by John Lumley
Eight teams competed for the 2020 Percy Cup. Three from Philadelphia, two from New York, and one each from New England, Washington, and Tuxedo. We used a knock-out draw format for the weekend, with first-round losers going into a back draw.
On Sunday, the finals of the back draw were played first with Philadelphia 2 squaring off against Tuxedo. We had a fast start to the day as Peter Griffith & Matt Delfiner taking the win 10-7 over Dave Christensen & Alexandre Gallo. Staying on the service end was vital, as both teams served well. Melissa Purcell & Tim Carroll were up next against Kathy Carson & Richard Griffith. Carroll playing a great controlled game with Purcell hitting some fantastic volleys took the win 10-5 to take the second rubber and secure the win for Philadelphia 2 in the back draw! The last match saw Michael Gorsen & Peter Vogt play some very aggressive/attacking court tennis to beat Michael Barton & John Madzin 10-1, giving Philadelphia 2 a clean sweep in the back draw!
In the main draw final, Philadelphia 1 vs. New York 1! Both teams had played excellent tennis to get to this point, setting up a potential barnburner final! Up first, it was Christian Folkestad & Haren Arcot for team Philadelphia vs. Winston Simone Sr. & George Wheatley for New York. The first set was back and forth with the set tied at three games all. New York stepped up the pace and got to a 5-3 lead. Philadelphia fighting back with some great volleys got it to 4-5 before New York closed out the set. With momentum in New York’s favor and Wheatley playing lovely control and Simone doing damage up at the galleries, they secured the fight rubber 6-4 6-0! Up next, we had Dick Tanfield & Schuyler Wickes for Philadelphia vs. Tyler Hathaway & Peter MacGuire for New York. Philadelphia came out of the blocks quickly with some great serving and return of serve forcing. New York struggling with the pace couldn’t find a serve to stop the Philadelphia train, and, in the end, Philadelphia took it 6-1 6-0 to tie up the match and take it to the final match! With the pressure on – Andrew Dick & Dan Barrus from Philpadehia took on Theodore Goneos & Briggs Fraser from New York. The dedans were packed with Philadelphia and New York players, all cheering for their team. New York came out firing – playing great aggressive shots from both ends of the court. Philadelphia knowing they had to step it up, found some form in their volleys, and grabbed the first set 6-3 from being 3-2 down. Feeling confident, the Philadelphia team raced out to a 5-3 lead. Matchpoint – Philadelphia, up 40-15, from the service end – Daniel Barrus hit a brilliant backhand volley into the tambour, bouncing once on the hazard floor, and landing in the winning gallery to secure the match 6-3, 6-3 and the 2020 Percy Cup. Started in 1992, this was the first time in 28 years that any team was able to win the tournament three times in a row, 2018-2020!
The Philadelphia I Team that contributed to this historic result included Andrew Dick and Daniel Barrus, Richard Tanfield and Schuyler Wickes, and Christian Folkestad and Haren Arcot. Congratulations on a fantastic tournament, and thank you to all who traveled and played in the event.
Back draw Final
Main Draw Final
