Avory Cup 2013

July 25 - 26, 2013
Wimbledon, England
All England Club
Recap & Summary
Captain:David Nash

Ted Avory Cup Report 2013

The ninth playing of the Ted Avory Cup was hosted by the All England Club in suburban London on July 24-25. The United States International Tennis Club sent a team of 25 players captained by David Nash.

The United States players were as follows:

Open Men: Kaes Van't Hof and Harrison Richmond

Open Women: Amy Zhu and Agata Cioroch

35 Men: Dougal Williams and Fanda Stejskal

35 Women: Paula Myslivecek and Julie Cass

45 Men: Greg Washer and Rick Leach

50 Women: Fran Chandler and Hy Yorke

55 Men: Dan Waldman and Mike Tammen

60 Men: Tony Dawson and Tom Smith

60 Women: Kerry Young and Margaret Cooper

65 Men: Mike Dahm, Armi Neely and Brian Cheney

70 Men: Jim Parker, Fred Drilling and Ted Hoehn

David Nash - Captain
 

The match followed the format of recent years with singles and doubles on Day One and reverse singles and matchup doubles on the afternoon of Day Two. The All England Club allocated us courts 14-19 which are located between Centre Court and Court 1 and include the famous Court 18 of the John Isner longest match in history. A plaque on the back fence memorializes that match. Mark George, the British Captain arranged the match schedule for each day and the matches commenced at 1100AM.

The US Team practiced Tuesday at Merton Council courts at Wimbledon Park. The artificial grass played remarkably similar to the actual grass at All England. On Wednesday afternoon the team practiced on the grass at Wimbledon and all players were in awe of the true, waist-high bounces and the absence of bad bounces.

That night we were driven by coach to the suburban home of Peter and Jane Hannon for refreshments and a wonderful outside catered dinner in the gardens. It was the first opportunity for our players to meet their counterparts, the various members of the organizing committee, as well as IC of Great Britain officials. Jane was the lead person who arranged housing for many of the US players and we are indebted to her and the hosts for their generous hospitality.

We were greeted with light rain early Thursday morning but by noon the courts were playable and the matches began. The British jumped out to an early lead winning the first six matches three of which were third set Super Tiebreaks. It was an ominous moment and the tiebreaks generally went to the British for the rest of the event. At the end of Day One their lead was 20-10 and 9-3 in Super Tiebreaks. Despite the uneven score the US team turned in some great results. Mike Tammen won both his matches and Amy Zhu and Julie Cass won in singles while Dougal Williams pulled out an 11-9 win in singles. Cass/ Myslivecek, Drilling/ Parker, Yorke/Chandler and Cioroch/Zhu won tight doubles to end the day on a positive note.

Day Two started well for the British, the exception being Rick Leach who won his second consecutive singles match in impressive fashion. Later he won doubles with Greg Washer to finish 3-0 for the match. In Open Men, Harrison Richmond and Kaes Van't Hof won in doubles for their first win. Hy Yorke and Fran Chandler each won another singles match. Other winners were Agata Cioroch, Armi Neely and Mike Dahm. The whole US Team played better on Day Two but the match went to the British 37-19. We were treated to a dinner in the Members Enclosure that consisted of fabulous food stations with a variety of delicacies from all over the world. On Friday we had the opportunity for a guided tour of the Club and hear of the plans for the future which include a roof on Court One.

On Friday night the final dinner was held in the Courtside Cafe. The Trophy was presented by David Nash to the British Captain, Mark George. There were numerous speeches and all parties agreed that this was a wonderful experience for all players and their guests.

At the final dinner, Chris and Paul French and Robin Drysdale were made honorary members of the US International Tennis Club and Tom Smith, Rick Leach and Fran Chandler were so honored by the British Club. A toast was offered to all players, guests and sponsors and we agreed to meet again in the United States in two years.

We are indebted to the supurb organizing by Mark George and the hospitality of the British IC led by David Waite and Barry Weatherill. And a special thanks to Phil Brook for making the All England Club available for this event.

Players
Men
Daniel Waldman
 
Guest Players
Men
Avory Cup Team.xlsx (download)
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