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Greetings!
New York, Aiken and Philadelphia all hosted events in November. The Silver Racquet, NY Open Handicap, Calhoun Witham and the Jimmy Dunn are all part of the traditional, not-to-be missed tournaments and by all accounts, lived up to expectations! Results can be found below.
Please make an effort to attend the USCTA Annual Awards Dinner & Auction in New York on December 7. The awards include the Most Improved Player, Most Improved Junior, Professional of the Year, Boenning Trophy for Sportsmanship, Hughes-Slater Cup for Outstanding Service to the USCTA, George Plimpton Prize for Literary & Artistic Achievement and the Robert M. Goodyear Award for Exemplary Hospitality. In addition to the awards, there is a silent and live auction, the proceeds of which will be donated to the restoration of the Boston court. This is a fun evening - a great chance to get together with your court tennis friends, honor the award recipients and help Boston complete their renovations. Information on the evening can be found below.
Congratulations to Steve Virgona on his win with doubles partner, Rob Fahey, in the 2012 British Open. National League has begun. Despite having to postpone two matches due to Hurricane Sandy, the league is in full swing, with two matches scheduled for December.
On a sad note, we report the loss of John "Jack" Hickey, the long-time professional at Greentree. Jim Zug provides a glimpse of Jack's amazing life.
Best wishes for a happy holiday season... we'll see you next year with more news from the court tennis world!
Sincerely,
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USCTA ANNUAL AWARDS DINNER & AUCTION
Are you coming to the Annual Awards Dinner & Auction?
Click here to see who is signed up as of November 30.
Get a sneak peak of the Live Auction Items here. A complete list will be posted on the website on Monday. If you cannot make the dinner, but would like to bid on an item, please contact Brian Owens.
To sign up for the dinner or bid on an auction item, contact Brian Owens. |
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2012 JIMMY DUNN
"Dunn Magic" by James Zug
The annual Jimmy Dunn weekend at the Racquet Club of Philadelphia was superbly superlative.
A large, ever moving crowd of players-over a hundred people entered at least one of the dozen draws available-and spectators graced the fourth and fifth floors for three full days. Each day somewhere on the downward side of noon, there was that unspecifed moment when people stopped clutching hooded cups of coffee and started carrying cups of beer from the pub club keg. There were the usual signature Dunn moments: the splay of racquets, handles up, outside the racquets court; sitting in the clerestory with people you've never met before; having a laugh in the reading room with an old friend under the warm eye of "The Spirit of the Night;" eating a bacon & egg bagel late on Saturday night during the dinner dance; finding every couch upstairs filled with a slumbering body the next morning. A fair number of young Tennis & Racquet Club guys came down from Boston, many sporting a Movember moustache, a couple came from England and all had fun. To read the story and see the results, click here.
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2012 CALHOUN WITHAM
Aiken hosted the annual Calhoun Witham Doubles. Jason Mengel & Bob Cook defeated Bill Blalock & George Hayward in the final , 6/2, 6/3.
For complete results.
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2012 SILVER RACQUET & NEW YORK OPEN HANDICAP
The New York Racquet & Tennis Club hosted the Silver Racquet Invitational and New York Open Handicap on 8-11 November 2012. In conjunction with the tennis, the club hosted an invitational squash doubles tournament, paired doubles rackets, and US Amateur Rackets (singles and doubles). In squash, Whitten Morris (NY) and Trevor McGinnis (PA) prevailed in a decisive three games over the all-Bantam team of Basset Chaudry (NY) and Addison West (NY).
In rackets, the indefatigable Jonathan Larken (NY) dropped only one game en route to his fourth US Amateur singles title. In the US Amateur Rackets Doubles, Larken teamed up with Guy Devereux (NY); the two subdued the competition with an enviable combination of power and consistency, marking Larken's sixth and Devereux's fifth title. In the Silver Racquet paired doubles rackets, Kendrick de Koning (NY by way of CO) and Giles Palmer (NY by way of UK) edged past the team of Larken and Arthur Whitcomb (NY). Throughout a busy weekend of great sport, the club executed equally brilliant social events. A strong rackets contingent decorated the 60 strong stag dinner on Thursday night and carried on through with >400 glittering others to Saturday night's exceptional Fall Dinner Dance.
The tennis events featured 62 players competing in four draws....to read Zach Sacks' full account, click here. |
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JACK HICKEY, THE MAESTRO OF GREENTREE
by James Zug
 | | "The Marker" by R. G. Manice (Collection of J.H. Pardee) |
John J. Hickey, a central link to the amazing tennis history at Greentree, died in November 2012 at the age of eighty.
Jack Hickey's parents emigrated from Dublin, Ireland in 1929 and Jack, one of four boys, was born in New York two years later. As a fifteen year-old in the fall of 1947 he started as an apprentice at the Racquet & Tennis Club, working after school. After high school, he stayed on at the R&T working as a tennis, squash and racquets pro until 1955 when he left to take a job as a squash pro at the Union Club.
Two years later he hurt his shoulder and, unable to teach, he left the squash world. For the next forty years he worked at LaGuardia and Kennedy airports as a bartender, and later steward and manager of bars and ambassador clubs.
In 1970 Hickey ran into Clarry Pell at LaGuardia Airport, and Pell, who helped manage the tennis court at Greentree, invited Hickey back into the game. Until Greentree closed in 2001, Hickey worked from October to April on Saturdays and Sundays from 9am to 1pm and later added Friday mornings. He strung racquets, made balls, kept the court, arranged and marked matches and helped host the annual Whitney Cup weekend.
An avuncular man bursting with well-wrought, fascinating tennis stories, Hickey was a beloved figure. Very few people in the game had the ability to talk knowledgeably about figures from the mid-nineteen forties on through to the twenty-first century, and to talk with such charm and wit. Whether he was seen on a weekly basis for one of those early weekend morning doubles games or annually when the tennis world came out to his club, Jack Hickey epitomized the gentlemanly, sporting life at Greentree and in U.S. tennis.
For the NY Times notice, click here.
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NEWPORT JUNIORS HEAD TO BOSTON
Remember the thrill of playing on your first "away" court? Well, the junior players from Newport experienced that thrill as they travelled to Boston for a day of play at the Tennis & Racquet Club. Accompanied by Rich Smith and Sergio Lopez, the juniors played tennis and squash followed by lunch at the Cactus Club. The kids are already talking about their next field trip!
The Newport Junior Program is funded through the generosity of the late John Lieb. |
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2012 BRITISH OPEN
Bryn Sayers defeated Rob Fahey in the finals of the 2012 British Open. The score was 2/6, 6/5, 6/1, 6/5.
In the Doubles, Fahey & Steve Virgona defeated Sayers & Kieran Booth 6/2, 6/3, 6/0.
For complete coverage of the tournament and the draws, click here.
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A LOOK BACK
The Annual Whitney Cup Inter-Club team competion will take place on December 7-9 in New York.
The 1957 Winners - Philadelphia...
New York won in 2011...
...and 2012? Stay Tuned!
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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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DECEMBER
7
USCTA ANNUAL DINNER & AUCTION
NEW YORK
7-9
WHITNEY CUP NEW YORK
Inivitational Inter-Club Team Doubles
13 NATIONAL LEAGUE CHICAGO
New York @ Chicago
14
NATIONAL LEAGUE TUXEDO New England vs. Philadelphia/Tuxedo
14-16
NEWPORT
Top Level Amateur Singles
2013
JANUARY
11-13
NATIONAL OPEN
AIKEN
Singles for U.S. Pros & SelectedAmateurs
18-21
Newer Player Singles
24-31
U.S. OPEN
PHILADELPHIA
USCTA Open Singles & Doubles Championships
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2011/12 ANNUAL REPORT
 The 2011/12 Annual Report is out!
The report was mailed to all current USCTA members last month. |
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Results through 11/30/12
New York 5-1
New England/
Aiken 1-2
Philadelphia/
Tuxedo 0-3
Chicago 0-0
For the schedule,and players, click here.
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USCTPF ANNUAL APPEAL
 The USCTPF Annual Appeal is off to a great start. Thanks to all who have given. If you did not receive your appeal or have misplaced it, here's a copy!
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CHALLENGE RYAN CAREY FOR CHARITY!  |
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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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