USTA Tennis
6/26/2007
Ok guys, here’s the scoop. We won Monday night. We beat the team from Broadmoor Country Club 3-1. I know that 3 and 1 don’t add up to 5 but I do have an explanation. The other team had to forfeit one of their singles matches. Unfortunately for us we did the same. It seems that Mapquest did not bother to tell Robert that there was a difference between Kessler Blvd and Kessler Blvd, West Drive. Mapquest sent him south when he should have been headed north. He arrived just after the 15 minute deadline so we too had to forfeit that slot. Since we won the match, this just becomes a little fun bit of teasing between me and Robert, and since we are old Vegas buddies I know he won’t get upset and spend Thursday evening clinic time blasting typical Robert forehands at my face. Right Robert?
Anyway here is what happened. Since I was playing I really couldn’t see what was happening on the #1 Singles court but since Matt lost 6-2, 6-4 I can only assume that he played another hot shot former high school star.
You know what happened with #2 Singles. Nothing
Sherwin moved into Robert’s spot and played #1 Doubles with Derek. And he was a perfect fit. They didn’t miss a beat. They won the first set 6-2, and then lost the next set 3-6. In typical Robert / Derek fashion they won the tie breaker and lived happily ever after. I have come to the conclusion that Derek MUST be the common denominator in the “every match must go to a 3rd set tiebreaker” equation.
Stan and Andy played #2 Doubles and won 6-4, 7-5. They were on the court next to me and I had no idea who was winning throughout the match. Very evenly matched. Great win guys.
John and I played #3 Doubles. Once we were down in the first set 5-2, we knew we had them right where we wanted them. John and I are real good at playing these mind games with our opponents. DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME! We came back and won that set 7-6. We cruised through the next set, finishing them off with a leisurely 7-5 victory. More mind games!
Anyway, yea for our team. Now for next week.
We play Monday, July 2nd at Pike High School. We are playing the team from Anderson. The match starts at 6:30. Please try to arrive by about 6:30. The address is 6701 Zionsville Road. The campus is on the south east corner of 71st and Zionsville on the northwest side of town. The easiest entrance is off of 71st Street about a block east of Zionsville Rd. Please call me if you need any more directions.
Here is our line-up. Once again a work of art. Abstract expressionism.
#1 Singles – Kobus Geldenhuis
#2 Singles – Andy Hudmon
#1 Doubles – Derek Doehrmann / Robert Tender
#2 Doubles – Matt Riley / Derek Holmes
#3 Doubles – Wayne Willis / Don Kitchen
Please confirm with me as soon as possible that you received this email and whether you will be able to play. It really makes my weekends much less stressful
Thanks.
7/10/2007
Boys, we did what we could. The record book now shows us being warmly embraced by the arms of mediocrity, but we know better. We know that a couple of points here, a close line call there and that same record book would show us where we truly belong. In second place. I don’t think there are enough close line calls in a match to even things with that Park Tudor team.
We lost Monday night. We played one of the better teams and it went down to the last match, but the final score was bad guys 3, good guys 2. For those of you that weren’t there, here is a quick synopsis:
Kobus won his #1 Singles match 6-4, 6-2. I only saw a little bit of the match and it was a thing of beauty. He was playing this young kid that was all top-spin and grunts. He would hit it, think he had a winner only to see the ball heading back over the net, deep to his backhand. Kobus played really smart tennis and had this kid running all over the court chasing the ball like a kitten chasing a ball of yarn. Good job Kobus. Exactly the way I would have played it!
Sherwin lost at #2 Singles 6-0, 6-3. I’m sure that too was a thing of beauty. Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and Sherwin wasn’t the beholder this time.
At #1 Doubles, Derek and Rick played the match of the night. They fought back after losing the first set 6-4 and won the second 7-6. From one tie-breaker to another for the match. It went back and forth, and we eventually lost it 10-8. Great match guys.
About now is when I wish I had just posted the scores and moved on to next week, instead of doing commentary on each match. You know when the picture and the sound aren’t exactly in sync when you watch a movie, and it drives you crazy. It’s really close but not quite right. Matt and Stan were not really in sync at #2 Doubles. They lost 6-2, 6-1 On the brighter side, if this is the worst thing that happens to them this week it will be a pretty good week!
Don and I did something that we normally don’t do. We won a 3rd set tie-breaker. We won the first set 6-2, lost the next 2-6, which unfortunately is fairly typical for us. And then, for only the second time in 8 attempts, (I looked it up Don) we won the tie-breaker.
Well enough of that. Let’s focus on next week.
We play Monday at 6:30 at North Central High School. The address is 1801 East 86th Street. This should be easy to find. When you respond to this email, let me know if you need directions. Please give yourself plenty of travel time. Plan on arriving no later than 6:15
Here is the line-up
#1 Singles – Kobus
#2 Singles – Daryl
#1 Doubles – Derek / Robert
#2 Doubles – John / Rick
#3 Doubles – Don / Stan
7/17/2007
Gentlemen,
Excellent job! We beat a good team Monday night. They were in sole possession of 2nd place with only 1 loss. And that was at the hands of the evil Park Tudor team. Then we stormed in and ripped them to shreds, thrashing them 4-1. We played well and won the battle of the nasty 3rd set tie breaker! Here’s a quick run down of the action.
Kobus lost at #1 Singles 7-6, 6-4. He was down 5-2 in the first set and came back to tie things up 6-6. He lost the tie breaker with a ridiculous score of 13-11 or something like that. The second set was close all the way. A fun match to watch.
Daryl played #2 Singles and cruised through the first set. This was going to be easy. And then he broke a string. I can only guess that it was a string that Daryl’s grandfather gave to him on his deathbed as he whispered his final words, something about how he killed his favorite cat to make those strings especially for his grandson. Whatever the story, I know that Daryl had a special place in his heart for that string. Because after that silly string broke, Daryl played like crap. He went through all the racquets in his bag and even borrowed 2 from the viewing public. But Daryl’s heart was still dwelling on gramp’s string. Sadly, he lost the second set 6-4. But he somehow won that 3rd set tie breaker and forgot all about his long lost relative. All’s well that ends well!
Robert and Derek. What can you say about those two guys that hasn’t already been said? Oh, I know, “They beat the other team in straight sets.” That’s never been said about those two! They played #1 Doubles and won 2-6, 6-3, 1-0. I think the reason they did it this time is that Robert was playing so well he didn’t want to leave the court. Every time I looked over there, he was hitting a great shot. Maybe I should have paid closer attention during the first set.
#2 Doubles was won by Rick and John 6-4, 4-6, 1-0. Maybe we owe that victory to a bit of extra time spent with Tomas last weekend. Their court was pretty far down the way, and I couldn’t really see too well, so I’ll have to ask. Rick, did you really manage to catch a ball in the throat of your racquet during an overhead, about 3 feet from the net? Mind you, I’m not asking you this to embarrass you, it’s just that I haven’t seen that done since 1973. I was using a Wilson T-2000 at the time.
Way down at the end Don and Stan won the #3 Doubles. WITHOUT a tie breaker! The only match of the night played without one. I really couldn’t see the action at all, but I imagine that Stan would smoke a hot shot across the net and Don would casually put away the weak return. I love teamwork. They won 6-3, 7-5. I know that it was close to going to a tie breaker, but they managed to win that 2nd set.
After the match a bunch of us went out to eat and drink and talk about those that didn’t. We really had fun and enjoyed comparing notes on Derek, Rick, John and Anne. Our two foreigners, Don and Kobus then attempted to find their way back to Brownsburg. Hope they made it.
OK, let’s get serious now. We have one match to go. We play our final match Monday evening at Healthplex. It starts at 6:30. Please be there early so John doesn’t have to worry. Mr. McDermott is going to be running things that evening since I will be on vacation. Here is his contact information so you can get a hold of him Monday if need be.
John McDermott
555-1212 Home
555-1212 Work
555-1212 Cell
And here is the line-up:
#1 Singles – Matt
#2 Singles – Andy
#1 Doubles – Sherwin / Derek
#2 Doubles – John / Rick
#3 Doubles – Don / Daryl
Please let me know your status as soon as possible, since I won’t be around after Saturday. Thanks, and good luck.