Tully wins USTA's Grandfather/Grandson Grass Court National Championship with third different grandson

Shortly after losing the United States Tennis Association's National Grandfather/Grandson Grass Court National Championship for the third year in a row, runners- up Peter Bostwick, 72, and grandson Jamie Wilson, 16, could have come up with any number of excuses. They could have blamed any one of the three hip operations Bostwick, who lives has endured over the past 18 months, but they didn't. They could have pointed out the fact that that their younger opponents in the championships the last three years played on college tennis teams, though they didn't.

Gracious in defeat, the Bostwick/ Wilson team took the loss in stride, giving their opponents credit for being better on the court that particular day. "We went 7-6 in the second set, but it wasn't meant to be," Bostwick said.

What Bostwick may not know is that the elder of their opponents could be the real reason for the recent three-peat at the Grandfather/Grandson championships, which took place on July 24 to 26 at Longwood Cricket Club in Chestnut Hill, Mass. Bill Tully, 80, is more than your average tennis lifer. Though his grandsons have been different in each of the past three years, the one constant has been Tully, who lives in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., taking home the doubles title.

The first two years he took home titles with Jimmy and Marty Moore, both former members of the Columbia University tennis team. This year, he won with his youngest grandson yet, Brian O'Connor, himself a current member of the State University of New York-Binghamton tennis squad. In the finals, Tully and grandson number three defeated Bostwick/Wilson in straight sets, 6-2; 7-6 (6).

This year's win came less than 10 months after Tully underwent knee replacement surgery. "It only put me out for a few weeks," Tully said.

All three grandchildren learned the game from their grandfather, who has been excelling at the game since before they were born. Tully has strived to pass on his love of the game to his nine children, 17 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. During his tennis career, Tully helped the University of Notre Dame to a national championship in tennis in 1944 along with life-long friend Jimmy Evert, father of tennis star Chris Evert.

Later, Tully won the Canadian national championship in 1948, played in the U.S. Open 17 straight years beginning at age 16, and competed in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. More recently, Tully has collected 16 Golden Balls, (national tennis championships for his age bracket). He was also a runner-up in the age 55 and over World Championship; won the age 75 and over World Championship in Velden, Austria; received the USTA Senior Service Award; and was inducted into the Eastern Tennis Hall of Fame.

The National Father/Son Grass Court Championships were held concurrently with the Grandfather/Grandson Championships at the same venue. Brett Morse-Karzen and Jerry Morse-Karzen won the title in three sets, defeating William Drake and Chris Drake, 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-4.