Evening star., 1940-01-21
Net Leaders Chanqed
In 6 Of 8 Divisions
By Rating Body
Welsh in Mems Singles,
Bensinger in Boys Only
Top Spot HoIdovers
By BILL DISMER, Jr.

Only two District tennis players
retained their 1899 No. rankings
as the most comprehensive list of
ratings released here in recent years
last night revealed three new singles
and as many doubles leaders. Bar
ney Welsh. long time local cham
pion, and Bobby Bensinger, Wash
ingtons new national indoor boy
champ. again topped their respective
divisions.
Including ranking of girl players
for the first time, the new lists
show Willie O'Steen Herbert, Edwin
Richardson and Betty Jacobs to
have ascended to the top of the
women's, Junior and girl divisions,
while new names appear as the dou-
bles champions of men, women and
juniors.
Because they defeated them de-
cisively in the years last tourna-
ment, Hugh Lynch and David john
sen supplanted Welsh and Dooly
Mitchell as the No. mems doubles
team, while Anne Ellis and Margo
Lee succeed Edith Clarke and Mar
garet Robinson as the women's
ranking tandem. Maurice Cowan
and Richardson were rated the No. /
Junior team.
New Names in Mems Rankings.
Marked by the ranking of Samuel
p. Hayes, jr., former New England
title-holder, as the Districts sixth
yN1o hn let iv,
cludes five others unranked in 80.
In addition to Hayes, who was
beaten only by Welsh, they are C..
Alphonso Smith. former national
boy champion; Charley Sturtevant,
Dick Murphy who once beat Els
worth Vines and who won the Long
wood Bowl in 1888; Tommy Moor
head and Ed Mather.
Greatest advances were made by
johnson, winner of The Star tour
nament and semifinalist in three
others, who rose from 9th to Sd
place; Ralph Buddy Adair, a
quarterfinalist in three Journeys,
who came up from 14th to 9th, and
Frank Shore, now 9th instead of
18th.
Welsh, winner of the only two To-
cal tournaments which he entered,
and Lynch, losing finalist in three
and a semi -finalist in fourth, re-
tanned their positions as the 1-2
choices, but 1t. Jimmy Farrin
dropped from Sd to 5th and Allie
Ritzenberg from 7th to 10th. Mod
crate advances were shown by Ray
Stocklinski, who rose one notch to
7th, and Billy Turner. who went
from 18th to 18th. Ed Mather, vet
eran Of Wimbledon, unranked last
year, was rated 18th.
Lynch, johnson Climb.
Mems doubles ratings found Lynch
and johnson exchanging second
place for first with Welsh and Mitch
ell, with Farrin and 1t. Bill Howard
moving up from fourth to third
Smith and Murphy were rated
fourth, ahead of Stocklinski and
Hayes, Ritzenberg and Turner and
George Herbert and John Smith.
There wasn't much doubt about
Willie O'Steen Herbert's selection as
the ranking woman racketer, the
bride of a few months winning
everything except The Star tour
ney, captured by Mary Cootes Belin.
Willie's chief contenders we're Anne
Ellis and Margo Lee, ranked be-
hind her in that order. The Misses
Ellis and Lee clinched their No. /
ranking in doubles by winning the
District championship.
Junior rankings were based on
The Star and Middle Atlantic tour
naments, plus season-long activity
in Junior Davis Cup play Richard
son, the No. l selection, went to the
finals of the Junior Davis Cup tour
nament, where he was beaten by
Billy Turner. no longer within the
Junior age limit. He also carried
Washington's hopes to the final
round of the Middle Atlantic tour
ney.
Bensinger Never Threatened.
Bensinger never was threatened in
the boys division, enjoying the dis
tinction of moving through the 10
cal season without the loss of a
set. He was in a class by himself
as far as competition around
Washington was concerned.
The rankings, as submitted to A.
K. Tigrett, president of the Dis
trict Tennis Association, by w. c.
Mehaffey, chairman of the Ranking
Committee Qast years positions
shown IN parentheses; III" signifies
unranked in 1880:
Mems SINGLES.
!. Barney Welsh %.
2. Hugh Lynch (2).
3. David johnson ~.