NEWS

For over 20 years, Team Hamilton has played on a private court yet competes in the Cincinnati league.

Josh Heller, the Director of Racquets at Kenwood Country Club in Loveland, Ohio, brought this story to the attention of the APTA. We had to investigate. 

Origin Story

Team Hamilton, a group of 10 intrepid women, is based out of a private court in Oxford, Ohio, about 45 minutes from Cincinnati. (The first court the original players used was in Hamilton, thus the name.) The team has competed in the Cincinnati Women’s League since the early 1990s, with two challenging caveats—they cannot host home matches and travel time is at least 45 minutes one way. 

The elder stateswoman of Team Hamilton, Jan Cromer, age 85, has played with the ever-changing group for 20 years. Cromer said, “When the Oxford property changed hands years ago [from the Rohrs, who built the court in 1994, to the Whelptons] the gracious new owners said to us, ‘We understand that this court comes with a platform tennis team. You are all welcome.’”

Travel + Competition            

Vicky Snyder, 69, explained, “We are all comparable; maybe a couple of gals are bubbling to the top. But only six can play on league day. We do an equal rotation—everyone plays the same number of matches.”

Cromer explained, “We are ‘grandmothered’ into the league. They are happy to have us. We joined when it was just starting out and that was the key. We have always been able to field a team and have never forfeited in all these years. We are at a little bit of a disadvantage, between our ages and the condition of our court, but we don't care. We just want to play.” 

The Cincinnati league has 10 clubs, so the variety is appreciated. “Playing in the league is so much fun. At home, we all know what the other players’ favorite shot is and what they're capable of, but when we go to Cincinnati, sometimes I don't figure out until the match is half over that an opponent is left-handed,” Cromer laughed.

Snyder added, “We play on D4, which is a comfort zone for us. We went to D3 once but that was a little more intense. Aggregate age-wise, I'd say we can compete equally with just about anyone in D4. We finish in the top half of our division almost every year. It’s a testament to everybody's desire to continue to learn to play the game.”

“We are, at the end of the day, a competitive team,” Cromer declared, “But also the teams that we play and their pros love us because we're friendly and old. One pro makes sure his club has lunch and drinks for us, which they don’t usually do anymore in this league.”

Snyder added, “And there are a few of us who like to drink a beer after a match.”

Inner Workings

In the past, the group would travel to take lessons in Glendale from Ann Turner. She now travels to Oxford because she enjoys teaching this group so much. The women absorb the info, use it on the courts, and share it with new players. 

Logistically, having only one court for 10 women could present a challenge. Cromer creates a schedule to  make sure everyone gets fair time from Monday to Saturday..

Team Hamilton chipped in to get the court resurfaced a few years ago, but the owners, who do not play, insisted on paying half. The biggest challenges are screens held up by wooden beams, rendering them unreplaceable, and a lack of heaters . Snyder keeps snow removal gear in her car during the season. The women can’t play unless they are willing to shovel.

Snyder recounted, despite all that, “The setting of our court in the woods is so relaxing. I feel so blessed that I was invited to become part of Team Hamilton.” 

Team Hamilton 2024: Jan Cromer, Sally Myers, Vicky Snyder, Debbie Cummins, Stephanie Lancaster, Shelly Morris, Sue Stephenson, Ginny Walker, Lisa Dankovich, Judie Persinger