Older and better: Most people think of 45 as middle-aged, but when it comes to tennis, it appears we all may be older than we think. The North Shore Magazine Senior Invitational Doubles Tournament, held last weekend at the Bannockburn Bath & Tennis Club, featured 68 ”senior” players age 45 and up. As trite as it sounds, however, the tennis players who participated aren`t just getting older, they are apparently getting better.
”You should see some of the people who play at the senior level. I`m looking forward to being there myself,” said tournament director Clyde Peters, general manager of the Lincolnshire Bath & Tennis Club. Acting as umpire at the second annual tournament was Frank Parker, a 1949 Wimbledon champion. The winners in the men`s doubles were Rick Sommer and Bill Lange, representing the Lincolnshire Bath & Tennis Club; in the women`s doubles, Leslie Tranter and Mary Desimone, also from Lincolnshire; and in the mixed doubles, Dave Nelson and Prissy Wilson of the Tennaqua Club in Deerfield. A dozen clubs, primarily from Lake and northern Cook Counties, were represented. The tournament was co-sponsored by Wilson Sporting Goods and The Landings at Skidaway Island, a Georgia residential/retirement community.