by Steve Hufford
The pandemic-delayed World Masters amateur court tennis championships were held in France in May and the US fielded teams for all age brackets contested (Over 50s, Over 60s, Over 70s). In addition, Jules Zacher represented the US in the Over 80s individual singles.
Training injuries, COVID cases, family commitments, schedule changes, and other unforeseen events challenged our intrepid captains as they rallied the US seniors to create solid rosters for the international team competitions. Captains Guy Devereux, Simon Aldrich, and Greg Van Schaack were unrelenting in their creative and thoughtful efforts to provide a good showing by the US sides.
Thanks to the Comite Francais de Courte Paume and the pros in the three venues, all tournament results for the team and individual events are available at the “Tournois” tab on the tournament website. Some notable individual results by US players include Jeremy Wintersteen winning the Plate in 50s singles, Guy Devereux and partner Peter Jarvis winning the Plate in 50s doubles, expat Doug Sheperdigian winning the Plate in 65s singles against Sewall Hodges, and Simon Aldrich/George Bell making it to the finals of the 65s doubles.
Team summaries are as follows:
Cockram Trophy team: Third Place, playing in Paris, with a 3-2 win over Australia, and a 2-3 loss to France. Shawn Herlihy and Peter Hill, in the pivotal second doubles slot, clinched the team’s third place finish over Australia in the final round. Earlier in the competition, Jeremy Wintersteen and Bill Barker, playing at #1 and #2 singles respectively, faced inspired home court play by Julien Bey and Tim Batten, leading to France’s victory
Bostwick Cup team: Third Place, playing in Bordeaux, with a 5-0 win over France, and 0-5 losses to both Australia and UK. The first day of competition saw the US overpower France 5-0, with Sewall Hodges winning his #2 singles match 6/5 in the third set against the very capable Patrick Inchaurraga. The next two days were similarly clear-cut, as the US won no sets against either the Australian or UK team. Sewall Hodges and Alec Monaghan made big contributions as they had to play twice each day to make up for our short-sided team.
Danby Trophy team: Third Place, playing at Fontainebleau, with a 2-0 win against France, a 1-2 loss to Australia, and an 0-3 loss to UK. Our third doubles team (Russell Corey and Vern Cassin) recorded a particularly hard-fought 6/5, 6/5 victory over Australia on the second day of play. Vern Cassin’s extra efforts were much appreciated as he played twice each day against the UK and Australia to fill out our short-sided team.
All travelers from the US enjoyed great camaraderie, bonhomie, and gastronomy, and it’s not too early for US players of a certain age to begin planning for two years’ hence in England!
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