The Aiken Tennis Club was pleased to host the 16th Annual Calhoun Witham Handicap Doubles Tournament beginning on Wednesday November 11 and concluding on Sunday November 15, 2015. The Tournament was previously known as the Aiken 30+ Handicap and was renamed the Calhoun Witham Cup following the death of A. Calhoun Witham, MD a devotee of high handicap court tennis and a beloved member of the Aiken Tennis Club.
This year the Witham Cup had a field of eighteen teams representing clubs in Boston, New York, Lakewood, Newport and England as well as many Aiken players. The field consisted of two Divisions; the A had fourteen teams for players with handicaps 35-55 and the B Division consisted of four teams with handicaps 56 and over. Each team played in a round robin phase guaranteeing a minimum of three full matches. These matches where highly competitive with one third of the matches going the full three sets. The consensus was that doubles handicaps on RTO seem to be very effective in providing a level playing field for all players.
The top teams of the A division advanced to a semi final on Sunday while the top two in the B division moved directly into the Sunday final.
This set the stage for the Sunday morning semi finals, but not before the crowd of over eighty were treated to a gourmet tournament dinner prepared by Aiken member Robert Glance and his wife Cheryl.
In the first semi final Owen Saunders and John East of Hampton Court beat Dan Villiers of Aiken and Dan Nagler of Boston 6-2 6-1. The second semi saw a reversal of fortune for another Hampton Court team as Richard East and Charles Kearl lost to Aiken’s Jason Rabun and Henry Cato 6-4 6-1.
The B Final was a repeat thriller of an earlier all Aiken round robin match, with Shannon Ellis and Cheryl Glance narrowly edging out Francois Verglas and Tom Swift 6-4 4-6 6-5.
After a wonderful brunch compliments of the Witham family the finals were played to a packed viewing room and side galleries. Owen Saunders and John East were able to prevail 6-1 6-5 while playing against an opportunistic team of Jason Rabun and Henry Cato and a tough handicap; receive 30, owe half 30! The games were long and strategically very well played, it looked like the match might go three sets but Saunders and East shook off the nerves and closed it out in 2 sets.
A special thank you to all of the members of the Tennis and Social Committees of the ATC as well as ATC families who generously billeted out of town guests. Mention needs to be made of Gabe Kinzler and Camden Riviere who tirelessly and effectively marked matches for four straight days.
Witham Handicap Doubles 2015 Results
Wednesday November 11
6:00 B Divison Swift & Verglas vs Ellis & Glance W 6/3 4/6 6/5
Thursday November 12
12:15 Rabun & Cato W 6/5 6/3 vs R East & Kearl
1:30 Blalock & Linton vs Saunders & J East W 6/3 6/0
2:45 B-Thomas & Halterman vs Sauerborn & De Voe W 6/2 6/2
4:00 B Division C Beacham & Herman vs Ellis & Glance W 6/2 6/0
5:15 Bostwick & Cohen vs Rabun & Cato W 6/4 4/6 6/5
6:30 Purvis & Miller W 4/6 6/3 6/5 vs A Rutherfurd & Villa
8:00 Riviere & Haselkorn vs Wilson & Hook W 6/3 6/2
9:15B Division Beacham &Herman vs Verglas & Swift W 6/4 3/6 6/4
Friday November 13
7:15 Villiers & Nagler W 6/5 6/1 vs A Rutherfurd & Villa
8:30 B Division Malak & Voegele W 6/1 6/0 vs Beacham & Herman
9:45 Hottensen & Moore vs Olivera & Donovan W 6/4 6/3
11:00 Villiers & Nagler W 0/6 6/5 6/5 vs Sauerborn & De Voe
12:15 Riviere & Haselkorn vs R East & Kearl W 6/1 6/3
1:30 B-Thomas &Halterman vs Rutherfurd &Villa W6/4 1/6 6/5
2:45 B Division Malak & Voegele vs Verglas and Swift W 6/3 6/2
4:00 J Hottensen & Moore vs Saunders & J East W 6/5 6/2
5:15 Olivera & Donovan W6/5 6/2 vs Blalock & Linton
6:30 Bostwick & Cohen vs R East & Kearl W 6/3 6/2
7:45 Rabun & Cato W 6/4 6/2 vs Wilson & Hook
8:30 Purvis & Miller vs Sauerborn & De Voe W 5/6 6/4 6/4
Saturday November 15
8:00 Blalock & Linton vs Hottensen & Moore W 6/2 6/1
9:15 B Division Malak & Voegele vs Ellis & Glance W 6/3 6/2
10:30 Riviere & Haselkorn vs Rabun Cato W 6/0 5/6 6/4
11:45 Villiers & D Nagler W 5/6 6/3 6/4 vs M Purvis & A Miller
1:00 Sauerborn & De Voe W 6/2 6/4 vs A Rutherfurd & Villa
2:15 A Wilson & Hook vs Bostwick & Cohen W 6/2 6/2
3:30 Saunders & East W 6/5 6/2 vs Olivera & Donovan
4:45 Purvis & Miller vs Bevan Thomas & Haltermann W 6/1 6/4
6:00 Bostwick & Cohen W 6/0 6/4 vs Riviere & Haselkorn
7:15 R East & Kearl W 6/4 4/6 6/5 vs Wilson & Hook
8:30 B-Thomas & Halterman W 6/2 2/6 6/5 vs Villiers & Nagler
Sunday Nov. 15
A Semi Finals
9:00am Villiers & Nagler vs Saunders and J East W6/2 6/1
10:30am J Rabun & Cato W 6/4 6/1 vs R East & C Kearl
B Finals
12:00pm F Verglas & T Swift vs S Ellis & C Glance W6/4 4/6 6/5
A Finals
1:00pm J Rabun & H Cato vs Saunders & J East W 6/1 6/5
