30 Mar Seniors’ Tournaments in Mexico City
Seniors’ Tournaments in Mexico City
This week Ireland sends several veterans’ teams to Mexico to compete in the ITF’s Seniors World Team Championships. The tournaments are round robin style and will take place from 29 March to 3 April. The Italia Cup, the youngest bracket, is for men of the thirty-five category. The Irish team in the Italia Cup consists of Travis McDonagh, Colm Og Molloy and Justin Purcell, who will play in group two with Germany and Estonia.
Named after the former US Open tournament director and the high successful 1950s player, the Tony Trabert Cup caters to men of the forty category. Ireland will play in the second group with France, Switzerland and South Africa. Representing Ireland in the forty category are Liam Cassidy, Alan Donnelly, Niall Murphy and Richard Birchall.
The forty-five category, the Dubler Cup, is named after Leon Dubler of Switzerland, who was the first president of the Veterans International Tennis Association. Ireland will play in the sixth group of this round robin tournament, going up against France and Canada. Peter Lowther, Liam O’Brien, Neil Wilson and Des Dillion are representing Ireland.
The Fred Perry Cup for men of the fifty category pits Ireland in the third group with France and Switzerland. The Cup is named after the great British men’s player, who was the last Briton to win the men’s singles Championship at Wimbledon. Ireland sends Tony Davidson, William Noteman, Tom Barry and Tadhg O’Connell to compete in the fifty category.
Suggested by Dr Walter Spiess of the International Veterans Tennis Association in the 1970s, the Austria Cup caters to men in the fifty-five age category. Ireland is represented by Neagle Cathcart, Bryan Bailie, Conor Woods and Jimmy Wilson and will go up against the United States, South Africa and Spain in the third group.
On the women’s side, Ireland sends a team into the Suzanne Lenglen Cup for women of the thirty-five category. Lenglen was a pioneer in women’s tennis, becoming the first "professional tennis player." Ireland’s team is competing in the first group alongside France, South Africa and Luxembourg. Representing Ireland in the Cup are: Deirdre Collins, Jennifer Ann Mulholland and Sheila Kilduff.
The women are also competing in the forty-five category Margaret Court Cup, named after the second woman to achieve the Grand Slam. Ireland, consisting of Lesley O’Halloran, Carmel O’Hare and Grace Riedy, will be competing in group one with the United States and Mexico.
The Maria Ester Bueno Cup, for women of the fifty age category, has Ireland in the second group of the round robin tournament, alongside the United States, Turkey and Spain. Competiting in the Cup, named after the very successful Brazilian star of the 1960s, are: Jenny Burrows, Eilen McCartney, Gail O’Meara and Geraldine Wynne.