From an Interested Observer:
The Racquet Club of Chicago welcomed over 20 competitors from Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Aiken, Washington, New York, and Manchester.
In the Singles draw, after rather convincing straight-sets victories by the top-seeded competitors in the early rounds, the quarterfinals action saw some very spirited and close matches. In the top half of the draw, Ben Stein narrowly edged Todd Meringoff in two sets after a number of very long deuce games, 6-4, 6-5. Jon Crowell also outlasted an inspired and energetic onslaught by Erik Barker in two tight sets and strategically avoided a third, winning, 6-5, 6-5, whereas after dropping the first set to Pete Dickinson 3-6, went on to win the next two sets 6-4, 6-3. In the top half of the draw, Ben Stein outlasted Todd Meringoff in a tight match, 6-5, 6-5, while Robert Shenkman handled Henry Smith 6-2, 6-1.
In the semifinals, Robert continued his strong play, beating Ben Stein 6-2, 6-1, and John Crowell pushed past Pat Winthrop 6-3, 6-4. But Robert Shenkman would prove too strong in the final, beating Jon Crowell in straight sets 6-2, 6-2, 6-2, and capturing his first U.S. Amateur title.
In the doubles draw, 10 teams lined up to compete. Charles Antoyne-Hurstel/ Philip Stockton beat Henry Smith/ Alex Stannard in a good three-set match before losing to top seeds Peter Cipriano/ Robert Shenkman, while in the bottom half of the draw, Ben Hudson/ Andrew Peabody were impressive in their victory over Chicago locals Jonathan Lewis/ Andrew Fritz before falling to second seeds, Pat Winthrop/ Todd Meringoff in the following round. In other first-round action, Jon Crowell/ Pete Dickinson put their skills to use against Rakesh Jasani/ George Handy from Aiken, while father-son Team Barker from Washington fought admirably before falling to Peter Pell/ Ben Stein from New York.
In the top half of the semifinals, Peter Cipriano/ Robert Shenkman continued to play inspired tennis to beat Pell/ Stein 6-2, 6-1, and while in the bottom half, Winthrop/ Meringoff pushed past Crowell/ Dickinson 6-4, 6-1. The final saw some great tennis from the top two seeds. However, the top seed Cipriano/ Shenkman again prevailed, beating Winthrop/ Merginoff in straight sets, 6-3, 6-5, 6-1.
Overall, the tournament was a great success and great fun for both players, and a very vocal and social gallery. Thanks to the Racquet Club pro shop and staff, including John Cashman, Steve Virgona, and Conor Medlow, manager Richard Duggan and chef Mike Coronel, who organized the marking and dinner and brunch for the players, Chicago looks forward to hosting again in the future.
