Athletes Take to La Costa Tennis Courts
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.
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