2007 DAVENPORT & COMPANY CITY OF RICHMOND 
TENNIS TOURNAMENT 

May 15 Results
Next:  Wednesday Results

Kirsten Elim with McKenzie, Merrick and Max.  Her husband's name is Marc.

5/16/07:  If you are going to play in the City Tournament, it pays to be flexible.  

The same goes for you, if you are planning to watch the City Tournament.  Especially if you are a member of the organization that is putting on the City Tournament, and trying to write about it.  

The schedule read:  Women's Doubles Final, Tuesday 6:30.  However, had you shown up at that time to watch Julie Kaczmarek and Kirsten Elim take on Joy Fuhr and her daughter Anna, you would have been about 21 hours late. 

"We played them Monday at 9:00 pm so they wouldn't have to default to us," said Julie Kaczmarek.   "Joy was taking her girls to see Gwen Stefani in Virginia Beach on Tuesday."

Kaczmarek is leaving Wednesday for Homewood, Illinios, where she'll participate in the USTA National Women's 35s Indoor Championships, an event held on courts she played on as a teenager. 

Hence the reason for the late time on Monday.  The result was a 6-0, 6-1 victory for perennial doubles champion Kaczmarek and 1994 City Singles Champion Elim.  Kaczmarek, who directs racquet activities at the Country Club of Virginia, praised 12 year old Anna and her mom for participating in the event.  

So far, all of the women playing in this year's event have expressed a desire to see the tournament continue, even with the small number of players.  But it's a glaring fact that the women's draw in both singles and doubles is much smaller than the men's. Lou Einwick, the RTA Executive Director,  has given a lot of thought as to why this is so.

"The general consensus is that USTA League tennis seems to be meeting the needs of women," said RTA Executive Director Lou Einwick. "They can play league tennis where they have more of an opportunity to pick and choose what matches to play.

"Players who play in the City tourney are to be commended for getting out there and testing their game against players they may not know."

Cherie Lane, a 4.0 player at Raintree, and her partner Lara Hansen, lost handily to Kaczmarek and Elim in their first round match.  However, Cherie was enthusiastic about the opportunity to play a pair of such high caliber. "The experience was wonderful & it was the best doubles match I've ever played.  Julie & Kirsten  are very nice players as well as very nice ladies," she said.     "I will definitely play it again next year!" <<Cherie Lane

Results May 15

Men's Open Singles Quarterfinals:  Jakub Petersson d. Chris Cosby 6-2, 6-0.

Women's Doubles Final: Julie Kaczmarek/Kirsten Elim d. Joy and Anna Fuhr 6-0, 6-1.

Women's Singles:  Natalie Kretzer d. Patricia Denman by default; Kirsten Elim d. Jessica Armes 6-3, 6-4. 

Men's Doubles First Round:  Butterworth/Snead d. Albertson/Hopkins 6-1, 6-3; Hensley/Petersson d. Gee/Gee 7-5, 7-6(2); Campbell/Reichert d. Hudson/Thomas 6-2, 6-7(2), 6-3; Driscoll/Einwick d. Harrell/Cosby 6-1, 1-6, 6-2.

by Sara James