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Greetings!
March was a busy month as players of all ages and abilities competed in a variety of tournaments. New champions were crowned at the US Junior Nationals, US Amateur, Lord Percival Cup, US 40's, and US 50's. Read on for all the details!
Excitement is building for the 2012 World Championship to be held at Queens Club later this month. Steve Virgona, senior professional at the Racquet Club of Philadelphia won the Final Eliminator over Bryn Sayers, giving him the right to challenge Rob Fahey for the World Championship. As of this writing, information on video coverage of the championship was not available. As soon as the information is available, we will post it on the USCTA website and our USCTA Facebook group. In the meantime, be sure to read Jim Zug's interview with Steve Virgona - "Ten Questions for Challenger Steve Virgona." Finally, we wish both Steve and Rob the best of luck in what will be an exciting few days of tennis!
This month, Greg Van Schaack has some fascinating court tennis trivia in the "Referee's Corner"; Barney Tanfield in "Tips from the Pros" writes about the thought process behind hitting targets, the bloggers over on the RTO forums continue their dream sequence, video promos emerge and an ambassador hosts a political candidate. It's all here...keep reading!
The best part, though, is that there is plenty of tennis in the next few months to satisfy players of all levels! Happy Spring!
Sincerely,
Jane Lippincott - Editor
U.S. Court Tennis Association
P.S. Careful readers will learn the top songs on Steve Virgona's iPod. What are your top 3 songs? The first 10 responses get a free subscription to Chase the First and a mention in the May issue...and that's no joke!
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Ten Questions For Challenger Steve Virgona:
An Interview By James Zug
Steven Virgona, the senior professional at the Racquet Club of Philadelphia, will be challenging Rob Fahey at Queens Club in London on 24, 26 and 28 April in a best of thirteen set match for the world championship of tennis. To read the full interview, click here.
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US AMATEUR
A talented group of players gathered in New York for the US Amateur Singles and Doubles. Pat Winthrop defeated Jeremy Wintersteen in the finals of the singles, to capture his first Amateur Singles title. Lex Miron and Peter Pell teamed up for their second win in the doubles, defeating defending champions Winthrop and Ben Cook.
For a review of the tournament by Addison West, click here.
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US 40's & 50's
Philadelphia hosted the US 40 and 50 singles and doubles championships in March. Congratulations to Rich Moroscak on winning the 40 singles and doubles with Bill Barker, Steve Hufford for the 50's, Norris Jordan and Ted Manges for the 50 doubles.
"The age level tournaments were a war of attrition as veteran players tried to survive injuries, fierce competition and social events to bring home a title or two," writes Peter Vogt. To read Peter's full report, click here.
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US JUNIOR SINGLES
Congratulations to all of the juniors who participated in the 2012 US Junior Nationals in Washington. After a busy weekend of matches the results were:
U12 Girls Final - Kornelia Mostrous def. Blanche Devine 10/5
U12 Boys Final - Erik Barker def. Chase Motz 6/2 6/3
U18 Final - Paul Monaghan def. Tristan Motz 6/2 6/0
U15 Final - Gamble Freydberg def. Henry Smith 3/6 6/0 6/1
U21 Final - Paul Monaghan def. Gamble Freydberg 6/0 6/1
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LORD PERCIVAL CUP
Washington picked up its first win in the 2012 Lord Percival Team Championship defeating two-time defending champions - Boston. Members of the team included: Ryan Carey, Sara Lacombe, Vu Hoang, Jake McCray, John Patton and John Patton III. To read Gary Swantner's recap, click here.
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TIPS FROM THE PRO
by Barney Tanfield
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Target striking is, to say the least, one of the most exciting aspects of our game. The idea of having areas on the court that act as a type of goal is unique to nearly all racquet sports (with the exception of Real Tennis's Basque cousins). Targets such as the Grille, Winning Gallery and Dedans seemingly protrude from their respective cavities and almost beg to be attempted. Having the ability to end a point at any given time is a captivating and extremely enticing proposition. The opportunity to both hit and, unfortunately, miss, targets have major implications on all match outcomes. To read the full article, click here.
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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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United States Court Tennis Association
c/o The Racquet & Tennis Club
370 Park Ave. New York, New York 10022
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APRIL
WASHINGTON, DC
Handicap Doubles
20 - 22
WASHINGTON, DC
MAY
4 - 6
LAKEWOOD, NJ
Novice Handicap Doubles
US 60's & 70's AB MARTIN CUP TUXEDO PARK US Age Championships & Sr. Team Competition
JUNE
4 - 10
NEWPORT, RI
16-17
US PARENT CHILD DOUBLES
TUXEDO PARK, NY
21-21 NEWPORT HANDICAP DOUBLES NEWPORT, RI JULY 13-15 VELVET ROPE NEWPORT, RI Doubles open to players between ages 21 & 40 AUGUST 16-19 THE PELL CUP NEWPORT, RI Doubles
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VIRGONA
through the lens of Michael Do
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TENNIS GOES VIRAL!
Watch the latest video promo for the Anne Boleyn Handicap Singles. Credits to The Winning Gallery and Lolilie Productions.
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RTO FORUM - REAL TENNIS DREAMS
Yes, people do dream about tennis! In one of the longer running online forums, people have been discussing their tennis dreams. Read on for more...Real Tennis Dreams
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RUN ,TOM, RUN!
 Mayor Tom Wilson (Tuxedo Park, NY), who is running for Congress from NY's 19th /18th District, was at Temple Grassi's house in DC last month for a fund/friend raiser. Notables in attendance were 2 mayors and one ambassador were spotted, in the swirling crowd. 'Mayor' Tom spoke eloquently and handled himself very well during the 'q&a'-he pledged that "......if I'm elected, I will play in The Cherry Blossom EVERY year!" Mega cheers followed-"Run, Tom, run!" and "Go,TW,Go" |
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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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