Benn and Woodrow win USTA's inaugural Ultra Senior Father/Daughter
John Benn, 87, has thrown away a lot of trophies in 80 years of playing tennis. But his latest one is a keeper.
On Nov. 11 in Jupiter, Fla., Benn and his daughter Elizabeth "Betsy" Woodrow, 58, won a gold ball for winning the inaugural U.S. Tennis Association National Clay Court Father/Daughter Doubles Ultra Senior Tournament title for fathers 80 and over.
Benn, of Boca Raton, Fla., and Woodrow of West Chester, Pa. defeated Don Bentz (Needah, Wis.) and Jane Matelsko (La Crosse, Wis.) 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. Benn and Woodrow also defeated the pair last year in a trial run of the Ultra Seniordivision. "The gold balls are the ones I keep. Those are the ones that count," Benn said.
Since he turned 70, Benn has won six gold balls (the prizes for national USTA titles) and one world championship. Benn won his first tennis title when he was 16, the West Chester County, N.Y., high school championship. Benn went on to become captain of the tennis team at Brown University.
He has continued to play the game, and his first foray into the USTA's senior division came in 1965. Some years later, he won his first national doubles title at age 70.Playing tennis over all those years has kept Benn fit. "I weighed 145 (pounds) in college and I weigh152 now," he says. But the years have taken their toll.
Before his match with Woodrow, he had a shot of cortisone in his bad knee. "I hadn't gotten the shot of cortisone, I wouldn't have won. It really helps you move," says Benn.
The establishment by the USTA of an 80-and-over division has given Benn a new lease on the life of his national tennis career. His daughter, Woodrow, a realtor, concurs that the new category was a blessing. "The new category was a boost to us because we could compete more effectively," Woodrow says.
Woodrow says playing doubles with her dad is different than playing doubles with women because her women partners want to chat and strategize during matches. But with her father, "I have learned playing with him there is not a lot of chatter on the court. He has played tennis for a lot of years and just wants to focus on the ball," she says.
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