Most Improved Players

So we had our final match-up with the Smith team last night and although we lost 2-3 we improved from our last two match-ups of 1-4. This match was very close as it has been in all 3 rounds with Smith. We took one singles and one doubles but all matches were hard fought.

Alyson and Joy took a pretty easy win at #1 doubles over Donna Bertling and Peggy Mignini, 6-3, 6-2. It may be from what I saw in this match-up that Smith might have been doing some switching up putting a stronger doubles team at #2, with Robin Bosley and Sandy Demski.

Karen and Kelly did a great job after losing the 1st set 6-3 to come back and take the 2nd set 6-1 but unfortunately they couldn't pull out that 3rd set tie break losing 10-6. I didn't get a chance to ask them how the line calls were this time around as I know Robin can sometimes have selective eye sight.

Jenn and Wendy were at #3 up against Martha Armenti and Pattie Leland which was a good match-up and even tied at 4-4 in the 1st set but in the end they couldn't over come losing 6-4, 6-3.

The big story of the night however was our singles matches Jean at #1 and Melissa at #2. Jean played Manette Frese, who is very consistent, but Jean found her weaknesses which were moving around on the court and hitting slice. It took a lose of 6-1 in the 1st set for jean to figure it out but when she dug back in the 2nd set from being down 4-2 to win it 6-4. As we all watched the 3rd set tie break it was a long one with Jean having a few opportunities to win by 2 which she finally did at 14-12. Great way to tough it out Jean well done ! Hope the leg is on the mend.

Then watching Melissa play Virgina Navid was just great both very hard strong hitters and consistent too. Most of the play came from the baseline so there were some long points. Melissa played hard up at 5-3 in the 1st but getting taken over with Virginia winning 7-5. In the 2nd set Melissa was trying to pull it back but never reeled it back in losing 6-2. What a match though!

Thanks to Sue Lin for coming out and cheering on the team.

An additional observation

I just realized that we won all three doubles and lost the singles today vs. Zylberberg, and the last time we played them we lost all the doubles and won the singles (with many of the same players). Strange. Check it out on Tennislink. Anything to be gleaned from this?

Sat June 5 vs. Zylberberg

We move ahead of Zylberberg-- 3-2

So today was a day of dominant doubles, with all three teams winning in straight sets over a usually formidable Zylberberg team. Unfortunately, Sue Lin came to play with a cold and Sara ended up playing singles by surprise, so those two matches ended up in the "L" column. Here are the scores and highlights:

#1s: Sue Lin lost to a very steady, very good Lisa Martin, 1-6 2-6.

#2s: Sara let the first set slip away but had a good second vs. KC Martin, 0-6 3-6.

#1d: Jean & Emily had a very close match vs. Carol McCarra and Marlene Stoltz. Down in the second 2-5, we came back to take the match in 2 sets, 6-1 7-5. Very satisfying, if I do say so myself!

#2d: Alyson & Karen, playing together for the first time, were able to manage Cam Deline and Betsy Krum, winning 6-3 6-4.

#3d: Joy & Neena had what I am sure is a very gratifying easy win (due to their very good play, not weak opponents), beating BJ Hall and Shanna Hayward 6-1 6-1.

Great wins, everyone! This one puts us ahead of Zylberberg despite the fact that we have won and lost the same number of individual matches and sets ... and have, in fact, lost more games than them. The priority goes to the team with the most team wins. Our record is 5-3, and Zylberberg's is now 3-5.

We have one more round left to play. We begin with a bye this Wednesday, and are off next week due to USTA mixed doubles districts in Frederick (good luck, Sue Lin!). Let's finish strong!!

A solid win vs Dysart/Baker, 4-1 ... and goodbye to Gayle :-(

We ended up having to play tonight's match at our ol' stomping grounds, Poly/Western, because when Emily showed up at Bryn Mawr insanely early at 5:20 she discovered the courts had no nets! She immediately called me and we got 5 courts at Poly to play our match, and everyone showed up by 6 pm so we were not really delayed at all. Given how things turned out, that's a good thing, because the #3 doubles team (Sara and Pam) played a marathon of a match that went until it was almost too dark to play. I propose a toast to people who show up insanely early for matches! Hear, hear!

So we had some easy wins tonight, a hard-fought victory, and one tough loss. Several people remain undefeated this season, and a couple people notched their first wins (noted below). Here are the scores:

1s: Gayle perfected her undefeated 5-0 season tonight vs. Monika Bradik, 6-3 6-1. She is now off for her summer travels, so will not be playing for us for the rest of the season. We can no longer count on Ms. Reliable ... :-( But happy, safe travels, Gayle, and speaking purely selfishly, we hope you will not get bumped up next year!

2s: Sue Lin also remains undefeated (4-0), beating Sue Lahatte 6-0 6-3. Great streak, Sue Lin!

1d: Jean (getting her first W) and Emily blanked Connie Rogers and Bonnie Thomas 6-0 6-0. We speculate that Dysart/Baker played their #3 doubles team at #1, but I (Jean) will take the win any way I can get it! :-)

2d: Katharine & Joy had the loss-- a really gut-wrenching one-- vs. Sue Basch and Sydney Hopkins, 6-0 4-6 0-1 (4). Sue and Sydney turned up the heat in the second set and Katharine and Joy couldn't keep them off.

3d: Sara (undefeated at 3-0) and Pam (getting her first W) beat Janice Lemoine and Paulette Barnett in a match that went well over 2 hours, 7-5 7-6 (3). Way to hang in there and get the win against a team that beat us last time we played them.

Saturday we play Zylberberg-- a team we should have beaten the last time we played them. So let's beat them THIS time. (eye of the tiger ... ha ha)

Phew!

Well can't say it was an easy win but we pulled a "W" out tonight against Schlerf/Keay.

It started off with them defaulting the #2 singles because their player Rebecca Hyman called right before the match to inform Janice that her house had been robbed while she was out walking her dogs. So certainly not a good way to start off for them.

I was sure before that happened that they would not be playing Jeanine and Janice together unless they really were out for a win...well what did they do when we got the line-up and they had already lost the #2 singles, Janice and Jeanine played together at #3 doubles beating Donna and Pam who put up a great fight, losing 6-1, 6-3.

In the #2 slot was Wendy and Emily playing Sherry Dodson and Barb McClanahan in a long one. The first set was 7-6 and Wendy an Emily were ahead 4-1 in the second and then lost ground but in the end managed to close it in 2 sets with a 6-4 score in the second. They were the last ones off the court.

Karen and Joy took an easy 1st set at 6-2 but in the second there opponents, Sara Turk and Carolyn Norris gained momentum turning the tide by winning the second set 6-4. In the tie break the points went back and forth but we just couldn't pull it out.

And finally Gayle who I think we can just nickname Ms. Reliable, pulled out another win over Theresa Hodge 6-4, 7-5.

Always fun watching everyone play. Awesome job to all who played.

Saturday May 22, 2010 vs. Smith