Flight A:
Still waiting on a post from Giuhat's High Point team, I would love to assume they won but after their last loss to the Village I won't be presumptuous. Stonebridge and Somabut's High Point team continued to roll along to improve to 6-1. With two weeks to go this flight is getting tight and I am not sure if both High Point teams can hang in there but Bob's team looks to be improving.
Flight B:
The Lakes and Springpark further cemented their spots at the top and even the loser of that match has good tiebreakers against 3rd place Greenhill, so I think this flight is all but over.
Flight C:
The battle of the Brookhavens turned out to be a big upset as previously undefeated Bartlett went down to Pearlman 1-4 (OUCH!) So now this becomes a four team race for two spots and all these teams play each other down the last two week stretch. I still like Bartlett's chances since they have the Village on their schedule and play Lifetime this week (and I believe Eddie Hill will be in Austin this weekend playing the Masters) I may be going out on a limb but Pearlman's team has a good chance here as they finish with Garland and JCC who I think they match up well with both teams and the top three will be beating up on each other. Crazy to think a 3 loss team could make it and as much as it would hurt to see them advance since my team handed them one of their losses I really think they have a good shot.
Monday, October 29, 2007
3.5 Update
Flight A:
Trae warned me he wasn’t confident about the lineup and maybe paired with my constant talk about the good play of Westlake they scored a big upset over previously undefeated High Point 3-2. Gleneagles and Oak Creek stayed in contention with solid wins this weekend and the playoff spots will come down to the GE v. HP match and the OC v. CC matches. High Point needs to just win 2 individual matches to secure a spot and GE needs to win and OC needs to win and wait for the scores to roll in. Should get interesting…And I know they are like my adopted team but strange things could happen and Westlake could end up in the playoffs. We will just have to wait and see.
Flight B
Garland continued to roll along and they are the only undefeated team at 3.5. Stonebridge is still in 2nd with a make up match v. Garland still pending. Brookhaven is staying on track at 5-2 and has a match up this weekend with Stonebridge. So this flight should be decided this Sunday afternoon and could get very interesting. My prediction (SB and Garland)
Flight C:
I hope I didn’t jinx Lifetime when I predicted them as an early lock but I am shocked to see them out of the race in this flight. Oakridge is now in the playoffs (congrats!) The 2nd spot will be decided this weekend on the court between Springpark and Greenhill/Kayser. My pick (sorry if I jinx you) Greenhill 3-2. Jeromi Kelsey took on blog poster Jonathan Marcus and handed him his first loss of the season at 3.5 or 4.0. I would love to know your thoughts Jonathan. DQ material???
Trae warned me he wasn’t confident about the lineup and maybe paired with my constant talk about the good play of Westlake they scored a big upset over previously undefeated High Point 3-2. Gleneagles and Oak Creek stayed in contention with solid wins this weekend and the playoff spots will come down to the GE v. HP match and the OC v. CC matches. High Point needs to just win 2 individual matches to secure a spot and GE needs to win and OC needs to win and wait for the scores to roll in. Should get interesting…And I know they are like my adopted team but strange things could happen and Westlake could end up in the playoffs. We will just have to wait and see.
Flight B
Garland continued to roll along and they are the only undefeated team at 3.5. Stonebridge is still in 2nd with a make up match v. Garland still pending. Brookhaven is staying on track at 5-2 and has a match up this weekend with Stonebridge. So this flight should be decided this Sunday afternoon and could get very interesting. My prediction (SB and Garland)
Flight C:
I hope I didn’t jinx Lifetime when I predicted them as an early lock but I am shocked to see them out of the race in this flight. Oakridge is now in the playoffs (congrats!) The 2nd spot will be decided this weekend on the court between Springpark and Greenhill/Kayser. My pick (sorry if I jinx you) Greenhill 3-2. Jeromi Kelsey took on blog poster Jonathan Marcus and handed him his first loss of the season at 3.5 or 4.0. I would love to know your thoughts Jonathan. DQ material???
4.5 Update
Flight A
This flight is pretty much over with T Bar cruising to another victory. I am beginning to think this team is for real. I wasn’t impressed mainly because a lot of this team was doing just OK at 4.0 not that long ago but it is hard to argue against their record. OC Branch still looks to be in good shape as well although OC Boverman is lurking close behind with their match coming up this Sunday.
Flight B:
So Fair Oaks is in the playoffs, the have one remaining match but win or lose they are headed to the playoffs. The 2nd spot comes down to OC/Feldman and LB Houston. OC Feldman must win 5-0 v. Greenhill/Stoner. I know an early poster predicted a comeback from this OC team but I find it hard to believe the OC team can sweep Greenhill unless Greenhill is just not interested in winning this coming weekend.
This flight is pretty much over with T Bar cruising to another victory. I am beginning to think this team is for real. I wasn’t impressed mainly because a lot of this team was doing just OK at 4.0 not that long ago but it is hard to argue against their record. OC Branch still looks to be in good shape as well although OC Boverman is lurking close behind with their match coming up this Sunday.
Flight B:
So Fair Oaks is in the playoffs, the have one remaining match but win or lose they are headed to the playoffs. The 2nd spot comes down to OC/Feldman and LB Houston. OC Feldman must win 5-0 v. Greenhill/Stoner. I know an early poster predicted a comeback from this OC team but I find it hard to believe the OC team can sweep Greenhill unless Greenhill is just not interested in winning this coming weekend.
News and Notes (Nats and Ratings talk)
A new poster requested a new post, so who I am to turn down a request. Here is what were were talking about.
"I couldn't agree more with wanting the best players to represent TX and it seems like TX has more stringent rules. The talk about Oberto in this post is a player I think is a good sectional/nat level 3.5 but will lose at higher level 4.0 matches so I think he should be safe but I will be shocked if this current system doesn't DQ him"
In related news the last week of Nationals took place this weekend and Bob Bender's Dallas Senior 3.0 team faired the best finishing 3rd and losing to eventual champ from Southern in a close match, congrats on your season. The super 4.0 Women's team from Greenhill that had about 50 players that read like an all-star group of Dallas did not fare as well finsihing 1-2 in pool play. Also finishing 1-2 in pool play was the Houston 4.0 mens team which did lose a close match to eventual champ (Nor Cal).
The one I find most interesting is the 4.0 mens group not only because that is my current level but more so because I heard how amazing they were from players at the 4.0 sectional tournament as they dominated that weekend, winning 5-0 in the final over High Point. But then they get to NATS and get beat in their first two matches.
I am still waiting on results to roll in from this weekend so let me know your thoughts on the TX section and the Dallas area as well in the meantime.
"I couldn't agree more with wanting the best players to represent TX and it seems like TX has more stringent rules. The talk about Oberto in this post is a player I think is a good sectional/nat level 3.5 but will lose at higher level 4.0 matches so I think he should be safe but I will be shocked if this current system doesn't DQ him"
In related news the last week of Nationals took place this weekend and Bob Bender's Dallas Senior 3.0 team faired the best finishing 3rd and losing to eventual champ from Southern in a close match, congrats on your season. The super 4.0 Women's team from Greenhill that had about 50 players that read like an all-star group of Dallas did not fare as well finsihing 1-2 in pool play. Also finishing 1-2 in pool play was the Houston 4.0 mens team which did lose a close match to eventual champ (Nor Cal).
The one I find most interesting is the 4.0 mens group not only because that is my current level but more so because I heard how amazing they were from players at the 4.0 sectional tournament as they dominated that weekend, winning 5-0 in the final over High Point. But then they get to NATS and get beat in their first two matches.
I am still waiting on results to roll in from this weekend so let me know your thoughts on the TX section and the Dallas area as well in the meantime.
Monday, October 22, 2007
3.5 Week in Review
Flight A:
High Point continued to roll with a sweep of Chandler’s Landing and sit undefeated at the top. Gleneagles won a 4-1 decision over Eldorado although there was some close results in there. Oak Creek and Westlake also had convincing victories to stay in contention in this flight. High Pt all but clinched a playoff spot with that win and so it comes down to the other three teams. Westlake and GE have to play High Point over the next two weeks so that will be interesting to see how those matches play out.
Flight B:
Garland remains undefeated with Stonebridge hanging out right behind them as they had a 4-1 win this weekend. These two have a makeup match that should be very competitive and decide the 2nd spot. Stonebridge has a bye this week so maybe they are playing Garland this weekend. After that they have a final date with Brookhaven which should give BH one last chance to catch them. I think Stonebridge is balanced enough to hold onto 2nd but probably not strong enough to catch Garland.
**Ben Oberto** It is kind of strange that I called out this player’s name as a DQ watch and Sunday morning he showed up as my 4.0 opponent. Result 6-4, 6-1 win for Oberto. Hmm. You can thank me later, he also racked up another win at 4.0 on Saturday (6-3, 6-3). I have a feeling Garland knows he will be DQ’ed and will need him on their 4.0 playoff contending team anyway. To be honest after watching him play I don’t think he deserves to be bumped, he is a good player but not “out of category”. I should thank him as well with that loss and another one I should be a 3.5 in no time.
Flight C:
This flight will come down to the final point as three teams have one loss and Lifetime is right behind at 4-2. Oakridge knocked off previously unbeaten Greenhill/Kayser to takeover 1st place. Kayser’s team is in a virtual tiebreaker tie with Springpark for 2nd place and Lifetime also looks to have good tiebreakers. I don’t even know where to start with predicting the winners in this flight. I will put Oakridge in because even if they lose to Lifetime they still have a chance to get in. The other teams have two matches remaining and all have matches they could lose. My prediction is Oakridge and GH/Kayser. I just don’t think LF has enough depth to win a big match and I got to see Springpark play and we defaulted a match and almost beat them so I don’t see them getting far. They had a “ringer’ at line 1 singles but my best singles player took him out in 3 sets and their doubles teams are not quite up to playoff level quite yet.
High Point continued to roll with a sweep of Chandler’s Landing and sit undefeated at the top. Gleneagles won a 4-1 decision over Eldorado although there was some close results in there. Oak Creek and Westlake also had convincing victories to stay in contention in this flight. High Pt all but clinched a playoff spot with that win and so it comes down to the other three teams. Westlake and GE have to play High Point over the next two weeks so that will be interesting to see how those matches play out.
Flight B:
Garland remains undefeated with Stonebridge hanging out right behind them as they had a 4-1 win this weekend. These two have a makeup match that should be very competitive and decide the 2nd spot. Stonebridge has a bye this week so maybe they are playing Garland this weekend. After that they have a final date with Brookhaven which should give BH one last chance to catch them. I think Stonebridge is balanced enough to hold onto 2nd but probably not strong enough to catch Garland.
**Ben Oberto** It is kind of strange that I called out this player’s name as a DQ watch and Sunday morning he showed up as my 4.0 opponent. Result 6-4, 6-1 win for Oberto. Hmm. You can thank me later, he also racked up another win at 4.0 on Saturday (6-3, 6-3). I have a feeling Garland knows he will be DQ’ed and will need him on their 4.0 playoff contending team anyway. To be honest after watching him play I don’t think he deserves to be bumped, he is a good player but not “out of category”. I should thank him as well with that loss and another one I should be a 3.5 in no time.
Flight C:
This flight will come down to the final point as three teams have one loss and Lifetime is right behind at 4-2. Oakridge knocked off previously unbeaten Greenhill/Kayser to takeover 1st place. Kayser’s team is in a virtual tiebreaker tie with Springpark for 2nd place and Lifetime also looks to have good tiebreakers. I don’t even know where to start with predicting the winners in this flight. I will put Oakridge in because even if they lose to Lifetime they still have a chance to get in. The other teams have two matches remaining and all have matches they could lose. My prediction is Oakridge and GH/Kayser. I just don’t think LF has enough depth to win a big match and I got to see Springpark play and we defaulted a match and almost beat them so I don’t see them getting far. They had a “ringer’ at line 1 singles but my best singles player took him out in 3 sets and their doubles teams are not quite up to playoff level quite yet.
4.5 Update
Flight A:
At first I was shocked when I saw this, Branch’s team loses 1-4 to T Bar M but I wonder how much of that is just “working” on their ratings and hey I totally get that. They are still in first place an with no seeding in the playoffs as long as they get in the tourney they will be fine. This result will bolster the hopes of T Bar M to get into the playoffs since they only have one loss and two winnable matches left.
Flight B:
Looks like Fair Oaks will ease the rest of the way and finish undefeated here as far as the 2nd spot it comes down to OC/Feldman v. LB Houston this coming Sunday. The winner of that match should hold the tiebreaker over the loser and advance onto the playoffs. My pick goes with Oak Creek.
At first I was shocked when I saw this, Branch’s team loses 1-4 to T Bar M but I wonder how much of that is just “working” on their ratings and hey I totally get that. They are still in first place an with no seeding in the playoffs as long as they get in the tourney they will be fine. This result will bolster the hopes of T Bar M to get into the playoffs since they only have one loss and two winnable matches left.
Flight B:
Looks like Fair Oaks will ease the rest of the way and finish undefeated here as far as the 2nd spot it comes down to OC/Feldman v. LB Houston this coming Sunday. The winner of that match should hold the tiebreaker over the loser and advance onto the playoffs. My pick goes with Oak Creek.
4.0 Update
Flight A:
This flight is starting to take form as it looks like it comes down to 3 teams for 2 spots. Stonebridge has a big tie break edge on High Point Somabut but they also have a remaining match with High Point/Giuhat. The only problem for Bob’s team is that team Giuhat doesn’t need to win that match so why would they play their best players? Who knows what will happen but I think the High Point groups will get in here although I wouldn’t be shocked if this Stonebridge team messes things up because they are on a roll lately.
Flight B:
So the clash of Lakes and Greenhill turned out to be rather anti-climactic as the Lakes won easily 4-1. That result in my mind kind of cements Springpark and the Lakes as the winners in this group, I just don’t see one of them dropping back far enough to have Greenhill catch them. I am still not totally sold on the Springpark team as a big contender but I do think the Lakes could cause problems in the playoffs for some of the other top teams although they would still be an underdog.
Flight C:
My team’s hopes ended Saturday with a loss to JCC so our big match up with Garland turned into a casual match for us and it showed as Garland won 4-1 and also picked up a 5-0 sweep over T Bar M to shoot up to 3rd in this flight. Lifetime had a dominating win to hold position in the 2nd playoff spot. Bartlett’s continued to look good as they won over Canyon Creek. So it really comes down to these three teams. I have played all three and Bartlett’s team is the best of the bunch but not by a huge margin. Both Garland and Lifetime use good 3.5 players to fill out #3 doubles and last I checked those players couldn’t even play in the playoffs because they would be needed more on their 3.5 teams for the playoffs. It should come down to the last week of the season when Lifetime plays Garland and they will need to win because they should be a 2 loss team by then since they still have a date with Bartlett’s team. If I had to put money down I would go with Garland because of their singles players but if they can manage to split singles with Garland I think they have better doubles teams.
This flight is starting to take form as it looks like it comes down to 3 teams for 2 spots. Stonebridge has a big tie break edge on High Point Somabut but they also have a remaining match with High Point/Giuhat. The only problem for Bob’s team is that team Giuhat doesn’t need to win that match so why would they play their best players? Who knows what will happen but I think the High Point groups will get in here although I wouldn’t be shocked if this Stonebridge team messes things up because they are on a roll lately.
Flight B:
So the clash of Lakes and Greenhill turned out to be rather anti-climactic as the Lakes won easily 4-1. That result in my mind kind of cements Springpark and the Lakes as the winners in this group, I just don’t see one of them dropping back far enough to have Greenhill catch them. I am still not totally sold on the Springpark team as a big contender but I do think the Lakes could cause problems in the playoffs for some of the other top teams although they would still be an underdog.
Flight C:
My team’s hopes ended Saturday with a loss to JCC so our big match up with Garland turned into a casual match for us and it showed as Garland won 4-1 and also picked up a 5-0 sweep over T Bar M to shoot up to 3rd in this flight. Lifetime had a dominating win to hold position in the 2nd playoff spot. Bartlett’s continued to look good as they won over Canyon Creek. So it really comes down to these three teams. I have played all three and Bartlett’s team is the best of the bunch but not by a huge margin. Both Garland and Lifetime use good 3.5 players to fill out #3 doubles and last I checked those players couldn’t even play in the playoffs because they would be needed more on their 3.5 teams for the playoffs. It should come down to the last week of the season when Lifetime plays Garland and they will need to win because they should be a 2 loss team by then since they still have a date with Bartlett’s team. If I had to put money down I would go with Garland because of their singles players but if they can manage to split singles with Garland I think they have better doubles teams.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
4.0/4.5 Week in Review
4.0
Pretty light action at 4.0 since we had a bye for the Dallas Tennis Cup (anyone know how that went?)
Flight A:
Stonebridge had a big makeup win by knocking off Hackberry convincingly and taking over 2nd place, moving into 3rd was High Point/Somabut as they made up a rainout match with Brookhaven and won by yet another 3-2 score. They have won or lost all five matches in this fashion which should make for an interesting ending in this flight. Still a lot of tennis to be played in this flight and I still like the two High Point teams to win some big matches, I am just not a believer in Stonebridge or Canyon Creek quite yet, but I have been wrong before.
Flight B:
Springpark was the lone makeup match here as they improved to 5-0 with a win over LB Houston. Oak Creek and Eldorado also squared off and Oak Creek got their first win as a season as Blog all star DQ Dewayne Ahner (formerly of 3.5) debuted at 4.0 and lost a close match, hey maybe you are a 3.5 Dewayne. Although Dewayne did have the closest match with undefeated Jeff Weiss of Eldorado, so what a minute, maybe you are a 4.0 after all.
Flight C:
Brookhaven remained the only undefeated team with a make up v. Garland. Garland took line #1 singles with William McKinney (undefeated on the season) but lost the rest of the matches. The 2nd spot in this flight is still up for grabs with 5 teams with legit chances to finish up behind Brookhaven who looks to be unbeatable in this flight. Big matches this weekend T Bar v. Garland, High Pt. v. Garland and Lifetime v. LB Houston.
4.5 Matches
Flight B
Fair Oaks had off this week so they remain undefeated. LB Houston and Brookhaven squared off for sole possession of 2nd place. LB Houston won the match 3-2 by dropping two singles matches and winning all the doubles. Oak Creek/Feldman jumped up to 3rd place with a solid 4-1 win over the Lakes. This sets up a big match on 10/28 between LB Houston and Oak Creek/Feldman to see who will take over 2nd place. The would actually be tied record wise but they are currently tied at 19 individual wins so Feldman’s team would almost certainly win the tiebreaker if they just win out in their final two matches.
Flight A
Canyon Creek faltered for the 2nd week in a row with a loss to Stonebridge. Now that the luster has fallen off them it will be interesting to see who joins Rusty Branch’s team in the playoffs from this flight. Possibly T Bar M or Boverman’s Oak Creek team but they still have a date with Branch’s team at the end of the season so we will see how nice they are to one another when those lineups come out. Looking at these teams I am not sure at all who will come out and at risk of making a bad prediction I don’t see the 2nd place team in this flight making any noise in the playoffs.
Pretty light action at 4.0 since we had a bye for the Dallas Tennis Cup (anyone know how that went?)
Flight A:
Stonebridge had a big makeup win by knocking off Hackberry convincingly and taking over 2nd place, moving into 3rd was High Point/Somabut as they made up a rainout match with Brookhaven and won by yet another 3-2 score. They have won or lost all five matches in this fashion which should make for an interesting ending in this flight. Still a lot of tennis to be played in this flight and I still like the two High Point teams to win some big matches, I am just not a believer in Stonebridge or Canyon Creek quite yet, but I have been wrong before.
Flight B:
Springpark was the lone makeup match here as they improved to 5-0 with a win over LB Houston. Oak Creek and Eldorado also squared off and Oak Creek got their first win as a season as Blog all star DQ Dewayne Ahner (formerly of 3.5) debuted at 4.0 and lost a close match, hey maybe you are a 3.5 Dewayne. Although Dewayne did have the closest match with undefeated Jeff Weiss of Eldorado, so what a minute, maybe you are a 4.0 after all.
Flight C:
Brookhaven remained the only undefeated team with a make up v. Garland. Garland took line #1 singles with William McKinney (undefeated on the season) but lost the rest of the matches. The 2nd spot in this flight is still up for grabs with 5 teams with legit chances to finish up behind Brookhaven who looks to be unbeatable in this flight. Big matches this weekend T Bar v. Garland, High Pt. v. Garland and Lifetime v. LB Houston.
4.5 Matches
Flight B
Fair Oaks had off this week so they remain undefeated. LB Houston and Brookhaven squared off for sole possession of 2nd place. LB Houston won the match 3-2 by dropping two singles matches and winning all the doubles. Oak Creek/Feldman jumped up to 3rd place with a solid 4-1 win over the Lakes. This sets up a big match on 10/28 between LB Houston and Oak Creek/Feldman to see who will take over 2nd place. The would actually be tied record wise but they are currently tied at 19 individual wins so Feldman’s team would almost certainly win the tiebreaker if they just win out in their final two matches.
Flight A
Canyon Creek faltered for the 2nd week in a row with a loss to Stonebridge. Now that the luster has fallen off them it will be interesting to see who joins Rusty Branch’s team in the playoffs from this flight. Possibly T Bar M or Boverman’s Oak Creek team but they still have a date with Branch’s team at the end of the season so we will see how nice they are to one another when those lineups come out. Looking at these teams I am not sure at all who will come out and at risk of making a bad prediction I don’t see the 2nd place team in this flight making any noise in the playoffs.
Monday, October 15, 2007
3.0 Nationals
Bob Bender's 3.0 team beat the Caribbean team 3-2 on Sunday to win 3.0 Nationals yesterday. Congrats to all of you!!!
This is Bob's 2nd 3.0 title, he also won in 2004. So get ready for some of these guys at 3.5 next year they will be good.
This is Bob's 2nd 3.0 title, he also won in 2004. So get ready for some of these guys at 3.5 next year they will be good.
3.5 Week in Review
3.5 Week in Review
Flight A:
High Point continued to look impressive with a 5-0 win over JCC and knocked them down to 6th place. Their new addition Di Zhao debuted with an almost double bagel at line #2 singles. Canyon Creek dropped two singles match but managed to win all the doubles matches to beat Chandler’s Landing and remain in 2nd tied with Gleneagles. Canyon Creek has three big matches that will show their true record very soon with Westlake next week, then Gleneagles followed by Oak Creek. Westlake swept over Eldorado to get back in the mix at 3-2 tied up with Oak Creek. So essentially 6 teams are alive here with legitimate chances to capture the top two spots. I have a feeling there will be a tie for 2nd place here so winning 4 and 5 lines will become important over the next few matches for these teams. High Point must remain interested and continue taking care of business and if they win big over the next two matches they could build up a big enough lead to clinch the #1 spot before the last match is even played.
Flight B:
Garland remained on top knocking off Hackberry rather convincingly only dropping a singles match. Ben Oberto dropped a double bagel on Stephen Levine at line 1 singles (ouch!) I don’t wish any bad luck on Garland but can you say STRIKE! (possibly his 2nd already) Stonebridge rolled to an easy victory to remain in 2nd place while Brookhaven notched a rather impressive 4-1 win over early front runner Lifetime/Kaiser. This flight should get interesting as it looks to be a fight between the top four teams (Garland, Stonebridge, Brookhaven and LB Houston) They all play one another down the stretch so this flight will take shape rather soon, I really think the Stonebridge v. Garland makeup match should be very close as well as LB Houston v. Brookhaven. I think when the dust settles you will see Stonebridge and Garland hang onto their top spots.
Flight C:
Greenhill remains on top as they knocked Lifetime/Ferrell further down the rankings with a 3-2 win. The doubles matches looked very close with Greenhill taking lines 1 and 2 with the most impressive win coming from the captain v. captain match at line 1 doubles where Kayser/Hall took out Ferrell/Blackburn. This win was very impressive and although this Greenhill lacks ringers at singles they do have some very good doubles teams. Terry Newman played #3 doubles in this match, I believe I played Terry at line #1 doubles at 4.0 a year or so ago. That shows you how deep this team is. The other team that finished this weekend looking good is the new Oak Ridge team headed up by David Prather who moved to 5-1 with a 4-1 victory over Oak Creek only losing the Jonathan Marcus at line #1 singles. Springpark also stayed on track with a close win over Greenhill/Lyon. I will get to see this Springpark team in person so I will let you know more about them next week as my team plays them. I am missing some good players so take it easy on me.
Flight A:
High Point continued to look impressive with a 5-0 win over JCC and knocked them down to 6th place. Their new addition Di Zhao debuted with an almost double bagel at line #2 singles. Canyon Creek dropped two singles match but managed to win all the doubles matches to beat Chandler’s Landing and remain in 2nd tied with Gleneagles. Canyon Creek has three big matches that will show their true record very soon with Westlake next week, then Gleneagles followed by Oak Creek. Westlake swept over Eldorado to get back in the mix at 3-2 tied up with Oak Creek. So essentially 6 teams are alive here with legitimate chances to capture the top two spots. I have a feeling there will be a tie for 2nd place here so winning 4 and 5 lines will become important over the next few matches for these teams. High Point must remain interested and continue taking care of business and if they win big over the next two matches they could build up a big enough lead to clinch the #1 spot before the last match is even played.
Flight B:
Garland remained on top knocking off Hackberry rather convincingly only dropping a singles match. Ben Oberto dropped a double bagel on Stephen Levine at line 1 singles (ouch!) I don’t wish any bad luck on Garland but can you say STRIKE! (possibly his 2nd already) Stonebridge rolled to an easy victory to remain in 2nd place while Brookhaven notched a rather impressive 4-1 win over early front runner Lifetime/Kaiser. This flight should get interesting as it looks to be a fight between the top four teams (Garland, Stonebridge, Brookhaven and LB Houston) They all play one another down the stretch so this flight will take shape rather soon, I really think the Stonebridge v. Garland makeup match should be very close as well as LB Houston v. Brookhaven. I think when the dust settles you will see Stonebridge and Garland hang onto their top spots.
Flight C:
Greenhill remains on top as they knocked Lifetime/Ferrell further down the rankings with a 3-2 win. The doubles matches looked very close with Greenhill taking lines 1 and 2 with the most impressive win coming from the captain v. captain match at line 1 doubles where Kayser/Hall took out Ferrell/Blackburn. This win was very impressive and although this Greenhill lacks ringers at singles they do have some very good doubles teams. Terry Newman played #3 doubles in this match, I believe I played Terry at line #1 doubles at 4.0 a year or so ago. That shows you how deep this team is. The other team that finished this weekend looking good is the new Oak Ridge team headed up by David Prather who moved to 5-1 with a 4-1 victory over Oak Creek only losing the Jonathan Marcus at line #1 singles. Springpark also stayed on track with a close win over Greenhill/Lyon. I will get to see this Springpark team in person so I will let you know more about them next week as my team plays them. I am missing some good players so take it easy on me.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Another DQ
This actually looks like it happened back somtime after 9/23 but I didn't catch it since it was in Flight B and I don't have a rooting interest in that flight. The player name is Jeff Wier from LB Houston/Wisdom. This was done rather quick in just 3 match results. A 6-1, 6-1 beating of Nilesh Mistry who has been a consistent winner at 3.5 and a double bagel of Dustin Lamb (don't know much about this player) and the nail in the coffin was probably the 6-4, 6-2 win over Jacques Delira who will be a 4.0 once again when the year end ratings come out.
Any thoughts? This might make a difference for the LB team who looks to be doing OK but a player like this could have really helped them get over being just a fringe team and being a real contender if they make it to the playoffs.
Any thoughts? This might make a difference for the LB team who looks to be doing OK but a player like this could have really helped them get over being just a fringe team and being a real contender if they make it to the playoffs.
Monday, October 8, 2007
4.5 Week in Review
So the two big matches happened this weekend, let's start with the Battle of the Oaks which went to Fair Oaks in a sweep, yes they whipped up on Royal Oaks 5-0. I know I and another poster have doubted just how good this team is but if you start to win like this I believe it becomes contagious so I would say watch out Oak Creek teams this group looks good.
Speaking of Oak Creek, they went into thier big match up with undefeated Canyon Creek and spotted them a default and then proceeded to beat them 4-1. Hey Oak Creek ,I was free on Sunday I could have taken a beating at line 3, give me a call.
One day I hope to have a team good enough, I can give the other team a head start and then romp them.
Anyway in Flight B other than Fair Oaks there are a bunch of other teams that are fighting for leftovers and to take the 2nd spot including OC/Feldman who took out a good Brookhaven team in a very close match.
In Flight A Canyon Creek still looks good for spot #2 but OC/Boverman and T Bar are lingering at the top as well.
Speaking of Oak Creek, they went into thier big match up with undefeated Canyon Creek and spotted them a default and then proceeded to beat them 4-1. Hey Oak Creek ,I was free on Sunday I could have taken a beating at line 3, give me a call.
One day I hope to have a team good enough, I can give the other team a head start and then romp them.
Anyway in Flight B other than Fair Oaks there are a bunch of other teams that are fighting for leftovers and to take the 2nd spot including OC/Feldman who took out a good Brookhaven team in a very close match.
In Flight A Canyon Creek still looks good for spot #2 but OC/Boverman and T Bar are lingering at the top as well.
3.5/4.0 Week 5
So 4.0 wrap up is pretty easy it rained so there was no matches completed. Should make for a lot of makeups on our bye weekend coming up and the following weekend as well.
As far as the 3.5's everyone has posted except for one match (Canyon Creek v. JCC) so here is what happpened:
Flight A:
The Gleneagles/Oak Creek match turned out to be a rout with Oak Creek surprisingly winning 4-1. I guess they still want to be considered a top team. They will still need to win out although they have two somewhat easy matches and then a last weekend match with Canyon Creek that will probably be for their season. Not only do they need to win but win big every week which can be tough with a small roster and teams just playing with no pressure. Gleneagles still sits in a good spot with one loss and can also rack up some good wins before they play High Point in the final weekend. If all goes according to plan it could come down to individual matches played which is always a tough way to have your fate decided.
Flight B:
Garland continued to roll with a 5-0 win over LB Houston/Daly. They continue to get the job done against the lower end teams and will soon have a chance to show just how good they are since they have a makeup match with Stonebridge and a match against a rising Hackberry team this weekend. Stonebridge knocked off Lifetime 3-2 to become the only one loss team in this flight and can really cement a good spot if they can get a win over Garland. Wisdom’s LB Houston team improved to 3-2 to sit right behind the top two teams. The big upset of the weekend was last place Stonebriar knocking off 2-1 Brookhaven and almost dashing their hopes of the playoffs because now they would have to win out against some good teams. Wisdom’s team will meet Stonebridge on 10/21 and that should decide a lot about final positioning for the playoffs.
Flight C:
Greenhill Kayser had a bye this week but by not playing they became the only undefeated team in this flight as Lifetime Fitness was taken out by the upstart B team from Oak Creek, maybe they are attempting to become the A team from Oak Creek. At 2-2 they are still in the mix with the top four teams. Springpark stayed on track with a win over Canyon Creek and hopes to get a chance to make up some ground in the weeks to come but don’t play Kayser’s team for another few weeks in what should be a good match. Oak Ridge had a good win over my guys 4-1 this Sunday. I wasn’t able to make it out but the had a few very convincing wins at line #2 singles and #1 doubles. They improved to 4-1 and can really change the composition of this flight as they have remaining matches with Lifetime and Greenhill/Kayser. Looking at those four teams at the top I truly think they can all beat each other so who knows who will come out of this flight with Oak Creek at #5 they could even vault up to the top 2 after all these team beat each other.
As far as the 3.5's everyone has posted except for one match (Canyon Creek v. JCC) so here is what happpened:
Flight A:
The Gleneagles/Oak Creek match turned out to be a rout with Oak Creek surprisingly winning 4-1. I guess they still want to be considered a top team. They will still need to win out although they have two somewhat easy matches and then a last weekend match with Canyon Creek that will probably be for their season. Not only do they need to win but win big every week which can be tough with a small roster and teams just playing with no pressure. Gleneagles still sits in a good spot with one loss and can also rack up some good wins before they play High Point in the final weekend. If all goes according to plan it could come down to individual matches played which is always a tough way to have your fate decided.
Flight B:
Garland continued to roll with a 5-0 win over LB Houston/Daly. They continue to get the job done against the lower end teams and will soon have a chance to show just how good they are since they have a makeup match with Stonebridge and a match against a rising Hackberry team this weekend. Stonebridge knocked off Lifetime 3-2 to become the only one loss team in this flight and can really cement a good spot if they can get a win over Garland. Wisdom’s LB Houston team improved to 3-2 to sit right behind the top two teams. The big upset of the weekend was last place Stonebriar knocking off 2-1 Brookhaven and almost dashing their hopes of the playoffs because now they would have to win out against some good teams. Wisdom’s team will meet Stonebridge on 10/21 and that should decide a lot about final positioning for the playoffs.
Flight C:
Greenhill Kayser had a bye this week but by not playing they became the only undefeated team in this flight as Lifetime Fitness was taken out by the upstart B team from Oak Creek, maybe they are attempting to become the A team from Oak Creek. At 2-2 they are still in the mix with the top four teams. Springpark stayed on track with a win over Canyon Creek and hopes to get a chance to make up some ground in the weeks to come but don’t play Kayser’s team for another few weeks in what should be a good match. Oak Ridge had a good win over my guys 4-1 this Sunday. I wasn’t able to make it out but the had a few very convincing wins at line #2 singles and #1 doubles. They improved to 4-1 and can really change the composition of this flight as they have remaining matches with Lifetime and Greenhill/Kayser. Looking at those four teams at the top I truly think they can all beat each other so who knows who will come out of this flight with Oak Creek at #5 they could even vault up to the top 2 after all these team beat each other.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
DQ at 3.5
We have our first DQ of the season: DeWayne T. Ahner of the formerly 1st place Oak Creek team has been disqualified and moved to 4.0 after four out of category results. This shakes up the Flight A big time as Trae's High Point team has moved to 4-0 and Oak Creek falls to 2-2 and almost out of contention altogether. In order to even remain in the mix they must come up with a win at Gleneagles without Dewayne.
I can't say I am surprised after Trae gave me the scouting report on Dewayne, I have been watching. I know how frustrating this can be as I lost a player to DQ last year but Oak Creek was due after getting away with Antonio DelRincon last fall who now is winning at 4.5.
Anyone else know of any players who might be in jeopardy so far this season.
I think DQ's are a tough thing to debate because so often it is matchups that determine lopsided scores. I was beaten by a DQ player two years ago 6-1, 6-0(Chan Park) and then took him onto my 4.0 team. After playing him over the last two years my results are very close although I still haven't beaten him. Many of you know TQ who was part of my 3.5 team last year, he is not overpowering at all but would often beat players convincingly by merely frustrating them to the point they wanted to retire.
I do like self rating more than the rating clinics which used to judge people in "practice" play which isn't always indicative of competitive match play.
Oh and by the way I lied I guess this wasn't my last post but this was big league news especially since it effected one of my teams.
I can't say I am surprised after Trae gave me the scouting report on Dewayne, I have been watching. I know how frustrating this can be as I lost a player to DQ last year but Oak Creek was due after getting away with Antonio DelRincon last fall who now is winning at 4.5.
Anyone else know of any players who might be in jeopardy so far this season.
I think DQ's are a tough thing to debate because so often it is matchups that determine lopsided scores. I was beaten by a DQ player two years ago 6-1, 6-0(Chan Park) and then took him onto my 4.0 team. After playing him over the last two years my results are very close although I still haven't beaten him. Many of you know TQ who was part of my 3.5 team last year, he is not overpowering at all but would often beat players convincingly by merely frustrating them to the point they wanted to retire.
I do like self rating more than the rating clinics which used to judge people in "practice" play which isn't always indicative of competitive match play.
Oh and by the way I lied I guess this wasn't my last post but this was big league news especially since it effected one of my teams.
Last post for today - Dallas Leagues (I promise)
I really should be working but I have been a little sick this week so blogging requires less concentration so here is one more thought for the day.
I know I have posted results but I am also wondering if you all have any ideas, complaints or compliments about Dallas League Tennis.
I moved from CA and the first thing I love about Dallas tennis is the participation. We were lucky to get 13 teams to play 3.5 tennis as opposed to Dallas with 30 teams. Which seems crazy since LA has 3 times the population.
Here are some rules and ideas I know that might be worth thinking about:
3rd set tiebreaker: Good, bad or EVIL???
Team names: Why the hell not, I personally hate having my name as part of the team, I have an ego but not a big enough one that I need my name at the top. I have named my teams anyway especially since I have multiple teams it makes it easier for me to tell them apart.
Weeknight leagues: I have run into a few people who don’t join league tennis because of weekend commitments why not a league during the week as well as the weekend league??
Weekend schedules: Do you think it would be crazy to open it up to the captain to decide whether the match will be on Saturday or Sunday?
Sundays: Matches before 1p???? Sacrilege or a good idea?
Singles league/Doubles leagues: in off seasons many other large cities have single leagues and doubles leagues instead of the Fall format we have. What do you think?
Fall Champ automatic Bid: Do you like the idea of the Fall champ getting the auto bid or do we need a season off to just play?
Let me know about any other issues you have thought about or bitched about during league play and maybe we can bring them up at our next meeting in 2008.
I know I have posted results but I am also wondering if you all have any ideas, complaints or compliments about Dallas League Tennis.
I moved from CA and the first thing I love about Dallas tennis is the participation. We were lucky to get 13 teams to play 3.5 tennis as opposed to Dallas with 30 teams. Which seems crazy since LA has 3 times the population.
Here are some rules and ideas I know that might be worth thinking about:
3rd set tiebreaker: Good, bad or EVIL???
Team names: Why the hell not, I personally hate having my name as part of the team, I have an ego but not a big enough one that I need my name at the top. I have named my teams anyway especially since I have multiple teams it makes it easier for me to tell them apart.
Weeknight leagues: I have run into a few people who don’t join league tennis because of weekend commitments why not a league during the week as well as the weekend league??
Weekend schedules: Do you think it would be crazy to open it up to the captain to decide whether the match will be on Saturday or Sunday?
Sundays: Matches before 1p???? Sacrilege or a good idea?
Singles league/Doubles leagues: in off seasons many other large cities have single leagues and doubles leagues instead of the Fall format we have. What do you think?
Fall Champ automatic Bid: Do you like the idea of the Fall champ getting the auto bid or do we need a season off to just play?
Let me know about any other issues you have thought about or bitched about during league play and maybe we can bring them up at our next meeting in 2008.
3.5 Vegas Nationals
The Houston (with a little Galveston, FW, Dallas) super team is headed to Vegas for 3.5 Nationals this weekend. Do you think they have a shot of being 3.5 National Champs?
Some of you I know have played a lot their players in tournaments throughout Texas and John Kraemer is from here in Dallas and so many of you have seen or played against him. So let me know your thoughts.
I think they will do well if they can make it out of their flight. They truly only have one ringer Francis Tongol and after that they are just very deep and consistent. 3.5 Tourney champ Ismael Dutchover will be hard to beat in a long tournament so I see him doing well. The doubles teams of Freeman/Hart and Goodwin/Johnson will be tough to beat, I don’t think Freeman/Hart have dropped a set this year.
I had the pleasure of playing them on the court at sectionals and hope they do well this weekend.
Some of you I know have played a lot their players in tournaments throughout Texas and John Kraemer is from here in Dallas and so many of you have seen or played against him. So let me know your thoughts.
I think they will do well if they can make it out of their flight. They truly only have one ringer Francis Tongol and after that they are just very deep and consistent. 3.5 Tourney champ Ismael Dutchover will be hard to beat in a long tournament so I see him doing well. The doubles teams of Freeman/Hart and Goodwin/Johnson will be tough to beat, I don’t think Freeman/Hart have dropped a set this year.
I had the pleasure of playing them on the court at sectionals and hope they do well this weekend.
4.5 Update, Week 4
Flight A:
The two big guns continued to do well and set up a match of the undefeated teams in the flight on Sunday. Hackberry and OC/Boverman need to win so they can try and catch the loser of the match for the 2nd spot. Also T Bar only has one loss at 1-1 since it looks like they have a missing match score v. Collin County.
Flight B:
Fair Oaks continued to do well with a good win over Greenhill. Brookhaven stayed undefeated as well but matches up with OC/Feldman this weekend in a good test for them. Fair Oaks and Royal Oaks match up in the “Battle of the Oaks”??? and it could be a chance for Royal Oaks to get back in the mix.
The two big guns continued to do well and set up a match of the undefeated teams in the flight on Sunday. Hackberry and OC/Boverman need to win so they can try and catch the loser of the match for the 2nd spot. Also T Bar only has one loss at 1-1 since it looks like they have a missing match score v. Collin County.
Flight B:
Fair Oaks continued to do well with a good win over Greenhill. Brookhaven stayed undefeated as well but matches up with OC/Feldman this weekend in a good test for them. Fair Oaks and Royal Oaks match up in the “Battle of the Oaks”??? and it could be a chance for Royal Oaks to get back in the mix.
4.0 Week Four Recap
4.0 Week 4Well there were some big matches and they seemed to have lived up to the hype.
Flight A:
The clash of undefeated High Point teams went to the underdog Adrian Giuhat’s team as they edged out a 3-2 win. I was most impressed by the win by Steven Bolden and Sam at line #3 doubles. I practice with Steven so I know how well he can play but he had been struggling with injuries lately. You must have played great, congrats! So now the Giuhat’s team stands at the top there are 4 teams locked at 3-1 (Stonebridge, Hackberry, Canyon Creek and High Point/Somabut) I think these teams are rather even, they all have some weak points but obviously are good enough to beat anyone. It looks like this flight will be decided late in the season. Some more big matchups this weekend before the bye week will be important including Stonebridge v. Hackberry and LB Houston v. Canyon Creek.
Flight B:
The three undefeated teams stayed undefeated and we just have to sit and wait till they play one another because they are just chugging right along with somewhat easy wins. I will mark my calendar for Oct. 20th when Greenhill meets the Lakes so we can see something happen in this flight.
Flight C:
Big win by T Bar started the weekend as they knocked off previously unbeaten Lifetime. They now bump up near the top with a strong 3-1 record. Brookhaven Bartlett stands at the top at 3-0 as they took out JCC and my team this weekend. We hung close but missed out on winning two 3rd set tiebreakers. Brad’s team is very good at doubles, I personally got killed at #1 doubles and I thought I played awesome. I guess my version of awesome wasn’t all that great. Garland has not posted yet and is still missing two match results so who knows what is going on with them but they are still 2-0. Pearlman’s team climbed from 0-2 back to 2-2 and is trying to make a run but with 4 teams in front of mine and Burt’s team it looks rather impossible to make up that type of ground unless some other teams fall backwards.
Flight A:
The clash of undefeated High Point teams went to the underdog Adrian Giuhat’s team as they edged out a 3-2 win. I was most impressed by the win by Steven Bolden and Sam at line #3 doubles. I practice with Steven so I know how well he can play but he had been struggling with injuries lately. You must have played great, congrats! So now the Giuhat’s team stands at the top there are 4 teams locked at 3-1 (Stonebridge, Hackberry, Canyon Creek and High Point/Somabut) I think these teams are rather even, they all have some weak points but obviously are good enough to beat anyone. It looks like this flight will be decided late in the season. Some more big matchups this weekend before the bye week will be important including Stonebridge v. Hackberry and LB Houston v. Canyon Creek.
Flight B:
The three undefeated teams stayed undefeated and we just have to sit and wait till they play one another because they are just chugging right along with somewhat easy wins. I will mark my calendar for Oct. 20th when Greenhill meets the Lakes so we can see something happen in this flight.
Flight C:
Big win by T Bar started the weekend as they knocked off previously unbeaten Lifetime. They now bump up near the top with a strong 3-1 record. Brookhaven Bartlett stands at the top at 3-0 as they took out JCC and my team this weekend. We hung close but missed out on winning two 3rd set tiebreakers. Brad’s team is very good at doubles, I personally got killed at #1 doubles and I thought I played awesome. I guess my version of awesome wasn’t all that great. Garland has not posted yet and is still missing two match results so who knows what is going on with them but they are still 2-0. Pearlman’s team climbed from 0-2 back to 2-2 and is trying to make a run but with 4 teams in front of mine and Burt’s team it looks rather impossible to make up that type of ground unless some other teams fall backwards.
3.5 Week Four
Not too many surprises this week only one undefeated fell (Canyon Creek) but most all went according to plan.
Flight A:
Oak Creek continued to roll on with a convincing victory over Westlake and set up a clash for 1st place this coming weekend v. Gleneagles. High Point met up with previously undefeated Canyon Creek and won easily 4-1. So this coming weekend will tell a lot about the fate of this flight. Oak Creek could all but secure their spot at the top with a win or at least a spot in the playoffs. Gleneagles will put up a good fight, I don’t see another 5-0 win for Oak Creek because Gleneagles is way too deep for that too happen. High Point has a bye this weekend and Canyon Creek has JCC so they have a chance to get back on track and stay in the mix at the top of this flight. I really expected Westlake to do well this season but they have struggled so far and look to have fallen out of contention with loss # 2.
Flight B:
Garland is now the only undefeated here but has to play Brookhaven this weekend so they will be tested for sure. After that we have two others that are at 2-1 (Lifetime and Stonebridge) Lifetime started strong at 2-0 but now faces some more quality teams and may fall from this spot which paves the way for Stonebridge to take over that 2nd spot. The match to watch for the 2nd spot may be the last day of the season when Brookhaven meets Stonebridge at Brookhaven. The rest of this group has slipped to two losses and beyond and would need to go on a big run to have a chance.
Flight C:
So this flight is shaping up to be a battle between Lifetime and Greenhill who meet on Oct. 14th. But there are two one loss teams that I know are legitimate contenders to catch the loser of that match and that is Oak Ridge and Springpark. Oakridge seems to have strength in depth as they have good players all the way down to #3 doubles although no dominant ringer. Springpark I have heard does have some singles players to watch out for but lacks some depth at doubles. If I had to pick a winner in this flight right now I think Greenhill has enough to win with John Sims and Jason Fraser and some very experienced doubles players.
Flight A:
Oak Creek continued to roll on with a convincing victory over Westlake and set up a clash for 1st place this coming weekend v. Gleneagles. High Point met up with previously undefeated Canyon Creek and won easily 4-1. So this coming weekend will tell a lot about the fate of this flight. Oak Creek could all but secure their spot at the top with a win or at least a spot in the playoffs. Gleneagles will put up a good fight, I don’t see another 5-0 win for Oak Creek because Gleneagles is way too deep for that too happen. High Point has a bye this weekend and Canyon Creek has JCC so they have a chance to get back on track and stay in the mix at the top of this flight. I really expected Westlake to do well this season but they have struggled so far and look to have fallen out of contention with loss # 2.
Flight B:
Garland is now the only undefeated here but has to play Brookhaven this weekend so they will be tested for sure. After that we have two others that are at 2-1 (Lifetime and Stonebridge) Lifetime started strong at 2-0 but now faces some more quality teams and may fall from this spot which paves the way for Stonebridge to take over that 2nd spot. The match to watch for the 2nd spot may be the last day of the season when Brookhaven meets Stonebridge at Brookhaven. The rest of this group has slipped to two losses and beyond and would need to go on a big run to have a chance.
Flight C:
So this flight is shaping up to be a battle between Lifetime and Greenhill who meet on Oct. 14th. But there are two one loss teams that I know are legitimate contenders to catch the loser of that match and that is Oak Ridge and Springpark. Oakridge seems to have strength in depth as they have good players all the way down to #3 doubles although no dominant ringer. Springpark I have heard does have some singles players to watch out for but lacks some depth at doubles. If I had to pick a winner in this flight right now I think Greenhill has enough to win with John Sims and Jason Fraser and some very experienced doubles players.
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