Columbus Trophy 2009 |
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On September 29, the USIC team of Armistead Neely, Geoff Cykman, Ralph Howe,
Hill Griffin and Joe Bachmann traveled to Japan to play in this year's Columbus
Trophy competition hosted by the IC of Japan which was celebrating its 30 year
membership in the ILTC. The event was played from October 1 to October 4 at
the Estolle Hotel and Tennis Club located about 45 miles outside of Tokyo.
It is a beautiful facility with 18 all weather carpet courts outside and 4 indoors.
Unfortunately, rainy weather forced the matches indoors two out of four days,
but thanks to the efficiency of the organizers all matches were completed on schedule.
There were 11 teams in the final draw: Belgium, Canada, France Great Britain,
Hungary Luxemburg, Japan A, Japan B, Mexico, Netherlands USA. Each team consisted of
a minimum of 2 players in the 55 age category and 2 players in the 65 age group. Four
singles and two doubles matches were played. The winning teams advanced to the next
round while non winners continued in the back draw.
The tennis itself was of exceptionally high quality. Among the more than 60 players,
there were seven former Davis Cuppers and half a dozen former touring pros. Our team
as the defending champion was seeded first followed by France at number two, Great
Britain was third seed and Belgium was number four.
On the first day of play, we faced a very strong Mexican team. Since Mexico was a
potential seed and all their players had credible records in past events, we knew that
we had our work cut out for us. Our number two 55 player, Geoff Cykman, played a very
intelligent match winning his match in a convincing fashion defeating Roberto Pulido
6-1, 6-2. Ralph Howe, playing number two spot in 65 singles, ran into Manuel Monroy who
had a ""can't miss"" day. Ralph played well but Monroe was too much that day and won 6-3 6-0.
Armistead Neely played well against the Mexican number one 55 player, Octavio Martinez,
losing a tough one 6-4 6-3. In the last singles match of the day Joe Bachmann prevailed
over Raul Contreras a long time Mexican stand out 6-0 6-4. With the team score 2-2 the final
out come came down to doubles, possibly decided on total sets or even total games.
Armistead and Geoff played great winning easily 6-1 6-2, and in the 65's Ralph and Joe
lost in three close sets. The match was now tied at 3-3, but since we won a crucial
extra set in the 65 doubles, we advanced to the semifinals against Belgium.
We had a very good day against the Belgians, winning all four singles matches and the
65 doubles. Armie had an excellent day. Playing a strong attacking game, he beat Robert
Van Malder, the number one Belgian 55 player, 6-2 6-3. Geoff continued his stellar
play with an impressive win over Michael DeMarneffe 6-2 6-2. Hill Griffin playing
number two in 65's played gritty tennis to secure a win over Jean Dellacollette, a player
with an unorthodox style. After dropping the first set, Hill came back to win the second
set in a tiebreaker and took the third 10-7 in a super tiebreaker. In the other 65 match
Joe played a steady consistent game to win 6-1 6-1 over Robert Kypers, giving us an
insurmountable 4-0 lead. A doubles win by Ralph and Hill completed the final score 5-1.
We were now in the final against Great Britain.
Great Britain, led by Mark Cox a one time top ten in the world and long time Davis Cupper,
appeared by consensus to be the most balanced team in the competition. This view proved to
be correct as they beat us in the finals by a score of 5-1, but it is worth noting that three
of the six matches went to a third set tiebreaker all of them in Great Britain's favor.
In the first singles position, Armie playing excellent tennis took the lead winning the
first set and was poised to take the second but lost a close second and third sets 7-5, 6-3.
Geoff, our MVP, played dominating tennis against Benson Greatrex, winning 6-1 6-2. The
British 65 players proved to be very solid in singles play. Hank Neijbor, a player
possessing a strong net game and quickness that belied his age, defeated Hill 6-1 6-2; and in a match
that followed, Mark Cox beat Joe 6-3 6-0. Joe had numerous chances to break and a
legitimate shot to win the first set but could not convert and Mark got stronger as the match
progressed. We lost both doubles in exciting fashion in third set tie breakers. Top four
finishers in order were: 1. Great Britain 2. USA 3. France 4. Belgium. Consolation winner:
Mexico. Runner up: Japan B.
The social events were outstanding starting with a splendid welcoming cocktail party and ending
with a visit to the Japan Open on our last day. Our hosts, Mimi and Sakee Yoshii, did a great
job organizing special events for players and guests. Full breakfast and lunch was served each
day for everyone. The day before the beginning of the competition, IC Japan arranged a tennis
clinic for special needs children in which our players enthusiastically took part. After the
clinic we were treated to an impressive wheelchair tennis exhibition by players who represented
Japan in Grand Slam and Olympic competitions. It was truly exciting to see the high level of
skill by these world class athletes.
On day two, all guests were invited to a presentation of a traditional Japanese art of SUMIE
class where they learned the basic techniques of this unique art form and completed drawings
on their own. On day three all guests were invited to see the ceremonial preparation and
presentation of the powered tea known as the ""matcha"" or ""The Way of the Tea""'.
The official dinner was held at the American Club in Tokyo. It was a wonderful celebration with
large variety of excellent dishes and good drinks. Gifts were exchanged. On behalf of the USIC
we presented an engraved plate to the Japanese IC in recognition of their 30th anniversary in IC.
Capping off the social events was a sightseeing tour of Tokyo; and on our last day, we were
guests at the Japan Open where we received a surprise treat of gourmet snacks and champagne,
courtesy of Mr. Sakee Yoshii.
All in all this year's Columbus Trophy was an exciting event thanks to our hosts who did everything
possible to make this a great IC experience in the tradition of sportsmanship, friendship and fair play.
Many thanks to our players for their efforts and to the USIC for the solid support of the team.
Joe Bachmann
Captain
Columbus Trophy Team 2009
Hill Griffin and Joe Bachmann traveled to Japan to play in this year's Columbus
Trophy competition hosted by the IC of Japan which was celebrating its 30 year
membership in the ILTC. The event was played from October 1 to October 4 at
the Estolle Hotel and Tennis Club located about 45 miles outside of Tokyo.
It is a beautiful facility with 18 all weather carpet courts outside and 4 indoors.
Unfortunately, rainy weather forced the matches indoors two out of four days,
but thanks to the efficiency of the organizers all matches were completed on schedule.
There were 11 teams in the final draw: Belgium, Canada, France Great Britain,
Hungary Luxemburg, Japan A, Japan B, Mexico, Netherlands USA. Each team consisted of
a minimum of 2 players in the 55 age category and 2 players in the 65 age group. Four
singles and two doubles matches were played. The winning teams advanced to the next
round while non winners continued in the back draw.
The tennis itself was of exceptionally high quality. Among the more than 60 players,
there were seven former Davis Cuppers and half a dozen former touring pros. Our team
as the defending champion was seeded first followed by France at number two, Great
Britain was third seed and Belgium was number four.
On the first day of play, we faced a very strong Mexican team. Since Mexico was a
potential seed and all their players had credible records in past events, we knew that
we had our work cut out for us. Our number two 55 player, Geoff Cykman, played a very
intelligent match winning his match in a convincing fashion defeating Roberto Pulido
6-1, 6-2. Ralph Howe, playing number two spot in 65 singles, ran into Manuel Monroy who
had a ""can't miss"" day. Ralph played well but Monroe was too much that day and won 6-3 6-0.
Armistead Neely played well against the Mexican number one 55 player, Octavio Martinez,
losing a tough one 6-4 6-3. In the last singles match of the day Joe Bachmann prevailed
over Raul Contreras a long time Mexican stand out 6-0 6-4. With the team score 2-2 the final
out come came down to doubles, possibly decided on total sets or even total games.
Armistead and Geoff played great winning easily 6-1 6-2, and in the 65's Ralph and Joe
lost in three close sets. The match was now tied at 3-3, but since we won a crucial
extra set in the 65 doubles, we advanced to the semifinals against Belgium.
We had a very good day against the Belgians, winning all four singles matches and the
65 doubles. Armie had an excellent day. Playing a strong attacking game, he beat Robert
Van Malder, the number one Belgian 55 player, 6-2 6-3. Geoff continued his stellar
play with an impressive win over Michael DeMarneffe 6-2 6-2. Hill Griffin playing
number two in 65's played gritty tennis to secure a win over Jean Dellacollette, a player
with an unorthodox style. After dropping the first set, Hill came back to win the second
set in a tiebreaker and took the third 10-7 in a super tiebreaker. In the other 65 match
Joe played a steady consistent game to win 6-1 6-1 over Robert Kypers, giving us an
insurmountable 4-0 lead. A doubles win by Ralph and Hill completed the final score 5-1.
We were now in the final against Great Britain.
Great Britain, led by Mark Cox a one time top ten in the world and long time Davis Cupper,
appeared by consensus to be the most balanced team in the competition. This view proved to
be correct as they beat us in the finals by a score of 5-1, but it is worth noting that three
of the six matches went to a third set tiebreaker all of them in Great Britain's favor.
In the first singles position, Armie playing excellent tennis took the lead winning the
first set and was poised to take the second but lost a close second and third sets 7-5, 6-3.
Geoff, our MVP, played dominating tennis against Benson Greatrex, winning 6-1 6-2. The
British 65 players proved to be very solid in singles play. Hank Neijbor, a player
possessing a strong net game and quickness that belied his age, defeated Hill 6-1 6-2; and in a match
that followed, Mark Cox beat Joe 6-3 6-0. Joe had numerous chances to break and a
legitimate shot to win the first set but could not convert and Mark got stronger as the match
progressed. We lost both doubles in exciting fashion in third set tie breakers. Top four
finishers in order were: 1. Great Britain 2. USA 3. France 4. Belgium. Consolation winner:
Mexico. Runner up: Japan B.
The social events were outstanding starting with a splendid welcoming cocktail party and ending
with a visit to the Japan Open on our last day. Our hosts, Mimi and Sakee Yoshii, did a great
job organizing special events for players and guests. Full breakfast and lunch was served each
day for everyone. The day before the beginning of the competition, IC Japan arranged a tennis
clinic for special needs children in which our players enthusiastically took part. After the
clinic we were treated to an impressive wheelchair tennis exhibition by players who represented
Japan in Grand Slam and Olympic competitions. It was truly exciting to see the high level of
skill by these world class athletes.
On day two, all guests were invited to a presentation of a traditional Japanese art of SUMIE
class where they learned the basic techniques of this unique art form and completed drawings
on their own. On day three all guests were invited to see the ceremonial preparation and
presentation of the powered tea known as the ""matcha"" or ""The Way of the Tea""'.
The official dinner was held at the American Club in Tokyo. It was a wonderful celebration with
large variety of excellent dishes and good drinks. Gifts were exchanged. On behalf of the USIC
we presented an engraved plate to the Japanese IC in recognition of their 30th anniversary in IC.
Capping off the social events was a sightseeing tour of Tokyo; and on our last day, we were
guests at the Japan Open where we received a surprise treat of gourmet snacks and champagne,
courtesy of Mr. Sakee Yoshii.
All in all this year's Columbus Trophy was an exciting event thanks to our hosts who did everything
possible to make this a great IC experience in the tradition of sportsmanship, friendship and fair play.
Many thanks to our players for their efforts and to the USIC for the solid support of the team.
Joe Bachmann
Captain
Columbus Trophy Team 2009
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