Team USA wins three titles at ITF Senior Champs

The American senior tennis contingent won three titles at the ITF Seniors World Team Championships in Portugal, with the competition spanning across three clay-court venues in Lisbon, Oeiras and Estoril. Team USA claimed the Vonn Cramm Cup (men’s 60-and-over division), the Maria Esther Bueno Cup (women’s 50) and the Alice Marble Cup (women’s 60). The tournament is the senior tennis equivalent of the Davis Cup and Fed Cup competitions, with top American tennis players representing their country in the 50-, 55- and 60-and-over age groups.

In the Von Cramm Cup final, the U.S. beat Germany, 2-1. It all came down to the American doubles team of Daniel Waldman and Michael Tammen, who won a hard-fought three-set match, 6-7, 6-3, 6-3, to claim the cup for the second year in a row.

The Maria Esther Bueno Cup also went down to the deciding doubles match. In the end, the American team of Debbie Spence-Nasim and Rosalyn Nideffer held off the French contingent, 6-0, 6-3, to also claim the cup for the second year in a row.

After finishing runner-up last year for the Alice Marble Cup, the U.S. team had a mission to reclaim the trophy, and that’s just what they did. Like the previous two title matches, this one would also come down to the doubles match. After the singles matches split, the doubles decider would go the distance, with the team of Diane Barker and Susan Wright clinching the cup with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory.

Following the ITF Seniors World Team Championships, the World Individual Championships will be held August 10-17.

Below is a list of players representing the United States for each Cup along with results:

Fred Perry Cup - Men's 50 & over (9th Place)

1. Dana Gill; San Jose, Calif. 

2. Eoin Collins; Houston, Captain

3. Gregory Paukstis; Washington, D.C.

4. Willie Alumbaugh; Leawood, Kan.

Austria Cup - Men's 55 & over (6th Place)

1. Bill Moss; Malibu, Calif., Captain 

2. Kenneth White; Elma, N.Y.

3.  Leo C. Young; Eagle, Idaho

4. Stuart Saiki; Orlando, Fla.

Von Cramm Cup - Men's 60 & over (Champions – USA def. Germany, 2-1)

1. Daniel Waldman; Washington, D.C.

2. Mark Vines; Naples, Fla.

3. Michael Tammen; Portland, Ore., Captain

4. Ross Persons; Houston

Maria Esther Bueno Cup - Women's 50 & over (Champions – USA def. Spain, 2-1)

1. Andrea Rice; Bethesda, Md.

2. Debbie Spence-Nasim; Carlsbad, Calif.

3. Julie Cass; Austin, Texas

4. Rosalyn Nideffer; San Diego, Captain 

Maureen Connolly Cup - Women's 55 & over (4th Place – lost to France, 2-1)

1. Mary Dailey; Delray Beach, Fla.

2. Shelly Works; San Antonio, Captain

3. Tracy Houk; Montara, Calif.

4. Vicki Vasicek Buholz; Dallas

Alice Marble Cup - Women's 60 & over (Champions – USA def. France, 2-1)

1. Carolyn Nichols; Rancho Santa Fe, N.M., Captain

2. Diane Barker; Daniel Island, S.C. 

3. Robin Harris; San Diego

4. Susan Wright; Grand Junction, Colo.