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Wickes (marketing and advertising) all joined together to
revive Ed Hughes’ old Friends of Georgian Court Committee.
(Aimette has a summer home near Lakewood.) They
damp-mopped all the walls and the gallery roofs to clean
off several years of dust, sewed the velvet back together at
each end of the century-old net (about two yards worth of
repairs), repaired a piece of wood on the back wall, swept
and mopped the floors, restrung and re-attached a lot of the
safety netting in the galleries and had a new set of balls sent
up from Dacre Stoker.
The Friends lent a tremendous hand to the Jay Gould
Cup, which returned to Lakewood after a two-decade absence.
We had a revised format: the Jay Gould is now the
Etchebaster for doubles, a tournament for novice players.
Every club in the country was represented amongst the ten
teams. Ages ran from eleven to seventy-four. Handicaps ran
from forty to eighty-seven.
Many Georgian Court University students (including
the sophomore class president) and staff members came
to watch. The local Gannett newspaper, the Asbury Park
Press, sent a photographer and a writer to cover the tournament,
as did the university. There were nice breakfasts and
lunches at the court and a lovely dinner at a quaint hotel
in Bay Head, a Jersey shore town east of Lakewood.
With ten teams, it was decided to make the Jay Gould
handicapped, which made for some fantastic matches. In
the finals, Newport’s Justin Bartenbach & his mother Liz
Bartenbach played against Jericho Seguin of Washington &
Baird Standish of Philadelphia. The Bartenbachs snuck out
a victory by the smallest margin possible, a 5-all, 40-all,
no-ad double match point. It was one of those inevitable
outcomes, a match that seemed inexorably headed towards
that ultimate point. The Bartenbachs, playing a sizable
handicap advantage, won the first set, faltered in the second
and then scrambled back in the third to win that ultimate
point and the tournament.
Going forward, we hope to host more tournaments,
including another Jay Gould next spring, tour groups, interested
visitors and, most of all, continue to build up our
youngest (and one of our oldest) courts. The ball is in play.
Again.
Jay Gould. photo by Jim Zug
Page 26
Tuxedo Park (1900)
Tuxedo Club
By Dan Laukitis
Court tennis is alive and well in Tuxedo! Under the preeminent
stewardship of legendary Head Pro Tom Greevy participation
grew steadily among men, women and children.
Forty years into the post and “Greeves” is still providing his
invaluable lessons on and off the court, maintaining for the
new generations the court tennis traditions that have fostered
skill and good sportsmanship in so many.
Looking as spry as ever, the 109-year-old Tuxedo court
hosted huge successes with local, national, and international
competitions. Tuxedo’s two staple contributions to the national
calendar, The Hadden Tomes and Gold Racquets, were
spectacular successes this year. The new unofficial USCTA
season opener, The Hadden Tomes, was once again roaring
along at full capacity, whetting everyone’s appetite for
a full season of spirited competition and revelry. All four
levels provided tightly contested matches in the round robin
and final matches. In the A Division, Charlie Johnstone and
Simon Aldrich started a competitive season with a win over
Guy Devereux and Jonathan Pardee. In the B’s, an inspired
team of Walter Coles and Robin Martin defeated Will
Thompson and Dan Laukitis. The C’s witnessed a stirring
victory of Jason Magna and Arnold Spangler over Haven
Pell and Greg Beard. In the D’s, Spectacular Gentleman Bob
Buettner and Avery Broadbent held on for a three set win
over Mike Ziatyk and Robert Lang. That’s just the tennis,
you will have to come and see the parties for yourselves.
The 2009 Etchebaster Cup was contested at The Tuxedo
Club. The healthy draw of 19 participants included representatives
Boston, Philadelphia, New York, Washington,
Aiken and Tuxedo. The crowd was treated to a number of
tightly contested matches as Jon Crowell and newcomer
Warren Knapp made their way into the finals. The full
Sunday gallery was treated to a high caliber final between
Crowell and Knapp, but Knapp proved too steady, committing
few errors and racking up grille shots on his way to
claim the Etchebaster Cup.
Tuxedo also hosted this year’s US Over 40’s and 60’s
competitions. In the Over 40’s singles, in a 3-set bout, Devereux
bested Moroscak; the two opponents then teamed up
to hold off veteran contenders Aldrich and Johnstone. In the
Over 60’s, Van Schaack was dominant in his singles defeat
of Duncan Rutherfurd and again with partner Peter Clement
against Alex Walsh and Jonathan Pardee.
The 107th playing of the Gold Racquets Championship
at The Tuxedo Club was a smashing success, packed
with world-renowned players in both sports and a robust