2016 Hadden Tomes

Nov 1, 2016 | US Events

Over the weekend of October 21^st – October 23^rd, The Tuxedo Club hosted the 2016 Hadden Tomes handicapped doubles tournament. Competitors and guests alike were encouraged to dress up (both on and off court) for the ever popular 1970s-themed event. The Tennis House was extremely busy all weekend with 48 players up from 46 and 42 in 2014 and 2015, respectively. This year The Tuxedo Club also simultaneously hosted the NARA national age group championships in singles and doubles: the Murray Sales Cup (40+ years of age), the Thomas Price Cup (50+) and the E. Denis Walsh Cup (60+). There was good overlap between the two events with 11 players competing in both events.

To ensure that every court tennis participant played a minimum of 3 matches over the weekend, the initial stage of the competition began with a round robin tournament with each handicapped match consisting of 12 games (with 40 all scoring). Round robin play began play began at noon on Friday with Chris Oberbeck and Mitch Kelly taking on Chris Heffernan and Marc Lewinstein. Play continued until past midnight with 15 matches played on Friday, only to begin again bright and early Saturday morning at 7:15AM. Another 17 matches were played on Saturday in advance of the 1970s-themed dinner and dance.

By every measure Saturday night was a tremendous success. As the photos show, everyone spent time and effort perfecting their 70s look and a live band playing 70s hits ensured plenty of energetic participants on the dance floor. As visitors to past Hadden Tomes events know well, the party never ends at the Club House; this year’s “after party” was graciously hosted by Barbara and Peter Regna. The entertainment inevitably revolved around more “on court” competition with the Regna’s two table tennis tables. On and off court play continued well into Sunday morning.

The court tennis picked up again early Sunday at 7:15AM, and some players were likely casualties of the previous night’s festivities (note Dan Laukitis and Guy Devereux’s 11-1 loss to Nick Jones and Brad Ursprung at 8AM). Play concluded with the 12 participants with the highest round robin scores playing in 3 separate finals. The format of each finals match was best of 3 sets, 3-all in the third set. In the first final, Alan McHugh and Felix White prevailed over Nick Jones and Brad Ursprung in a 3-set nail-biter (6/4, 5/6, 6/5). In the second final, Jeanne Heffernan and Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh beat Mary Livingston and Chris Bruner in another close match (6/5, 4/6, 6/4). The last final of the day featured the lowest handicapped players to survive round robin play; in a dominating performance Chris Heffernan and Will Fantini overcame Rich Mueller and Peter Bender (6/2, 6/2).

A BIG THANK YOU to all Hadden Tomes participants and their guests. We look forward to seeing as many of you as can make it again next year. Also, a special thanks to the Co-Chairs of the event, Kim Kilgore and Laura Tillsley. This is their second year co-chairing the event and we look forward to their continued leadership with not only Hadden Tomes but The Tuxedo Club’s annual Gold Racquets event. Thanks must also go to Tim Chisholm whose efforts ensure a consistently smooth-running event, to Janice Pearson who’s massage skills provide relief for many tired legs, and to Shelby LaCombe (Tuxedo’s General Manager) for ensuring that all the weekend’s entertainment and sporting events seamlessly came together.

by Josh Scherer