2017 USCTA Awards Dinner & Auction
Published by John Cooper
Jan 22, 2018
By James Zug Last week the Racquet & Tennis Club hosted the twentieth annual United States Court Tennis Association dinner and auction during the traditional mid-December Whitney Cup. The platinum dinner, originally conceived in 1998 and chaired for many years by Charlie Johnstone, was chaired this year by Brian Owens and Zack Sacks. A splendid cocktail hour started the evening. Peter di Bonaventura brought numerous photographs and trophies from Greentree, which dotted the main reading room at the club. Guests reunioned with old friends and browsed the extensive silent auction items. Besides the usual offerings of lessons with some of the world’s leading professionals, a unique offering was a giant photograph of Queen’s Club given by Anglo-American photographer Freddy Adam. The centerpiece of the table of silent auction items was an ice sculpture of the USCTA logo. James Zug, the president of the USCTA, started the dinner proceedings in the South Lounge by apologizing for coming down with a severe case of laryngitis. He asked former president Jeremy Wintersteen to join him at the podium. They asked for a moment of silence in honor of those members of our community who had passed away since the last annual dinner: Spencer Berger, Bob Harrington, John Mears, Berry Peckham, Jeannie Tanfield, Lucienne Van Schaack, Peter Wadsworoth and Denis Walsh. They then praised Camden Riviere and Tim Chisholm. In 2017 Riviere pulled off the calendar Grand Slam in singles, one of only eight players to ever achieve the feat of winning at the Australian, French, U.S. and British Opens all in the same year. In doubles, Riviere & Chisholm had the best year in history: in the spring, they… Read the Full Story >