Athletes Take to La Costa Tennis Courts

CARLSBAD — Forty-two athletes--among them a Heisman Trophy winner, a member of baseball’s Hall of Fame and several Olympic Gold Medal winners--will switch to a new racket Monday when they compete in the Gordon’s Gin sports celebrity tennis tournament.

Athletes from 12 different sports will compete in the round-robin, mixed doubles event at the La Costa Hotel courts.

Among competing stars are Marcus Allen (the Heisman winner), Walter Payton, Eric Dickerson, Franco Harris, Hank Greenberg (the 74-year-old Hall of Famer), Lyle Alzado, Ken Norton, Bill Walton, Jamaal Wilkes, Norm Nixon, Rick Barry, Kiki Vandeweghe, Ann Meyers and the Olympic Gold Medalists--Cheryl Miller, Greg Louganis, Wilma Rudolph and John Naber.

The tournament is free to the public and ends Thursday. Matches begin at 10 a.m. daily.

Each doubles team--determined by a draw for every set--plays six four-point sets daily for a maximum of 24 points. After three days of this format, the eight players with the most points qualify for the semifinals.

The semifinals Thursday morning will be a nine-point pro set. The two winning teams will meet for the championship Thursday afternoon, again using the nine-point set scoring system.

The roster of athletes includes:

FOOTBALL--Payton, Dickerson, Allen, Harris, Ottis Anderson, Alzado, Ahmad Rashad, Ken Anderson, Rolf Benirschke, Bill Bergy, Roy Green, Jim Hart, Steve Largent, Phil Simms, Joe Washington and John Witkowski.

BASKETBALL--Barry, Joe Barry Carroll, Bill Cartwright, Happy Hairston, Bob Lanier, Earl Monroe, Nixon, Reggie Theus, Mychal Thompson, Kelly Tripucka, Vandeweghe, Walton and Wilkes.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL--Miller, Meyers and Nancy Lieberman.

BASEBALL--Greenberg.

BOXING--Norton.

TRACK--Rudolph.

SWIMMING--Naber.

DIVING--Louganis and Sammy Lee.

SKIING--Suzy Chaffee.

SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMING--Candy Costie-Burke.

CHANNEL SWIMMING--Diana Nyad.

VOLLEYBALL--Tauna Vandeweghe.