by Tony Hollins
The Moore Cup is named after John Moore, an avid lawn tennis, court tennis, and squash player. After a hiatus of some years, the NTC resurrected the event as an opportunity for the lawn tennis and court tennis players to meet and enjoy a light-hearted competition. Each doubles pair featured an experienced lawn tennis player and an experienced court tennis player. The pairs then competed in both sports.
The divisions were named after prominent players who collected impressive accolades in both games. These players were Richard Dudley Sears, Gene Scott, and Pete Bostwick. Richard Sears was the US national champion in lawn tennis from 1881 to 1887, and also the court tennis national champion in 1892. Gene Scott is a hall-of-fame tennis player, reaching the US Open semi-final in 1967, and a five-time court tennis US Open champion. Pete Bostwick was the court tennis world champion and also is one of a shortlist of players to have competed in the US Open golf and lawn tennis in the same year. He shot one lower than a gentleman by the name of Jack Nicklaus.
This year’s Moore Cup featured 24 players (12 doubles pairs). The ITHF lawn tennis professional (Dan Cardiff, Chris Hayes, Hayden Miller and Phil Matthews) were trying their hand in a court tennis event for the very first time. Many other first-time court tennis players enjoyed some friendly competition. After an enjoyable day of play on the grass and court tennis courts, the following pairs prevailed as champions:
Richard Dudley Sears Division:
Brook Hazelton and Phil Matthews
Gene Scott Division:
Sarah McNeil and Mark Gelsinger
Pete Bostwick Division:
Jedd Whitlock and Eliot Van Buskirk
Thank you to all who participated, and hopefully this event will have inspired some new faces to join the court tennis circuit in the near future.
