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The 2003 MSRA State Doubles Championships, better known as “the STATES,” were the most significant doubles competition of the season. Many players did not travel to the Canadian championships in Vancouver or the United States tourney in Denver, so this event provided a venue for local doubles fanatics to assert their supremacy. Some even had the hope of winning two events on May 5.

The A draw was less routine than in previous years, mostly because of young upstarts Will Broadbent and Patrick Malloy. Broadbent, a Harvard freshman and Greenwich native, teamed with Chris Spahr as the number four seed. They survived a seesaw five game quarterfinal against John Nimick and Philip Constable. In the semifinals the duo dropped the first two games against Greg Zaff and Derrick Niederman. Zaff was sharp this season after playing in several International Squash Doubles Association (ISDA) tournaments and finishing in the finals of the 40’s US National Doubles with Jamie Fagan. Niederman, however, was suffering from a severe sore throat and tired as the match progressed. Zaff/Niederman, the #2 seeds, dropped the next two games, but then won the fifth game in a tiebreaker, marked by a timely frame-shot winner by Niederman. In the other half, #3 seeds Sandy Tierney and Malloy easily disposed of Tom Poor and US National Singles and Doubles Champion Preston Quick. Against 2002 State Champions and #1 seeds Doug Lifford and Fagan, Tierney/Malloy repeatedly hit the ball hard at Fagan and neutralized Fagan’s offense, leading to a four-game upset. The finals thus promised to be a close contest. Though Niederman was severely dehydrated from his semifinal, his team took the first game at 12. Unbeknownst to his opponents, Niederman aggravated a leg muscle during the match and experienced difficulty running forward. The injury mattered little, since Tierney/Malloy hit the ball deep to Niederman without moving him too much in the court. The #2 seeds won the next two games and the match at 10 and 18-16, adding another title to their 1988 and 1991 bounty.

The B draw featured upsets and sparkling play from underrated players. The unseeded team of Joe Duffey and Joe Swan team surprised many when they upset the #1 seeds and 2002 champions Rob Dewees and Joe Cortes in five games in the quarterfinals. Swan/Duffey needed four games to defeat the competitive pair of Errin Siagel and Michael Wang in the semifinals. In the other half, Chipp Adams and vastly improved Adam Simms sparked controversy as they wended their way through the draw. They were lucky to beat #2 seeds Gerry Kirschner and Jeff Rodman, particularly after losing the first two games to the 2000 champions. Kirschner/Rodman did not move Simms up and down the court very much in the next three games, and Simms neutralized his opponents’ shooting abilities by hitting deep lobs. Adams’ return of serve and punishment of loose balls also contributed to the upset. The finals pitted two unheralded teams which had left-wallers who had been out of the limelight for several years. After losing the first game at 8, Adams controlled the tempo, and his team won the next two games at 9 and 8. Duffey and Swan eked out the pivotal fourth game 18-14. In the fifth, Adams made a few errors, and Simms continued his trademark bloody dives. Duffey/Swan remained composed and won the last game at 12. Swan thus became the first player in win the B draw (or any draw for that matter) in four different decades (1978 with Bob Malloy, 1981 with Don Boyko, 1990 with Malcolm MacColl), a testament to his undiminished zeal and skill.

The C draw was dominated by the Cinderella team of Mary and Mike McKee and the 2000 champions and #2 seeds Jay Hirshberg and Simms. The most memorable match of the tourney was the semifinal between the McKees and Ali Fahr/Swan. Fahr/Swan had a 14-8 lead in the fifth game, but Mike McKee played steadily and hit solid winners to escape from multiple match points. The final score was 8, (10), (11), 12, 17-15. Hirshberg/Simms, on the other hand, had a more routine trip to the finals. The more experienced duo played tenaciously at critical points and won the final at 10, 14-16, 12, 18-16. Simms of course became bloodier during the match.

Though defending 50’s champions and #1 seeds Poor and Len Bernheimer struggled slightly on the way to the finals, they remained the favorites particularly after their strong showing in Denver when they captured the 55’s title with a deep field. #2 seeds Malcolm Davidson and Fran Donlan did not drop a game before May 5, but they had not traveled to any national doubles tournament this season and were thus untested. The finals featured predominantly cross courts between Poor and Donlan, with both players trying to keep each other deep to open up the front court. Poor proved to be steadier than Donlan, and the #1 seeds won in four games.

2002 60’s champions Jim Young and Joel Kozol had no trouble defending their title against Floridians Jerry Fineberg and Bernheimer. Fineberg/Bernheimer were lucky to be in the tournament given their late arrival to the Northeast. Also, Fineberg almost had to default because of a painful foot. The victory was especially satisfying to Kozol since he had had no new 2003 titles prior to this event.

Mary McKee and Lifford reclaimed their Mixed title though they needed five games to defeat Annette Andruss and Nimick in one semifinal. The defending champions were disappointed by their 7/8 finish in the US Mixed and were eager to atone for their performance. Meanwhile, Jessie Chai and Tierney did not have much trouble in their half though they had to overcome an 8-14 deficit in the first game of their semifinal match against Molly Downer and Zaff before winning in three games. Chai was surprisingly fresh this time of year after winning the US Mixed with ISDA star Viktor Berg and the Canadian Nationals with Karen Jerome. She, however, knew that Lifford was especially prepared for the final when he appeared in color-coordinated clothes. Lifford neutralized many of Chai’s reverse corners in the finals, and McKee played patiently and placed low rails when Chai was deep in her corner. The final score of 9, 8, and 12 reaffirmed the dominance of McKee/Lifford in this state.

So what is in store for 2004? Young blood will become more of a force in the A’s with Broadbent, Malloy, Dan Sharplin, and Ian Conway. Tierney’s entrance into the 50’s next year may end Poor/Bernheimer’s reign. Poor, meanwhile, has already selected his partner for the 60’s. The Mixed draw will be deeper if Berkeley Belknap, Mary McKee’s twin sister, moves to Boston. As always, the B and C championships are up for grabs. David Adams, the National 5.5 Singles finalist, shows promise and will be a threat in the near future. Incontrovertibly, the number of players and the enthusiasm for hardball doubles will continue to grow in Massachusetts.