By Ed Chilton
The 25th Anniversary of the National Junior Doubles Championships was held at the Wilmington Country Club in Wilmington, Delaware. This year we had 80 players. Among them were 18 participants from Toronto, Canada. Other players came from Washington (DC), Baltimore (MD), New York (NY), Philadelphia (PA), Princeton (NJ), Rye (NY), Greenwich (CT), New Canaan (CT), and Hanover (NH). There were five draws for the boys, three for the girls and one mixed.
The NJD was started at Wilmington Country Club in 1986 by three members—Joe Carbonell, Gerry Foulk and Bill Taylor—along with the professional at the time, John Righter. These three parents had children who were very good singles players (Mac Carbonell, Mercedes Carbonell, Serena Carbonell, Billy Taylor, Jay Taylor and Mary Warren Foulk) and they wanted their kids to play some doubles as well. The event was a big hit and has continued to be held at Wilmington CC with great pride.
The Boys Under-19 Division featured eight strong teams, and every first round match was hotly contested. Top seeds Andrew McGuinness and Geordie Lemon, both of Philadelphia, cruised through the draw without dropping a game, while two Canadian teams had to duke it out in the semis. Thomas Osbourne and Eric Stephenson squeaked by fellow-Toronto teammates, Daniel Reimer and Hussen”
“Salemwalla, 15-13 in the fifth. But McGuinness/Lemmon proved too much for Osbourne/Stephenson in the finals as they captured the title in three games, 15-5, 15-13, 15-10. Salemwalla and Reimer finished third.
In the Boys Under-15, Henry Parkhurst and Jarrett Odrich had a very strong outing. Seeded third, they swept the field without dropping a game. After knocking off Justin Restivo and Michael Kacergis in the quarterfinals, Parkhurst/Odrich upset the No. 2 seeds, John Fitzgerald and Senen Ubina, in the semis, before finishing off their title run in the finals over the top-seeded duo of David Yaccobucci and Boden Polikoff, 15-9, 15-11,15-13. Ubina/Fitzgerald finished third.
Despite a relatively small number of teams, the girls draws featured quality play. Canadian teams ran away with the Under-19 four-team round robin, by taking all three of the top spots—Alisa Agnew and Jullian Baker swept Emily and Megan Richmond to win the title. In the 15’s Maddie O’Connor and Alison Richmond of Toronto jumped out to a quick two-game lead over Casey Wong and Eleanor Evans and then held on to win the title, 15-6 in the fifth. In a three-team round robin for the Under-13, Lindsay Stanley and Scarlett Bergam finished undefeated including a win over Elle Ruggiero and Grace Steelman, 15-8, 18-13, 9-15, 15-7.
The Wilmington Country Club currently houses four large permanent trophies for this event. T. James Hense, Jr., is fully responsible for the donation of the Boys Under 19, 17, 15 and 13’s bowls. The first trophy he donated was in 1990 for the boys under 19’s, and then in 1991 he donated the boys Under 17’s and 15’s. This year, Hense has generously donated an Under 13’s trophy. The hope is to have permanent trophies for all boys and girls divisions. I would like to personally thank Jimmy for his support of this event.
Thanks to Chris Deratnay, Paul Deratnay, Jessica Demauro and Tammie Sangster for again supporting the U.S. Junior Doubles. They made a huge effort to come from Toronto with 18 players. Their love of the game is seen through their respective juniors and everyone had a great time throughout the weekend.
OTHER RESULTS:
Boys U17: Kevin Flannery and Jamie Ruggiero (Philadelphia) d. John Fitzgerald and Senen Ubina (Stamford, CT) 15-13, 15-10, 15-6.
Boys U13 Round Robin: Ben Gard and Sean Oen d. Charlie East and William Holey, 16-18, 15-10, 15-11 and 18-16.
Mixed U17: Alisa Agnew and Matthew Haffey (Ontario) d. Sydney Francis and Kevin Flannery (PA), 12-15, 15-9, 13-15, 15-7, 15-6.
Mixed U19: Andrew McGuinness and Bailey Bondy (Merion Station, PA) d. Matthew Cooper and Colleen Fehm (Merion, PA), 15-9, 15-13, 16-14.
