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Greetings!
February was a busy month with the level championships, Etchebaster Cup, Gold Racquets, and the Women's Invitational happening one after another. With full draws in all of the events, that translated into a lot of tennis played in February! Coming up in March is the US Amateur, US 40's & 50's, the Percival Cup and the US Junior Singles.
On the professional side, Steve Virgona is in England preparing for the Final Eliminator match against Bryn Sayers. The best of thirteen sets contest begins on March 6 at Seacourt. We are told that video coverage will be provided, but as of this date, there are no details. As soon as they are available, we will post them on the USCTA website and USCTA Facebook page. The winner of the Final Eliminator will go on to face Rob Fahey for the World Championship in April. In the meantime, best of luck to Philadelphia's Senior Professional - Steve Virgona!
Closer to home, we bid farewell to Washington's Assistant Professional Phil Shannon. Jim Zug has put together a nice tribute to Phil. Fortunately, Phil will remain in the Washington area, and as he has caught the tennis bug, will continue to play.
This month features a piece by Bruce Katz "Musings from the Winning Gallery". Bruce approached us with an idea for a story and went on to research and write the article. We encourage others to consider submitting an article and/or an idea for an article that we can follow up on...after all, this is your newsletter!
We begin this month with an update from Chicago...read on! And remember, stay in touch via our Facebook group and/or the USCTA website. Finally, shoot me an e-mail with comments, suggestions, and/or ideas!
Sincerely,
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CHICAGO RESTORATION BEGINS
Week One! Restoration began on February 20 on the restoration of the court tennis court at the Racquet Club of Chicago.
Read the latest update on the restoration by James Zug Chicago Restoration Begins
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PHIL SHANNON RETIRES
Phil Shannon, after 6+ years as the Assistant Professional at Prince's Court, is moving on to work in the mortgage business. His last official day is March 2nd.
"A much beloved figure, Phil cooked up feasts, cajoled league play and generally made court tennis seem the most exciting thing in the world.," writes James Zug.
For the full story plus member thoughts- Phil Shannon Retires
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MUSINGS FROM THE WINNING GALLERY
by Bruce Katz
Bruce Katz tales a statistical look at several court tennis matches. His conclusions might make you re-think your match strategy!
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REFEREE'S CORNER
by Greg Van Schaack
History, rules, and etiquette...click here to take this month's quiz. (Don't worry the answers are attached!)
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WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP RACE BEGINS
Number 3 ranked Bryn Sayers defeated Ben Matthews (ranked number 7) in a 3 day battle to move on to the Final Eliminator. He will play Steve Virgona, the number 2-ranked world player. Virgona had a bye into the Final Eliminator, when Camden Riviere had to pull out due to injury.
The Virgona/Sayers Final Eliminator will begin next week on March 6 at Seacourt. This will be a best of 13 sets match and will be played over 3 days on 6th, 8th, & 10th March 2012. The winner will go on to face Rob Fahey for the World Championship in April.
Details of the video coverage of the Final Eliminator were not available as of March 1. Please check the website and/or Facebook for details. We will post the info as soon as we get it!
Dates to Remember...and links to ticket information...
Final Eliminator - Steve Virgona vs. Bryn Sayers
March 6-10 @ Seacourt
World Championship - Rob Fahey vs. Winner of Final Eliminator
April 24- 28 @ Queens Club
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TOP 25 LIST
Matt Porter held on to the #1 spot, but there was a lot of jockeying for position between 2 and 25.
Click here to find out what happened! The next list is out in June.
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LEVEL CHAMPIONSHIPS
The court tennis world celebrated its own version of Super Bowl weekend with the level championships on February 3-5. Having played the Noll Cup (Handicaps 30-39) the prior weekend, four gold medals were up for grabs on Super Bowl Sunday.
Congratulations to all of the winners:
Greevy Cup (Hdcp 20-29) - Kris Motz
Noll Cup (Hdcp 30-39) - Vu Hoang
Burke Cup (Hdcp 40-49) - Jason Hirama
Wharton Cup (Hdcp 50-59) - Athol Cochrane
Hickey Cup (Hdcp 60+) - Alex Forbes
For complete draws - Level Championships Summary
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ETCHEBASTER CUP
28 players gathered in New York for the annual Etchebaster Cup. It was an all-Boston final on Sunday as Andy Roberts defeated fellow Bostonian Billy Connors in the final. In the back draw, Arthur Whitcomb of New York knocked off Phil Stockton of Boston, preventing Boston from making a clean sweep of the weekend!
Among the highlights from the weekend was a 33 minute game - that's right - one game.
Read the full story here: Etchebaster - Updated Report!
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GOLD RACQUETS
Tuxedo was in full swing for the 110th Gold Racquets weekend over President's weekend in February. The competition was fierce on the paddle courts, racquets court and of course, the tennis court. In the tennis singles, Jonathan Larken defeated defending champ Pat Winthrop 4/6,6/4,6/3,6/1 to claim the Cartier Gold Racquet Trophy.
For the full draw and results of the Cuspidor Doubles - Tuxedo Gold Racquets Weekend Results
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WOMEN'S INVITATIONAL
Ginny Goodyear clinched the 2012 Women's Invitational title over Melissa Purcell. Purcell teamed up with Kathy Carson to win the doubles over Goodyear and Alex Escher. The Women's Invitational is only open to US based women players...similar to the National Open.
Read the full draw, story and pictures - Women's Invitational
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United States Court Tennis Association
c/o The Racquet & Tennis Club
370 Park Ave. New York, New York 10022
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MARCH
2 - 4
New York
Singles & Doubles
2 - 4
Washington, DC
Singles - Under 21 Yearrs Old
US 40's and
Philadelphia, PA
Amateur Age Divisions - Singles & Doubles
16 - 18
LORD PERCIVAL CUP
Philadelphia, PA
Team Doubles
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TIPS FROM THE PROS
by Barney Tanfield
Optimizing your Court Time
Unfortunately supply and demand are not friends in the game of court tennis. With a growing base of regular players and a healthy stable of fanatics, it is becoming pleasantly difficult to acquire court time in many of our US clubs. Optimizing your time on court is becoming ever more essential.
The common misapprehension that match play is the best way to spend ones court time is perhaps one of the professional's biggest pet peeves. Ask your pro about their practice habits. The answer may surprise you. Professionals spend between 65 and 90 percent of their practice time hitting "baskets" or structured drills. Depending on the specific agenda, drills can require you to expend exponentially more energy (leading to a far better workout), and will put you into the specific targeted situations far more frequently than match play. The latter point is critical in the learning process whether you are building pyramids or a cut volley (repetition is after all the mother of study).
The multiplicity of drills range from our traditional "crosscourts" to "figure eights" (both are perpetual in nature) to target striking and "Olympic baskets" (both of which are characterized by a feed and answered by one or more specific strokes). The possibilities are endless, the quality of practice far superior and exponentially more focused.
To better understand what you should be working on and the drills that are best
suited for the task, contact your local pro. Generally pros are very agreeable to working with groups, so round up a practice partner or two and really start improving your game today.
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RTO FORUM - COUP DE GRASSI
Regular readers of the RTO forums will know the answer to the question: What is the Coup de Grassi? Find the answer in "My Last Game For Awhile"
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USCTA FACEBOOK GROUP
The USCTA is on Facebook!
Interact with other players.
Get the latest news, photos, results and more!
Click here to have a look
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