My Kind of Town!
USSRA National Doubles
By Aidan Harrison
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Chicago, Illinois, hosted the National Doubles in late March—for the first time in nearly four decades. The city was selected based on its rapid growth of social doubles in both the heart of Chicago and its northern suburbs. The host clubs, the Racquet Club of Chicago and the Onwentsia Club in Lake Forest, carefully selected committees and made it their mission statement to make all players and companions feel welcome and justified in their entry fee, and truly they did not disappoint. Reigning champions, legendary players and new faces battled all weekend, pushing their opponents to the limit, and a frequently overheard comment during the weekend was how great the game of doubles has blossomed over the last 10 years.
The clubs were gracious hosts. The Racquet Club of Chicago hosted the black tie dinner on Saturday evening, with cocktails served during the semifinals of the Men’s Open. During these matches, Morris Clothier and Damien Mudge came through a tough battle with fellow New Yorkers Jeff Stanley and Noah Wimmer, 3-1. PSA superstar Jonathon Power teamed with tournament director Aidan Harrison, and the pair was clearly educated by defending champions Preston Quick and Eric Vlcek, losing 3-1. Players, spouses and sponsors were treated to an exceptional evening of fine wine and food before finals day at the Onwentsia Club. Onwentsia has the only glass-backed doubles court in Illinois, built three years ago by 50+ doubles world champion Gordon Anderson. The court has seating on two levels and is regarded as the premier court in North America.
Starting with the eldest group and leading up to the premier (Open) events, Sunday was chock-full of finals. In the 75+ division, three teams played a round robin. Michael McBean and Paul Fisher were the triumphant team beating Don Boyko and Del Fuller 3-1 in the deciding match. Organizers merged the 65+ and 70+ divisions, which featured five teams. Advancing in the main draw were Fred Bracher III/Charles Stehle and Donald D. Mills/Samuel Howe III. This group played a fantastic final with great sportsmanship and passion. In a close contest, Mills and Howe edged the No.1 seeds 3-1.
The 60+ final was one of the highlights of the weekend. It featured a wonderful partnership of Tom Poor and Leonard Bernheimer, who has won 15 consecutive national titles. Their opponents in the final were an energetic team from Minneapolis, John Osburn and Bartlett McGuire. The match went back and forth, lasting just under two hours, and on the last point Osburn hit an outright winner to take the match 18-17 in the fifth.
Following the 60s final was not going to be easy. The main court was buzzing with excitement and the 55+ Canadian partnership from Montreal, Mike Downer and Tom Nederpal delivered a squash feast. Edging out the savvy racket skills of Gul Khan and William Simpson, Downer/Nederpal took the title 15-12 in the deciding game.
World Doubles champions Gordon Anderson and Michael Pierce had a street fight on their playground when they ran into Victor Harding and Sean McDonough in the 50+ final. Theirs was another classic match and the second of the morning that went down to the last possible point. There, the champions were able to defend their title with a rolling nick that had the crowd cheering and on its feet; Anderson/Pierce won 18-17 in the fifth.
While all the excitement was happening in the older categories, the pace had picked up on the adjoining court for younger teams. First, in the 45+ Jay Gillespie and Graeme Duff came up against a disciplined team of Derrick Niederman and Albert “Sandy” Tierney III, who kept great concentration and ran off with the crucial points to take the match 3-0. The Canadian team of Mike Costigan and Al Hunt, who had won their homeland’s nationals the weekend prior, showed how to execute the ball in the 40+, and, despite a gutsy fight from James Heldring and Patrick Miller in the third, the Canadians took home the crystal, 3-1.
Many Chicago players filled out the draws in the B and C divisions. Peter Dunne, chairman of the event and son of the last Chicago organizer in 1963, partnered with Bryan Nelson in the Bs but lost to Brian Vihlien and Andy McAfee 3-1. The women’s B had a more convincing score: Heather White and Sarah Finkenstaedt beat Geraldine Heldring and Kathy McGowan 3-0. Kenneth Love and Reed Webster took out Scott Bermingham and Jesse Belcher decisively 3-0 for the men’s C title.
Finally it was time for the big-gun events: The Women’s and Men’s Opens. Only four ladies made up the Women’s Open draw. The lack of entries reportedly had to do with timing—the Skill Level/Age Group Nationals were just one week prior to the Doubles, and the World Doubles were only one month following—as well as a historic dominance of the draw by favorites Demer Holleran and Alicia McConnell. In this year’s event, this fantastic partnership showed Jessica DiMauro and Meredeth Quick their fine knowledge of positioning and choice selection on a doubles court. With a tense third game and holding a 12-7 lead, DiMauro and Quick bowed to the mature players, and Holleran/McConnell won three-love. This win marked notch number nine on the tally chart for Holleran/McConnell.
During the Women’s Open, Preston Quick was warming up courtside and watching his sister play, but he was calm in his approach, no doubt aware that he could complete another set of doubles and singles titles, as he had in 2003. With the talented and aggressive Eric Vlcek at his side, Preston knew his partner was going to give it a wonderful try. In front of the task ahead stood the expressionless, experienced amateur Morris Clothier and the Australian giant Damien Mudge, who was filling in for Gary Waite (who had broken his hand two days prior to the tournament—he was saving his coffee from spilling while skateboarding with his daughter. Tsk! Tsk!). In the Men’s Open final the contestants played at a furious pace, and the defending champions were not giving up an inch of the court. They split the first four games to set up an exciting fifth. In a blistering race to win, the game was even at 13-all. Vlcek called “one” and with two cleverly placed shots by Quick, history was written. Quick and Vlcek were ambassadors to the game and gave a wonderful speech to close out the weekend.
A big thank you must go out to Peter Dunne and David Bermingham who together gave a memorable experience to players, spectators and sponsors in Chicago in March 2004. When will the national doubles again resurface in Chicago? Let’s hope it’s not another 40 years…
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