Sales Price Walsh Recap

April 3rd-6th closed out NARA’s final tournament of the season, The Sales Price Walsh tournament. Also known as “the old guy’s tournament” as some may say.

Held in Detroit this year, the inter-club players were plentiful. Boston brought the largest group of out-of-towners, with other competitors coming out of Chicago, and Montreal. 81 year old Dick Tanfield, the lone competitor from Philadelphia, can still hit a ball cleaner than players half his age. The competition for the weekend was as stiff as the joints of each and every competitor.

Tournament play kicked off on Thursday, followed by a traditional Black Tie stag dinner. Good conversation and drinks flowed through the evening, setting the tone for the weekend. Friday, matches and festivities continued at the DRC. Downtown Detroit was absolutely buzzing, with the Detroit Tigers playing their opening day game at Comerica Park. Detroit prepared a wonderful “opening day” buffet for lunch to properly fuel the competitors. As tournament play continued into the day, gallery spectators witnessed a first time event on court during a Sales singles match. After winning game 1 of a best of 3, Chicago’s Peter Pacelli called for a “medical timeout”, which could only be resolved in the DRC’s locker room facilities. Just before the regulation intermission had run out of time, Pacelli came back to court (now lighter on his feet), to close out the match with a victory over Detroit’s own Michael Howe. Friday play closed out with the first of 6 finals matches for the tournament. The Denis Walsh Doubles final, consisting of a Detroit battle between the club’s own Todd Campbell/Michael Goodell v Ted Daniel/Manny Tancer. Daniel and Tancer reigned supreme in strong victory to close out the evening.

Saturday play continued for all other remaining legs of the tournament, now leading into semi finals and more finals matches to be played in the evening. Players gave it their all on court throughout the day. By 6p, Detroit had kicked off a wonderful cocktail party, filling the club with members and guests anxious to see 2 more finals matches in the tournament. Boston’s dominant pairing of Dave Tedeschi and Dave Kohn won swiftly in straight games against Detroit’s Charles Roby and Manny Tancer, bringing home the Tom Price doubles championship title. The last match of the night saw Tedeschi again on court, now playing the well known Marty Kinsella for the Murray Sales singles title. After some great rallies back and forth, long time Chicago club champ, Kinsella, closed out the match to bring home the title.

Sunday morning closed out the eventful weekend with the remaining 3 finals matches scheduled. At 10am, the Murray Sales Doubles Final brought a strong matchup consisting of Boston v Chicago pairings (Breuer/Walsh v Kinsella/Pacelli). The tournament nightlife had accumulated over the weekend, and showed some signs on court for the early morning match. While Boston put up a good fight, Chicago weathered the storm, and Kinsell/Pacelli reigned supreme. Next up was a Boston v Boston face-off for the Tom Price Singles final. With Dave Tedeschi and Dave Kohn knocking up on court, it almost felt as if we were back at the T&R for the club championship. The match was well fought and brought some serious paced rallies with many difficult retrievals covering the court. It was Tedeschi who pulled forward for the win.

Before the last final of the weekend, players and spectators gathered around the club for a wonderful championship brunch offering an incredible spread. The finale of the weekend was another battle of Detroiters (Ted Daniel and Manny Tancer) for the Denis Walsh singles final. Play was gritty, giving spectators a full value of 3 games and a proper finish to the tournament weekend. Experience seemed to pull through, as previous 2022 Walsh singles champion, Manny Tancer, earned the win over a very competitive Daniel.

As always, a massive thank you to the Detroit Racquet Club staff. Specifically club pro, Steve Toseland, and club manager, Glenn Rivers, for outstanding planning and a wonderful tournament weekend once again.

A big thank you to all the players, members, and guests who participated in this year's Sales Price Walsh tournament and made it worthwhile. We look forward to seeing you all in Detroit for the 2025-2026 season.

Play!

Bryan IV and Dillon Melvin

Sales Price Walsh Tournament Co-Chairs

Murray Sales Singles

Champion: Marty Kinsella

Finalist: David Tedeschi

Murray Sales Doubles

Champions: Marty Kinsella & Peter Pacelli

Finalists: Lucas Walsh & Matt Breuer

Tom Price Singles

Champion: David Tedeschi

Finalist: David Kohn

Tom Price Doubles

Champions: David Kohn & David Tedeschi

Finalists: Manny Tancer & Charles Roby

E. Denis Walsh Singles

Champion: Manny Tancer

Finalist: Ted Daniel

E. Denis Walsh Doubles

Champions: Manny Tancer & Ted Daniel

Finalists: Michael Goodell & Todd Campbell