Lurline Fujii passed the University of Hawaii’s swimming test as a freshman back in the 1960s. Because of that, she has traveled a tennis journey even longer than the 8,000 miles that separate Honolulu and Croatia — site of last week’s 32nd ITF Super Seniors World Team Championships.

The team championships are the senior equivalent of Davis and Fed cups. Fujii was on the clay courts in Umag, Croatia, as part of the four-person United States team that swept to the Althea Gibson Cup, for women 70 and older. The Americans did not lose a set, and only lost 12 games, in blitzing Norway, Ireland and Sweden in Group A. Fujii and Charleen Hillebrand lost just four games in doubles.

If Fujii had not passed that swimming test, she could not have taken tennis lessons in Manoa. It was that simple 50 years ago.

Now, Fujii is one of America’s most active and successful senior tennis players. Last year, she won the first "Gold Ball" of her 70s, capturing the Grass Court championship at Forest Hills, N.Y. She ended up in the hospital with dehydration, but this year she won silver.

Since she started competing in national age-group championships in 2003, Fujii has won five bronze, five silver and one gold ball in doubles. She said aloha to the 65s by winning her first singles "Bronze Ball," then charged into the 70s. She also has 11 medals from the National Senior Olympics.

Last week went beyond any of that. Fujii called it "my Olympics."

"I think every national player dreams of being good enough to make a Cup team," Fujii said. "I’ve been working hard to improve my skills. I believe in practice makes perfect."

There were about 1,000 players last week in the 10 age groups between 60 and 80-plus, from some 30 countries. The Americans won six of the titles.

There are even more "older and wiser" players this week at the Super Senior World individual championships, also in Croatia.

Fujii, a retired schoolteacher and primary caregiver for her 91-year-old aunt here, will be on the road for seven weeks. She returns by way of California, where she taught for 33 years after graduating from UH, then flies to Washington for the Senior Women’s Indoors. After that, she hopes to keep up her streak of playing for Southern California’s Intersectional team, which started in 2006.

Apparently, that is what it takes to remain in the world’s Top 50 in your age group. At No. 43, Fujii is the USA’s fourth-ranked woman. In doubles, her world ranking is No. 17, which is second among U.S. players.

It is a long way from playing all night at the Kapiolani courts in college. She got hooked on the game almost immediately after passing that swim test and taking her first tennis class. She soon started playing tournaments, here and on her California weekends after she started working.

When she came home for the summer she would play every day. She moved away from competitive tennis for a time. Then the U.S. Tennis Association introduced team tennis, now the largest "league" on the planet.

Fujii was hooked again and, when she hit her 60s, she began to take her shots at national events.

That has led her to Croatia, which indirectly explains what drew Fujii to tennis in the first place: "It’s a fast-moving game," Fujii said. "Lots of skills involved."

When she’s home, and not caregiving, mowing the lawn or directing Hawaii Senior Olympics, she can be found playing at Diamond Head Tennis Center. Like most at DHTC, Fujii plays with "whoever is around at the time."

It is a bit more social than swimming.