Last week, a group of around 400 men and women ranging in age from their 50s into their 90s met in La Jolla to compete against each other, and no, it was not to play cards or dominoes. Rather, it was the United States Tennis Association (USTA) National Senior Women’s Hard Court Tennis Championships and the The La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club’s 39th annual Spring Senior Championships for men. The LJBTC was the host site for both events. The primary distinction between the two was that the women’s event was a sanctioned national tournament, which means the coveted “gold balls” are awarded to the winners by the USTA. “Some of the participants have been competing against each other since they were juniors,” said Conan Lorenzo, director of tennis at the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club. This year’s participation numbers exceeded expectations, and Lorenzo said he believes the venue played a significant role in that success. “Due to the location, a lot of the players are staying at the hotel,” he said. “They can walk from their room to the tennis courts. We also had a barbecue on Wednesday and formal reception on Friday. Honestly, they love the social aspect of the tournament as much as the competition.” Lorenzo is quick note that the matches are not simply a friendly game of senior tennis. “We have a number of players who used to compete on the professional tour,” he said. “The competition is still cutthroat in many ways.” Leading the mens’ group was William J. “Bill” Kellogg, who was the No. 1 seed and won the men’s 60s singles over Michael Averbach, 6-0, 6-2. Kellogg, in addition to his tennis playing credentials, is well known to many as the president of the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club and is the fourth generation Kellogg family member to serve as president of the Kellogg-family properties. Legendary tennis competitor Dodo Cheney also came out a winner, but in the women’s 90s doubles and not singles. Cheney, a La Jolla resident, teamed with Mary Mentzer to defeat Judy Stark and Patricia Yeomans, 6-0, 6-4. Mentzer, who traveled from North Fort Myers, Florida, won two matches in a round-robin format for the women’s 90s singles, defeating both Yeomans and Cheney.
