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Still Playing Handball on an International Level

Ollie Cook, a 1960 graduate of Washington and Lee, recently advanced to the quarterfinals in his age group, 70 and above Singles Diamond Master Division, of the Waterford Crystal World Handball Championships in Portland, Ore. Ollie, 71, an attorney who is currently of counsel with the Peabody, Mass., firm Smerczynski & Conn, was one of 30 players who qualified for the event. In a story about Ollie’s exploits, the Beverly Citizen noted that Ollie had started playing handball during his undergraduate days at Washington and Lee on the advice of athletic director Cy Twombly. As Ollie explained it, “He said, ‘I’ll show you a sport that will keep your reflexes up and your weight down,.'” Ollie is an avid golfer but told the newspaper that he tries to play handball three to four times a week. What’s particularly noteworthy is that Ollie had double hip surgery about six years ago and, according to a note in the U.S. Handball Association Newsletter, was back competing in the Massachusetts State Handball Championships before long.

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