The Racquet Club Holiday Party on Friday evening was an added benefit and once the juniors had a chance to warm up on the tennis court, they joined the festivities downstairs. The draw for both events was not as large as had been anticipated with 13 juniors participating across the ‘A’ and ‘B’ Divisions. Pat Winthrop (Newport) and Will Symington (Philadelphia) played for the National Junior title, with Pat Winthrop proving too strong for Will with a straight set victory of 6- 2, 6-3. It was a well-fought battle and Will vowed to challenge Pat again in the future. The ‘B’ Division of the National Junior Court Tennis was divided into 3 separate flights where each participant had a minimum of three matches. This format is particularly ideal for those players who travel a long distance to give them plenty of match play. George Handy (Aiken) defeated Paul Monaghan (Philadelphia) in an early round match which set him up as the finalist in his Division against Laurenson Ward (Philadelphia). Laurenson gave a very strong showing and came from behind to almost tie the match, but in the end, George Handy [who has been coached locally by the former Racquet Club, now Aiken’s own Gabe Kinzler] proved too strong and won the match 8-5 Steven Haas gets the MVP Award as he thought he was entered into a squash tournament and did not realize it was court tennis until he arrived, having been on court only once before. Other players in the Junior Division included Chelsea Bernstein and William Green. Chelsea took precious time away from her cello practice in advance of her final exam to participate in the weekend and felt it was worth the sacrifice. (Pictured: Will & Chelsea) The National Parent Child was also divided into 2 separate divisions. The ‘A’ Division had two entries, Otto McGowan and his son Drew (Philadelphia) and Bill Winthrop and his son Pat (Newport). The finals were played on Sunday afternoon, and in a well-fought match, Otto and Drew were the winners in a straight set victory of 6-2,6-3. Both Pat and Drew hit balls that were clocked at over 80 miles per hour. In the locker room I congratulated Drew on their victory and he told me it was their first National Parent Child victory, a title that had eluded them for 20 years. Otto, who has just turned 70 years old, said he felt grateful that they won the title this year, but based on the way Otto played, combined with his youthful spirit, tells us that he will be playing for many years to come. The Junior Division of the National Parent Child was very active. Participants included; Jean Pierre Lombard and his son Alex, Alec Monaghan and his son Paul, George Handy and his sons George and Alex, Jane Lippincott and her daughter Caroline, Julia Ward and her son Laurenson, Beth Winthrop and her daughter Jen, Baird Standish and his son Will and Freedley Hunsicker and his son Jesse. There were a number of close matches and in the end it came down to George Handy and his younger son, Alex matched against Jane Lippincott and her daughter Caroline in a 8-4 victory. Other highlights of the weekend included dinner at Bertucci’s for 22 of the participants and family members and a spontaneous pizza lunch on the mezzanine on Sunday afternoon during the finals. Overall it was a fantastic weekend due to the participation and enthusiasm of the tennis professionals, Rob, Steve and Barney and all the families involved. All the juniors had a blast! Furthermore, the weekend provided another great opportunity to mix with other juniors from Aiken, Washington and Newport as they develop in the game of court tennis
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