Grass Slam 2024 at Agawam Hunt: Beating the Heat!

Agawam Hunt in Rumford, RI was a perfect location for the 2024 Grass Slam on August 1 - 4. More than 100 players gathered for great camaraderie and competition and survived the season’s hottest and most humid temps. Matches remained at two out of three sets. Many players enjoyed a delicious meal on Thursday evening, and the site offered water, ice and fruit for players throughout the weekend. Special thanks to Agawam’s Head of Racquet Sports Dustin Goldenberg for his outstanding tournament organization.

Here are the highlights: 

Singles Competitions

In the ladies’ 50s singles tourney, Davida Dinerman overcame the rough humidity to beat Aleta Cebere. 

The men’s 50s singles draw had four entrants and an upset. Thomas Murphy beat the second seed and then lost to top seeded Alastair Chapman. 

The men’s 55s singles tourney was sizable with nine competitors. Don Davis, seeded second, squeaked out a 7-6, 7-6 win over John Lewis then lost 5-7, 6-7 to Bill Anderson in the semis. James Burda, seeded one, and Anderson duked it out in the final with Burda winning the last point with a final score of 7-6, 3-6, 7-5. Bob Park took third.

The biggest draw, logging in at 13 players was the men’s 60s singles, and there were a bunch of upsets. Steven Kapiloff outlasted David Robbins Tien in the semis. Robert Loud ousted second-seed Peter Appleton in the quarters and then third-seed Ron Chicoine in the semis. Loud went on to win the gold over Kapiloff in a tight two-setter. Appleton won the consolation draw. 

The men’s 65s had eight players with top seed Dennis Engelbrecht beating the second-seed Jeff Prudden in the final. Peter Ogilvy took bronze.

The men’s 70 draw had ten players and a couple of upsets. Stan Mescon needed only two sets to beat Dennis Engelbrecht who was the first seed. Jon Wilson prevailed over two-seed Steve Rubin. In the face-off between Mescon and Wilson, Mescon took home the gold. Engelbrecht won the consolation draw. 

Moving into the six-person, men’s 75 singles draw, the top seeds Jay Lubker and George Deptula met in the finals with Deptula winning the close match 6-4, 6-4.

The men’s 80 and over draw was a round robin of three with Henry Steinglass, George Andrews, and James Hufford. Steinglass was the victor with a 2-0 record, and he did not drop a set. 

Four men comprised the men’s 85 field – Ray Brodeur, Malcom Swanson, Charles Niemeth, and Nicholas Ourusoff. Niemeth survived a third set tie breaker in the semi-finals vs. Ourusoff to earn a berth in the finals against Brodeur, and then won in straight sets. Ourusoff took third after a three-setter. Let’s say it again… inspiring!

Doubles Competitions

The men’s 50 doubles had two teams. John Geilfuss and Ronald Graziosi defeated Caleb Kleppner and Peter Macpartland in three sets. 

The men’s 55 doubles draw was bigger with five teams. Both seeded teams were knocked out putting Mark Billone and Matthew Polimeno vs Warren Avery and Daniel Rice in the finals. Billone/Polimeno won in straight sets. 

There were nine teams in the men’s 60 doubles field. This draw showed many exciting and close three-setters in the early rounds. Peter Appleton and Ron Chicoine had to stave off a tough Scott Snow/Ron Parlman pairing in the quarters and faced Matt Gelotte and Carl Norbeck in a barn burner of a multi-hour final which Gelotte/Norbeck pulled out 7-5, 5-7, 6-4. Larry Walsh and Tom Fleischer won the back draw. 

Stan Mescon and Alan Turner went 2-0 in the men’s 70 doubles round robin which also included Jon Wilson/Paul Shaw and Mark Ullman/Dirk Dugan. 

The men’s 80s doubles draw had two teams. Henry Steinglass and Edward Underwood beat James Hufford and George Andrews in straight sets. Inspiring!

Similarly, there were two teams in the men’s 85 doubles field. Ray Brodeur and Charles Niemeth defeated Malcolm Swanson and Nicholas Ourusoff. Even more inspiring!

On the ladies’ side, two teams vied for the gold in the 55s. Framingham natives Karen McNamara and Davida Dinerman needed three tough sets to beat Sandy Allen and Aleta Cebere.