Newcomer wins the 2015 Anne Boleyn
by Sheila Reilly
As has often happened in this tournament’s 30-year history, the winner was a relative newcomer to the game, Sarah Hamilton of Boston’s T&R, who bested a field of 17 players from across the US. Congratulations to Sarah and all the players.
The Anne Boleyn was created by Edward Hughes, a past president of the USCTA and the person responsible, along with Barry Toates, for the original restoration of the Lakewood Court. In its earliest years, the trophies were electroplated gold and silver hatchets and the hatchet logo remains the signature image of the event. The permanent cup resides in Newport.
Sarah reached the final with successive wins over Kathy Minevitz of and Phoebe Livingston, both of Newport, and fellow Bostonian Helen Grassi. Her opponent was one of the tournament co-chairs, Amy MacMillan of Newport. Amy gained the final with wins over Laura Tillsley of Tuxedo, veteran Brenda Sabbag and her fellow co-chair for the event, Petra Napolitano, also of the Newport club. The handicap for the final was a challenging owe 15/ rec 30, ban tambour, one serve, with Amy the owing player. Despite several 40-all games, the final all went Sarah’s way, and she happily accepted the trophy from Club President Steve Devoe with a final score of 8/5.
In addition to the main event, there was a consolation backdraw. Laura Tillsley won this over Magda Malak from Boston in a match remarkable for the quality of play from two with relatively high handicaps, by a score of 8/4.
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Anne Boleyn Players
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Amy MacMillan - finalist, Sarah Hamilton (winner)
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Backdraw: Laura Tillsley (winner), Steve DeVoe, Nick Howell and Magda Malak (finalist)
The event was very capably run by NTC Professional Nick Howell with marking assistance from Gabe Kinzler and Sergio Lopez. Homebaked foods were featured at breakfast, and a potluck dinner Saturday night at Amy’s home, and lunches by Provencal Bakery, courtesy of owner Brenda Sabbag.
