The MSRA was well represented in these two national tournaments, customarily the high points of the doubles calendar. The large number of players entering these events speaks to the activity and esprit de corps of the many doubles players who play noon, afternoon and evening at both the University and Harvard Clubs.
The Canadian National Championships were held over the week-end of March 4-6 in Montreal. Ten players journeyed north to participate in the various age groups. Conspicuous by her absence was Jessie Chai, a five time Open champion who retired last season following her victory in the World championships. Leading the charge were Sandy Tierney & Derrick Niederman, newly eligible for the 50’s and seeded third in the draw. They allowed club mate Malcolm Davidson and Baltimore partner Stan Dorney, winners of the Merion tournament in January, only a handful of points in a quarter-final match, then breezed past 2nd seeded Murray & Smith of Toronto. In the final, they defeated Aziz Khan of the fabled Khan clan and John Boynton to win their first Canadian title.
It’s unusual for teams from the same distant location to meet early in the draw, but the same quirk happened in the 60’s when Jim Young & Chuck Kelly drew 2nd seeded Tom Poor & Lenny Bernheimer in the quarterfinals. This match was Tom’s first since a hip replacement nine months before. Tom & Lenny won in three, then faced Toronto’s Cass Quinn & Molson Robertson, winners of two major Canadian events this season. Squeezing out three very close overtime games, the University Club pair moved into the finals to face Tony Swift & Dave Bogert, the team which had defeated them in the 2004 final. Down two games and 12-9 in the third, Tom & Lenny somehow won the next six points and the next two games to collect their 7th Canadian title.
In the 70’s, Joel Kozol formed a new partnership with Charlie Stehle from Philadelphia and as the 2nd seed played Lee Spelke & Hank Shaw in the preliminary round robin. Winning in three, they earned a spot in the finals against the top seeded team of Rober & Logie. Strong gallery support from the Boston contingent was not enough as the Canadians won in three.
Four weeks later, the U.S. National Championships were hosted by New York, the site of the 2002 event but returning in such a short time in an effort to draw many of the young players in the area. That plan was successful as close to 300 players, including 20 from the MSRA, entered in 12 draws. The event was spread between five clubs, a necessity since each club had only one court. However, all the players and guests convened on Saturday evening for a buffet dinner at the University Club.
Berkeley Revenaugh & Mary McKee, better known as the Belknap twins in squash circles, won two matches to reach the finals of the Womens Open. There they lost a heartbreaker by two points in the fifth to many time champion Alicia McConnell, a coach at the Olympic Training Site in Colorado Springs, and Poochie Holderfer, a Colombian native who learned doubles at a community court. Sarah West from Dartmouth was 2nd seeded with partner Katherine Giese of Philadelphia, but was upset in the semi-finals of the “A” draw.
On the Mens side, the Open draw featured mostly professionals. Doug Lifford & Pat Malloy, Boston’s ranking professional tandem, lost in the quarters to a New York team destined for the finals. Also in the Open draw was Ross Revenaugh who teamed with Toronto’s Tyler Millard, losing in the opening round to the 2nd seed. Nick Barquin and New York’s Mike Sabatine won a round in the brutal “A” 28 team draw. In the 45’s John Nimick was seeded 2nd with top Canadian Jay Gillespie. They reached the finals where professional Todd Binns (Denver) and his St. Louis partner bested them in four games.
Sandy & Derrick, on the strength of their Canadian victory and their stature as 45’s champion in last year’s Chicago tournament, were seeded 1st in the 50’s. They cruised to the finals where, ironically, they met Davidson and Dorney, their quarterfinal victims in the Canadians. The latter had edged Murray & Smith, who a round before had shut out Mat Sibble and his Canadian partner, in five very close games to make the final round. Alas, the result was the same as Sandy & Derrick won the tournament without the loss of a game for their second U.S. title. Our lone repreasentative in the 55’s, Ed Serues, paired with former Bostonian Jay Umans to win a round before losing in the quarters.
Poor & Bernheimer were also seeded 1st in the 60’s. They advanced with minor difficulties to the finals where the Quinn-Robertson team awaited another try. Inexplicably, the Canadians directed as many balls as possible to Lenny who, after three days of practice upon his return from Florida, made them pay dearly and led the way to a four game victory and their 9th U.S. title. In the 70’s, Kozol & Stehle lost in the semifinals to the eventual champions from New York, Leonard & Hill, who also defeated Spelke & Shaw in the opening round.
The Boston players now turn their eyes to the States where 135 players are entered in seven divisions. Following the finals on May 9, doubles play takes a brief summer respite before we begin the new challenge to make Boston the Home of doubles champions.
