BY DAVE SCHUTTE
Enquirer contributor
The desire to win was stronger than ever for Charles Hoeveler Jr. in Sunday's championship match of the National Father and Son Clay Court Tournament.
"We lost in the finals of the Grass Court Championship on Wednesday in Boston," said Hoeveler Jr., a resident of Ross, Calif. "There was no way I was going to let it happen again today."
The Hoevelers (Charles Sr. and Charles Jr.) beat Peter and Van VanLingen (Nashville, Tenn.) 6-3, 7-5 to win the National Clay Court title at the Cincinnati Tennis Club.
"We were flat today and not as sharp as yesterday," said Van VanLingen, who played on Stanford's four consecutive NCAA title teams from 1995-98.
"That should have been obvious. We missed a lot of shots and failed to convert others. But give the Hoevelers credit. They played well and deserved to win."
The tone for the match was set early when the Hoevelers broke Peter VanLingen's serve to take a 2-1 lead in the first set. They broke Van's serve at 3-5 to capture the first set.
"When we play these guys, it's always a close match," Charles Hoeveler Sr. said. "They're so dangerous because they like each other and enjoy playing together."
This was the fourth meeting between these rivals. The Hoevelers now hold a 3-1 advantage.
Down 5-2 and serving, the Van Lingen's won the next three games to tie the score 5-5. Charles Hoeveler Sr. then held serve and the duo followed with a break to wrap it up.
"Charles was awesome and this was by far the best that he has played in a championship match," Hoeveler Sr. said. "He covered the net so well and made very few errors."
The Peckskamps (John Jr. and John) from Cincinnati finished with a 5-2 record in the tournament.
