Canada won the triple crown of doubles on October 26-28th in Buffalo, New York. The Can Am Cup is a bi-annual event featuring the top two men and women right and left wall players from both Canada and the US and is commonly referred to as the "Ryder Cup" of doubles. The competition consisted of three rounds of play, two in each specific age category worth points from 1 to 1.5 per match and a lightning round with the teams randomly selected to play only one game to 21, worth .5 point for the winning team. The nine men's age groups vie for the Bernheimer/Bell Trophy (Open to age 75+) and the five women's age categories compete for the Gillen/Pierce Trophy (Open to 55+). The US has dominated this championship since its inception winning the 2008 Men's, the 2008 and 2010 Women's and the prestigious over-all team event, the CAN-AM CUP in both 2008 and 2010. Until this year, the US had only ever experienced one loss – the 2010 Men's event in Toronto.
Graeme Duff captained the 56 member Canadian team together with vice captains Caro Sambrook, Tessa Breukels, Taylor Fawcett, Chris Wheeler and doubles guru Pat Richardson. The team captains worked diligently throughout the season scouting players from across the country and motivating athletes to believe. The women team demonstrated a gutsy and inspired performance on Saturday winning 7 of their 10 matches. By defeating their strong and seasoned rivals, Canada won its first Gillen/Pierce Trophy avenging the losses of 2008 and 2010. The Canadian men, defending the Bernheimer/Bell Trophy, staged a miraculous comeback on Sunday by winning 13 of the final 16 matches to tie the US and thereby retain the trophy. The "hat trick” was completed by Canada winning the coveted Can Am Cup for the first time. Congratulations Team Canada on an outstanding performance over a formidable US team. Many thanks to the US, their exceptionally gracious host and captain Mike McGorry and to his team of Lee Belknap, Len Bernheimer, Molly Pierce and Honorary Captain Gil Mateer.
RESULTS
CAN AM CUP: Canada 42 – US 39
Gillen/Pierce Trophy: Canada 16.5 – US 13.
Bernheimer/Bell Trophy: Canada 25.5 – US 25.5 (tie goes to previous winner)
