2012 Jim Bentley Cup – Invitational

2012 Jim Bentley Cup

Main Draw

Past Champions

Past Champions of the Jim Bentley Cup

2011    M. Chaloner/P. Price
2010    V. Berg/J. Russell
2009    B. Gould/M. Pirnak
2008    B. Gould/P. Price
2007    B. Gould/P. Price
2006    J. Bentley/P. Price
2005    D. Mudge/P. Price
2004    D. Mudge/P. Price
2003    G. Waite/M. Heath
2002    G. Waite/S. Boswell
2001    G. Waite/M. Chaloner
2000    W. Hosey/J. Power
1999    G. Waite/D. Mudge
1998    W. Hosey/T. Binns
1997    Not Contested
1996    G. Waite/J. Bentley
1995    G. Waite/J. Bentley
1994    K. Jernigan/J.Bentley
1993    G. Waite/S.Dulmage
1992    K. Jernigan/J. Bentley
1991    A. Grant/N. Edwards
1990    T. Binns/T. Page
1989    A. Grant/N. Edwards
1988    T. Binns/T. Page
1987    T. Binns/T. Page
1986    N. Edwards/D. Johnson
1985    L. Health/A. Khan
1984    L. Health/A. Khan
1983    P. Briggs/M. Talbott
1982    T. Page/M. Pierce
1981    T. Page/M. Pierce
1980    P. Briggs/R. Howe
1979    C. Caldwell/M. Khan
1978    C. Caldwell/M. Khan
1977    P. Briggs/R. Howe
1976    M. Pierce/M. Heckscher
1975    M. Pierce/M. Heckscher
1974    G. Khan/M. Khan
1973    G. Anderson/P. Martin

Pro Teams Preview

By Rob Dinerman, Senior Writer, SDA Pro Tour

The field in this year’s Jim Bentley Cup is by far the most wide-open of any event on the SDA schedule, with any one of these six teams fully capable of winning the tournament and any one of them equally capable of losing both of their Pool matches, three games to love.

Confusing the matter even further are both the current fact that, (other than defending champions Paul Price and Mark Chaloner) each team’s members are partnering up for the very first time, and the recent history of the last three Jim Bentley Cup finals having been contested by the theoretical maximum TWELVE different players (Mike Pirnak/Ben Gould over Chris Walker/Clive Leach in 2009, John Russell/Viktor Berg over Matt Jenson/Preston Quick in 2010 and Price/Chaloner over Damien Mudge/Willie Hosey in 2011). This latter phenomenon in particular is a tribute to the wisdom of the tournament committee in creating such parity and a likely harbinger of a highly entertaining and unpredictable several days of spectacular action.

Here now is a quick overview of the teams:

Pool A

Paul Price/Mark Chaloner: This tandem of former PSA top-10’s are reigning Bentley Cup champs by virtue of the five-game win over Ben Gould and Chris Walker in the deciding match of their Pool and a subsequent 3-0 final over Damien Mudge and Willie Hosey. Price, who also won this event five straight years with three different partners in the mid-2000’s, has played some of his best squash in this arena, while Chaloner also won this event with Gary Waite in 2001 over Dean Brown and Jonathon Power. This is a classic shot-maker on the left/power hitter on the right doubles pairing, with recent history on their side to boot.

Jonny Smith/Ben Gould: This pair of head pros at high-profile Manhattan private clubs can generate the most consistent heat of any team in their Pool, especially on the right, where Gould, who won this event three-straight years from 2007-09, likes to camp out at mid-court and blast his forehands. Smith is steady and solid on the left, the only question being whether they can muster up enough front-court winners to prevail. The longer the match goes, the better their chances of winning.

Matt Jenson/Viktor Berg: Having matched wits and cross-courts as Bentley Cup final-round opponents two years ago (when Berg/John Russell, leading Jenson/Preston Quick 2-0, 6-2 early on, found themselves trailing 6-2 in the fifth before a 9-0 run propelled them to a 15-12 win), they now hope to successfully join forces this weekend. Berg is extremely imaginative in his shot selection, while Jenson, a 14-time ISDA finalist over the years who is still looking for his first tournament win, may well find it this weekend if he can complement his partner’s nervy sharp-shooting and impose his own potent weaponry as well.

Pool B

Damien Mudge/Greg Park: Three-time Jim Bentley Cup winner Mudge, whose 116 pro-doubles tournament wins are by far the most in history, is a tower of strength, and has four undefeated wire-to-wire ISDA seasons and 11 season-end No.1 team rankings on his swollen ledger. The first of his three Bentley Cup crowns occurred 13 years ago, in 1999, and this weekend he and his partner Park, the reigning U. S. National Doubles champion (with Preston Quick), will almost certainly try to overwhelm the opposition with their power-hitting prowess. Both have had memorable moments at crunch-time: Mudge and Paul Price won the ’05 Bentley Cup final 18-17 in the fifth over Viktor Berg and Martin Heath, while all three games that Park/Quick won last spring in the U.S. National Doubles final were on simultaneous-game-ball.

James Stout/Clive Leach: This pairing of immensely gifted racqueteers has an off-the-charts creativity quotient that may well carry them to the winner’s circle come Monday night. Stout, the only first-time Cambridge Club Doubles participant this weekend, is current World Champion in Rackets and the 2010 U. S. Open Court-Tennis title-holder as well. His partner, Clive Leach, who reached the finals of this tournament four times in a five-year mid-2000’s stretch, varies his shot choices just enough to keep his opponents off balance and is celebrating a corollary milestone with the tournament as a whole, with his 40 th birthday (on Sunday) falling during the midst of this 40th edition of this legendary event.

Manek Mathur/Preston Quick: These former Trinity College alums could well be the “sleeper” in this field and seem well set up to mesh seamlessly, with Quick’s error-free consistency a likely perfect accompaniment to Mathur’s fearless and frequent front-court forays. Quick is a two-time finalist here (in 2005 and 2010) while Mathur’s recent history of remarkable results with first-time partners (2010 St. Louis Open final with Yvain Badan, Tompkins Cup final in Philadelphia last winter with Leach) might indeed augur well for him and Quick in their debut as partners this weekend.

Photos