The Aiken Tennis Club hosted the Northrop Knox Memorial Tournament April 10-15. After spirited group play earlier in the week, the Quarterfinals began Saturday afternoon.
The two-time defending champions and Pool B runners-up Ben Cook and Rakesh Jasani defeated Dan Villiers and Greg Van Schaack in straight sets. Lex Miron and Jeremy Wintersteen, winners of Pool A, prevailed over Pool C runners-up George Handy and Andrew Gould. In the 6:00 PM cocktail match, Pool B winners Morgan Purvis and Gary Swantner took down the mother and son team of Ginny Goodyear and Seth Kopald 6-2, 6-3. In the last quarterfinal of the evening, Aiken members Clayton Vaughters and Jason Mengel won a fiercely contested three set match 5-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Sunday morning started with an all Aiken semifinal. With a 6-1, 6-3 victory, Clayton Vaughters and Jason Mengel ended Rakesh Jasani and Ben Cook’s quest for three consecutive Knox titles. The second semifinal was another entertaining three set match. Lex Miron and Jeremy Wintersteen defeated Morgan Purvis and Gary Swantner 6-5, 4-6, 6-3, setting up a rematch from Pool play earlier in the week.
Vaughters and Mengel jumped out to an early 5-0 lead before taking the first set 6-2. Miron and Wintersteen then changed the strategy that had taken them to the finals. Starting during the second set, Lex moved back and Jeremy began to defend the galleries. The move paid off and they won the second set 6-4.
The third set was a battle with Miron and Wintersteen jumping out to a 4-2 lead. Vaughters and Mengel dug in and came back to win three games in a row to go ahead 5-4. Experience then took over and Lex and Jeremy repeatedly found the dedans and won the next two games in spectacular fashion to claim the title 6-5 in the third set. It was a successful first trip to Aiken for Miron and Wintersteen adds the 2012 championship to go with his victory in 2009.
The Aiken Tennis Club thanks the participants, members, and guests for a tremendous tournament. The galleries were constantly full and the social events were well attended. Camden Riviere and Wayne Davies were generous with their time, offering great coaching and advice in between marking matches and serving as tournament officials. The tournament was a success and we look forward to hosting the Knox in 2013.
Complete Results are attached.
