LJHS Alumni Advances in Women’s Division at USTA Tournament

Editor's Note: La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club released the following results on May 13, 2013.

Carmel Valley’s Shelley Susman made a winning return to competitive tennis on the singles court as she defeated Susan Lammers of Seattle, 6-2, 6-1, to advance to the second round of the Women’s 50s Division at the USTA National Senior Women’s Hard Court Tennis Championships.

On a warm, sunny day at the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club, the 49-year-old Susman won her first tournament singles match in almost 30 years after she stopped playing competitive tennis in the mid-1980s due to injuries.

It was back in 1981 when Susman captured the individual singles title at the California Interscholastic Federation San Diego Section Girls’ Tennis Championship while playing tennis for La Jolla High School. She later played collegiate tennis at San Diego State University.

A resident of the San Diego community of Carmel Valley, Susman began playing tennis again two years ago and has played in several women’s doubles leagues. She is currently a tennis teaching professional at the Surf & Turf Tennis Club in Del Mar

“It felt fantastic. It felt great to be out here and getting back into the (singles) game,” said Susman following her first-round victory. “I had a good warm-up before I played the match. My opponent was tough and it wasn’t pretty sometimes, but I got through it.”

Susman, who will face third-seeded Vicki Buholz of Dallas on Tuesday at 9 a.m. (PDT), said, “It’s really nice to be able to get back into the game. It’s nice to see some of my peers and it’s good to get back to my roots in tennis. We’ll see what happens tomorrow.”

Susman is the daughter of Karen Hantze Susman, who won the Wimbledon singles title in 1962 and Wimbledon doubles title with Billie Jean King in 1961 and 1962.

After her singles match on Monday morning, Susman acknowledged that she received some inspiration earlier in the day from her mother, who packed a bag of snacks for her that included a hand-written note of encouragement.

In the Women’s 50 Division, top-seeded Tracy Houk of Montara, and second-seeded Frances Chandler of Jackson, Tenn., received first-round byes. In Tuesday’s second round action, Houk will face Tai Sisson of San Dimas, while Chandler will face Jenny Keller of La Jolla.

The national senior women’s tennis tournament, which concludes on Sunday, May 19, features singles and doubles events in the 50 and over, 60 and over, 70 and over, 80 and over age groups, as well as a doubles event in the 90 and over age division.

The La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club’s 41st Annual Spring Senior Championships for men is also taking place this week in conjunction with the women’s events. Although the men’s events are not national championships, they feature many senior players who regularly compete in national tournaments. The men’s events include singles and doubles for 60 and over, 65 and over, 70 and over, 75 and over, 80 and over age groups.

La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club welcomes tennis enthusiasts to view the tournament with free admission. On-site parking is available for a nominal fee. Tournament draws are online.

Scheduled play:

Women:

• Tues.: 80 Singles and 80 Doubles
• Wed.: 90 Doubles 

Men:

• Tues.:  65, 70 Singles
• Wed.:  60, 80 Singles / 65, 75 Doubles
• Thurs.: 75 Singles / 60 Doubles
• Fri.:    80 Doubles

The starting times for each day of the tournament are as follows: Tuesday, May 14 through Friday, May 17 – 8 a.m.; Saturday, May 18 and Sunday, May 19 – 9 a.m.

All women’s main draw singles finals and women’s 50, 60, 70 and 80 main draw doubles finals will be played on Friday, May 17. The women’s 90 main draw doubles final is scheduled for Wednesday, May 15. All women’s consolation events will conclude on Sunday, May 19.

The main draw singles and doubles finals in the men’s divisions will be played on Friday, May 17 through Sunday, May 19, with the exception of the Men’s 70 doubles, which is slated for Thursday, May 16.