Evening star., 1939-06-30
Soldiers Title Event
Sharpens Them for
Service Rivals
Figure They Are Twice
As Strong as When
Beaten Last Year
By BILL DISMER, Jr.

Tomorrow afternoon, over at the
Army Navy Country Club. a gold
braided general is going to hand a
cup to freely perspiring tennis
player and congratulate him on
winning the 1899 championship of
the United States Army.
All week long officers and enlisted
men from every section of the coun-
try and West Point cadets have been
engaged in the annual tournament
for Uncle Sans soldiers. You'd
think then. naturally, that tomor-
rows match would be the big cl-
max marking the end of the khaki
clads' visit to their Nations Capital.
Nothing could be farther from
the truth. For instead of quitting
their temporary base after the ques-
ton OF the survival of the fittest has
been decided, all of the soldiers
are going to dig themselves in for
a joint endeavor which will make
this weeks individual tasks seem
trivial by comparison.
Point for Leech Cup Play.
Because the Leech Cup matches
are coming up one week from to-
morrow and if there's one non-
military mission that the United
States Army wishes to fulfill this
year it's to beat the Navy!
For nine consecutive matches, or
ever since it last won in 1925, Army
has taken the Nays wash in what
!. used to be annual-and now are
biennial-tennis competitions with
the other main branch of the service
And, while we wouldn't swear to it's
accuracy, we'd like to wager a piece
or two that some fine military STRAIT
egy was utilized when the Army
decided to play its 1899 tournament
just before the Leech Cup matches
and on the same courts.
One of the chief difficulties en-
countered by both sides in lining
up their Leech Cup team is the usual
problem of getting its best players
here for the July matches. Often
q crack player is discovered to be
on the Pacific Coast, in the Philip
pines or some other distant place
10 make 1llI1l unavailable.
Army heads know, however, that
most all of its tennis enthusiasts
make real effort to play in their
annual tournament. If, then, they
could arrange to hold that affair on
the eve and site of the Leech Cup
, competition, two birds could be
killed with one stone.
Army Nicely Fixed.
AS expected, most of Armys best
players came here for the tourna-
ment, semi-final rounds of which
were being played today. There is
1t. G. c. Russell, an aviator from
Kelly Field, Tex, the defending
champion: Staff Sergt. S. N. Lapsley
from Mitchell Field, Long Island, a
perennial late-rounder in the tour
ney: Capt. J. H. Drake from Fort
Mcclellan, Ala, and It. Herbert
Thatcher. also from Mitchell Field.
And in addition, Washington's old
friend, Stan Robinson, though de-
feated In the first round. still is be-
Ing counted as one of the Army's
best bets against Navy.
capt. Joe Sherr, In charge OF the
tournament, refuses to say whether
Dolf Muehleisen, probably the
Army's best player, but who
couldn't make the tournament. will
be here for the Leech Cup matches
or not. You suspect he will be and
that the soldiers are trying to be
cagey about keeping his eventual
arrival a secret from Navy scouts.
Another on whom Army support
ers are banking is 1t Rollins, former
captain of West Points team, who
will be eligible for his first Leech
Cup match. Only graduates of the
Point or enlisted men are eligible,
which makes Cadets Dick Tindall
and A. j. Evans-two crack players
here for the tournament-ineligible.
"On the whole an Army con-
fidant was saying today, I'VE should
be twice as strong as we were two
years ago when Navy beat us. But
don't let the Navy know that!'
Semi-finals are scheduled TODAY
IN the all-Army tournament, with