Buds Drop Into Third After a 27-21 Defeat Against Oakland Aces

Thanks to the singles play of Marty Davis and Sharon Walsh, the Oakland Aces moved into sole possession of first place in the Pro TeamTennis league with a 27-21 victory over the San Diego Buds on Thursday night in Oakland.

Davis defeated Todd Nelson, 6-2, in men’s singles while Walsh knocked off Robin White, 6-4, in women’s singles to help the Aces improve their record to 5-1. The Buds (4-2) fell into third place, a half-game behind St. Louis, which beat Boston Thursday night.

“It went fair,” said Bud Coach Larry Willens. “We didn’t really play badly but we didn’t play great in a couple of sets and that wound up hurting us.”

San Diego took the lead after the first set thanks to White and Mary Lou Piatek, who defeated Barbara Jordan and Walsh, 6-4, in women’s doubles. Then, after Walsh evened the match by defeating White, the Buds pulled ahead 16-15 behind a 6-5 mixed doubles victory by Piatek and Butch Walts.

Oakland, however, came back behind Davis and its men’s doubles team of Davis and Chris Dunk, which defeated Nelson and Walts, 6-3, to wrap up the match.

“We lost nine of the 14 three-all points and that really hurt us,” Willens said. “We had a lot of game points that we didn’t capitalize on, but they’re a very solid team and you have to give them credit.”

Bud Notes The Buds are holding two more free exhibitions this week. Today, the players will be at the Bonita Valley Tennis Club beginning at 6:30 p.m. On Saturday, the team will appear at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club at 1 p.m. Both exhibitions are open to the public. . . . Next Thursday, when the Buds play host to Chicago, $10 seats will be on sale on a two-for-one basis. . . . Robin White, Mary Lou Piatek and Butch Walts figure to be invited to Tuesday night’s All-Star match in Chicago, however.