Jamie Fagan was tantalizingly close. Winning last year for the first time, he and partner Chris Spahr lost the last two games of the four game final, each by a razor-thin margin (15-14) to Malcolm Davidson & Martin Heath (Rochester), leaving Sandy Tierney as the only player to repeat as champion. The final was symbolic of the many close matches throughout the 2007 edition of the University Club Pro-Am Doubles held over the weekend of January 19-21. The Davidson-Heath duo’s path to the finals was not an easy one. After Doc Grossman & Mike Pirnak (Toronto) in the opening round, they were taken to five in the quarters by Doug Lifford (Boston) & the ageless Joel Kozol. In the semis, they promptly dropped the first two games to Dave Riccio & John Russell (New York) before righting the ship to win the last three and set the stage for the final. Jamie & Chris had a slightly easier route, scoring four game victories over Jim Bildner & Jeff Mulligan (New York), Jay Hirshberg & Joe Pentland (New York) and Matthew Kozol & Viktor Berg (Vancouver).  

The University Club Pro Doubles Championship and its sister tournament, the University Club Pro-Am Doubles Championship have become an important mid-January fixture on the ISDA Professional Doubles Tour.  With 57 patrons and 16 amateur players providing financial support for the event, the professionals competed in both the Professional and Pro-Am tournaments for $27,000 in prize money.  In addition, the level of play in both brought out sizeable galleries throughout the weekend. The pro final, held on Monday, was interesting this year in that it featured Preston Quick and Ben Gould, last year’s winners, on opposite teams. Ben paired with newcomer Paul Price and was seeded #1; Preston played with John Russell and was seeded #2. The final was a tight four games with Price & Gould capturing their first Boston title.

The North Draw in the Pro-Am was composed of teams that won their first match, but lost in the second round of the main draw.  Lenny Bernheimer & Scott Butcher (New York) parlayed an early Sunday morning start to a four game victory over Joel Kozol & Lifford, and then went to a five game shoot-out with Jay Hirshberg & Joe Pentland. Lots of exchanges down the forehand wall between Lenny and Jay finally resulted in Lenny’s favor. Jay & Joe had survived a four game semi-final over John Connolly & Chris Deratnay (Toronto).

In the West Draw, featuring first round losers, disgruntlement abounded as several of these teams had lost five game struggles in the main draw. Mat Sibble & Ben Gould were one of these.

They began their quest for atonement with a four game defeat of Grossman & Pirnak, then suffered the ignominy of losing the third game at -1 to rookie Mark Baranski & Preston Quick before rebounding to win the fourth game and match. In the other half, Tom Poor & Mark Chaloner (Grand Cayman) had also lost in five, then squeezed by Marty Stocklan & Paul Price in five, only to lose another five gamer to Jim Bildner, the only amateur to have played in every one of the 10 Pro-Am events, & Jeff Mulligan. In the final, Mat successfully nursed a sore foot long enough to win in four.

The South Draw was composed of West Draw quarter-final losers. Jon Ross & James Hewitt (Toronto), last year’s winner with Jamie, defeated Grossman-Pirnak to meet Stocklan-Price in the final. Marty & Paul had defeated fashion scion Steve Wolfe, decked out in orange shorts and a scarlet shirt, & Chris Walker (San Diego) in a three game semi-final. It must have been painful for Chris’ mum, visiting from England, to see her son lose in orange shorts as well. After dropping the first game of the final, Jon & James rebounded to win the next three and the title.

The finishing touches are now on the final draw memorializing the 2007 Pro-Am Doubles event in anticipation of its prominent display beside the doubles court. This year’s success is another indication of the popularity of doubles at our Club which in turn has spurred plans for construction of another doubles court at the Union Boat Club.