Evening star., 1952-08-17
Youngsters 10 Decide
Title Today; Ann Gray
Wins Women 'sCrown
BY Cospor Names

BY Cospor Names
Two unseeded players continued
their upSetting ways yesterday to
gain the final round of the Mid
ole Atlantic Clay Court tennis
singles championship at the Edge
moor Club.
Ed Wesley. 21-year- -old Amherst
College graduate, and Bob Payne
19-year-old University of North
Carolina sophomore, will meet at
pm. today for the sectional title.
Ann Gray captured the women's
tennis singles title yesterday by
beating Charlotte Decker, 6-1, 6-3.
Sne proved distinctly superior to
ner opponent in all departments
OF the game and won decisively.-
Wesley Outplays Thackara.
Wesley outplayed Jim Thackara.
seeded second. to win Us, 6-2, and
Payne outlasted Fred McNair
seeded fifth. to score GA, 4-6. 6-2.
The meeting of the two young
sters may we'll mark the end of
an era in Washington tennis and
the start of another. The old
familiar names that have domi-
mated Middle Atlantic sectional
tennis tournaments for many
years are conspicuous by their
absence. In this event Dom
Leavens, Hugh Lynch, C. Alphonsel
smith and others were eliminated
before the semif1nal round was
reached, and Thackara could not
get past that hurdle to keep the
Old guard in the running. Wesley.
q member of Columbia Country
Club. is a local product and Payne
lives in Richmond, Va.
In Thackara's battle with Wes-
eley, the years took their toll dur
Ing the many rallies. It was
contest of two defensive players.
with long exchanges taking place
on nearly every point.
Thackara Falters.
The former Harvard ace ap-
peared to have the first set safely
tucked away when he led 5-4, +
400. But Wesley hung on in the
ensuing rallies, and it was Thack-
ara who made the error. The for
mer finally took the game after
deuce had been called several |
times. and once he won it the
match was his. Thackara tried
to stem the tide in the second
set by drop-shooting, but Wesley
got to most of them for scores. |,
Payne and the 29-year-old Nc
Nalr had a battle royal for two4
sets, and then youth once more
showed the way. In the opening
chapter McNair rushed into a Al
lead. But at this point the North
Carolina star started to play more
aggressively. He used his strong
ground strokes to keep McNair
moving around the court, and then
beat his opponent to the barrier
for winning volleys. The younger
player took five straight games by
these tactics to win the set.
In the second set the situation
was reversed. Payne had a Al
lead and appeared headed for a
quick victory. McNair refused to
concede any point and made nu-
merous impossible saves to win the
next four games for the set.
Effort Too Much.
But the effort was too much for |
him. After breaking Payne's first |
service for a 10 lead in the third
chapter and staying even to 2-all,
McNair suddenly appeared unable
to run. He lost the last four
games to a confident and still
fresh opponent.
Cecilia Hill and Betty Lasswell
will meet Mrs. Gray and Miss
Decker in the women's doubles !
final at II o'clock this morning
The former team beat Mildred
Smith and Helen Levy yesterday,
g., GO, in their semifinal en-
counter.
ss The mems doubles windup will
take place Immediately after the
sWesely-Payne match, with Fred
KoveleSki and McNair facing |
Leavens and Thackara.
. Koveleski and McNair advanced
to the final round yesterday by
beating Lynch and Smith, Go, |
@6-3, while Leavens and Jim
Thackara beat Tim Coss and Tom
Rradfnrd 0H "a "a