Tournament Recap: Barbara Cooper Cup ITF Masters
Sue Kaleel
DATES: Feb 7-11, 2024
LOCATION: Ft. Lauderdale, FL
DIVISIONS: Level 2, 35-85
Familiar faces, new faces, sun, wind (it is our friend, it is our friend, ……) and a cool Florida morning started the tournament off on Wednesday February 7th. It quickly warmed up both on and off the court with a couple of tough 3 set matches in the 45's and 55's singles. Beautiful Florida weather, perfect tennis playing temperatures and great play continued throughout the week.
With local Florida players, local spectator support, and a welcoming tournament staff, this tournament at Lauderdale Tennis Club always provides a friendly atmosphere. With condos surrounding the clay courts, the setting provides a unique intimate feel. Additionally, the club has a pool, patio bar and grill, all within close view of the courts, making it feel like you're in your own little slice of tennis heaven. They also know the "way to our hearts" - food ! The club provided a very tasty, much appreciated lunch in the clubhouse for the players on Wednesday. The food didn’t stop there though. On Thursday, the NWTO sponsored a player lunch as well. It's so nice to have lunch provided during the tournament, a chance to keep the players together to refuel and bond between singles and doubles matches.
Taking part in this tournament got me thinking of its namesake - Grande Dames, Barbara Cooper. First, I wanted to look up the true definition of a grande dame. Granted, I knew what dame meant and I could take a good guess at what grande meant. However, I wanted the 10 pound Webster Dictionary book version of the definition. I looked up the words separately on the web, not in the Webster. First definition of grande, "of a cup of coffee at Starbucks; smaller than a venti but larger than tall". Needless to say, I abandoned the idea of separating the words and kept them together on my next attempt.
The first definition of grande dame that appeared was a "highly respected elderly or middle-aged woman". Hmm - I decided elderly is subjective but I would accept middle-aged. The second definition that came up was "a respected woman having extensive experience in her field". Doing a little research on the life of Barbara Cooper, she was and is a highly respected woman. Barbara was a very active member of the Florida tennis community. She was involved in many organizations and had received multiple tennis honors. Upon reading about her, it was stated that she loved people and was beloved in the community. I think she would have been proud to see her namesake tournament have the comradery that it did.
QUICK RESULTS→
🏆 W35
SINGLES: Mariana Correa over Luisa Subia
🏆 W45
SINGLES: Mami Inoue over Josiane Rousseau
DOUBLES: Kristen Charlton / Sue Kaleel over Josiane Rousseau / Stephanie Leduc
🏆 W55
SINGLES: Simone Vasconcellos over Darlene McGlone
DOUBLES: Kristen Charlton / Sue Kaleel over Susan Boyer / Cheryl Hicks
🏆 W65
SINGLES: Susan Wright over Patricia Purcell
DOUBLES: Patricia Purcell / Anne Frautschi over Susan Wright / Bunnie Jackson
🏆 W75
SINGLES: Toni Novak over Judy Dixon (wo)
DOUBLES: Judy Dixon / Liane Bryson over Betty Wachob / Brenda Carter
FULL RESULTS HERE
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