USA Queen’s Cup Team Wins in Super Senior World Championship
October 28, 2011 04:23 PM
Carol Wood (Rockville, MD), pictured second from left, teamed with Dori deVries (Reno, NV), Burnette Herrick (Tarboro, NC), and Dorothy Matthiessen (Pasadena, CA) to win the Queen’s Cup competition at the Super Senior World Championships in Antalya, Turkey. Wood also took the gold medal in the individual 75 and over doubles competition.
The Queen’s Cup team dominated their competition throughout the event. They began by competing in a three team round robin; they came through on top without losing a set, although this is where they faced their strongest opposition – the team from France. The winners of each of the three round robins then advanced to a final three team round robin consisting of the United States, Great Britain, and Germany. Again, the matches were very straight forward. The highlight of this final round robin was Matthiessen’s comeback from a 4-1 first set deficit in the top singles position to better her opponent from Great Britain 6-4,6-1. As an indication of just how dominant the American team was, in their four matches (each consisting of two singles and one doubles) they didn’t lose a set, and lost just 18 games total! Wood contributed to this total, partnering with Herrick to win all of the doubles matches for the team.
In the week following the team competition Wood also competed in the individual singles and doubles events. While she lost to the third seed in singles, she teamed with deVries to take the gold medal in doubles! In the final Wood and deVries defeated Herrick and her partner 6-3, 7-5 for the win. This gives Wood her third doubles world championship, and fourth overall.
Overall, it was a very successful week for the American teams! Of the ten Cups contested, the United States finished first in seven of them, third in two, and fourth in the remaining event.
The ITF Seniors/Super-Seniors World Team Championships is the most coveted team event on the ITF Seniors circuit. Since its inception, the number of competitors attracted to this event has increased annually. The Seniors World Championships is divided into two groups, Seniors for the 35-55 and over and Super-Seniors for the 60-80 and over divisions.