The 2019 Van Alen and Clothier Cup trip was terrific for team USA. The tournament week began with a practice day on Monday which consisted of the team playing doubles practice matches and getting used to sharing a court with fellow teammates. Choosing who needed to play up, and who should play back was well thought through and articulated to my teammates by our coach, Ivan Ronaldson. On Tuesday the Limb Cup began which the U.S. was not involved in, so the team took a day trip to Leamington Spa for a few competitive matches against Leamington’s best. The U.S. came out on top for the day by winning every match that the team played. We had a great time at Leamington, and both pros Chris Aley and Ben Taylor-Mathews (along with the members) were very welcoming hosts. On Wednesday the Clothier Cup began, which pits The U.S. against Australia. Pete Dickinson had a hectic day—importantly so on our first tournament day—and Pete did the States proud by winning all three of the matches he played (two doubles and one singles.) Thursday brought a close to the Clothier tournament with the U.S. winning every match, and the Clothier Cup. Thanks to some perfect coaching by Ivan Ronaldson, and great play, we were able to win the Cup against Australia eight to zero.
Friday began the Van Alen Cup. As a team, we knew that we had a chance to win, but it would take grit and determination. Ivan Ronaldson gave excellent advice and helped the team prepare for all matches, most notably the doubles matches. During the singles matches, we were competitive in those which we lost and able to grind our way through others to win. Going into the doubles matches, we were tied with G.B., two to two. On Saturday, we knew that we had to dig deep and use our strengths to overpower the G.B. team. U.S. doubles strategy uses a power game where G.B.’s uses length and consistency. In the end, the power strokes of the U.S. gave us the ability to play up and win matches where we were clearly the underdog. At the end of regular play, the match score was four to four, and G.B. conceded the final match, giving the U.S. the Van Alen Cup for the first time in decades.
I’d like to thank the Grassi family and all of those who have contributed to the Player Development Program, the United States Court Tennis Preservation Fund and the USCTA. On behalf of the team, we would like to thank Ivan for his tutelage and wisdom in coaching our team to success.
USA WINS 2019 VAN ALEN CUP 5-4
Day 4 – Van Alen Cup
GB lead 2-1
Freddie Bristowe & Noah Motz (USA 1+2) bt Robert Shenkman & Alex Duncliffe-Vines (GB 1+2) 6/5 6/4
Alex Ducliffe-Vines (GB 2) bt Noah Motz (USA 2) 6/5 6/4
Alex Ducliffe-Vines & Guy Maxwell (GB 2+4) bt Noah Motz & Henry Smith (USA 2+4) 6/1 6/5
Day 5 – Van Alen Cup
Erik Barker (USA 3) bt Henry Mullan (GB 3) 6/1 2/6 6/5
Robert Shenkman (GB 1) bt Freddie Bristowe (USA 1) 6/1 6/3
Henry Smith (USA 4) bt Guy Maxwell (GB 4) 6/0 6/2
Robert Shenkman & Henry Mullan (GB 1+3) bt Freddie Bristowe & Erik Barker (USA 1+3) 6/4 6/5
Erik Barker & Henry Smith (USA 3+4) bt Henry Mullan & Henry Stevinson (GB 3+4) 3/6 6/4 6/2
Since the match score was tied at 4-4. The 2nd and 3 rd players were required to play to decide the title. Due to unavailability and exhaustion on the part of the British team, they were forced to concede and therefore the USA team won the Van Alen Cup.
USA WINS 2019 CLOTHIER CUP 8-0
Clothier Cup – Wednesday, June 26 & Thursday, June 27
Pete Dickinson (USA 4) bt Ollie Pridmore (Aus 4) 6/5 1/6 6/5
Noah Motz & Pete Dickinson (USA 2+4) bt Alex Fahey & Ollie Pridmore (AUS 2+4) 6/2 6/1
Henry Smith & Pete Dickinson (USA 3+4) bt Eli Kozma & Ollie Pridmore 6/2 6/0
Noah Motz & Erik Barker (USA 1+3) bt Blake Hillebrand & Eli Kozma 6/2 6/0
Freddie Bristowe & Erik Barker (USA 1+2) bt Blake Hillebrand & Alex Fahey (Aus 1+2) 6/1 6/1
Freddie Bristowe (USA 1) bt Blake Hillebrand (Aus 1) 6/1 6/3
Henry Smith (USA 3) bt Eli Kozma (Aus 3) 6/1 6/4
Noah Motz (USA 2) bt Alex Fahey (Aus 2) 6/2 6/0
