by Nick Howell
Aiken Tennis Club hosted another successful Knox tournament where George Handy and Morgan Purvis retained their titles. The Northrup Knox is the club’s most sort after board event to win, having to play off a handicap of 30 or better. The tournament dates back to 1937 but was called the handicap doubles.
We had four days of fantastic tennis, weather and social events. Eleven teams entered the tournament this year and were split into two groups of five and six teams, with all teams playing four matches and the top two qualifying for the finals. We had an oyster night on Thursday night, and over 80 people came to the club to enjoy the oysters and tennis.
The pick of the matches was Chicago pair John Pak and Max Drake, who had an epic battle against Vaughan Massie and Eli Drake. Max Drake was not ready to lose to his son, so with some amazing defending of the grille at the end, he helped John sneak out a 3rd set 6-5 victory.
Day 2, we had a lot of close matches, with the last game finishing close to 11 pm. The first match of the day saw the tournament favorites Rakesh Jasani / Michael Sullivan and Andrew Peabody / John Eder both defeated in three sets by the ever-improving teams of John Pak and Max Drake and Sawyer Duncan and Jay Hatcher, who only a few months won the Witham. With St Patrick’s Day on Sunday, delicious corn beef and cabbage were on the social event’s menu. The cocktail match of Ryan Carey/ Jason Rabun saw them narrowly defeated 6-5 in the 3rd set by Sawyer Duncan / Jay Hatcher. It was a match of fantastic hard-hitting and volleying, giving the large crowd quite a show.
Day 3 was when we would determine who would progress to the semifinals—the day started with the first two matches taking over three hours, with Madison Daly and James Daly causing a big upset by beating Rakesh Jasani and Michael Sullivan 3-6 6-5 6-5. Madison and James are newcomers to the game with plenty of talent and had to play ten points better than their current handicaps of forty.
Matches continued to be close and hard-fought throughout the day, and the dinner planned for the court was moved outside as matches ran behind. The weather was beautiful, with a high of 77. Dinner was lovely, with steak and salmon, and plenty of drinks were available at the open bar outside. Tennis Chairman Mit Carothers and President Michael Sullivan gave speeches and announced who would be qualifying for the finals.
The teams to qualify for the semifinal were George Handy/ Morgan Purvis, who had not dropped a set, and Sawyer Duncan/Jay Hatcher, who had not lost a match. The other two to qualify were Geoff Ellis/ Jason McAlhaney, who also had not lost a game, and to their surprise, Madison and James Daly qualified. John Pak and Max Drake qualified with three wins, but unfortunately, John had to leave to return to his daughter’s 18thbirthday. They both played great, and we hope they return next year to have another crack at winning the Knox.
Semifinal Day saw both Morgan Purvis /George Handy and Geoff Ellis /Jason McAlhaney qualify for the final with solid performances to fend off their opponents who gave it everything they had and played above their handicaps but wasn’t to be for them.
Brunch was provided for all players and spectators at noon before the final starting at 12.30 pm.
A fantastic crowd of over 50 people came in to watch the final. On paper, this was tipped to be the tournament’s closest and best tennis match. The first set was close with four game balls, but George and Morgan Purvis played all those games well and won them all to close out the first set 6-3. The momentum continued with George and Morgan, and they won the second set and match 6/1
We were fortunate to have Northrup Knox’s daughter Linda and grandson Richard to present the trophies to the winners and finalists.
The tournament was a great success, and we hope more teams will come from out of town to enjoy the weather and great Southern hospitality.
Special thanks to ATC members:
Lou Papouchado for providing the streaming,
Robert and Cheryl Glance for providing the catering service for the four days
To Tom Sargent for bringing all the alcoholic drinks.
Luis Rinaldini, Geoff Ellis, Bob Hottensen, Jason McAlhaney, Frank and Becky Mullins for hosting the out-of-town players
Morgan Purvis, George Handy III, Linda Knox McLean, Richard McLean, Jason McAlhaney & Geoff Ellis
