There were some big moments for NorCal’s senior swatters in ‘08. Betty Cookson (see Senior Player of the Year) celebrated her first year in the 85s with a Golden Slam in doubles (striking gold at the USTA 85s National Hard, Indoor, Grass Court and C
lay Championships); Ken Robinson registered a Golden Slam in men’s 65s doubles with New Mexico’s Jimmy Parker; and IT’s ‘07 Senior Player of the Year Alex Swetka won a Golden Slam in both men’s 90s singles and doubles.
THE WOMEN
Betty Cookson, Carolyn Wei, Erika Smith, Martha Downing, Doris DeVries, Jean Harris, Elaine Mason and Kelly Pace won gold balls in ‘08 in senior events. Pace successfully defended her 30s singles title and teamed with Carmel Mary Hill to win a bronze in doubles. Wei won her first gold ball, the 40s Indoor singles, and ended the year with the No. 1 national ranking in the 40s. Smith won the 40s Hard Court doubles and mixed, gold 40s Grass Court doubles, and also teamed with Mai Ichikawa to take bronze-ball honors at the 35s Clay Court Championships.
Downing turned in another fine year in the 55s, winning three gold balls and two silvers. She won the 55s Clay and Hard Court Championships doubles titles without the loss of a set, and dominated the 55s Hard Court singles to finish the year ranked No. 1 in the U.S. She was a singles finalist at the 55s Clay Court and Indoor Championships. DeVries enjoyed another terrific year in the 70s. She won a Silver Slam, reaching the final of all four national tournaments, but losing each time to nemesis Dorothy Matthiessen. In doubles, She teamed up with Matthiessen (if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em) at two national events, winning both. She was also a finalist at the world championships in singles and doubles.
Mason partnered with Florida’s Nancy Stout to win a gold ball at the 80s National Hard Court Championships. It was Stout’s first gold ball, and Mason’s first since she had undergone a knee replacement a year earlier. Jean Harris won the doubles at the 90s Hard Court Championships for the second straight year.
Silver ball winners included Shelly Stillman-Scott, Wei, Debbie Croft, Pam Cooke, Carolyn Nichols, Chris Ramsower-Pearlstein, Phyllis Blackwell, Downing, Mary Harris, Leslie Vallejo, Leslie Murveit, Jeannie Haskell, Karen Burns and Anneke Balics. Haskell/Burns were finalists at the 30s Indoor Championships. Stillman-Scott, 47, was a singles finalist at the 35s Hard Court Championships, losing to 45-year-old Shelly Works in the final (where are all the 35s?). Stillman-Scott also combined with Anne Kerwin-Payne to earn a bronze in 35s doubles.
Cooke and Croft played the 35s and 45s at the National Hard Court, Clay Court and Indoor Championships. They reached the 35s Hard and Indoor finals and the 45s Hard Court final. They placed third in doubles at the 45s Clay Court Championships. Wei and Ramsower-Pearlstein each lost her doubles partner at the Clay Court Championships, and teamed up to reach the final there. Ramsower-Pearlstein was also a bronze-ball winner at the 50s Hard Court Championships with Blackwell.
Nichols was a finalist at the 45s Clay Court Championships and finished third at the 50s Hard Courts. However, her best success was on red clay overseas. She won two ITF tournaments — the Swiss National Championships and the 25th International Naútico San Isidro in Argentina — and was a finalist at the German Nationals and a semifinalist at the ITF World Championships. Her wins at the Clay Courts helped earn her a year-end ranking of No. 2 in the world in the 50s.
Blackwell had an immediate impact after returning to competition after a two-decade-plus layoff. She reached the final of Babolat/Mission Hills, and defeated Murveit to win the Pacific Coast Seniors. She reached the final of the 50s Hard Courts and the Marin Senior Championships. Plus, Blackwell was a member of the winning 50s Maria Bueno Cup team, along with Nichols, in Turkey and a semifinalist in doubles at the ITF World Championships. Murveit notched her best-ever year in senior play, ending the year ranked No. 2 in the U.S. She was a finalist at the Clay and Indoor Championships in singles and a finalist at the Clay Courts in doubles (losing a four-hour final that finished near midnight).
Vallejo/Harris, back together playing after an injury time out for Harris (shoulder surgery), were finalists at the 55s Hard Court Championships. In her first year in the 75s, Balics reached the Clay, Indoor and Hard Court finals, earning her first, second and third silver balls. She ended the year ranked No. 2 in the 75s singles.
Stillman-Scott, Kerwin-Payne, Mary Johnson, Nichols, Ramsower-Pearlstein, Ichikawa, Pam Nelson, Pace, Hill, Cooke, and Croft all won bronze balls in ‘08.
THE MEN
Jan Tiilikainen, Alex Swetka, Graydon Nichols, Ken Robinson, Jan Tiilikainen, Ed Osgood, Ken Hayes and James Carleton were all golden in ‘08. Swetka had another spectacular year, adding a doubles slam and repeating as the 90s singles gold slam winner. He completed his gold slam at the USTA National Clay Court Championships, winning the doubles with fellow NorCaler Osgood.
Nichols won the 80s Hard, Clay and Grass Court doubles for the fourth straight year, and successfully defended his 80s Clay and Grass singles titles to finish at No. 1 in the U.S. in singles. On the final day at the Clay Court Championships, Nichols, after edging Clem Hopp 7-6 in the third in the singles final, combined with Tony Franco to beat Hopp/Jason Morton, rallying from a 4-0 third-set deficit. His lone loss was in the 80s Hard Court singles final to world No. 1 Hopp. He also won the 80s world individual doubles title with Franco.
Robinson was outstanding in doubles, winning every 65s title of importance (all four nationals, and the world championships) with Parker. Tiilikainen repeated as the 30s Indoor singles titlist, and with Mark Fairchilds came up just short of defending their doubles title, losing a three-set final. In the 85s, Hayes/Carleton won the Indoor Championships.
Collecting silver balls in ‘08 were Fairchilds, Geoff Cykman, Brent Abel, Tiilikainen, Nichols and Dyle Anderson. Cykman’s inaugural year in the 55s was a prolific one. He reached the Hard Courts singles final, and placed third at the Indoor in singles and second in doubles. Anderson was a doubles finalist at the Indoor and won a singles bronze at the Hard Courts. Abel was a mixed finalist in at the 60s Indoor and won the bronze there in singles and doubles (with NorCal’s Chris Morgan).
Hunter Gallaway, Rick Kepler, Brian Cory, Kevin Pope, Nigel O’Rourke, Cykman, Abel, Morgan, Greg Kohles and Anderson were bronze-ball recipients. Gallaway nearly won a Bronze Slam in the 40s, finishing third at the Clay, Grass and Indoor Championships. He also won the Nike Category II tournament. It was the new father’s first full year of competing in the 40s. Kepler/Cory won the 40s Hard Courts, took the bronze at the 40s Grass Courts Championships, and dominated the 40s doubles in NorCal play, winning the Marin Senior Championships, Pacific Coast Seniors and the Grand Prix. Kohles won the Pacific Coast 70s singles and a bronze at the 70s Indoor in doubles. Pope placed third at the 45s Hard Courts and dominated that division in NorCal.
Other NorCal standouts included Tony Yang in the 30s and 35s; Robert Quall in the 65s; Doug Sykes and Leonard Mahlerbe in the 80s (14-1 in NorCal); and Bill Graham in the 85s.
International competition saw eight NorCalers represent the U.S. in Antalya Turkey: Curtis Dunn, Polo Cowan, Robinson, Graydon Nichols, Carolyn Nichols, Blackwell, Downing and DeVries. Dunn captained the 40s Trabert Cup team, which finished fourth; Cowan was a member of the 45s Dubler Cup team, which finished second; Robinson was a member of the 65s Britannia Cup team, which finished third; and Nichols captained the 80s Mulloy Cup team, which finished second. Carolyn Nichols captained the winning 50s Bueno Cup team, of which Blackwell was a member; Downing was a member of the winning 55s Connolly Cup team; and DeVries captained the 70s Gibson Cup team, which finished second.
Three women’s teams represented NorCal at the USTA National Women’s Intersectional Team Championships. The 35s team of Chrissie Costmagna, Wei, Ichikawa, Catherine Vowles, Smith, Stillman-Scott and Ramsower-Pearlstein finished fifth with a 3-1 record. The 45s team of Ramsower-Pearlstein, Nichols, Stillman-Scott, Judy Newman-Rakela, Smith, Cooke and Croft finished third, beating arch-rival SoCal in the third/fourth-place playoff. Rakela clinched the victory over SoCal with a gritty three-hour win over Cherise Meioli. The 65s team of Nancy Garcia, Jean Ainger, Ann Bardrick, Patti Boyer and Roberta Sung finished fourth.
In family play, gold balls went to Graydon/Carolyn Nichols, Charles Hoeveler/Charles Hoeveler and Leslie Tracy/Penny Powell. The Nichols dominated the 80+ Father-Daughter Hard Court Championships. Hoeveler played with his namesake son in winning the 60+ Father-Son Hard Court Championships. Tracy and Powell won the 60+ Mother-Daughter Indoor Championships and lost a close three setter in the final of the Hard Courts. Kohles won the Grandfather-Grandson Hard Courts. Silver ball winners were Kohles (Grandfather-Grandson) and Linda Hixenbaugh/Peggy Lucero (70+ Mother-Daughter), while Paul Kepler/Jordan Kepler (Grandfather-Grandson) and Leslie Murveit/Shelly Murveit, (Mother-Daughter) claimed bronze.
SENIOR PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Betty Cookson
Betty Cookson won the 85s doubles Golden Slam in ‘08 with the legendary Dodo Cheney, who is 91. Cookson’s court movement, focus and doubles skill was the major reason they won the slam. Betty also complemented Cheney’s racket skills with a variety of drop shots, lobs and down-the-line forehands.
Their year started in March at the USTA National Clay Court Championships in Houston, where they faced Betty Eisenstein/Barbara Olmstead. Cookson/Cheney won the first set 6-4, but fell behind 5-0 in the second before rallying to win the final seven games. After the match, Cheney gave Cookson full credit for the win. Cookson/Cheney followed that victory with wins at the Indoor Championships in Kansas City, the Grass Court Championships in Philadelphia, and the Hard Court Championships at Chamisal.
Cookson played high school tennis, but stopped competing after that until she was 40. She started playing national events 10 years later with Arlene Baker, and won her first national title in the 55s.
“I’ve never competed in singles,” Cookson told IT. “I just love the strategy and game of doubles.”
Cookson has been a NorCal and national volunteer for decades, starting with the USTA National 12s-18s Hard Court Championships, which were hosted at her club (Penninsula TC), while she now runs a junior challenger/novice tournament. She’s also a member of the NorCal Tennis Hall of Fame. Cookson also plays USTA League tennis and went 2-0 on a 60+ team (giving away some 25 years), which qualified for the nationals next spring. Since she looks and acts (and plays tennis) closer to 60 than 85, it’s only fitting that she’s on a top-level 60s team.
