Evening star., 1940-07-15
Driving Start Clears
Slate for an Early
Title Contest
Charlotte Decker's Loss
To Newcomer Is Only
Upset Among Women
BY BILL DIsMER, Jr.

OPSSt ~ttiViS VVVlCH
BY BILL DISMER, Jr.
In retrospect OF recent events and
IN anticipation Of things to come
this week In local tennis df you can
keep your mind at home with such
q tournament as the one In Balti.
more only an hours drive away:
Felix Silva, perhaps Washington's
best tournament supervisor, was up
to par yesterday In getting his pet
OF all local competitions-the public
parks charapionships-under way in
great style. Although deprived Of
the usual Saturday start after Fri
days rain had left the Rock Greek
courts unplayable, Silva arranged q
revised schedule so well that mems
singles were within one match Of
being down to the round of 16 by
last nightfall. Silva had all of the
men playing twice yesterday, some
starting at 10 o'clock, but they liked
1t. All seeded players in the mems
division survived.
He wasn't responsible for the up
set of second-seeded Charlotte
Decker by Margaret Keever, late
OF California, but-in keeping with
all tennis officials who like to see
the rise of newcomer-seemed
lnwardly pleased with q "I-think-
we've-got-s something here" express
sion.
Silva Handles 56 Matches.
Altogether, Felix handled Sc
matches yesterday; took entries for
and directed the draw for the mems
doubles and, in short, was the man
to see" whenever complications
arose, as they will at tournaments
start.
Those surviving third-round
matches were Ray Stocklinski, F. S.
McCandlish, Hugh Trigg, Paul Helms,
Art Simmons, John Hutchinson,
David Kay, Cart Fontanini, Spencer
Howell, Hy Ritzenberg, Charley
Freer, Billy Contreras, Phil Burkom,
George Herbert and Harry Brinker-
hof1. Defending champion Allie
Ritzenberg won two matches, but,
having started in the first round,
'~as not one of those playing third
round matches.
Because only IL women entered,
the fair field was down to 5 surviv-
ors, with defending champion Willie
Herbert still the one to beat. Mrs.
Herbert defeated Helen Fechtman
to enter the semifinals yesterday
along with Miss Keever, who upset
Miss Decker. 2-6, Ga, 60, and
Dorette Miller, who defeated Eliza
beth Sewers, 60, Ga. The fourth
semif1nalist will come from the
match between Hazel (Jimmy)
Bishopp and La Jeanne Echols, who
eliminated Roselyn Pope and Nancy
McCandlish. respectively, yesterday.
Girls Make Progress.
Speaking of Dorette Miller calls
to mind that she, along with Mrs.
Harrison Ford, did and is doing q
fine job with Washingtons girl
players. Up until last year, girls
tennis here was about Is dead as
the game Of Monopoly, but Mrs.
Miller organized large group, gave
them capable coaching and has seen
her work blossom into as creditable
a group of Junior netwomen as
could be found.
Washington wasn't represented in
the girls final matches last Satur-
day, to be sure, but it must be noted
that Baltimore's girls have been
trained for several years, and in a
game where experience counts
much the advantage is with those
who have been playing longest.
But local girls like Margot Par
sons, Betty Jacob, Ruth johnson,
Shirley Combs, Anne Cullen, La
Jeanne Echols and others too nu-
merous to mention, are going to
bear watching, and, even today, are
playing highly creditable tennis for
those so young. None is over 18
years old.
Big Matches for d. G. Stars
From the look of the draw, as it
appears in the Baltimore Sun, it
seems as If Gilbert Hunt will meet
second-seeded S. Welby Van Horn
and Barney Welsh will face top
seeded Don Mcneil in the quarter
finals of the Maryland State cham
pionshipS, assuming, of course. both
pass their first two tests. Hunt was
scheduled to play Eddy Jacobs Of
Baltimore and Welsh was to meet
Bart Harvey, also of the host city,
today, with their next opponents
being the winners of the Frank
Froehling-Bill Lamble and John
Beck-Ted Schroeder matches, re-
spectively.
Should Margo Lee upset Pat
Cummings of California today, she
Will be called upon to face Helen
Bernhard, Helen Jacobs conqueror
yesterday, in the next round. Two
other local women players drew
English girls who were seeded Sec
ond and third in the foreign ratings.
Charlotte Decker paired against
Valerie Scott and Hazel Bishopu
against Nina Brown.
Herbert-Lee Team Strong.
Although they have been playing
together less than two months,
Willie Herbert's and Margo Lees
capture Of the District champion
ship yesterday at Columbia gave
them their second local title in two
tournament starts and left them
still undefeated, even in a set.
Mrs. Herbert and Miss Lee, who
climaxed their first tourney together
by winning The Stars championship
last month, defeated Elinor Finckel
and Frances Rowan for the District
crown, 6-3, Ga.