Senior ladies headed for the nationals at Newport Beach TC

Richard Dunn

The sweetest, classiest and most dignified ladies of all -- those

in the 65s, 75s and 85s -- will convene at Newport Beach Tennis Club

starting Monday for the ninth annual United States Tennis Association

Senior Women’s Hardcourt Championships.

And, with the kids back in school and the bulk of the tourists

gone for the summer, it’s an ideal time for the top senior women

players in the U.S. to visit Newport Beach.

A record 73 player entries are registered on draw sheets,

according to tournament director Norma Veal. “It’s probably because

of a new influx of people reaching the 65s -- and people like coming

here,” Veal said. “And, let’s face it, 9-11 did hurt us last year.”

This year’s record entry list tops the previous mark set two years

ago, when 59 players were posted.

“We’ll have seven entries in the 85s for women singles, which is

remarkable,” Veal said. “This is fantastic for us to get that many.

It is nice that (the ladies) keep coming back.”

For players in the 85s, the Age of Amazing Grace, the top seed is

renowned USTA standout Do Do Cheney of La Jolla, the winner of some

325 gold balls. Elaine Mason of Fresno is seeded first in the 75s,

while Dorothy Matthiessen (Pasadena) is the top seed in the 65s.

Local players Penny Winkler and Julia Hayward of Newport Beach will

play singles in the 65s.

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Last weekend in the USA League Tennis 5.0 Adult National

Championships, a women’s team from the Racquet Club of Irvine

finished fourth, while captain Adam Kranson’s Southern California

Section-based squad featured four local men at the Moore Tennis

Academy in Palm Springs.

John Cross (Newport Beach), Orestes Baez (Corona del Mar), Peter

Finch (Newport Beach) and Marc Kelly (Newport Beach) competed on the

men’s 5.0 team that finished 1-3 in the desert (5-7 in individual

matches).

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Newport Beach Tennis Club will host an Open House Oct. 19 with

free tennis lessons and clinics beginning at 3 p.m. The event is open

to the public and available to players of all levels.

In addition to the clinics and lessons, there will be food and a

live band, scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. Wayne Bryan’s band will

entertain the audience. The event is expected to last deep into the

evening. Details: (949) 644-0050.

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Newport Beach Marriott Hotel and Tennis Club teaching pro Cari

Garfield, who has written three children’s books, has co-written a

book (which has yet to be titled) with a psychologist. The book is

geared toward teaching parents and coaches how to understand and deal

with different personality types.

“Parents are so much involved here about pushing their children.

I’ve seen that and had to deal a lot with that, and that’s when I

thought I’d write a book,” said Garfield, in her 25th year teaching

tennis and 15th at the Marriott under Director of Tennis Robyn Ray.

Garfield is also back on the playing circuit, winning the Laguna

Niguel Racquet Club women’s 35s doubles title with Gail Glasgow

(Newport Beach) last month. Glasgow is the all-time leader in

Adoption Guild Tennis Tournament championships with 11.