Olga Poutchkova, ranked 254th according to WTA (far right), poses with participants of the Diplomatic Tournament
"B" group, from left: Ichiro Sato (Japan), Guillermo (Ecuador), Zdravko (Bulgaria), Mandy Bailey (Canada)
Ambassador Jurica (left) with winners in group "B", from left: Guillermo (Ecuador), Yuriy (Ukraine), Roger (Philippines), Juan (Spain)
Participants of the Diplomatic Tournament and Ambassador Jurica pose for a group photo at a reception on Sunday, May 15
Bethesda, MD, May 14-15, 2005 – An invitational tennis tournament for the Washington diplomatic community was held on May 14 and 15 at the Bethesda Sport and Health Club. The event was organized by the Embassy of Croatia, and was sponsored by the Sport and Health Club, Mr. Tom Spootiswood (Wachovia Securities) and InterPrice Welding (Slavko Katic).
The tournament was played in pairs (round robin style), and players were selected for three groups: A group (above average), B group (average) and C group (beginner). Overall, 62 players enlisted from 27 embassies (Austria, Australia, Antigua and Barbuda, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Belgium, Byelorussia, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Ecuador, Philippines, Georgia, Croatia, Japan, Canada, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Germany, Sri Lanka, Serbia and Montenegro, Sweden, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Zimbabwe). There was one C group formed, four B groups and two A groups. Of the 62 players who enlisted, 50 participated at the tournament, including guests from the Sport and Health Club and a young Russian player, Olga Poutchkova, who is 254h according to WTA rankings. Therefore, a total of 30 countries were represented at the tournament.
Winners by group:
Singles
C men 1. Oscar Bazoberry, Bolivia women 1. Loreta Mutyora, Zimbabwe
2. Eldor Aripov, Uzbekistan 2. Miki Namazu, Japan
3. Jaime Aparicio, Bolivia
B men 1. Guilermo, Ecuador
2. Yuriy Panasiuk, Ukraine
3. Roger Gonzales, Philippines
4. Juan Sell, Spain
women 1. Tammy Timko, Sweden
2. Maylene Smith, Ant. & Bar.
A 1. Raymond Gonzales, USA
2. Olga Poutchkova, Russia
Winners (by pairs)
A 1. Raymond/David -USA 2. Olga Poutchkova /Jaime-Russia/USA 3. Otar/Qais- Georgia/USA
4. Harald/Humphrey-Austria/Nigeria 5. Tom/Alain-USA/Burkina Faso 6. Ilona/Vice-Austria/Croatia
B 1. Guilermo/Nikolai-Ecuador/Belarus 2. Juan/Roger-Spain/Philippines 3. Kosuke/Sato-Japan 4.Tammy Timko/Rolando- Sweden/Chile