Short Hills Wraps Up the Grand Prix Season With a New Format

February 11, 2019
Short Hills, New Jersey

Short Hills Invitational Men’s and Women’s NRT/Viking PCQ, Men’s and Women’s B, Men’s 95+, Men’s 60+

In its 68th year, the Short Hills Invitational debuted a new format, finishing each of its events in a single day. The Men’s NRT field was broken into two draws, a 16 team elite draw and an open draw, ensuring that no one would have to play too many matches in one day. With so many events contested in only two days, the courts at Short Hills and other area clubs were filled with over 400 players for two action-packed days.

Women’s B
The Women’s B, Men’s 95+ and Men’s 60+ fields kicked off the tournament on Friday. In the always popular Women’s B event, 48 teams battled it out throughout the day. In the semifinals, Andrea Portnoy and Kate Schneider beat Kristen Brown and April Mongelli and Keeley Kriskey and Leila Stuhr took out Christine McGrath and Martha Sayre. Kriskey/Stuhr then defeated Portnoy and Schneider for the title.
Women’s B Results:
Main Draw: Keeley Kriskey/Leila Stuhr def. Andrea Portnoy/Kate Schneider
Reprieve: Julie Hughes/Karen Urban def. Lynn House/Julie Kennedy
Round of 32 Consolation: Jane Lizell/Jackie Root def. Judy Brucia/Heather Pinkin
Round of 32 Consolation Reprieve: Sue Grover/Amy Pressler def. Priscilla McAleney/Kay Sutaria
Round of 64 Consolation: Lorraine Bowyer/Mary Manley def. Gina Patterson/Sharon Tietjen
Round of 64 Consolation Reprieve: Meghan Garrity/Meredith Roelke def. Marilyn Porcelli/Ginny Whitaker

Men’s 95+
In the Men’s 95+ draw, Geoff Cochrane and Jim Kaufman were the best of the 17 teams in the draw, taking out Brian Kline and Tim Mangan in the semifinals and Michael Atkinson and John Shehadi in the finals.
Men’s 95+ Results:
Main Draw: Geoff Cochrane/Jim Kaufman def. Michael Atkinson/John Shehadi
Consolation Reprieve: John deGrandpre/Jamie Ferriero def. Sean O’Neil/John Sadik-Khan

Men’s 60+
Gary Chin and Robert Krauss were the 60+ champions, beating Peter Linn/John Masterson in the semifinals and Bruce Humphreys/Rick Sahlman in the finals.
Men’s 60+ Results:
Main Draw: Gary Chin/Robert Krauss def. Bruce Humphreys/Rick Sahlman
Semifinal Reprieve: Tony Brown/Hank Whiting def. Peter Linn/John Masterson
Consolation: Dave Lisooey/Andy Tuck def. John Moxley/Garrett Vreeland
Consolation Reprieve: Arthur Draznin/Robert Finkelstein def. Bill Rogers/Jim Turner

Men’s B
On Saturday, the 48 teams in the Men’s B draw hit the courts. The final four teams standing were K.C. Kadow/Mark Morneau, Dennis Moore/John Watrous, Steve Ellis/Jay Nerenberg, and Alex McDonald/Keith Riggin. Kadow/Morneau beat Moore/Watrous in the semis and Ellis/Nerenberg in the finals to win the B title.
Men’s B Results:
Main Draw: K.C. Kadow/Mark Morneau def. Steve Ellis/Jay Nerenberg, 6-4, 6-1
Reprieve: Christopher Hayes/Colin Roller def. Stuart Garrett/Dave Sprague, 6-2, 7-5
Round of 32 Consolation: Steve Bernt/Robert Watkins def. Dave Hall/Bijo Puthenpurayil, 6-2, 6-1
Round of 32 Consolation Reprieve: Glen Schwitter/Craig Schwitter def. Jon Anderson/Noah Seidenberg, 6-3, 7-5
Round of 64 Consolation: Stephen Giordano/Matthew Waldman def. Dave Beslow/Mark Hall, 6-4, 5-7, (12-10)
Round of 64 Consolation Reprieve: Alexander Povalski/Jason Spiro def. Steve Hein/Jim Milton, 6-1, 7-6

Women’s Open
With so many top players entered in the 36 team Women’s Open, the four seeded teams were hardly a lock to reach the semifinals. In fact, after three out of the four made it to the quarterfinals, only one was able to move on to the semis. That one team was the top seeded pair, Florentina Hanisch and Annica van Starrenburg, who continued on to win the title, cementing their place at the top of the rankings and earning them the Childress Cup for the best Grand Prix results throughout the 2018-2019 season.

The quarterfinals featured four interesting matchups. Hanisch/van Starrenburg faced Maria Manley/Pam Ruoff, a veteran team who posted an upset win over the fourth-seeded Suzanne Lemery and Kelly Rohrbach at the Boston Open. Hanisch/van Starrenburg were too strong for their unseeded opponents, and moved on with a 6-2, 6-1 win. In the other top half of the draw quarterfinal, Boston Open finalists Laura Berendt and Roxy Enica faced Kerri Delmonico and Lauren Gebbia. Delmonico/Gebbia, who were unable to compete in Boston, are a threat to win every tournament they enter, and knocked out the third-seeded Berendt/Enica in straight sets. Two unseeded teams from the Midwest battled it out in another quarterfinal. Two-time APTA National finalist Chelsea Nusslock, playing with her former college tennis teammate Alexis Proussis, edged out the fourth seeded Jessica Guyaux and Myrthe Molenveld, 7-5 in the third in the Round of 16 to earn their spot against Heather Prop and Wendy Shpiz in the quarters. Prop/Shpiz proved too solid in this match, and moved on with a straight set win. The final quarterfinal match featured four APTA National Champions. Two-time APTA National Champion Gabriela Niculescu, playing her first tournament this season after having a baby in December, and her partner Liz Cruz, also a two-time APTA National Champion, faced Martina Ondrejkova, who won Nationals in 2016 (with Niculescu) and Viktoria Stoklasova, also a National Champion twice. Ondrejkova/Stoklasova came out on top in this battle of the cream of the crop of women’s paddle, dispatching the second seeds in straight sets for their place in the semis.

The semifinal matches were straightforward, as Hanisch/van Starrenburg continued their march through the draw by beating Delmonico/Gebbia, and Ondrejkova/Stoklasova easily handled Prop/Shpiz. Hanisch/van Starrenburg were as dominant in the finals as they were all tournament long, capping their excellent day with a 6-3, 6-1 take down of Ondrejkova/Stoklasova.
Women’s Results:
Main Draw: Florentina Hanisch/Annica van Starrenburg def. Martina Ondrejkova/Viktoria Stoklasova, 6-3, 6-1
Quarterfinal Reprieve: Liz Cruz/Gabriela Niculescu def. Laura Berendt/Roxy Enica
Reprieve: Jessica Guyaux/Myrthe Molenveld def. Cooey Lyon/Charlotte Sikora
Consolation: Roopali Hall/Morgan Melnikoff def. Ana Brzova/Macie Elliott, 7-6, 6-0
Consolation Reprieve: Shaheen Bhanji/Spencer Caravaggio def. Fran Bolanis/Sarah Stallings, 5-7, 6-4, 6-1
Last Chance: Andrea Coughlin/Samantha Schneider def. Susan Macdonald/Rachel Riendeau, 7-5, 6-3

Men’s Elite
With only 16 teams of high caliber in the elite draw, the matches were bound to be highly entertaining and competitive from the start. In fact, the top seeded team of Juan Arraya and Mark Parsons lost the first set they played, going down 3-6 to Anthony Cosimano and Brett Kraft before recovering to take the next two sets. Their opponents in the next round, Johan du Randt and Stephen Mitchell, also lost a set in their first round match against Blake Anderson and Martin Bostrom before posting the win. Parsons and du Randt, who won two APTA National Championships together, then faced off against each other. After trading a pair of 7-6 sets, Arraya/Parsons won the third set to move on to the semifinals.

The only early upset came at the expense of the Rose brothers, who were looking to repeat their terrific result at Chicago Charities where they reached the finals. They won their first match against Ajay Khurana Mike Wagner, but were unable to get past the tough team of Mikk Irdoja and Jeff Morneau in the quarterfinals.

The semifinals featured the second seeds, Drew Broderick and Graham McNerney, against Irdoja/Morneau, and Arraya/Parsons against the third seeds, Sebastian Bredberg and John Hughes. Hughes, the reigning APTA National Champion with Marc Powers and coming off a dominant performance winning the Boston Open with Powers, couldn’t repeat the magic with Bredberg, going down in straight sets to Arraya/Parsons. Broderick/McNerney also won in straight sets over Irdoja/Morneau.

After losing in the Short Hills finals for four straight years, the fifth time proved a charm for Arraya, as he and Parsons beat Broderick/McNerney, 6-3, 7-5. The win also earned Arraya/Parsons the highest number of points over the Grand Prix season, making them the 2018-2019 Blanchard Cup winners.
Men’s Elite Results:
Main Draw: Juan Arraya/Mark Parsons def. Drew Broderick/Graham McNerney, 6-3, 7-5
Quarterfinal Reprieve: Paul Rose/Peter Rose def. Johan du Randt/Stephen Mitchell, 6-3, 3-6, (10-4)
Consolation: Blake Anderson/Martin Bostrom def. Adam Gart/Thomas Nolan, 6-2, 6-4
Consolation Reprieve: Anthony Cosimano/Brett Kraft def. Ajay Khurana/Mike Wagner, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6

Men’s Open
Because there was only space for 16 teams in the Elite draw, the Men’s Open was filled with many other excellent players, and the winner was going to have to win five or six matches in one day to claim the title. In an early round upset, Andrew Chan and Eric Fey beat the second seeds, Randy Lofgren and David Lowe, to gain a quarterfinal berth. Lofgren/Lowe were the only seeded team not to reach the final eight.

In the semis, both of the lower-seeded teams scored wins. Tommy Croker/Alex Hume (5) beat Andrea Bonfigli/Anton Protsenko (4) in two tight sets, and Lucas Green/Victor Vidal (3) defeated the top seeds, Michael Montalbano/Louis Volclair, 6-4, 6-4. Croker/Hume went on to take the title over Green/Vidal, 6-4, 6-1.
Men’s Open Results:
Main Draw: Tommy Croker/Alex Hume def. Lucas Green/Victor Vidal, 6-4, 6-1
Quarterfinal Reprieve: Zachary Rosenow/Michael Stulac def. Andrew Chan/Eric Fey, 7-6, 6-2
Reprieve: Bill Horne/Admire Mushonga def. Randy Lofgren/David Lowe, 6-4, 3-6, (15-13)
Round of 32 Consolation: Doug Morrow/Scott Safford def. Ian McDonald/Gene Tioutine, 6-1, 6-1
Round of 32 Consolation Reprieve: Ilya Levin/Ned Mandel def. Michael Atkinson/Oleg Tioutine
Round of 64 Consolation Reprieve: Whit Harwood/Will Oberrender def. Benjamin Abbate/Daniel Casesa

Thank you to Short Hills Tournament Director Dennis Collins, Short Hills Club Head Racquets Professional Dave Broderick, and all of the staff at Short Hills and the other clubs in the area for beautifully managing such a Herculean undertaking.

Short Hills Wraps Up the Grand Prix Season With a New Format

February 11, 2019 Short Hills, New Jersey

February 11, 2019
Short Hills, New Jersey