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Four Branford Residents Lead Connecticut Team to Repeat as Thurston Cup Champions

Four Branford tennis players helped the State of Connecticut win the United States Tennis Association (USTA) New England/Thurston Cup tennis team competition among all the New England states for the second consecutive year.

The Thurston Cup, the annual interstate USTA New England Tennis Competition, brings together the best senior tennis players in New England who are 60 years of age and older. This year, the doubles competition took place on Sept. 15 on the clay courts of the Pine Orchard Country Club in Branford.

Four teams competed for the Thurston Cup, which has been a USTA New England event for over 50 years, with teams representing Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and the North (Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine).

Last year, there were three Branford residents on the team, but this year, four out of the 11 Connecticut players were from Branford. The four Branford residents on the Connecticut team were Carl Norbeck (team captain), Billy Previdi, Rex Cretella, and Peter MacPartland.

Norbeck is a former No. 1 ranked doubles player in the US in the 60 and over age division. Previdi was the Branford High School tennis coach for 23 years and is in the Branford Hall of Fame. Cretella is a former Choate and Vanderbilt tennis star, and MacPartland is a former Yale mens’ assistant tennis coach and was the No. 1 ranked singles player in New England in the 45 and over age division.

Norbeck and MacPartland are members of the Owenego Beach and Tennis Club and the Dorr Street Tennis Club. Cretella is a member of the Pine Orchard Country Club, and Previdi is the head tennis pro at the Guilford Yacht Club. As Branford residents, all four of them trained for the event at their local clubs in Branford, as well as Foote Park.