Printer Friendly
The Free Library
14,758,148 articles and books
Member login
User name  
Password 
 
Join us Forgot password?

At 76, tennis fan racks up wins but passes on the trophies.


Byline: PROFILE by The Register-Guard

Name: Doris Hayes, 76, Eugene

Claim to fame: Took up tennis at age 40 and still plays three or four times a week at the Eugene Swim & Tennis Club.

"Where's your racket?": It's the first thing out of her mouth. Doris Hayes and her late husband, Bob Hayes Robert Lee ("Bullet Bob") Hayes (December 20, 1942 – September 18, 2002) was an American track and field athlete and American football player. He was a two-sport athlete in college where he excelled in both track and college football at Florida A&M University. , who used to run Bob's Superette The Superette is a compact food market which often services persons in low density suburbs. The common form of the Superette is similar, if not identical, to the typical New Zealand dairy.  at the corner of East 13th Avenue and Patterson Street in Eugene, joined the club in the 1960s, and she's been playing ever since. Their four boys, Bob Jr., Steve, Don and David, all grew up swimming at the club and all became athletes at Sheldon High School Sheldon High School may refer to:
  • Sheldon High School (Eugene, Oregon)
  • Sheldon High School (Iowa)
  • Sheldon High School (Missouri)
  • Sheldon High School (Sacramento, California)
  • Sheldon High School Summer Theatre, Sheldon, Iowa
. Don, now the boys basketball coach at Bend High School Bend Senior High School is the oldest high school located in Bend, Oregon, United States. The school opened in 1904, but did not graduate its first class of seniors (three students) until 1909. , was a star at Sheldon in the mid-1970s before going on to play at Oregon. "The boys loved the swimming pool, and the people here have just been wonderful all the way through," she says.

Doubles, anyone?: Tennis? Heck, she had never even played. "I didn't even know how to keep score," says Hayes, who grew up in New Jersey, where she met her husband, who was stationed at Fort Monmouth Fort Monmouth is a United States Army installation in Eatontown, Tinton Falls and Oceanport, New Jersey, and about one mile from the Atlantic Ocean. The base covers nearly 1,126 acres of land, from the Shrewsbury River west to Route 35, called Main Post. . Asked if she played sports in high school, Hayes says, "Well, I was in a stunt club" - a sort of gymnastics group for girls. She always figured her boys got their athletic talent from their father, until she started swatting tennis balls around. "Maybe they got a little bit from me, too," she says with a laugh. Hayes, who has 13 grandchildren, usually plays for 90 minutes with others at the club, and almost always plays doubles. You get more exercise playing singles, she says, but "doubles is so much fun."

"I have her genes": Her mother lived to be 96, so Hayes figures she has at least 20 good years left. "And I feel I have her genes," she says. When Hayes was in her 50s, she gained inspiration from those in their 60s playing at the club. When she was in her 60s, she gained inspiration from those in their 70s. "Now I'm in trouble," she says, laughing again. "I've never had a lesson, and I don't do "I Don't Do" was the debut single by glamour model Michelle Marsh, released on 6 November 2006. The single reached 27 in the UK in its first week, selling only 9,000 copies and over 16,000 copies as of January 2007. The single spend a total of four weeks in the Top 75.  anything right, but I am known for my lobs," she says.

A "Starly" in her eyes: Ask who her favorite tennis player is, Hayes says "Starly Hodges," without hesitation. Who's that? "Oh, she plays here all the time." Asked who her favorite professional player is, Hayes thinks for a moment, and then says she used to like watching Chris Evert Noun 1. Chris Evert - United States tennis player who won women's singles titles in the United States and at Wimbledon (born in 1954)
Chrissie Evert, Christine Marie Evert, Evert
. "I liked her demeanor," she says. "I kind of like that Andy Roddick Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick (born August 30, 1982) is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is the top-ranked American player and fifth-ranked player in the world as of October 1, 2007. He finished sixth in the 2006 ATP Race.  now."

"I threw them away": When a fellow club member says Hayes has a wall full of trophies, Hayes says: "Oh, gosh, I finally threw them all away." Threw them away? "Well, what am I going to do with them?" She did use some as doorstops, she confesses.

- Mark Baker

CAPTION(S):

Doris Hayes of Eugene didn't know how to play tennis until she picked up the sport at age 40. P r o f i l e
COPYRIGHT 2006 The Register Guard
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2006, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

 Reader Opinion

Title:

Comment:



 

Article Details
Printer friendly Cite/link Email Feedback
Title Annotation:Sports
Publication:The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR)
Date:Jan 18, 2006
Words:509
Previous Article:Military school to settle on Territorial Road.(Schools)
Next Article:FOR THE RECORD.(Vitals)



Related Articles
HER NET WORTH IS HIDDEN GEM.(News)
AGE MEANS NOTHING TO THESE ATHLETES : VALLEY SENIORS BRING HOME THE OLYMPIC GOLD.(L.A. LIFE)
NO TWO WAYS ABOUT IT: VOTE FOR WOODSON.(SPORTS)
TENNIS\Big Bill Tilden remembered\Burbank man keeps memory alive.(Sports)
TENNIS, ANYONE? NEW CABLE-TV CHANNEL WILL AIR U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENTS ROUND THE CLOCK.(Business)
`CHAMPIONSHIP' TAG DOESN'T FOOL US.(Sports)
CITY'S CHAMPIONSHIP SPIRIT, COMPETITIVE DRIVE OVERFLOWED.(Sports)(Review)
Renaissance woman: Althea Gibson was a tennis legend, a professional golfer, actress, singer, political candidate, education advocate, and she wrote...
LET FEDERER JUST BE FEDERER.(Sports)
COLLEGES: CSUN RALLIES IN NINTH FOR VICTORY.(Sports)

Terms of use | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc. | Feedback | For webmasters | Submit articles