Published August 3, 1978

At Grossinger’s in Liberty last Thursday Buffum’s of Long Beach took the Kodel Tennis Cup over Saks Fifth Avenue of Woodland Hills, 6-7, 6-2, 6-2.

Jerry VanLinge and Gail Glasglow, representing Buffum’s rallied after losing the first set 7-6 to overcome Erick Baer and Maricaye Christenson of Saks.

About 250 spectators turned out to watch the finals; there was a slight breeze blowing which made it enjoyable for players and watchers alike.

Baer and Christenson jumped out to an early lead only to let VanLinge and Glasglow catch up and force the set into a 9-point tie-breaker. Again Baer and Christenson were able to score the first two points only to have Buffum’s tie it at 2 apiece. But then Erick Baer started to hit winners from all over the court and Saks copped the tiebreaker 5-2 and the set, 7-6.

But VanLinge and Glasglow, the Number 1 seeds in the Tournament, were not to be outdone and began to take control of the second set with sharp volleys and stinging winners that sent the Saks team reeling in confusion.

Saks of Woodland Hills got to the finals by downing three straight teams. Their first match against D.H. Holmes of New Orleans was a tough one but Saks never gave up and rallied to win, 2-6, 6-1, 6-3. Boston Store was next in line and they fell to Saks by scores of 6-2, 6-2. The semifinal match pitted Saks of Woodland Hills winning a close one 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.

Saks played a remarkable tournament considering they weren’t even seeded and almost won the whole thing over the Number 1 seed - Buffum’s.

Buffum’s on the other hand had a little easier route to the finals with victories over Garfinkel’s of Washington, D.C., 7-6, 6-2, Macy’s of Kansas City, 6-3, 6-2; and Saks Fifth Avenue of Atlanta, 6-2, 6-3.

The second set continued to go Buffum’s way and after the set was evened up at 2-2, Buffum’s won the next two games to go out in front 4-2.

Jerry VanLinge began smashing his big service down the throats of his opponents and won his serve to make the score 5-2, giving Buffum’s a chance to even the match.

They did on the very next game when they broke service for the third time in that set.

The final set started out much like the second as VanLinge and Glasglow took control of the net and forced Baer and Christenson into either trying to hit winners or lob the ball, which usually set VanLinge up for smashes that were hit so hard they bounded right over the fence into the next court.

Kodel awards the winners of the Kodel Cup automatic invitations to play in the U.S. Open Tennis Championships at Flushing Meadows, Queens.

Last year Ken and Betty Ann Stuart, also of Buffum’s, won their way to the U.S. Open by defeating Bill Lenior and Claire Schmoyer, 6-4, 7-5. Sponsored by Eastman Chemical Products, Inc., this year’s event had over 15,000 people playing in preliminary tournaments throughout the country.