Play began today in Huntsville under sunny skies in all age divisions. The 80s had a small draw, only eight players, so the seeds, Burnett Herrick and Dorothy Matthiessen were in action today and both won comfortably, though Dorothy had to play Judith Smith, a fine doubles player and very good singles player. Dorothy plays Esther Williams in the semis while Burnett takes on last year’s champion, Mary John Lynch. The doubles in the 80s is a round robin; Herrick/Smith advanced easily and McCracken/Williams took out Matthiessen/Van Haeist in three sets in doubles. Dorothy and Judith are shown below.

Since there were no seeds in action in the 60s or 70s, there were of course no upsets, but there were some interesting matches. Rita Giles and Mary Richardson played unconventional but effective doubles to beat Debbie Burgess/Donna Drosner; Giles roamed the baseline and Richardson got to net as much as possible and their lobs and slices worked well in the wind.

Overall the vibe was pretty relaxed…quite a contrast to many other senior nationals I’ve played. But tomorrow all seeds are in action and it will feel much different I think. I did practice some, with Tina today and generally got ready for the tournament. I play at 10 tomorrow, CDT.

I play Debbie Burgess, who beat Andria Wolf today. Debbie is a tenacious competitor and has a lot of experience, plus played two matches today. Andria (maroon) and Debbie are shown below.

It was windy today…apparently more common than not in Huntsville at least this time of year.

Link to draws and results: http://tennislink.usta.com/tournaments/TournamentHome/Tournament.aspx?T=156717