Team USA Dominates ITF Super Seniors Championships
American tennis has much to celebrate, as U.S. teams won seven of the nine titles at the 2017 ITF Super Seniors World Team Championships.
The event, which was held Oct. 7-13 at the USTA National Campus at Lake Nona in Orlando, Fla., is the 65- to 85-and-over equivalent of the Davis and Fed Cup competitions and is the most prestigious team event on the ITF Seniors Circuit.
The U.S. brought home the titles in the Kitty Godfree Cup (Women’s 65 & over), Althea Gibson Cup (Women’s 70 & over), Queens’ Cup (Women’s 75 & over) and Doris Hart Cup (Women’s 80 & over), plus the Britannia Cup (Men’s 65 & over), Gardnar Mulloy Cup (Men’s 80 & over) and Men’s 85 Cup.
This was the eighth consecutive year that the U.S. team triumphed in the Queens’ Cup and the third consecutive year for the Doris Hart Cup, and it marked the sixth Gardnar Mulloy Cup victory in the last seven years.
The ITF Super Seniors World Individual Championships follow immediately on the heels of the team event, with individual play running Oct. 14-21.
Below is a list of players representing the United States in each competition and results:
Britannia Cup - Men's 65 & over - Result: CHAMPION (USA def. Austria 2-1 in final)
1. Larry Turville, Dunnellon, Fla., Captain
2. Paul Wulf, Salem, Ore.
3. David Sivertson, Addison, Texas
4. Leonard Wofford, Portland, Ore.
Jack Crawford Cup - Men's 70 & over - Result: Fifth place (USA def. Canada 2-1)
1. Michael Beautyman, Flourtown, Pa.
2. Leslie Buck, Asheville, N.C.
3. Jimmy Parker, Santa Fe, N.M., Captain
4. Dean Corley, Aliso Viejo, Calif.
Bitsy Grant Cup - Men's 75 & over - Result: Fifth place (USA def. Germany 2-1)
1. Fred Drilling, Estero, Fla.
2. Joseph Bachmann, Sarasota, Fla., Captain
3. Rudy Hernando, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
4. Ivo Barbic, Atlanta
Gardnar Mulloy Cup - Men's 80 & over - Result: CHAMPION (USA def. Austria 2-1 in final)
1. Lester Sack, New Orleans, Captain
2. King van Nostrand, Vero Beach, Fla.
3. Gordon Hammes, Naples, Fla.
4. Jerald Hayes, Westfield, Ind.
Men’s 85 Team Cup - Men's 85 & over - Result: CHAMPION (USA def. Canada 2-1 in final)
1. John D. Powless, Madison, Wisc., Captain
2. George J. McCabe, Oxford, Ohio
3. Joseph Russell, Chagrin Falls, Ohio
4. Clement Hopp, Sarasota, Fla.
Kitty Godfree Cup - Women's 65 & over - Result: CHAMPION (USA def. Austria 2-1 in final)
1. Tina Karwasky, Glendale, Calif.
2. Wendy McClosky, Durham, N.C.
3. Molly Hahn, Belmont, Mass., Captain
4. Victoria McEvoy, Cambridge, Mass.
Althea Gibson Cup - Women's 70 & over - Result: CHAMPION (USA def. Netherlands 2-1 in final)
1. Brenda Carter, Charleston, S.C., Captain
2. Carol Clay, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
3. Leslie Pixley, Malvern, Pa.
4. Susan Kimball, Oak Bluffs, Mass.
Queens' Cup - Women's 75 & over - Result: CHAMPION (USA def. Great Britain 2-1 in final)
1. Charleen Hillebrand, Harbor City, Calif.
2. Cathie Anderson, Del Mar, Calif.
3. Suella Steel, La Jolla, Calif., Captain
4. Susanne Clark, New City, N.Y.
Doris Hart Cup - Women's 80 & over - Result: CHAMPION (USA def. Canada 2-1 in final)
1. Roz King, San Diego, Calif.
2. Doris DeVries, Reno, Nev.
3. Carol Wood, Rockville, Md., Captain
4. Burnette Herrick, Tarboro, N.C.
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