We had an early start today, 8:30, but it was overcast, so the shadows weren’t a factor today at least and the weather was fine, 60s in the morning and 80s in the afternoon with a brief rain shower.

I played Vicki Buholz, a 5-8 seed today. She’s from the Dallas area, and teaches tennis at T-Bar there and is a member of the 2016 USA Maureen Connolly Cup team. The conditions were quite heavy and slow which probably favored me a bit. We had a 2+ hour match which was much closer than the 61 64 score would indicate. I did a lot of running! Diane Barker took out Susan Boyer 64 61 and I play Diane tomorrow morning. Susan Wright had a tussle with Marianne Caplan but won 76 64 (and finished before Vicki and I did, even though we started at the same time). Tracy Houk outlasted Kathy Vick 62 61. Tracy and Susan, who have known each other since the juniors in NorCal, will face off tomorrow.

In doubles, Susan and I played Abbi Neuthaler and Ligia Bottinelli. We won 63 62 but it lasted nearly two hours and featured a lot of long points and games (and lobs..hey, it’s clay).

We play Vicki and Marianne in doubles tomorrow; they beat Yvonne Gallop/Anne Pellow 64 62 today. Pam Cooke/Kim Lackey took out Kathy Foulk/Terri Thompson and in the match of the day, Houk and Vick beat Boyer/Erin Boynton 64 in the third…that was a match that had a lot of long points and rallies…it was fun to watch.

The 45s finals are set for singles and will be a repeat of the 2015 final between Jolene Watanabe and Julie Cass. Both advanced easily to the final, losing only 3 games between them. so both should be well rested for the final. Cass combined with Alissa Finerman to advance to the semis. They face the team we beat today in the semis. Abbi and Ligia upset #3 seeds Cooke/Lackey 76 (4) 75, rallying from 53 down in the second to win the final four games.

In the 65s, there were a number of upsets. In singles, Molly Hahn (5) took out her doubles partner, Vicky McEvoy (3) 64 63. Kathy Barnes advanced when Anne Guerrant retired after Kathy won the second set (she lost the first). Toni Novack beat Sue Bramlette and Martha Downing took out Carol Gay. In doubles, Barnes/Leslie Vallejo upset #3 seeded Hahn/McEvoy 46 64 64 but the remaining seeds advanced, though Cindy Babb/Barbara Hubbard barely escaped with a win over Debra Pruitt/Pam Simmons.

The four top seeds prevailed in the 75 doubles, though Miller and Woo won by the skin of their teeth over Judy Janc/Norma Veal 76 (5) in the third (no wonder Norma was napping in the locker room later in the day!). However, in singles, Donna Fales, Charleen Hillebrand, Sheila Weinstock and Suella Steel advanced with ease to the semis.

In the 85s, Carol Cofer and Jane Lutz are headed for a collision as are Cathie Hall and Rita Price in the 90s.

There was a super cocktail party with great food in the afternoon and Katrina Adams came by to watch some tennis and talk to the players and answer questions here. It was nice for the Chair of the Board of the USTA to take the time out of her busy schedule to visit the best senior tournament in the world.

More results: http://m.tennislink.usta.com/TournamentHome/tournament.aspx?t=171179