By Sabrina Davies
Photos By Sabrina Davies
The 87th annual Lapham-Grant Squash Tournament was held over the weekend of February 15 at The Wilmington Country Club in Wilmington, Delaware. Fifty-two American men were countered by 52 Canadian men; while a dozen American and Canadian women battled for their country for the coveted Crawford Cup prize.
The Lapham-Grant is a special squash tournament drenched by a deep, rich tradition. Its location alternates every year between the US and Canada. It is known for its quality of good sportsmanship and a high-spirited, camaraderie between the American players and our fine Canadian neighbors to the north. Over the years, these matches have been likened to the Ryder Cup in golf and the Davis Cup in tennis. Certainly, the trophies rival any of the aforementioned. In the world of squash it’s one of the gold standards for amateur, international competition with men and women competing in both singles and doubles.
The tournament began back in 1922 when Henry Lapham of Brookline, MA, donated the Lapham Cup trophy for singles play; in 1944 Alastair Grant of Montreal donated the Grant Cup for doubles. By 1953, doubles was officially added to the event and the annual weekend gala ensued. For many years, it was an all male affair. At long last, in 1999 William Crawford, of Vancouver, donated the Crawford Cup for women in honor of his wife, Richenda.
Another welcome addition to the event occurred in 2001 when the Lawrence-Wilkins trophy for doubles play was donated so that gentleman ages 70 and over, who were no longer eligible to play for the Grant team, could compete. This group is known as the “Legends.”
This year the US convincingly won the Grant Cup for Doubles 8-3. Some of the talented play came from US Captain Scott Simonton with his partner Todd Anderson. In addition, top seeds Ed Chilton and Ayman Karim were a formidable pair. The Lapham Cup for singles went to the Canadians who squeezed out a 6-5 victory. The women’s Crawford Cup, a combined singles and doubles event, went to the Canadians 4-2, and The Lawrence-Wilkins Legends Cup also went to Canada 4-1. Next year, the US vows to prevail.
Both the women’s and men’s singles final results came down to the last matches of the day on Sunday. The men were tied at 5-all when Scott Simonton, with the weight of his country on his shoulders, took to the court. It was a hard-fought, competitive battle with many lengthy points; in the end, Toronto’s Mike Hobart took the match.
The U.S. women had two remaining singles matches left to play on Sunday, and they needed to win them both for a tie score which would then have resulted in a “total games won” count to determine the winner. The gallery was packed with nail-biting squash fans. This year I was fortunate to be asked to play by US Captain, Nina Winfield. I made the 350 mile drive from Boston back to my home club. When I met up with the crowd at the Friday evening cocktail gathering, I had a Molson with a Canadian named Molson and learned that my first opponent came from a family with a long history tied to squash. Nevertheless, I went to bed that night with an open mind.
In my first singles match on Saturday, I was defeated in an action-packed battle by former Canadian junior singles champion, Natasha Doucas. Molson had neglected to mention the champion thing. Her most proficient weapon was her employment of the perfectly timed and placed lob that died before striking the back wall. Her skill was impressive. I was exhausted.
After a recuperating sleep, I came back on Sunday to play Susan McKinnon Bel of Montreal. Bel had won with her partner in doubles the day before against the strong, experienced team of Nina Winfield and Ann Chilton (both from Wilmington). Dressed in red and white and humming “Oh Canada” (not really humming out loud, but I felt certain it was the theme song in her head), Bel appeared confident and eager to play. However, I did not want to drive all the way back to Boston with two loses, so I dug in hard at the start. With excellent coaching from my teammate Sue Greene (Philadelphia) and Squash Pro Ed Chilton, I was able to power my way through a necessary 3-0 victory for the U.S.
One match remained on court for the women; all the gallery onlookers moved over to the next court to follow the action. Talented, Margaret Rux from Philadelphia was in full battle mode against the powerful, crafty Canadian, Cathy Covernton. Rux seemed to never run out of energy. They split the first two games to add to our suspense. In the end, the remarkable anticipation, power, footwork and skill of Covernton won it for Canada 3 games to 1.
Putting on a tournament of this nature takes enormous planning. 2008 US men’s Captain, Scott Simonton, along with US women’s Captain, Nina Porter Winfield, directed and put together the weekend with the support of The Wilmington Country Club’s Head Squash Pro, Ed Chilton. Sponsors of this year’s event included Lexis Nexis and Wilmington Trust.
The teams are put together by the captains. Each year the men’s and women’s captains, through an invitation, bring on players of varying abilities to represent their country and compete for the cups. Incorporating players of varying abilities and the aspect of playing with a team are just two of the special qualities that make this tournament unique. Many of the men and women who participate in the tournament come back year after year.
Scott Simonton was delighted to have the Lapham-Grant back in Wilmington. “It has been 40 years since it was last played here,” he commented. “I last played in Toronto. I won one match and lost another, but the US team won overall. It’s great because you’re on a team.” Scott’s wife, Renee Simonton and squash mom Pam McCrery, were both a tremendous presence at the tournament in terms of organizing and facilitating all the details. The Canadians were highly impressed by The Wilmington Country Club. Canadian Captain, Marc Lalonde, remarked with a big smile, that he enjoyed the event so much this time that he’d like to come back to Wilmington and The Wilmington Country Club every year.
In a quiet corner near the Lapham trophy, I sat down and had a chat with Henry Tregillas, one of the Legends from Vancouver. He reflected on his many years of playing in the tournament. “It’s nice to be asked to play. At age 75, I can still run around the court. I’ve been to half a dozen of these over the years. I’ve lost some and I’ve won some, but I always have fun, and I remember them all.”
This is truly a historic, delightful event in which to play. The quality of the squash, the new friendships, and the patriotic feeling that gives even the very best player’s butterflies before each match make it different from any tournament in which I’ve ever played. On this special weekend, we made a toast to the Queen and a toast to the office of the President uniting over 100 patriotic Americans and Canadians who were brought together by their passion for the game. Hail to the Lapham-Grant for 87 fine years of squash and good luck to the USA for 2009!
