The U.S. Consulate General’s eagerly anticipated
Consulate Cup IV tennis tournament went off without a hitch last weekend,
when 16 eager doubles players competed for two tacky trophies and had a lot
of fun. Well, maybe there were some hitches - if you count dashed hopes and
faded dreams of taking the trophies this time around.
Even
though Henry is clutching the trophy as if it’s his, he’s actually
passing it on (from left to right) to tennis buddy Chai, who battled to
victory with his wife and partner, Lindy, 6-2, 6-4 in the final. Steve and
Gai were tough competitors and runners-up. U.S. Consul General Bea Camp (far
right) made the presentation.
Without mentioning names in this sentence, 14 people had
to settle for T-shirts, while one partnership got the gold and the glory,
and held onto their championship which had been wrestled from the grasp of
Montana “Gai” of Bake and Bite in 2003, and her new partner Steve, of
Consulate fame. Steve, who hasn’t touched a racket in maybe 10 years,
helped his partner out so much they got into the final, but the team
couldn’t quite take the trophy away from reigning champs Chai and Lindy.
Three
Consulates were ably represented in competition Saturday morning, with
German Consul Hagen and his wife and talented partner Wanphen (pair on left)
moving into the second round after dashing the trophy-taking hopes of the
U.S. Consulate’s Henry and Japanese CG Shinohara (on the right).
Making it into the semi finals were Kristen and Frank,
along with the German Consulate’s Hagen and Wanpen. Throwing their hats
into the ring to make the competition stiff and fun were AUA teachers James
and Dan, the Consulate’s own David and Mike, the father and son team of
Tom and Kyle, and the U.S. Consulate Management Officer Henry, teaming up
with Consul General Shinohara of Japan.
Frank
and Kristen (left) demonstrated their tennis prowess against David and Mike
(right) in first round play Friday evening.
Perhaps the biggest perk of the three-day affair was the
delight the spectators took in observing, with a majority of those watching
promising to take the sport up in time for the next competition (as long as
it’s at least a year away). Indeed, winning the trophy looked like a cinch
to them. They even managed to make a wave at one point to spur on the
players.
The winners were honored to have the trophies presented by U.S. Consul
General Bea Camp and ‘wanna-be-winner’ Consul Henry Jardine before a
barbecue for all involved.
