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| Paul D'Amico & Mike Baldwin |
Where does the time go? It has been a week already since the
final ball was tossed up, and the champions were crowned at the USPTA Clay
Court Championships at The Landings Yacht, Golf & Tennis Club in Fort Myers.
As always Paul D’Amico, his staff, and The Landings facility proved exemplary
hosts for one of the USPTA’s National surface events.
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| Robyn George of News-Press with Sam & Hannah in the crowd |
Several professionals distinguished themselves at the event by
winning multiple divisions, including two who took home three titles, winning
each event they entered. Let me start with the heroic efforts of the individual
who completed the triple with the most difficulty. No, the fact that she toppled
me and my partner has nothing…well maybe a little…to do with it.
Triple Title Winner
Trish Riddell
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| Trish Riddell |
Trish Riddell of Lakeland won the Women’s 40 Singles and
Doubles, and the 40 Mixed Doubles as well. In the 40 Singles, she downed Susie
Evans of Marco Island 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 in a heated battle. I guess given the
weather last weekend, every battle was heated.
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| Susie Evans & Trish |
In the Doubles Final, Trish teamed with Evans to post a
comeback victory over Erica Cossairt of Cape Coral and Kerry Kendrick of Fort
Myers. Riddell and Evans dropped the first set 3-6, came back to take the
second 6-3, and then dominated the breaker 10-3.
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| Trish & Jack Steyn |
I’m sure Erica saw more than she wanted to of Trish last
weekend, because Erica and I faced Trish and her partner Jack Steyn of
Bradenton in the 40 Mixed semis, and we bit the dust in a full three sets.
Trish and Jack jumped out to a 5-0 lead before Erica and I got on the scoreboard
and made it a respectable 6-3 set. We took the second by the same score, and lost
the final set 3-6 as well.
Triple Title Winner
Franco Mata
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| Franco Mata |
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| Courtney Vernon & Franco |
The other triple-crown winner was Franco Mata of Naples, who
took the Men’s Open Singles, Doubles, and Open Mixed titles. In the Doubles,
Franco partnered with Ryan Sherry of Fort Myers,
his opponent in the
As is often the case, the Men’s Open Singles proved to be a
high-level contest with both Finalists displaying both skill and resolve. Although
the opponents appeared to be evenly matched on the skill dimension, Mata’s recent
competitive efforts may have lent him the edge.
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| Ryan Sherry |
Franco won the first set in a grueling 6-4 set, but Ryan
showed no signs of going away, as he battled back to take the second set by the
identical score. But Franco isn’t affectionately called “a beast” simply for
his physique, the moniker also fits his ability to grind in the heat, point
after point. In this instance, Ryan thought discretion to be the better part of
valor and retired with Franco up 3-0 in the third.
Double Title Winners
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| Courtney & Jana Wilks |
There were four other players who claimed victories in two
events. Courtney Vernon, Coach of Florida Gulf Coast University’s Women’s
Tennis team; Kam Kuchta of Boynton Beach; Mike Barnes of Miromar Lakes Beach
& Golf Club, and Patricio Madariaga, Head Pro at Williams Island.
Women’s Open Singles
& Mixed Open Doubles
Courtney Vernon, fresh off leading the FGCU Lady Eagles to
their best season in their Division I history, easily captured the Open Singles
by eclipsing Jana Wilks of Palm Beach Gardens 6-1, 6-0 in the Final. As mentioned
above, Courtney then partnered with Franco Mata to upend Ryan Sherry and Kerry Kendrick
6-1, 6-4 in the Mixed Open Doubles.
Men’s 65 Singles
& 60 Doubles
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| Mike Barnes |
Mike Barnes, who plies
his trade primarily at Miromar Lakes, is proving to be a dominant force in both
the 60 and 65 Divisions. In the 65 Singles, Barnes outdueled the legendary Fred
Drilling of in the Final, posting a 6-3, 6-4 victory that was more difficult
than the score indicates. In the 60 Doubles, Mike joined Larry Gagnon to defeat
Drilling and Rick Flach 6-0, 6-2 and downed Armor Persons and Gewan Maharaj 6-3,
6-2 to claim that title.
Men’s 45 Singles
& 40 Doubles
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| Kam Kuchta |
Kam Kuchta continued to display the tremendous grit he
always shows every time he takes the court. In the Final, Kam faced top seed
Frank Vermeer of Jacksonville, who was coming off a recent finalist-finish in the Men’s
45 Singles at the ITF Seniors World Individual Championships in Palm Beach
Gardens.
The first set was all anyone could ask for, with Kam taking it 7-6. I
suspect the grind of the previous few weeks, along with Kam’s indomitable will,
took its toll on Frank. The second and final set was 6-1.
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| Frank Vermeer & Kam |
Kam and Frank put their racquets together in the Men’s 40
Doubles Final against two local heroes in Mike Curran and Scott Harrington of Fort Myers.
Mike and Scott have been a top-ranked USPTA doubles team in the past, but
neither had seen much competition in the recent past.
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| Mike Curran & Scott Harrington |
Both teams showed their grit in the first set, which was a
see-saw battle that Mike and Scott won 7-6. Like Kam’s singles match, the
second set was not nearly as hotly contested, at least as far as the score was
concerned, as Kam and Frank took that set 6-1. The match-tiebreak was an
anti-climactic 10-3 win for Kam and Frank.
Men’s 50 Doubles
& Mixed 50 Doubles
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| Patricio Madariaga & Susie Brown |
Last, but certainly not least, of the two-time division
winners, Patricio Madariaga, emerged as a doubles specialist, taking home two
doubles crowns in the 50s. Patricio dropped his opening singles match to John Jerome
of Wildcat Run, he bounced back to take the 50 Doubles with Carlos Triana of Williams Island.
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| Carlos Triana & Patricio |
Patricio and Carlos had little trouble downing Paul D’Amico
and me 6-3, 6-4, and joined Susie Brown to post a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Fred
Drilling and Kim Jones in the Mixed 50 Doubles Final.
Men’s 35 Singles
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| Milos Vasovic |
Milos Vasovic of Melbourne has been one of the top
performers in the USPTA’s 35s Division for the past few years, and this event
was no exception. After a relatively routine victory in the semis, 6-0, 6-3
over Nate Griffin of Bradenton, Milos ran into tough local player, Dave Rowat
of Cape Coral.
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| Dave Rowat |
Dave had already fought one tough battle in the semis
against No.2 Seed Mark Palus of Tampa, emerging with the three-set win (6-2,
1-6, 6-3). Dave made a fight of it in the Final against Milos as well, but
Milos was too tough, claiming the title that barely escaped him the previous
year, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
Men’s 50 Singles
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| Steve Brady |
My hero of the tournament came from the Men’s 50 Division.
In the Men’s Singles, Steve Brady (my newest tennis hero) battled Carlos Triana
for three and a half hours before claiming the 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 victory.
Why is
Steve my new hero? Well, I think he played serve-volley or chip and charge for
every single point of that match! I quit doing that some years ago because my
body couldn’t handle it…and Steve is two years older than I am. Hat's off to you big guy!
Men's 60 Singles
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| Gewan Maharaj |
Gewan Maharaj of Tampa did what he has done so often in the Men's 60 Singles: Win. Gewan played two matches, lost five games, and pocketed yet another USPTA title. Armor Persons of Breckenridge in Fort Myers took four games in the semis (1, 3), and Steve Shortridge of Colonial in Fort Myers got a total of one game in the second set.
Women’s 50 Singles
& Doubles
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| Ruth Hessert |
In a feat certainly worthy of accolades, Ruth Hessert of Dillsburg, Pennsylvania came
back in the Final of the Women’s 50 Singles from a 6-7 first-set deficit, to
outlast Carolyn Franca of Tampa, 6-4, 7-5 in the final two sets. Anyone who knows
Carolyn knows that is worthy of a raised glass.
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| Cindy LePrevost & Susie Brown |
Landings Head Pro Kimberly Jones and Christie Bradley,
Director of Tennis at The Sanctuary, also showed true grit in claiming the 50
Doubles title. In their first match against Sabita Maharaj of Rockledge and Carolyn, the
locals went 6-4, 4-6, 10-5 in claiming victory.
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| Kim Jones & Christie Bradley |
Things got no easier in their second and final match against
the Defending National Champions, Susie Brown of S. Palm Beach and Cindy LePrevost of Fort Lauderdale. In what
might just have been the match of these championships, Susie and Cindy took the
first set 6-7. Kim and Christie charged back to take the second set 7-5, and
the battle had just begun. When Kim and Christie hugged in triumph, it had
taken them 13-11 to dethrone the gutsy defenders.
Final Thoughts
Reflecting on the event, I was initially saddened by the
small draw sizes, but the quality of competition was high, and if the noise
level was any indication, the spectators seemed to enjoy the event as well. The
Landings is one of the best venues to play and to view a tennis event, so
hopefully Paul can make it happen again next year.
As always, an event like the USPTA Clay Court Championships
can only be successful with the support of sponsors, and our thanks go out to
our event sponsors. They include Fast
Dry Courts, 10-S
Tennis Supply, Welch
Tennis Courts, Stan
Oley Tennis Equipment, Giliberti,
Inc., USTA
Florida, and Cigar Cutters.
In closing, I'd like to thank Steph for all that she does to make this blog happen. Without her talent and efforts on the camera we wouldn't have the photographic record of the event. Thanks Sweet Girl!!! Game, set, match...
