 teams will medal in Umag, what a great result for our “super” Super Seniors!
Draws for 2019 Super Senior Cups in Umag Now Posted
As told to me by Margaret Canby, W85 Captain:
“We have won, today Rose [Austin] and I won the doubles 6-0 6-1. Really played well!
Yea USA 85 Women Cup winners 2019!”
Congratulations to Margaret, Rose and Irene Bretzel!
Benda Carter reports from Umag:
Judy, Liane, Toni and I are very happy! We played Australia (#3 seed) today and were thrilled to come away with the victory. The script is very similar to the team play against Germany on Monday. Judy started the day with a solid two set win over Australia’s #2 player. Toni met up with Australia’s #1 player, who, I believe, holds the number one ITF ranking for 70s women. Even though Toni played a strong match, she lost in straight sets. So, the tie would be decided by the doubles match. Since Liane and Judy had already pulled off a “must win” match on Monday, it was decided they were our best bet — and they did it!!
They won the match in two close sets — and the tennis was fantastic!
We will attend a big tournament banquet tonight and will have the day off tomorrow. We will play the finals on Friday against Great Britain (#4 seed), who upset France (#1 seed) today. We are thrilled to be representing you, the USTA and the USA as we compete.
I’m attaching a photo of both teams and a photo of our team following the win!
Draws for 2019 Super Senior Cups in Umag Now Posted
Reporting from California, USA
Update: USA won the doubles in the W 65, 70, 75 and men 75.
Abel/Litwin won 70 doubles.
Anderson & Hillebrand won in 3 sets.
Check back as I will update this later today with the doubles results from the W 70, 75 and M70 teams.
All results are from the ITF Seniors website…so if there are errors please let the ITF know!
First update is at 4pm Croatia Time (CET)
The Men’s 65, 75 & 80 teams are all into the semis and have byes today.
The Men’s 85 beat Sweden 3/0. John Powless at #2, King Van Nostrand at #1 and George McCabe/Joe Russell in doubles all won in straight sets. This is a powerhouse team, which is one win away from winning the Cup.
The women’s 80s have beaten France. They are up 2/0 behind strong singles play by Burnett Herrick at #2 and Dorothy Wasser at #1. Carol Wood/Sheila Palmer are set to play the doubles.
The knockout draw for the W75is a three team round robin and the USA are now one win away from gold. They play Argentina on Friday.
The Women’s 65, Kitty Godfree, split their singles matches against Austria. Austria beat Great Britain on Sunday in the round robin competition. Wendy McColskey prevailed in a tough 3-setter against Roswitha Woltsche. Margaret Kerschbaum upset Tina Karwasky 63 63. Jan Kirkland Cochran/Karwasky are to play doubles against Kerschbaum/Woltsche. Austria has three very good doubles players so it will be a tough doubles match. They won the deciding doubles against Great Britain on Sunday with a different pair.
Update: Tina and Jan won in straight sets. USA advances to the final!
The Althea Gibson Cup team (W70) split singles with Australia. Judy Dixon at #2 easily beat Jan Maddison but Kerry Ballard beat Toni Novack by the same score (Ballard is extremely tough…she beat Karwasky in the individual world championships last year in the 65s where she reached the final…she also won the doubles.). Ballard/Carol Campling face Dixon/Liane Bryson which will be a very tough match for the Americans.
Update: Judy and Liane won in straight sets. USA advances to the final!
The Women’s 75 (Queens) team split the singles with Great Britain. Cathie Anderson lost in three sets to Jan Wagott. Charleen Hillebrand lost the first set then won the second set 62 against frances McClennan and McClennan retired. Hillebrand/Anderson are playing the doubles point against Wagott and Felicity Thomas.
Cathie and Charleen won in three sets. They have one more match in the three team round robin playoff.
The Men’s 70, Jack Crawford, split singles. Against Canada, Brent Abel beat Ken Dahl in three sets while Tim Griffin beat Bob Litwin in straight sets. Steve Gottlieb/Geoff Moore seem set to play the deciding doubles point.
Update: Litwin/Abel played and decisively won the deciding doubles point.
That’s all for now. I’m out much of the day so the next update won’t be for several hours. You can check results below. Click on the Cup and then matches to get the current results. I will report later on the Women’s 85 Cup too.
Draws for 2019 Super Senior Cups in Umag Now Posted
Reporting from California, USA
The USA Men’s 70s team beat Ireland 3/0 today, winning their round robin group. They move into the quarterfinals which begin tomorrow.
Brent Abel #2 and Bob Litwin, #1 won the singles; Geoff Moore and Steve Gottlieb won the doubles point.
Photo from Brent Abel.
The remaining US teams (other than Women’s 85) had the day off.
Draws for 2019 Super Senior Cups in Umag Now Posted
Reporting from California, USA. The women’s 85 division is new in 2019. Some teams pulled out and only USA and Argentina are in Umag this year. Below is a report from Margaret Canby, captain of the USA Women’s 85 team which is playing in Umag, Croatia.
USA players (l-r) Rose Austin, Margaret Canby, and Irene Bretzel
ITF has us playing Doubles on Monday, 2 singles on Tuesday, Doubles on Wednesday, 2 reverse singles on Thursday and another doubles on Friday. We won doubles yesterday 6-3 6-4 and today Irene won her singles as her opponent had to retire for illness and Margaret won a nail-biter 11-9 in the tiebreak 3rd set. If we can win one more match, we will WIN!
