2023 Columbus Trophy and La Caretta Cup

The USIC competed with 10 nations in the Columbus Cup and eights nations in the LaCarreta Cup in Brussels celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the Belgium IC.

The event was held at the beautiful Royal Leopold Club with 15 red clay courts.

The Belgians rolled out the red carpet for 90 players with three spectacular nights of delicious dinners including seafood, lamb, mussels and of course, chocolate mousse.  

Three USIC women – Margaret Lumia, Kris McDonald & Heather Walsh – participated in the La Carreta Cup for Ladies Over 50 & Over 60. The competition was very strong, and the USIC finished in fourth place overall. The South African IC won the event with two players, each of whom had been ranked in the top 100 on the WTA Tour, defeating the German IC.

The USIC Columbus Cup team consisted of Maxime Buyckz, Ross Persons, and Robb Bunnen in the Over 65s and Curtis Dunn and Fredrik Skoglund in the Over 55s. The USIC defeated Luxembourg 6-0 in the first round followed by a bye day.

In the second round, in a replay of the Columbus Cup final at the USIC 90th Anniversary in Washington, DC in August 2022, the USIC played the IC of Great Britain. Although the IC of Great Britain had prevailed in a match tie break in Washington, this time the USIC took down the mighty Brits in a total team effort winning 5-1.

In the finals of the Columbus Cup, the USIC faced the daunting IC of Spain with ATP top 50 players Javier Molina and Javier Linares. In an amazing comeback in the Over 65s,Maxime Buyckz valiantly won over Javier Molina in the third set 10-point tiebreak after being down a set and 0-3. Ross Persons won easily for the USIC at #2. In the Over 55s, in a true blood and guts match, Curtis Dunn took down Spain’s #1 Over 55s player in a third set match tiebreak. The overall team score after singles was 3-1 for the USIC. Maxime and Ross closed the out victory by winning the Over 65 doubles in straight sets after being down a set point in the first set.

It was an amazing week of tennis of the highest level of competition and sportsmanship.