By Fred Hill
Dave Rosen and Greg Park won the 2011 Maine State Doubles Championship at Meadow Mill A.C. in Baltimore on the first weekend of October, defeating two former Bowdoin College players, Zach Linhart and Matt Dresher, three games to one.
Rosen, Harrow’s vice-president for racquet sports, and Park, the head pro at Greate Bay Racquet and Fitness in Somers Point (NJ) rallied after losing the first game to the tenacious Bowdoin graduates, now in New York, to win the Open draw, (13-15), 15-10, 15-10 and 15-9.
While the match was still far from settled, a telltale point occurred in the middle of the third game when a smash by Linhart cleared the back glass on Meadow Mill’s warm Court 9 and landed in a cup of beer in the gallery.
The Open final provided an exciting climax to the first major doubles tournament of the new season, the second Maine/Maryland at Meadow Mill (M4) doubles competition since Bowdoin tore down the only hardball doubles court in Maine in 2008. Seventy players took part in the tournament—attracting participants from Los Angeles, Toronto, Montreal, Philadelphia, New York, Charlottesville, Wilmington, Washington and Maine as well as Meadow Mill, the Maryland Club and the Baltimore Country Club. Matches were held at all three clubs.
Rosen and Park defeated two Baltimore teams of Mickey Abrams and Bill White, and BCC pros Jay Bewley and Patrick Bedore, en route to the final match. Linhart, an intercollegiate doubles champion in 2007, and Dresher defeated MMAC pro Peter Heffernan and Zach Bradley and then perennial 40s and 50s champs Andy Nehrbas and Doug Rice (3-2) in a tough semifinal as the cocktail hour unfolded. Heffernan and Bradley won the Open consolation.
Another highlight of the tournament proved to be the success of Meadow Mill’s Pat Wong and Vaughan Schmidt, who won both the women’s draw and the B draw over very competitive women’s, men’s and mixed doubles teams—without losing a game.
Wong, with a different partner, also won the B draw in 2009, the first time the tournament was held. Sponsors of the tournament skipped holding it in 2010 since the U.S. National Doubles was played in Baltimore last year.
In other draws, Scott Simonton, of Wilmington, also a Bowdoin graduate, and Pete George, of Baltimore, won the 50s draw. After finding themselves down one or two games in all three matches, Simonton’s hard reverses and George’s accurate lobbing helped them rally from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Ed Brown and Jeff Seibert (Baltimore), 15- 11, (9-15), (16-17); 15-9, 15-9.
Geoff Goodson (Baltimore) and Dick Rice (Rochester, NY) won three matches to win the 60s draw, overcoming Dan Karnowski (Los Angeles), and Mark Hinchcliffe (Toronto), and Roger Friskey and Greg Jenkins (Baltimore), in close encounters. Bob Everd and Bill Bruchey, both Meadow Mill players, prevailed in the 65 draw over three other teams.
Organizers of the tournament devoted proceeds to Baltimore SquashWise, the urban squash and education program headquartered at Meadow Mill, and directed by Abby Markoe. Morgan Stanley, Harrow and Brooks were key sponsors of the tournament.
With outstanding support from Meadow Mill, the Maryland Club and Baltimore Country Club, the organizers plan to continue the tournament each fall, at least until the organizers, Fred Hill (fhill207@gmail.com) and Mike Brennan (mbrennan@e-specs.com) are able to complete plans to build a new squash facility in Portland (Maine) that would accommodate 3-4 softball singles courts, a hardball doubles court and a dynamic urban squash and tutoring program such as SquashWise.
Complete scores are available at USSquash.com.
