The top seeds in the 50, 60, 70, and 80 age divisions dominated play on Wednesday and easily advanced at the United States Tennis Association National Women’s Senior Hard Court Championships at the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club.
Defending 70s singles champion and top-seed Tina Karwasky (above) of Glendale played her first match of the tournament after a first-round bye. The 70-year-old Karwasky, who is ranked No. 1 in the International Tennis Federation singles 70-plus rankings, needed only 45 minutes to dispatch unseeded Margaret Machoian of Crownsville, Md., 6-1, 6-0 in quarterfinal action on Court No. 1.
Following her victory, Karwasky spoke about how special it is for her to play at the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club. “It feels good to be here. It’s a great atmosphere. Of all the clubs in the United States, this is my favorite place. My mother used to bring me here (as a child). I would go to the beach and dig holes in the sand and collect seashells.”
Karwasky, who has represented the United States in international individual and team competitions on more than two dozen occasions, added, “It’s a wonderful spot. You can’t compare this venue to any other venue in the world. I say that with a lot of love in my heart.”
The top-seeded Karwasky will meet unseeded Rita Giles of Falls Church, Va., in Thursday’s 70 and Over singles semifinals at 10:30 a.m.
In the 80 and Over singles division, two-time defending champion and top-seed Charleen Hillebrand of Long Beach, eliminated unseeded Sue McCandless of Jacksonville, Ore., 6-2, 6-3 to advance to Thursday’s semifinals, where she will face third-seeded Sheila Weinstock of Weston, Mass., at 11 a.m.
Top-seeded Amanda Parson Siegel of Santa Ana continued her impressive play in the 50 and Over singles draw as she cruised past fifth-seeded Inese Williamson of Silver Spring, Md., 6-1, 6-0 in exactly one hour. Parson Siegel has dropped a total of two games in her two singles matches this week. She is scheduled to play third-seeded Quynh Le of Irvine, in Thursday’s semifinals at 11 a.m.
After getting through a tough second-round match on Tuesday, No. 1 seeded Frances Chandler of Jackson, Tenn., used her dominating baseline game to eliminate unseeded Ginny Beneke of San Diego, 6-1, 6-1 in 60 and Over third-round action. In Thursday’s 60 and Over quarterfinals, Chandler will play unseeded Elissa Burke of Seattle at 10 a.m.
RadioTennis.com will broadcast live play-by-play of the 50s singles final on Friday, May 19 at 10 a.m. Tennis broadcaster Ken Thomas will provide the webcast commentary from Court No. 1. To access the broadcast, go to https://radiotennis.com/. To view singles and doubles draws for each tournament division, click here.
