TENNIS : In More Innocent Days, Just a Penny-Ante Violation Could Cost a Team

Even college tennis, a sport supposedly as pristine as its players’ white garb, has been soiled by dirty money.

Consider the Occidental College scandal in 1951, in which hundreds upon hundreds of pennies changed hands.

During his senior season, Jack Simpson was a player-coach at Occidental. The team flourished and won its conference championship, but was forced to forfeit when an impropriety was discovered.

A member of the Caltech team--Simpson isn’t sure whether it was a player or a coach--was flipping through a tennis magazine and recognized an Occidental player, Fred Houghton, accepting a check for a whopping $10 in lieu of a trophy. The violation was promptly reported.

“Why would Caltech do that? Who knows?” said Simpson, who now lives in Glendale. “They finished in the bottom half of league. We were kind of disgusted because it was such a trivial thing.”

Time-tested team: Simpson survived the scandal and has gone on to win several tournaments, many with longtime doubles partner H. M. Wammack, also of Glendale.

Wammack and Simpson, members of the Hoover High class of ‘43, have played together for 49 years. The two now play in the 65-and-over division, but were ranked in the 60s and 55s. They won the 65s doubles of the Southern California Tennis Assn. Sectionals and the SCTA Senior Sectionals.

Although Simpson, 65, underwent hip-relacement surgery last year, the team chugs along.

“We find now that maybe we’re outlasting some of these guys,” said Wammack, 64. “It’s like going to war in the older divisions. Guys putting on knee braces, arm braces. Some guys put ice on their arm immediately after they finish playing.”

Modern courting: Three years ago, after his customary Saturday morning tennis game at Fremont Park, Wammack wedded his second wife, Beth . . . . on the tennis court.

About 300 friends and relatives attended the rather unorthodox ceremony, which included the Glendale Kiwanis chorus singing, “H.M.’s Walking on the Court to Marry Beth,” to the tune of “She’ll Be Comin’ Round the Mountain.”

Wammack wore tennis attire; Beth, also an avid player, wore a wedding dress and tennis shoes. The two walked beneath a bridge of crossed rackets.

Said Wammack: “I thanked everybody for coming to the love match.”

Au revoir, Paris: Glenn Michibata and Grant Connell advanced to the third round of the $5.35-million French Open doubles competition before losing to Sergio Casal and Emilio Sanchez of Spain, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2.

Michibata, a Pepperdine graduate who lives in Woodland Hills, has played at Wimbledon four times and in the U. S. Open six.

As a sophomore for the Waves, Michibata was the No. 1-ranked collegiate singles player in the nation. He lost in the semifinals that year and lost in the NCAA finals the following year.

Volvo leagues: Playoffs for the SCTA Volvo Tennis leagues will begin in August. Leading Ventura County teams are as follows:

Men’s 5.0--Malibu II (1-0); 4.5--Sunset Hills Country Club (5-1); 4.0--Sunset Hills Country Club (5-0); 3.5--Ventura County Tennis Club (8-1).

Women’s 4.5--(tie) Sunset Hills Country Club and Ojai Valley Racquet Club (3-2); 4.0--(tie) Thousand Oaks Racquet Club II and Cabrillo Racquet Club (5-0); 3.5--Westlake Tennis and Swim Club I (5-0); 3.0--Ojai Valley Racquet Club (6-0).

White noise: Molly White of Camarillo and Amelia White of Santa Barbara are not related, but they are of the same competitive ilk when armed with a racket.

The two, both 15, began playing together this year and last month combined to win the girls’ 16s of the Ojai Valley Tennis tournament. They will compete in the SCTA Sectionals which begin June 23 at Los Caballeros Sports Village in Fountain Valley.

“They really have a nice rapport with each other on the court,” said Kathy Bryan of Camarillo, who has coached Molly for six years. “I’ve really been impressed with Amelia’s progress.

“Molly’s got a real good mind out there. She never gets down on herself. She knows how to use a wide variety of shots and feels very comfortable with volleys and her baseline game.”