Hattie Grimsley from Bradenton, Fla., and Skip Dostal of Vineyard Haven teamed up to win the mixed combined 120 doubles in the National Senior Men’s Tennis Association Doubles Championships at Farm Neck Sunday, defeating the husband-and-wife combo Marsha and Jerry Thomas of Rockwell, Texas, 6-0, 4-6, 10-6.
Senior tennis players from 13 states, including Ohio, Oregon, Arkansas, Texas, Florida, and North Carolina, and players from the Vineyard played for national championships at Farm Neck in Oak Bluffs this past weekend. The National Senior Men’s Tennis Association Doubles Championships, a U.S. Tennis Association Category III tournament, began Friday. The finals were on Sunday.
In just its second year, the national event grew to 68 players competing in five events, a 42 percent increase from last year, according to tournament director Mas Kimball of Oak Bluffs. Kimball also played in the tournament. He and his partner, William Drake of Boston, had a second-round loss in the longest match of the tournament at nearly three hours, even though a third-set tiebreak was played instead of a full third set, and a modified version of no-ad scoring was used.
Eight Vineyard families opened their homes to host 18 players and spouses. The Saturday players’ banquet was attended by 135 players, spouses, and supporters from the Vineyard.
As the tournament wound down Sunday afternoon, Kimball was already talking up next year’s tournament.
The final results:
Mixed Combined 120’s: Hattie Grimsley, Bradenton, Fla., and Skip Dostal, Vineyard Haven, def. Marsha and Jerry Thomas, Rockwell, Texas, 6-0, 4-6, 10-6.
Men’s 55 Doubles Final: Matt Gelotte, Wellesley, and Carl Norbeck, Branford, Conn., def. Jonathan Bates, Vineyard Haven, and Harlan Stone, Darien, Conn., 6-2, 6-3.
Men’s 65 Doubles Final: Robert Thompson and Paul Wulf, both from Salem, Ore., def. Howard Ames, Salem, and Stephen Shreiner, Frankfort, Mich., 6-2, 6-2.
Men’s 70 Doubles Final: Mike Damn, Dayton, Ohio, and Jerry Thomas, Rockwell, Texas, def. Jeff Barnhardt, West End, N.C., and Tommie George, Northborough, 4-6, 6-3, 10-5.
Men’s 75 Doubles Final: Peter Fiore, Mahopac, N.Y., and Henry Steinglass, Hartsdale, N.Y., def. Raymond Brodeur, Avon, Conn., and George Lynch, Jamestown, R.I., 6-2, 5-7, 10-4.
