SENIORS
Across the pong Seniors, among top-ranked tennis players in U.S., take talents to U.K.
Ehrbright had to ditch the singles tourney and said his limited mobility was the key factor in his doubles defeat. Lapane advanced to the final in his singles bracket, falling to the No. 10 player in the world. The club play was enjoyable for the group with Lapane extending an invitation for their new English friends to come to Pinal County next year. The recent adventure was the latest for Ehrbright, who has enjoyed many adventures throughout his life both on and off the court. Court sense “My dad played tennis. He was not all that good, but he had a lot of fun at it,” said Ehrbright, who recalled shoveling snow off the court at the local park in Silver Spring, Md. He was playing on those local courts with his father when it was announced that President John F. Kennedy had been shot and killed in 1963. A self-described “slow grower,” he failed to make the high school tennis squad as a sophomore. He excelled as an upperclassman, however, making the team his junior year and going undefeated as a senior, setting numerous state records. Ehrbight gave up the sport to study, and after junior college he joined the U.S. Air Force. Near the end of his four-year enlistment, he saw a job posting for a recreational facilities manager that was right up his alley. “I had managed swimming pools my entire life,” with additional stints as a lifeguard, safety instructor and swim teacher, he said. “I got the job managing three pools at Norton Air Force Base [in San Bernardino, Calif.] and started playing tennis again. I flew around the country to play.” But soon after, he gave up tennis again, this time for a mechanical engineering degree at Santa Clara University. This was despite defeating the top player on campus and being recruited to join the team. He returned to the court during his 26- year career with Chevron. During a stint in Pascagoula, Miss., “I got bored and started playing again.” He earned a No. 5 ranking in the region comprised of southern states. Among his memorable outings was a tournament win in Alabama the week before the Mississippi Open. He and his partner were erroneously matched against the top seeds in the opening round but won that match in upset fashion and advanced all the way to the finals. History repeated itself when Ehrbright moved to Maricopa in 2005 as one of the early homeowners in Province. He began playing at
BY TOM SCHUMAN
T
ENNIS IN SOME CIRCLES IS considered the world’s healthiest sport for the physical benefits it gives its players. For a group of
seven Valley residents, including 78-year-old Province man Dale Ehrbright, the hobby is healthy socially, too, spurring a recent fun-filled trip to the United Kingdom. The friendship and camaraderie the sport provides is how Ehrbright joined his former doubles partner Leo Lapane and five others (from Casa Grande, Glendale, Phoenix and Sun Lakes) on their tennis journey across the pond. Five wives and girlfriends also enjoyed their time in Woking, England, with side trips to London and Paris. The modern form of tennis originated in Birmingham, England, in the late 19th century. Lapane, 81, gave a few tennis pointers last summer to an Englishman visiting his parents in Maricopa, friends of the Lapane family. The man returned a year later playing the game at a much higher level. The two hit it off so well the visitor suggested Lapane bring some friends over to play at his club. The group came together quickly with an International Tennis Federation tournament and a visit to a second club added to the itinerary. Ehrbright was working his way back into tournament shape when he pulled a calf muscle prior to the September trip.
Above: Eight Phoenix-area residents stop for a group photo during a September tennis tour in England. | Below: Dale Ehrbright plays at the Province Tennis Club in Maricopa Oct. 3.
He knew what I was going to do, and I knew what he was going to do. It’s amazing when you play with somebody, and you know who is going to take the ball. I absolutely love that.” DALE EHRBRIGHT
Sun Lakes, where nationally ranked players in the region gathered, and soon met Lapane. The duo played at various courts throughout the Valley and in tournaments across the country. They reached a national ranking as high as No. 13 in their age group. “At the time I was a very hard hitter. And Leo is just a very consistent player,” Ehrbright outlined. “He knew what I was going to do, and I knew what he was going to do. It’s amazing when you play with somebody, and you know who is going to take the ball. I absolutely love that.”
InMaricopa.com | November 2024
November 2024 | InMaricopa.com
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