NEWS

NESTF presents news about senior tennis in New England and senior tennis players in national events here. If you wish to be notified of breaking news by e-mail, send an e-mail asking to be added to peteallen1@verizon.net. Please add your birth year with your e-mail address as some news items are specific to age groups. Also, if you have news that would be of interest to the NE senior tennis community, send it to the above e-mail address and we will post it.

2021 Thurston Cup Champions: Connecticut (pictured above)

Left to right:  Wayne Jang, Carlis Riollano, Rex Cretella, Carl Norbeck (captain), Jerry Albrikes, Mark Schultz, and Jim Burda.  Steve Kapiloff was missing from the picture.

New England Tennis Remembers Two Great Friends: Bats Wheeler and Anthony DiTullio

With heavy hearts, we report that New England has lost two more senior tennis players. We would like to salute their dedication, passion and contributions to our tennis community.

 

Bancroft ‘Bats’ Wheeler competed in tournaments all over New England. He played a tremendous role in creating and contributing to Irving Levine’s vision for the NESTF in its support of senior tennis. Bats served many years as the NESTF pro bono Clerk from the 1995 incorporation filings, then remained on the Board to 2018. He was a member of Longwood Cricket Club, and past member of the Union Boat Club, the Union Club and several local tennis clubs. We have just learned the sad news that he passed away in March of 2019.

 

Here is a link to Bats’ obituary, and a lovely tribute by Henry Morgan Haskell.

 

Anthony DiTullio was a fierce competitor. In addition to playing many New England tournaments, he competed on Atlantic Coast Cup intersectional teams and on New England Friendship Cup teams. In 2013, Anthony took it upon himself to rebuild the International Friendship Cup trophy that had run out of room for engraving the year's winner. Above is a shot of Anthony with the new trophy on the pristine grass courts at Essex County Club for the 2013 Friendship Cup.

 

Anthony passed away on August 9, 2022 after a battle with cancer. Here is a link to Anthony’s obituary.

 

Tournament Added: Clem Easton Super Senior

Thanks to everyone who has participated in senior tournaments this summer. We have added another Level 4 event to the roster -- the Clem Easton Super Senior, October 6-9 in Springfield. Registration closes on October 2. You can access the tournament page here.

 

Please check out the other tournaments listed on the NESTF site here.

 

The 2022 Grass Court Senior Slams: Cancelled

Dear Recipients of NESTF "Breaking News" -

 

We regret to inform you that there will not be a Grass Slam in 2022. There was an unfortunate mix-up with the planned location at the scheduled date. Despite many conversations with club managers at several other grass sites, we were unable to secure quality courts in September or October. Be assured, we are already working to lock in a location and date for 2023, so we can offer our usual Slam schedule on hard, clay and grass surfaces.

 

We want to let you know of at least two other New England tournaments this season, and we’ll keep you apprised of other potential options.

 

Level 4 Open Providence Clay Court Senior Championships:

Sept. 16-18 (Men’s Singles and Doubles 55s – 85s; Women’s Singles and Doubles 55s – 85s)

 

Level 4 Open Longfellow NH Fall Classic Senior Clay Championships:

Sept. 30 - Oct 2 (Men’s Singles 45s – 80s; Women’s Singles 45s – 80s)

 

We apologize for any inconvenience and hope you will continue to enjoy the great competition at the New England tournaments.