by Josh Smith
At the turn of the month, the NTC hosted a small but strong field of competitors in the US 40s; the national level competitions in singles and doubles, for players over the age of 40. Members will recognise most of the names in attendance, and we also thank Nick Warner for flying across the pond to take part in the event, where he usually plays his tennis at Queen’s Club in London.
The doubles was a round-robin, with strong pre-tournament favourites Todd Meringoff & Alex Spence joined by the Van Buskirk brothers and the pairing of Jeremy Wintersteen & Nick Warner. Meringoff and Spence were a handful from the get-go. Meringoff was solid as a rock, particularly on the volley, and was complemented by the hard-hitting Spence, who looked to inject pace at almost any opportunity. The pair presented a great balance of defense and attack and, despite being pushed hard, consistently found ways to win key points and games. Comfortable as a pair, they worked well together and, through spirited effort from the challenging pairs, fended off the opposition and claimed the gold medals without dropping a set.
In the doubles silver medal match, Wintersteen & Warner were favoured by a few handicap points, but the brothers Van Buskirk played well together and were in good form. The match was tight through the first few games, and the rallies were long and exciting, often lasting 20 shots or more. It was Wintersteen & Warner who started to pull away and take the lead with key points, taking the first set 6-3. The W’s continued their solid play in the second set and started to frustrate the Van Buskirks, who couldn’t find consistent ways to create points and chases. Deserved winners, Wintersteen and Warner claimed the silver medals in straight sets.
In the singles, the pick of the first round of matches was Jeremy Wintersteen v Nick Warner as the doubles pair faced off from opposite ends of the court. With the first four games taking 35 minutes, the players were well-matched. Warner looked good on the unfamiliar court and was getting good value for his cut floor shot to the Wintersteen backhand corner. Wintersteen pushed the pace, with mixed results, but found key shots at the right moments to win the first set through lots of tightly fought games. Warner changed his style in the second, hitting more drives looking for an opening. Wintersteen was up for the challenge, and despite a little wobble after going 4-0 up, finished the match with a 6-2 6-3 victory and would face Meringoff in the next round.
Against Meringoff in the semifinals, Wintersteen played a good tactical game and looked to overcome an 8-point handicap. Wintersteen sought to avoid Meringoff’s excellent volley, instead targeting the side and back walls and extending the rallies. The wise choice was effective, but halfway through the first set, Meringoff started to build momentum. From 2-2 in the first, Meringoff started to dictate play and went on a run of seven games to win the first set and find himself 3-0 up. Never beaten, Wintersteen dug in, and clawed his way back to 3-3. Feeling the shift, Meringoff tightened his game, took hold of the match and booked his spot in the final, 6-2 6-4.
Meringoff would face Phil Stockton in the final, who has improved his game significantly over the last 12 months, and is a difficult challenge on the NTC court. Stockton had won through against Tom Van Buskirk in the semifinals, who was playing well despite carrying a niggling back injury. Van Buskirk was solid and competitive, but Stockton’s railroad serves and positive returns were enough to win through in straight sets. Stockton would need those weapons to be similarly effective against Meringoff, but their aim was off at the start of the final. Meringoff started quickly, and Stockton was off the pace, stuck down the receiver’s end, and in a flash, the first set was over – 6-0 Meringoff in minutes. Not to go down without a fight, Stockton worked his way into the match. He found his railroad, improved his timing, took the fight to Meringoff, and set the stage for a battle. Stockton was pressing, and Meringoff was solid in response. The players went game for game, and the crowd’s delight could be heard through the glass as we settled in for the 5-all game. Both players had their chances, including set/match points that were defended, each rueing missed opportunities as we went back and forth from deuce to advantage, and back to deuce. As he had done all weekend, it was Todd Meringoff who found the back-to-back points needed to take the match, 6-0 6-5, with a fist pump at the victory from the steely competitor. Congratulations to Todd Meringoff, gold USCTA medals in both the singles and the doubles.
In the back draw final, Nick Warner would go on to claim victory against Tom Van Buskirk, who, after the weekend’s efforts, finally fell victim to the back injury and was forced to withdraw after two sets played. A shame for Tom to finish the weekend and a good match in that way, but congratulations to Nick Warner for his excellent efforts over the weekend.
Giving thanks to those members who took the time to come and support the players, your attendance and support were strongly felt and much appreciated! Thank you also to Amy Wintersteen, our Tournament Chair, for all her efforts in recruiting and looking after the players throughout what was a successful weekend for NTC.
