The 2008 U.S. Mixed Doubles was held at the Tennis & Racquet Club on January 25- 27. The field consisted of seven teams of varying abilities. First round matches began Friday evening with the team of Nancy Elliot and Gary Multer vs. Jane Lippincott and George Bell. The more experienced team of Lippincott and Bell prevailed 6/0 and 6/0. The next match was between the teams of Jen Winthrop/ Ryan Carey and Aliki Hasiotis/ Jeremy Wintersteen. Aliki and Jeremy took the first set in a narrow 6/5 margin. Jen and Ryan regrouped and took the next two sets 6/1 and 6/3. The final match of the evening was played during the “cocktail hour” The teams consisted of Beth Winthrop/ Arthur Drane vs. Anna Radeljevic/ Matt Porter. Anna and Matt went though in straight sets 6/2 and 6/1.
The semis began on Saturday morning. Jane Lippincott and George Bell played Anna Radeljevic and Matt Porter.Anna and Matt won the match 6/3 and a close 6/5. Jen Winthrop and Ryan Carey then played two time defending Champions Frederika “Freddy” Adam. Jen and Ryan came on strong winning the first set 6/3. At that point Greg and Freddy seemed to settle down and play consistently winning the next two sets 6/1 and 61. Saturday evening there was a dinner at a local restaurant. Everyone had a good time. Some thought of the next day’s strategies while the rest of us thought of ways to improve our playing abilities.
The finals were played on Sunday at 11:00 A.M. Champions Freddy and Greg took on Anna and Matt. The excellent all around play by Matt coupled with Anna’s volleying proved to be too much. Anna and Matt won the final in two sets, 6/3 and 6/3 becoming the new Champions.
The consolation round was very completive (and fun!) with the team of Aliki and Jeremy winning with the best record. Overall the weekend was a great success. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Special thanks to Jimmy Burke (who marked every match) and Tom Dobbins.
Two competitors in this tournament were relative newcomers to the game. Anna Radeljevic and Aliki Hasiotis have not been on court that much but show tremendous promise! This was Nancy Elliott’s first tournament yet displayed no first tournament jitters. In fact Nancy made a fantastic shot into the winning gallery. The shot was so good that Jimmy gave ball to her! Thank you to all who participated in this year’s U.S. Mixed Doubles both on and off the court!
