How many times did Houdini rise to the water’s surface, freeing himself from chains, a locked trunk and ten feet of water? However many it was, Joe Cortes & Scott Beebe have equaled Houdini’s record with five game victories in the State B’s. 2010 was merely a continuation of last year when they won the final in five over Glenn Prichett & Josh Greenhill. This year, after losing the first two games of the quarters to Jon Hyett & Adam Simms, they edged by in the final three; in the semis, they were down match point to “Whiz Kids” Ryan Mullaney & Derek Chilvers before winning the final three; in the finals, they were behind 2-1 in games to 2004 champions Rob Dewees & Harvard professor John Palfrey before taking the last two games and the title. For Scott, it was his fourth title in the B’s, truly remarkable since two have been earned since he lost his left eye in 2002. Joe has also won four times.
The B draw with 35 teams was the largest of the States’ eight draws which included 143 teams, the largest number since the State Doubles began in 1950. Almost matching the wizardry of Cortes & Beebe was the emergence of Ryan Mullaney & Derek Chilvers, seniors at Belmont Hill and Nobles & Greenough respectively. They surprised fourth seeds John Frantzis & Jeff Rodman in five in the 16’s, then destroyed Bobby Harkins & Errin Siagel in the quarters before missing out on match point to the eventual winners. Also noteworthy was the five game victory of 2006 champion Jon Hyett and partner Adam Simms over Amrit Kanwal & Bill Keravuori. Amrit had been on a roll this season with his win in the West draw of the Pro-Am, his title in the Punter’s Cup and his crown in the Club table tennis tournament. Dewees & Palfrey, seeded third, played exceptionally well to defeat second-seeded Glenn Prichett & Jon Hartnett in a five game semi-final.
Another five game final ended the thirteen team 50’s event where top seeded Sandy Tierney & Jamie Fagan edged second seeds Malcolm Davidson & Court Chilton. This one was largely a battle along the right wall between Jamie and Court since Tierney is brutal with his reverse and Mac hits plenty of squirrely winners. Down 2-1 in games, Jamie rose to the occasion to win the last two at 12 and 10. They were fortunate to reach the finals, squeezing by John Nimick & Len Zide in a five game semi. Len was particularly effective, having shed 40 pounds in his effort to win a $5,000 bet to reach 210 by May 13. They in turn had defeated former champions Tom Poor & Lenny Bernheimer in overtime in the quarters.
Not long after the 50’s, Sandy took the court again with Pat Malloy to play the A final against Dan Roberts, assistant pro at the University Club, and Greg McArthur, head professional at Sports Club LA. Although they dropped the third game, Dan & Greg were in control most of the time, winning their first State title. They had won their semi-final in impressive fashion over Chris Spahr and many time champion Doug Lifford while Sandy & Pat in their semi won in five close ones over Preston Quick & Ming Tsai.
Although Sandy had some minor leg injury and Pat had another trauma on his mind (impending marriage!), neither was cut any slack since these were the States.
Pat had also played an earlier final in the Mixed with partner Margot Kearney, a rematch of the 2009 final against Hope Crosier & Chris Spahr. The outcome was the same, this time in four games as the women traded cross court drives and lobs. Hope & Chris had advanced surprisingly easily over Jeannie Blasberg & Doug Lifford in three while Margot & Pat also won their semi in three over Fernanda Rocha & Dan Roberts. Juniors appeared again in this draw with Stanford bound Serena Fagan pairing with her father Jamie and Harvard’s Katherine O’Donnell teaming with Joe Cortes.
Margot was busy in the States as she also played in the full 32 draw of the C’s. She chose a rather competitive partner in Jesse Lane, a former semi-pro hockey player who has taken to squash with equal intensity. They had advanced to the final with only a minor hiccup in a four game semifinal victory over Rob Erdmann & Greg Jannetta. Their opponents were Curt Lefebvre & Zach Harvey, unseeded and conquerors of defending champions Dean Williams & Matt Gibbs in the quarters, then Tony Simboli & Carson Spahr in the semis. Squeezing out the first game, 18-16, Margot & Jesse dropped the second before winning the next two more comfortably, squaring Margot’s record for the evening at 1-1.
Carson was also looking to even his record for the 2010 States in the Parent-Child. As noted in last year’s review, it was evident he would be trouble ahead for opponents as he aged another year, growing larger, faster and better. Now at 13 he had a good partner to boot, his father Chris. The opponents were their conquerors of last year, Tom & Liam Quinn. Tied at one game each, the pivotal third game saw Carson and Tom trading right wall shots all the way to 4-all set 5 when Carson put one away to take the game. The fourth was anticlimactic, giving the Spahrs their first title. Lurking in the wings, however, is another 13-year old wunderkind, Timmy Brownell, who with his dad Bob lost to the Quinns in the quarters.
Another busy woman in the States was Hope Crosier who played in the Womens with Fernanda Rocha, one of the assistant professionals at the University Club. Seeded second, they survived a stiff five game challenge in the quarters from Sue Greene & Wendy Berry, womens coach at Wellesley College. They went on to the finals in three over Katie & Stephanie Hendricks. In the top half, defending champions Jeannie Blasberg and Harvard Club professional Sharon Bradey were having difficulties of their own with collegians Cece Cortes & Katherine O’Donnell, winning the quarterfinal match by an overtime point in the fourth. In the final they won the first two games in overtime, then the third at 12 to successfully retain their title. Jeannie now departs for two years in Switzerland with her family.
The smallest draw of the tournament was the 9 team 60’s. John Brazilian & Lenny Bernheimer, four time winners, made it five in easy fashion, not dropping a game in three matches. Their victims in the finals were Dick Whitney & Fran Donlan who eked out a five game win in the semis over Tom Poor & Peter Laird. Poor & Laird in turn a round before had pulled out a five game squeaker over the Harvard Club’s Sam Magruder & Mike Keating. Another Harvard Club duo, Jon Sheldon & Chuck Kelly, went down to the champions in the semis.
So, the winners can crow for the summer while the losers lick their wounds and the injured heal theirs. More excitement is in store as the Union Boat Club continues planning for a new doubles court, sure to bring in a new influx of players and making Boston a suitable venue for a major tournament with four courts in the city. This development, the large number of players in the States (this year, a record 171 entrants), and the emergence of younger players bode well for the future of the doubles game in Boston.
Full draws are on the Mass Squash web site.