Evening star., 1940-07-11
Now Accorded Even
Chances 10 Snare
District Laurel
Capture Half Of Places
In SemifinoIs;; Moreo
Lee in Tough Spot
BY BILL DISMER, Jr.


outsiders with consistency as sur
prising as it has been pleasing,
Washington woman and girl tennis
players today were no worse than
even bets to win the championships
OF their respective classes as the
annual District tournaments neared
completion at the Columbia Coun-
try Club
AS a matter of fact, the Capital
had exactly half of the combined
eight contestants as semifinal
matches in both divisions got under
way this afternoon. Margo Lee and
Charlotte Decker were upholding
the local standard in the Women's
division, while Washington girls were
banking upon Margot Parsons and
Betty Jacob in the younger class.
Both of the other womens semi
flnaliSts were Baltimoreans. while
one of the girl survivors also was
from the Monumental City and the
other from ANNAPOLIS.
All four Washingtonians had
their work cut out for them this
afternoon, however, with Miss Lee
meeting the critics. almost unani-
nous choice for the now vacant
throne. Ann Harrison, and Miss
Decker facing second-seeded Anne
Dayette, now the tournaments
ranking entrant in the absence of
Willie OSteen Herbert. who was
eliminated by Miss Harrison on
Tuesday.
ID. c. Maids Face Tough Going.
AS for the girls, AL" little Miss
Parsons was called upon to face was
pretty little Lucia Lhamon of An
napollS, who eliminated second
seeded Helen Harrison yesterday.
While Miss Jacob took on top-seeded
Isabel Harvey, who won the girl
championship of Baltimore last
| Monday.
Winners in each division are
scheduled to meet at 23O o'clock to-
morrow afternoon for the cham
pionships.
Play in doubles was a day behind
and the windup of the team compe-
tltlon is not planned before Satur-
day. Eight woman and six girl
teams were to try to narrow their
number to semifinal proportions by
the end OF today's play Miss Lee
/ and Mrs. Herbert, champions of The
| Star tournament last month, are
! seeded No. l among the women, fol-
I lowed by Miss Decker and Marian
| Cunningham, while two Baltimore
teanls-Helen Harrison and Isabel
Harvey and Lucy Tyler and Lucia
Lhamon-held the two girl seedlings.
There were possibilities of an all
Washington, an all-Baltimore or a
Washington Baltimore women's sin.
| giles final. with the odds narrowly
favoring a title match between the
two outsiders. Although Miss Lee
like the three other survivors. con-
tlnued her straight-set advance yes
terday with So, 60 victory over
/ a tireless and markedly improved
Elizabeth Sewers, Miss Harrison was
given a slight edge by those who
have watched their respective
matches. Miss Dayette lost one
more game each set than did Miss
Decker yesterday, with the former
stopping Marian Prichard. 6-3.
6-3, and Miss Decker elimina ting
Cynthia Olmstead, 60, 60.
Players Nearly Exhausted.
Three of the four girl semiflnalists
doubled up yesterday to reach the
neXt-to-last bracket in a state of
general perspiration and near ex-
haustion Miss Parsons first had to
defeat Judy Riley of Baltimore, 60.
6-2, before turning back Virginia
Lloyd, also of Baltimore, IS, 60.
Miss Harvey defeated Washington,s
Marjorie Dawson, 6-3, 81, before
turning on fellow-townswoman
Janice Goldberg, for another deci-
| sion by the same scores And Miss
Jacob fought an uphill fight to sub
Que Lucy Tyler of Annapolis, IS,
6-3, 81, before whipping Betty
Simpson of Baltimore. 6-3, g..
All in all, it was quite feather in
the collective caps of the Washing
ton ensemble, who entered the quar-
! ter-finals with only two of the eight
| survivors, but made those two stand
up while three of the five Baltimor-
cans were being shunted to the
| sidelines.
| The doubles results:
Women.
| First round-Frances Rowan-Elnor
kp1 def Fra pris