There are two Category I Championships this week: The USTA National Women’s Hard Courts in La Jolla CA for the 50/60/70/80/90 age divisions (Click here for the link during the tournament, and here for the link after the tournament has concluded) and the USTA National Women’s Indoors in Homewood, Il outside of Chicago for the 35/45/55 age divisions.
Tracy Houk is going to blog from La Jolla where she’s the defending champion. To read her blog from the recently completed Maria Bueno Cup and ITF Individual World Championships, click here. This year Tracy is the #2 seed behind Ros Nideffer, who won the event in 2012, along with the world championships in the 50+ division. Read her posts here.
Day 6: Bolotova, Cass, Wright Win Singles
Day 5: Doubles Champions; Singles Final Set for Saturday
Day 4: Singles Quarterfinals and Doubles Semis
Day 3: First Doubles Match & Travel Woes for Players
Day 1: Practicing Indoors Monday in Illinois
I will be blogging from Homewood to where I find myself traveling after a brief sojourn at home last week. I bridged the gap this week, taking the Maureen Connolly Cup to La Jolla for display and also hit with Fran Chandler Sunday morning. Fran is the #3 seed in the women’s 50s in La Jolla. She’s also the current world champion in the 50+ age division. It was an absolutely gorgeous morning, sunny and warm even at 8am (not too warm though) and nearly calm. I must say, it was hard to leave! I blame Susan Wright for getting me to Homewood; she talked me into playing doubles there. She loves indoors since she plays indoors all winter in a bubble in Grand Junction, CO under iffy conditions, not very light and the courts aren’t the greatest but it’s the only bubble in a 60 mile radius of Grand Junction.
Susan and I are both staying with Christy Schaeffer; Susan is staying the entire week and I’m staying till the tournament begins. Christy is a really good player (we once got to the final of the world championships, back in the 45s, together) and a good friend who teaches tennis in the Hindsdale area.
The Indoors has a small field this year, a combination of the dates (so close to the World Championships and overlapping with La Jolla in the 45s and 55s), the location (south of Chicago) and the surface (indoors during the late spring), but Sylvia Gothard and Nancy Waitland run an excellent tournament. The 55s have 12 players in the singles and eight teams in doubles. The seeds are Susan, me, Kathy Vick and Kim Zebot. Susan and I are the top seeds in doubles and Kathy and Kim Steinmetz are the doubles seeds. There are a lot of good players in the draw; Kim Lackey, Anne Lowry, Mary Firek, Sheila Chiricosta and more.
In the 45s, the top seed is the current world champion (congrats again Julie), Julie Cass followed by Shelly Works, Anna Zimmermann and Linda Gruber. Julie and Alissa Finerman (part of the world champion Margaret Court Cup team) are the top seeds, followed by Works/Julie Ogborne. The top seed in the 35s is Lenglen Cup team member Yulia Bolotova (aka Sophie Woorons-Johnston’s double) and the second seed is Kristine Diehl. The doubles seeds are Ogborne/Patterson and Bolotova/Diehl.
The draws aren’t up but Susan and I play doubles on Wednesday and have a bye in singles on Wednesday.
Here’s a link to the draws (when posted; seeds posted now) from Homewood:http://tennislink.usta.com/Tournaments/TournamentHome/Tournament.aspx?T=138231