by James Zug
In mid-December 2019, the Racquet & Tennis Club hosted the twenty-second annual United States Court Tennis Association dinner and auction during the traditional Whitney Cup weekend. One hundred and ninety-four people came to the dinner.
The evening, chaired most ably by Ted Goneos, began with a splendid cocktail hour in the main lounge of the club’s second floor. It was a reunion of sorts, with old friends gathering from every club in the U.S. and a half dozen overseas.
As usual, there were a wonderful panoply of silent auction items. All the way from Melbourne, Richard Travers ferried signed copies of a few of his books and a spectacular dis-bound page from the 15 November 1884 issue of Vanity Fair that featured James Gordon Bennett, Jr. the founder of the Newport Casino. Some other interesting items were a beautiful paper quilled USCTA logo by Claudia Munoz; a photograph of Lords by Freddy Adam; an oversized court tennis ball made by Adrian Kemp; a weekend of quail shooting in South Carolina; challenge matches with professionals; a week’s stay at a cottage in Wales; handmade beach racquets; a poster of Billy the Dog; and a signed, limited-edition watercolor print, “Epater la gallerie,” by Parisian artist Clara Baum.
For dinner in the south lounge, Peter Pell, the Whitney Cup tournament chair, welcomed everyone to New York for the eighty-sixth Payne Whitney Memorial Intercity Tennis Doubles Cup. As is tradition, he read out the names of the first-time Whitney Cup players: Andy Roberts from Boston; Mike Burton and Andrew Dick from Philadelphia; Chris Holter and Tolly Krusen from New York; and Vaughan Massie from Aiken.
The dinner in the south lounge featured smoked salmon, grilled filet mignon with cabernet sauce, julienned mixed vegetables and chocolate cake for dessert.
James Zug, the president of the USCTA, noting that the flag of the Racquet & Tennis Club was flying at half-mast in honor of its former professional Tommy Greevy, asked for a moment of silence in honor of all of those members of our community who had passed away since the last annual dinner: Joe Ashman, John Dawson, Ged Eden, Tommy Greevy, Lou Habina, Michael Hunter, Elihu Inselbuch, Robin Martin and Carl Timpdon.
Zug welcomed many of the honored guests at the dinner, including professionals—Tim Chisholm, Josh Dodgson, Adrian Kemp, John Lumley, Ivan Ronaldson, James Stout, Barney Tanfield and Steve Virgona—and the former USCTA presidents—Charlie Johnstone, Bill McLaughlin, Greg Van Schaack and Jeremy Wintersteen. He also noted the chairs of USCTA committees in attendance: Gary Barnes (communications), Ken Forton (finance), Dan Laukitis (scheduling and nominating), Marc Lewinstein (professional), Jane Lippincott (juniors), Andy Roberts (Handicap & Ranking) Zach Sacks (tournament policies), Gary Swantner (membership) and Jeremy Wintersteen (International).
A highlight of the evening was a celebration of the victorious 2019 Van Alen and Clothier Cup team: coach Ivan Ronaldson, Erik Barker, Freddie Bristowe, Pete Dickinson, Noah Motz and Henry Smith, Zug gave each player and coach a special edition Gold Leaf racquet in honor of their historic victories. Then the 2019 team was joined for a unique photograph by two dozen former U.S. Van Alen and Clothier Cup players.
During dinner Zug announced the winners of the Association’s annual awards. He gave the 2019 Edward J. Hughes & John E. Slater Award, the highest annual award of the Association, to Ken Forton. A player and leader in Boston, Forton has served on the board of the Association for a decade and has been the treasurer of the USCTA for the past six years. “Ken has guided the USCTA through many projects large and small,” Zug said, “always with acumen and good humor.”
The 2019 winner of the George Plimpton Prize for artistic excellence was Richard Travers. One of the great historians of our game, Travers came all the way from Melbourne for just three days in New York. “Richard is a book author, editor, essayist, lecturer and translator,” Zug said. “With skill and insight, he has greatly enlarged our understanding of our past.”
Travers started his journey into the history of tennis in 2003 when, on the suggestion of 2017 Plimpton Prize winner Michael Garnett, he started translating Manevieux’s 1783 book into English. “As Manevieux wrote, ‘the spectator, in the galleries is always a good player.’” Travers said. He also spoke of the uncanny parallels between James Gordon Bennett, the founder of the Newport Casino, and the namesake of the Prize, George Plimpton, ones that include journalism and asteroids.
Ivan Ronaldson was the winner of the 2019 Professional of the Year Award. Based in Washington, Ronaldson has been a longtime leader in the Player Development Program, the joint Association and Preservation Foundation project which focuses on developing future tennis champions. He was the head coach of the 2019 Van Alen and Clothier Cup squads, guiding the squad through a week in Manchester where they beat Australia and upset Great Britain.
Dick Boenning, Jr. gave out the 2019 H. Dickson S. Boenning Award for sportsmanship to Amy Wintersteen. From Newport, Wintersteen is an avid player always noted for her courtesy, fair play and fellowship on and off the court.
The 2019 Grassi Family Junior of the Year Award was given to Noah Motz. Playing in Washington, Motz last won the Grassi in 2015. In the past year, Motz went from a 22.7 to a 14.2 handicap and captured both the U26 singles (in a three-set final) and the U26 doubles. As captain of the U.S. team, he helped lead them to victory in the 2019 Van Alen and Clothier Cups.
Ginny Goodyear and Dana Kopald gave out the 2019 Robert M. Goodyear Award to Chris Heffernan of Tuxedo Park. A generous host, Heffernan has been a wonderful exemplar of Tuxedo’s signature welcoming style. Tim Chisholm, the head pro at Tuxedo, accepted the award on Heffernan’s behalf, as he had just had surgery.
The 2019 Most Improved Player Award went to Tim Carroll. Playing at the Racquet Club of Philadelphia, Carroll went from a 62.2 to a 43.6. He played in tournaments in Philadelphia, Lakewood and Tuxedo and recorded more than sixty-five matches in the past year on RTO.
The 2019 Most Improved Junior Player Award went to Ben Dickinson. Based in Newport, Dickinson dropped from a 33.1 to a 26.1 in singles and was perhaps the most avid junior player in the country.
At the conclusion of the annual awards, Brook Hazelton served as auctioneer for the Association’s auction. A number of the lots, silent and live, were dedicated to Charleston Court Tennis, including a round of golf at Daniel Island in South Carolina and at Fishers Island in New York and a long weekend in Charleston. Other outstanding lots included a weekend at the Greystone Inn in North Carolina and Black Point Inn in Maine, a week in a house in the Dordogne and a flat in London, golf at Sleepy Hollow and The Country Club, fishing in the Poconos and a weekend in Northeast Harbor, Maine. In addition, Lot 12 was the paddle raise for the USCTA’s national sponsorship program for professionals.
Because of Hazelton’s professional abilities and the exceptional quality of the lots, the auctions raised more than $76,000
The evening ended with the induction of William T. Vogt into the International Court Tennis Hall of Fame. Vogt, a former vice president of the USCTA and a fantastic masters player at the Racquet Club of Philadelphia, died in 2002.
His two sons, Will and Peter, and four of his grandchildren, PJ, Lori, Elizabeth and Nicky, all spoke about Bill Vogt. They talked about his early prowess at lawn tennis, including winning the national schoolboy doubles, dominating at Princeton and playing at Forest Hills. In court tennis Vogt played on five winning Whitney Cup sides and captured a total of thirty U.S. national championships (and, a thirty-first title with one British amateur doubles). “He was a gifted competitor who loved the game,” said Peter Vogt.
The following afternoon the USCTA and the Whitney Cup jointly held a lovely luncheon in the Racquet & Tennis Club’s main dining room.
Photos by Marco Calderon
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Past and present Van Alen and Clothier Cup Players
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George Plimpton Prize for artistic excellence - Richard Travers
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H. Dickson S. Boenning Award for Sportsmanship - Amy Wintersteen. Presenting the trophy on behalf of his late father is Dickson S. Boenning.
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Grassi Family Junior of the Year Award - Noah Motz
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Professional of the Year - Ivan Ronaldson
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Hughes Slater Award - Ken Forton
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Robert M. Goodyear Award - Chris Heffernan - accepting on behalf of Chris is Tim Chisholm. Presenting the prize are the late Robert Goodyear's daughter and granddaughter - Virginia Goodyear and Dana Goodyear Kopald
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Most Improved Junior Award - Ben Dickinson. Accepting on behalf of Ben is his brother Peter Dickinson
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2019 Hall of Fame Inductee: William Vogt - accepting on behalf of their late father are Will and Peter Vogt
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Most Improved Player Award - Tim Carroll
