The USA won the 10th iteration of the Avory Cup,leveling the biannual competition at 5 wins apiece. David Nash assembled a strong team for the USA despite not knowing more than half of the players. The women dominated the Brits on the final day going 8/2, while the men again tied 5/5 in singles. The mixed was close with the USA coming out ahead 5/4. The home court advantage (green clay and sweltering heat) certainly made a difference to the outcome. The Brits have promised to find the slickest grass courts possible for the 2017 rematch in Great Britain.

Last night there was a lovely dinner planned by Linda Nash and executed nicely by the Wild Dunes chef and staff. There were speeches and a slideshow nicely  put together by Linda Nash from previous Avory Cup competitions. Apparently some teddy bears are an important part of this competition..you had to be there.

Alice Neely designed and made original  necklaces for all the women in attendance, including the guests, which I learned she’s done for years.

Danny Waldman, president of the USIC was made an honorary member of the British IC club.

Today was another warm day in the Charleston area, though not quite as bad as yesterday. I was soaked though by the end of the first set of my singles match, which lasted nearly two hours against Frances Candy, even though the score was a double breadstick. Wendy and Pauline, playing next door played to 75 64 and finished just before we did, and we started at the same time!

After singles, a shower and lunch, we played mixed. David Nash and I played Pauline Fisher and Jeremy Woods. It was a fun match which we narrowly won 8-6.

After the match there were a few speeches (a nice thank you speech from the Brits, which included words like warm, welcoming, sweltering, seamless) and the Brits presented David and Linda Nash with…you guessed it, teddy bears (from Wimbledon). A photo of both teams followed and then we dispersed.

This was my first IC match and it was a lot of fun, and pretty intense with four matches in two days. For more information on the USIC, go to www.usictennis.org.