WAKEFIELD — In a twist that has never happened before, play in the Hartshorne Cup began last night before the draw was published in the Wakefield Daily Item as the second and third seeds advanced to the quarterfinals over the two oldest players entered.
Seven matches are listed for Saturday, five Sunday and two Tuesday night to set up the second weekend of semifinals and title matches the weekend of June 20 and 21.
While the two opening matches had the same 6-0, 6-0 scoreline, 71-year-old Kevin Geaney of Pine Street offered much more opposition to second seed Adam Milholland, the Lynnfield High School boys’ tennis coach and 2013 Hartshorne finalist, than 83-year-old Bud Keohan, who fell very easily to third seed Jonathan Laramie, 31, the 2014 Hartshorne finalist.
Geaney, serving first, reached 30 in both the first and third games but Milholland, whose crosscourt bullets, especially the formidable backhand, ran the last 13 points of the first set for a 24-4 margin.
After being broken at 15, Geaney, who had not won a point on Milholland’s serve in the first set, twice reached deuce in the second game of the second set before the Lynnfield coach won 10 of 11 points to go to 4-0. Geaney got ahead 30-0 in the fifth game but was broken after 10 points and then led 15-30 in the final game before Milholland closed the match out after four deuces and 14 points, 32-16. In the first 10 games the margin was 42-10 with the last two 14-10 for a 56-20 margin.
Laramie never missed a shot in his match, combining perfect placements with disastrous play by his opponent, winning 41 straight points before Keohan hit a forehand net cord shot that dropped dead over the net, impossible to return. But the 48-1 point margin was by far his worst defeat ever.
Brian Robertson will begin his bid to win his 10th straight Hartshorne event as the last Saturday match against the winner of the rematch between the 2014 consolation finalists, Glen Maganzini and D.J. Cook.
For many years the Hartshorne has been played in mid-July but this year some of the senior members of the Wakefield Tennis Association felt a change to mid-June would bring a larger field but it didn’t, dropping slightly from 19 to 17. It would not have been as many as 17 had not Robertson, serving as chairman for the event for the first time, decided to keep everyone in the field by offering four weekday matches last night and next Tuesday.
It seems to make sense to try mid-June again next year but hopefully with less need for weekday matches, which change the style of the event. If it cannot boost the field’s size, perhaps August will be the next try.
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2015 HARTSHORNE CUP SCHEDULE
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10
Second Round
Jonathan Laramie (3) d. Bud Keohan 6-0, 6-0; Adam Milholland (2) d. Kevin Geaney 6-0, 6-0.
SATURDAY, JUNE 13
First Round
Glen Maganzini vs. D. J. Cook, 8:30 a.m.
Second Round
Top Quarter: Brian Robertson (1) vs, Maganzini-Cook winner, 11:30 a.m.; Al Allard vs. Richard Greif, 9 a.m.
Second Quarter: Cliff “Kip” King (4) vs. Matthew Parent, 9 a.m.; Bill Conley vs Kiran Kashalker, 11 a.m.
Third Quarter: Laramie (3) won Wednesday; Rob Imbriano vs. Tom Flynn, 10:30 a.m.
Bottom Quarter: Paul Normile vs. Elliot Miller, 9 a.m.; Milholland (2) won Wednesday.
SUNDAY, JUNE 14
Quarterfinals of top half, two matches at 9 a.m.
Consolation quarterfinals of top half, two matches at 9 a.m., plus one match from bottom half at first empty court of 1-4, not before 10 a.m.
TUESDAY, JUNE 16
Quarterfinals of bottom half, two matches at 7 p.m.
SATURDAY, JUNE 20
Championship and Consolation semifinals at 9 a.m.
SUNDAY, JUNE 21
Championship and Consolation finals at 9 a.m.