A queen of the court
Remembering West Hartford’s Shirley Fry Irvin, a US Open champion and one of 10 women to win all four Grand Slams
When they were kids, it was Karen and Lori Irvin’s job to clean their mother’s trophies. Shirley Fry Irvin’s Wimbledon trophy sat in a place of honor in their dining room in West Hartford, along with those from the Australian and U.S. championships.
Irvin won all four Grand Slams in the pre-open era between 1951-57, including the US Open, which begins in New York on Monday. She is one of only 10 women to do so, etching her name in tennis history books with giants of the sport like Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Steffi Graf and Serena Williams. She also won 13 Grand Slam doubles titles, 11 with her friend Doris Hart, one with Althea Gibson and one in mixed doubles. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1970.
Irvin, who died at age 94 on July 13, raised her family in West Hartford and lived in the area for over 35 years before moving to Florida.
“My sister and I would have to get the trophies out a couple times a year and polish them,” her daughter Karen (Irvin) Mahoney said from Scottsdale, Arizona. “They were silver, and they have
the guy in the limelight. We had Dan Orlovsky here, and he said it almost took him till his fourth year to figure out what was going on.”
Zergiotis has the reputation for being a “gunslinger,” but Uconn went into Fresno, lacking depth on defense and with the heat rising to triple digits, with a conservative plan to establish the running game early and try to keep its defense off the field. The Huskies did dominate in time of possession in the first quarter, but never established the run and, once playing catch-up, couldn’t give Zergiotis any time to throw.
“We were controlling the time of possession, because that was the decision we made,” Edsall said. “Whether people agree with it or not, I don’t [care]. I’m going to do what I think is right for our team. I’m not going to do what people think is the prettiest or the sexiest. I’m going to do what gives our team the best chance to win. I’m not just going to throw the balls out and say, ‘This looks good. Let’s do this because it pleases people.’ I’m way beyond that stuff.”
Krajewski came in during the fourth quarter and completed 2 of 6 for 11 yards.
Edsall hopes to have his offensive line bolstered with the return of Chris Fortin from an injury Saturday at home against Holy Cross.
Edsall reported no new injuries coming out of the game, just some bruised psyches he expects to heal quickly.
“They’re not happy with what took place,” he said. “I know these kids will rebound and respond. It was a hard learning experience. Sometimes you have to have those types of experiences to move forward and get better.”