Each time Susan MacNeill and Cathy Marenghi walked onto the tennis courts in Tucson, Ariz., to compete in the United States Tennis Association (USTA) League 3.0 Senior Women's National Championship, they kept repeating a famous Bill Tilden quote.
"Be a sportsman, but have a killer instinct."
MacNeill, a 51-year old Beverly native, and Marenghi, a 50-year old Marblehead resident, were recently crowned national champions in Tucson with seven other women from the North Shore region, known as the Manchester Red.
"It was definitely surreal. At this point in all of our lives, it was just such a moving moment," said MacNeill, the mother of two boys ages 20 and 17.
For a team whose original intentions were simply to play and have fun, 'surreal' seems to be the only word to describe competing in a national championship nearly 2,300 miles away.
These two women were introduced through the Manchester Red and have not only won a national championship together, but also have developed a friendship through tennis.
Marenghi had previously lived in Newton with her husband and two children, but relocated to Marblehead about four years ago. She had played tennis while she was in high school but stopped when she started a family. After the move to Marblehead, she decided to pick up her racket again — and that decision has clearly paid off.
Two other team members, Sally Kuhn, 67, and Jill Hitschler, 68, are Ipswich natives who have been close friends for close to 60 years. Kuhn admitted she never imagined having the opportunity to win a national championship at the game she had spent so many years playing just for enjoyment.
"We were doing it for fun," said Kuhn. "I really just love to play tennis."
The other team members included Cynthia Borghesani and Andree Robert of Gloucester, Carla Marsh and Paula Michaud of Concord and Bobby Lyman of Carlisle.
The Manchester Red, who play their home matches at Bass River Tennis Club in Beverly, had an original team goal that consisted of advancing to the sectional competition this past August, held in western Massachusetts and Connecticut. After they went undefeated throughout the regular season from May to July, they completely dismantled their opponents in the sectional tournament.
Once they smoothly conquered their original goal, they figured they would set their sites on something bigger.
That 'something bigger,' was to continue playing aggressively throughout the national tournament and advance to the Final Four. While some teams might have been overwhelmed with such a extraordinary goal, these nine women were clearly comfortable with this new objective.
Prior to their departure for the national tournament they turned to Claudine Watson, the tennis professional at Manchester Athletic Club, for some lessons on how to adjust their style of play in Arizona's warm and dry climate. After receiving some great tips, they decided to fly out a few days early to practice in this new atmosphere before the tournament began. They flew out on Tuesday, Oct. 27, three days before the start of competition.
It didn't take the women very long to adapt to the new environment, considering they defeated both the Missouri Valley and the Midwest teams with ease on that first day to immediately improve their chances of reaching their ultimate goal.
"Once we got there and started playing, we knew we were good enough to win the whole thing," said MacNeill.
On Saturday, the Manchester Red continued their hot streak by downing Southern California and punching their ticket to the Final Four. The semifinals took place later that day, and even a strong Northern California squad couldn't knock off the New Englanders as they earned their spot in the national championship the following day.
When Sunday arrived, the dream continued. MacNeill and Marenghi were completely in sync as they owned the first set of their match, 6-2. As they switched sides for the next set, their opponents came up to both MacNeill and Marenghi and had some very flattering words for them.
"You two are phenomenal. You deserve to win this tournament," said the two women from the Intermountain squad they were competing against.
Both MacNeill and Marenghi went on to do just that. They won the next set easily, and with help from their teammates they were crowned the USTA League 3.0 Senior Women's national champions. They received a beautiful trophy for their accomplishments, but it was clear that the pride they felt when they completed the last goal they all set was life-changing.
After winning a national championship, it is unknown whether the women will be able to compete again together next year, considering the USTA might change some — or even all — of their 3.0 ratings. Regardless, this is a memory that can't be changed as all nine women from the Manchester Red will remember that day for the rest of their lives.
