7th Annual Bent Tree Indoor Doubles Classic

Those who like to play indoor doubles - Men\Women\Mixed Doubles (2.5-open), then look no further as the 7th Annual Bent Tree Indoor Doubles Classic makes a return appearance on Jan. 13-17, 2011.
Be sure to check out the tournament website -
click here for more details - http://tennislink.usta.com/Tournaments/TournamentHome/Tournament.aspx?T=105879

Great facility, Fun Party, a good time all around...

Sing-Up Deadline  Friday, January 07, 2011

The Twelve Things of Tennis

O.K.  I meant to post this a few days ago, but with roughly 12 days before Christmas, I thought we could use this time to reflect on the POSITIVE about Dallas league tennis.  Let’s see if we can come up with 12 positive things about tennis in general  and/or our local tennis community.   

Day 1 – the physical ability to go out and play

The Twelve Things of Tennis:

Twelve beers awaiting
Eleven Advils taken

Ten point 3^rd set Koman

Nine teams per flight

Eight players playing

Seven point tie-breakers

Six games per set

Five lines a match

Four flights of teams

Three balls per can

Two chances to serve

and a Racket in the trunk of my car

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A SAFE AND HAPPY NEW YEAR !

Fall Play-offs Week-end

Congratulations
4.0 Champ Lifetime Fitness/Arcaria

4.5 Champ High Point/Nguyen
Dallas Fall Play-Off Results

The 2010 year end rating calculation
process is currently underway.
It will include matches played from:
Nov 2nd 2009 thru Oct 31st 2010.
The expected date of publication is
November 29th 2010. 
http://www.texas.usta.com/2010_year-end_dntrp_ratings/ 
For ease of Use I have uploaded the Year end ratings by Division
These ratings are for everyone that played in each of these divisions in the Fall.
Year-End 3.5
Year-End 4.0
Year-End 4.5
Year-End 5.0

Final Day of 4.0 Regular Season

So things are just about finalized and will all come into focus after tomorrow.

Flight A:
Lifetime finished up last week and has posted the strongest regular season record and can enjoy the final Sunday off. Stonebriar has the other spot all but locked up as they take of BH/Alzuro who has, shall we say "struggled" this year. Village's DQ has them hanging out in 3rd thinking about what might have been.

Flight B:
Garland and Westlake battle it out tomorrow but really only seeding is on the line since both have already qualified for the playoffs. The only real question mark here is the status of Christopher Caceras, I am guessing he will not play tomorrow since it seemed as if at one point he might have been DQ'ed but for now looks to be OK although with his results he could be one lopsided victory away from the trouble zone. The Garland team is tough to read but does have some solid singles play that will make them tough in December.

Flight C:
This showdown between GH and HP/Bob doesn't have that much sizzle since 1st place isn't on the line and unless HP is swept they will make the playoffs. Both of these teams will be contenders in December although HP seems to be reaching at times for lineups especially at singles although I think we know Sam will leave the doubles court come playoff time. GH has good depth but not sure there are any slam dunks on that roster. Springpark was quite a surprise in this flight and most likely will miss the playoffs barring a miracle but outperformed Village and TBar.

Flight D:
I would love to say this flight has been fun but instead it has had me scratching my head just about every week. Our flight has come down to the final two weeks to iron out the two playoff participants. SWAT and the Lakes are in with a win but if either team falters there are five other teams ready to take those spots. The Lakes made some late additions to their team that upgraded them from good to contender and if they make it in they will be tough to beat at doubles after what we saw last Sunday. Our team has been up and down but I do feel if we can find some consistency for December I like our chances against most every team. Canyon Creek is the next best team in the flight and would be a tough out if they make the playoffs.

Flight E:
I think Brookhaven clinched in September but second place is still not locked down although LB Houston has the inside track but JCC and OC still have an outside chance. Pearlman's team looks better than ever with Boccara and Powell as a good 1-2 punch at singles. Brookhaven teams have been up and down come playoff teams but a year ago it was Bartlett's crew that took home the crown and who knows this team might just be the most even team much like that one was and could be the overall favorite. It is hard to predict because I think this flight was rather fluffy so they might not have been tested yet.

I just wanted to put this out so the anons can start making bold predictions after tomorrow's results once we see the playoff brackets then more can be said about what will happen a month from now.

4.5 Fall update

It’s been over a month since our last 4.5 post and “Paying Attention” came up with the, at the time, legitimate power rankings:

1. RO
T2 Lakes/Way
T2 Las Colinas
4 Fair Oaks
5 Brookhaven
6 Highpoint/Nguyen
7 Lifetime / Hill
8 Garland 1
9 Lakes / Weatherby
10 Tbar / Schnittker

Since then there have been some upsets

Royal Oaks were upset in a nail biter by Lifetime who in turn were beaten by High Pt.

The Royal Oaks roster still looks like the one to beat but High Point have deserved to move into the top spot based on a very impressive record despite some tanking, They may be tested this week by Garland who’s impressive start has been destroyed by the DQ of Aaron Williams to a 5.5!

Lakes – Way continue to dominate and that is unlikely to change against Hackberry this week leaving them with a gritty Las Colinas in the final week.

Las Colinas also drop down the rankings after 2 losses and still have the impressive Lakes team to play

Flight A’s second spot will go to Fair Oaks who are 5-1 (already won the makeup vs Canyon Creek with 2 lines to play) and have a soft schedule remaining. Deep, talented and solid squad.

Brookhaven continue to dominate their weak flight and their first test may be this week against TBar who surprisingly have a loss to Collin County.

Lifetime (likely to finish with only 2 loses) and Greenhill have mathematical chances of making the play-offs but realistically are too far behind on tie-breakers to Royal Oaks who have many dominating wins.

New rankings (we only need to worry about the playoff contenders and these are pretty clear cut):

1. High Point/ Nguyen (defending Fall champs)
2. Lakes/ Way (impressive unbeaten record incl win over Fair Oaks)
3. Royal Oaks (drop out of first after losing to HP)
4. Fair Oaks (remember they bat BHaven 5-0 in the spring Cities)
5. Brookhaven (weak flight and see above)
6. TBar (lost their best singles player and it shows)
__________________________________________(playoff cut line)
T7. Lifetime (may be stronger than TBar but likely to miss the playoffs due to their tougher flight)
T7. Las Colinas (2 loses with one more likely, also may be stronger than TBar)
9. Greenhill(2 loses with 1 more to come)
10. everyone else

thoughts?

Texas Status in Nationals 2010

(Picture above Father Bob, Big Bird, and Members of the Kenyan Davis Cup Team)

Over all a great year for Texas representation in Nationals.

4.5 - Finished 3rd
4.0 - Finished 3rd
3.5 - Finished 1st

You can say what you want about Bob Bender, but this year, he got bumped up along with all of his recruits as well, and I believe he had the best showing he has ever had. Great Job Bob Bender.

A strong congratulations also has to go to Todd Feldman in 4.5 for recruiting a great team, and the Lubbock team that walked through Sectionals fairly easily also did well.

I almost hate putting this out, because a few people are going to slam the top teams, so let's just go with if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.

Grapevine Women's $50,000 Tennis Classic

November 1st -7th

World class USTA Pro Circuit tennis professionals will compete for $50,000 in prize money. Don't miss the great tennis action Nov. 1-7 at Hilton DFW Lakes, in Grapevine, Texas!
Qualifying rounds begin this Saturday 10/30 Come out starting at 9a..m to enjoy the world class action.
------------------------------------------------

Also, The DFW Hilton has landed a WTA tour stop the week before the US Open. Hopefully they will get a big star or two.

Grapevine lands WTA Tour event for 2011

Get Out and Support Tennis in Dallas!

Fall 5.0 League update

This has been my first ever foray into 5.0 tennis and I must say it has been great fun! The level of competition and play is very high and is a great opportunity to improve your skills and for the top players to stay sharp and play great tennis!

7 of the 9 teams are in the running to win the fall with just between 2 and 4 remaining! That is incredible. You can throw a blanket over the top teams.

It is good to see some of the Branch 4.5 Nationals team competing hard and many with success (Huffman, Feldman, Akhtar, Durten, Saqueton, Viktorin, Kiron, Tuttle & James)

Village 4&1 won the spring and were just a few tie-breakers from going to nationals. I found out first hand how good these guys are this past weekend. Russo and Carona are a very tough combination and Carona’s 1st serve percentage is insanely high. Walker is an athletic and big singles player with all the strokes. The rest of their squad is obviously talented and deep.

Royal Oaks 4&1 are currently 2nd in the standings with numerous 4.5s playing up. They have depth and Collins and Gonzales seem to be their standouts.

Oak Creek 4&2 similarly have a solid team but a smaller roster headlined by Russ Patrick at singles. They went to the play-offs in the spring and can’t be underestimated.

Four Seasons 4&2 have had a good fall after a shaky spring and are lead by the wiley veteran: Alex Behar.

DFW 3&2 had a shaky first few weeks but behind Justin Huffman & Jason Kern have produced some good wins in recent weeks.

Lakes 2&2 have a thin squad but if I recall won the fall last year. Not to be ignored their 2 make-up matches could get them in the thick of things

And High Point/ Feldman are 2&3 and will need to run the table to get in serious contention but certainly have the players to do so.

Unfortunately Greenhill has been hit by injuries and inexperience but are using this as a valuable learning opportunity. A little bit of bad luck also hurt as 2 of the better players invited decided not to play at all in the fall.

Finally HP/ Nguyen….. unfortunately they never signed-up to win as a team but I think that has been covered adequately elsewhere on the this blog. Kemp and Brouer are acquitting themselves respectably and using the opportunity to improve their games. Kudos to them.

Maybe if 5.0 benefitted from more exposure and additional players, then some of the top 4.5s would be happy to play there? Maybe it needs to be expanded to 5 lines? There is not much wrong with the 5.0 league but maybe a few tweeks could improve participation and reduce motivators to stay or move back to 4.5

Not Afraid

To the tune “I’m Not Afraid” by Eminem


I’m not afraid, to take a stand
Against the tanking, we have at hand.
We’ll walk this road together, through the storm
Whatever weather cold or warm
Just let you know that you’re not alone
Holla if you feel that you’ve been down the same road


Now you might think you’re on to something to go and get a Title,
And that losing on purpose is so needed and so vital
For your survival to stay on level, the level you defeat so easily in which you revel
But next Season when you win, you ain’t no winner,
your nothing more than a cheating sinner, picking on beginners, you eat them for dinner
Is that really a feeling of success? You pound your chest, we’re so impressed
but in reality your distressed, depressed, your mind at unrest, you transgress.
Why do you carry such the desire to hold a plastic trophy you just gone and acquired,
You manipulate and conspire but it won’t quench the fire
The fire that burns within you, it consumes you.
It’s all so true, It’s all that you knew.


I’m not afraid, to take a stand
Against the tanking, we have at hand
We’ll walk this road together, through the storm
Whatever weather cold or warm
Just let you know that you’re not alone
Holla if you feel that you’ve been down the same road.


So the same game goes on each year
Some cheer and revere, and some just jeer and drink their beer,
And against all fame some sit back and complain
But complaining will do you no good, you might as well go back to the hood
So misunderstood, you fight for your cause but get nowhere due to league bylaws
There is no gain, just pain so why not just refrain from the game, The game that is played
Not the one on the court, the game of cheating of a sort
So don’t fall short, you can chose to abort, and thwart off the discord and distort
There’s still hope for us to cope
But it is up to me and it is up to you
To take a stand and do what’s right


I’m not afraid, to take a stand
Against the tanking, we have at hand
We’ll walk this road together, through the storm
Whatever weather cold or warm
Just let you know that you’re not alone
Holla if you feel that you’ve been down the same road.

4.0 Fall Midseason Report

So after 5 weeks into the season things are taking shape rather quickly in many of the flights.

Flight A:
Lifetime and Village have a showdown in our MOW. The winner should be able to hang onto 1st place the rest of the way. I would have to go with LTF in this showdown but 4-1 or 3-2 just because Village has won their matches but some of them were rather close against so-so teams. I do see the Village holding onto 2nd place since they have already beaten Stonebriar and Springpark who most likely would be the only ones who could catch them.

Flight B:
Westlake and Garland seem to have a stronghold on the top spots in this flight, they do not showdown for 1st place until the final week of the season so in the meantime they just need to keep winning. Westlake has to be the surprise of the Fall season so far going 5-0, they do have Stonebridge and Canyon Creek before Garland so by no means pushovers but it seems like they have the winning formula so I see them losing a close one to Garland and qualifying for the playoffs in the 2nd spot. I am still perplexed by Fretz in this flight, maybe just not enough depth and I know the Eagles Landing team had a rough start but have a chance to finish strong.

Flight C:
Another flight where two teams seem to be dominating and awaiting their 11/7 showdown to decide first place in the flight. Greenhill has a strong roster of Arnette players and BMO leftovers from Sectionals and they will need the experience against Bob's new crew seems to be coming along well and stop the presses somehow Sam Huynh got appealed back to 4.0 and he left Lifetime Fitness. I guess without poolside views in October they lost their #1 recruiting tool. Bob's #1 rule, if you can't beat them, sign them up on your team. It would be interesting to see them square off in December with shuffled up roster.

Flight D:
SWAT is the only undefeated team in this flight but has three teams nipping at their heels in Gleneagles, Fretz and Lakes. We got by Gleneagles even with Lucky Thunder in the lineup (he will be rested till April now) We have the other two in the final weeks of the season. This has been a fairly good flight so far, Brookhaven had some talent and last week Canyon Creek gave us a scare as well. This weekend we have DCC who has some solid talent. I am trying to set a record for most players on a roster so if you are interested in signing up let me know. I am actually short a player this Saturday at 1:30p if you are interested. (bazan.dean@gmail.com)

Flight E:
Brookhaven Pearlman seems to have run away and hid in this flight as there are no 1 loss teams and they have gone undefeated with some strong results. I have a feeling they may earn the #1 seed just on lack of resistance down the stretch. It is a toss up for 2nd place but I will go with OC to sneak in.

Playoff outlook and midseason rankings:

1. Greenhill
2. High Point/Bob
3. Lifetime
4. Brookhaven/Pearlman
5. Garland
6. High Point/SWAT
7. Village
8. Westlake
9. Fretz/Mitchell
10. OC/Smith 1

Nationals Posts

This is an image of Kevin Durten and Jehan Aktar warming up for their first round (compliments of USTA - Texas)

4.5 Nationals is going on this weekend, so feel free to post your comments about what's going on over there and how the boyz are doing.

Cheers,

Brian

Fall Tankers of the Week # 4

This maybe the last week for the "Fall Tanker of the Week".
I think after 4 weeks we have proved two things:
1) There are people manipulating score.
2) There are only a handful of people that are actively "Tanking"

I would estimate that there are maybe less that a dozen players manipulating scores to quickly lower their rating.
Agree?

Week #4 Tanker of the Week.

1) 5.0 High Point/Nguyen (the worst of the worst) Clint Cash mails it in - 6-1, 6-0

2)  4.5 Garland 2/Sisk  - Glenn Flora/Mike Zackary lose it to the lakes 6-4,6-0
 
3) 4.0  Garland 2/Sisk   - Zack Courtney gets "Lake'd"  6-3, 6-4

4)  3.5  Las Colinas/Morrell  - Phillip Kenner, apparently Keener has been tanking for almost a whole year winning a total of 3 games in 7 matches  :-0

Also you may notice some ads Here ------->
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If you could click on them that would be great :)
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Disclaimer
The views, opinions, positions or strategies expressed by the authors and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, positions or strategies of Dallas Tennis Blog or any employee thereof. Dallas Tennis Blog makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this site and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use.

Teams of the Fall League 4.5

Moving past the tanking rebuttal, hear are the leading Fall teams so far. We have a lot of matches to play still, but the rest of you teams need to get it together if you want to find yourselves in the playoffs.

Flight A
The Lakes / Way
The Village / Khaing

Flight B
Royal Oaks / Rothwell
HP / Nguyen
Lifetime Fitness / Hill

Flight C
Brookhaven / Harlee
The Lakes / Weatherby

Flight C gives us the Match up of the week, with these two teams playing each other. I am picking The Lakes, only because I have some sentimental connections over there. I guess that is why I don't bet on the Cowboys from week to week. I would pick Cowboys every time.

Note: Please keep tanking comments in the Tanking section. That subject has been adequately addressed already.


On a side note, I wish I knew how to create a poll, I would love to see the tally of The Rangers v The Rays series.

Week #3 Tankers Below the Radar

Due to rain and several missing Garland main stays the "Tanker of the Week" was slim pick'ins.
Hell, they are several teams (Corey!!) that only have 1 match entered into tennislink, what gives??

But thanks to Team High Point/Nguyen we will have a competition this week.

Week #3 Fall Tankers of the Week

Phy D. Pham goes down 6-2, 6-2

Michael D. Kelly/Jean A. Nguyen gives in 6-3, 6-1

Takashi Nishizaki/Clint M. Cash  Keeps it respectable 6-4, 6-4

Tanking??? You be the judge.

Fall Tankers of the Week #2

Tankers Ahead!!!!!
I'm going to go ahead and keep this up.
I guess the only way to solve this problem is to bring attention to the individuals in question.
We had several nominations this week so
We will change it up and go with individual players.


Nominee # 1
Jerry Defeo 4.5 Garland 2/Sisk
Takes another 6-1, 6-1 beat down

Nominee #2
Lance Ruder/  4.5 Garland 2/Sisk
Former Boys 18's superstar take a 6-1, 6-2 whoopin'

Nominee #3
Chris "The Trophy Trasher" Slezak/Jean Nguyen  4.5 High Point/Nguyen
Get beat 6-2,6-3 by 'lil' Bill Hopping and BMo

Nominee #4

Mike Kelly  4.5 Springpark/Walters

Loses 6-2, 6-3 to Las Colinas

Nominee #5

Tyler Price  4.0 Garland 2/Sisk

Goes from winning play off matches in the sprin to losing 6-1, 6-2 in the fall

Fall Tankers of the Week

Some are trying to stay at their level.
Some are trying to get bumped down.
Who is....
The Tanker of the Week

Cast your vote...
4.0 Brookhaven/Alzuro
Loses 0 -5 to the Village. winning a total of 15 games

4.0 Fretz/Clark
Fretz rolls doubles specialists Heath and Clark out in singles. Wiley goes down 2 & 1.

4.5 Garland 2/Sisk
Defeated 1-4 By CC, Defeo, Flora, and Zachary ripped.

4.0 Oak Creek 1/Smith
Loses to JCC 1-4, with 2 retirements.

Fall 4.5 - Flight C

Teams to beat:

TBar – Losing Homer & James Warner hurts their singles badly. Definitely need JD Miles to return to full health and form because while their dubs lines are very solid it is unreasonable to expect them to sweep every week.

Brookhaven – Very experienced team that made the Spring cities with ease. My pick to win this flight. Easy win in week 1

Best of the rest:
HP/ Bowman – Dedicated group of players that will be a tough out every week! Not to be taken lightly.

Canyon Creek – As for the other CC team, a mix of 4.0 and 4.5 guys many with hunting and fishing on their fall agendas….. scraped out an opening week win!

Lakes/ Weatherby – A new team that has benefitted from the large talent pool at the Lakes and some solid 4.0 bump-ups! Nice opening win

Bottom-dwellers:
Gleneagles – Missing some key players from the spring but an impressive week 1 win…. Or was it?

Garland 2 (Sisk) – I suspect they won’t be as tough as in the spring since John appears to have split his talent between 2 teams. You never know though what he has up his sleeve? The first week result seems to have tipped his hand = looking for a strong 4.0 spring team perhaps?

LBH/ Jones – These guys seem to enjoy each others company each week and while competitive I’m not sure will be any more competitive than they were in the spring

Collin County – If they had a bigger roster they could compete in the middle “best of the rest” group. (I am personally sad to lose Mark Sweeney from CC!) . If Henson get’s fit again and they have 8 guys each week they are a tough outfit.

US Open

Look at this folks. After Rafa barely squeaks by in the first set, it appeared that Rafa had been down and out in the 2nd set. If Joko keeps this up, will he beat Rafeal tonight? Joko has looked like the stronger better player in the 2nd set. Jumping to a 4-1 lead, only to have it whittled down to 4-4. Still Joko just looks to be the much better player tonight.

Is it the kool-aid or is it the Sangria? WHO KNOWS!!! Right now, EDGE TO JOKO.

Go Nole!

4.0 Fall Preseason Picks

Flight A

Contenders

1. Lifetime returns most of the same team minus their three big guns from the Spring season but will still be a force to be reckon with in this flight, although this flight is the deepest of the five.

2. Village/Johnson had a hiccup in the Spring and missed out of the playoffs after two strong seasons in a row but they return much of the same roster and add back Fred Givhan who made them a contender last Fall season.

3. High Point/Kaiser seems like an odd pick here but this team is essentially the 3.5 national team and that has to count for something right? Maybe not but I have to think they will at least make the top of this flight interesting.

Dark Horses

1. Stonebriar is relegated to this section after a lackluster Spring season that showed they might not have what it takes to be at the top but they still have a solid roster that can compete with anyone, on any given Sunday.

2. Springpark has a few strong players and could make noise but just hard for me to get excited.

Pretenders: (Not much to say here)

1.Fretz
2.Northwood
3.Huffhines
4.Brookhaven

Flight B

Contenders

1. Garland #1 (or is is #9 who knows) This does seem to be the best squad with Zack Courtney, Siby, Moreman and possible DQ fodder NAIA player Lance Ruder.

2. Canyon Creek has reshuffled players but this team along with the other Canyon Creek team has players that can contend and I picked against them last time and you know where that got me.

Darkhorses:

1. Fretz/Clark. I almost went contender here but just an odd mix of players from various teams and I am not sure what to make of them quite yet but they should be good.

2. Eagles Landing jumped up last season and showed the can hang with some good teams so I had to move them up a level and I think this team might just have a breakout season with some possible new additions.

Pretenders (Not that any of these teams are bad in fact I think they all have some bright spots but nothing that jumps out and says they will break out of the bottom half)
1. Royal Oaks
2. Stonebridge
3.Westlake
4.High Point
5. Springpark/Odulio


Flight C

Contenders

1. Team Bob finally had a long run of sectionals appearances come to an end but they are still a team at the top. There are many new names on this roster though so it is tough to make any judgements but to count them out of the playoffs would be strange although I think they missed out last Fall. Tony Le, Voss and Kingsley should be a good foundation to go pretty far.

2.Greenhill/Arnette after falling back a bit looks to have benefitted from Team BMO and Team Russouw the last two season who have left good pieces behind as they have moved up to 4.5 so along with John's regular group this team looks to be the first favorite in this flight.

Dark Horses

1. TBar after hanging out near the top seems to fit nicely at 3rd or 4th place and I fear for them that is where they will be again but the right matchups might get them into one of the top two spots.

2. Village Gordon showed me up last season by not only making the playoffs but winning some matches in the playoffs and they have maintained their roster and added a couple of good players to help out.

3. Garland #3, so few players are the reason this team might struggle but who knows maybe 8 is enough or 9.

Pretenders

1.Springpark
2.Hackberry
3.Eldorado
4.Gleneagles


Flight D

Contenders

1. SWAT returns all but one player and have been fortunate with some new recruits and downrated players. Looking forward to a good season and breaking our bad streak.

2. Fretz/Mitchell has a small lineup but it is full of strong players, they should be tough to beat each week with their depth.

3. Canyon Creek has shown much improvement and some of this group was part of the Canyon Creek playoff team that fared well in the postseason. I think they will be a tough out and could make the postseason with their depth.

Darkhorses

1.Lakes are hard to put down here but the loss of the Blakes should prove to push them out of the postseason this time around.

2.Brookhaven lost too many players from Team Bartlett to keep that train going but there are still some good players so they will not be overlooked, especially in week #1.

3. Garland #2, yet again hard to pick against or for a small group of strong and average players but they have to be in the mix.

Pretenders

1.DCC
2.Gleneagles
3.OC/2

Flight E

Contenders

1. OC/1 is a good mix of new and old players of Don's teams that have done well in the past. The trick for them might be singles but they should figure something out as the season goes on.

2.Brookhaven Pearlman, I like the Joe Powell addition to a team that needed some singles help. I think they could really do well in this flight.

Darkhorses

1. Canyon Creek/Broach. Not as good as the other CC team but not bad at all and could catch the top two if they slip up.

2. JCC had step up in the Spring but not sure with what is left in the cupboard that they can repeat their past success, it might be back to middle ground for them for a while.

Pretenders

1.Huffhines
2.Eldorado
3.LB Houston
4.Samuell Grand
5.Garland #4 (That Sisk guy is pretty good though)

4.5 Fall Pre-Season Flight B

Teams to beat:

High Point/ Nguyen – only 12 of last seasons 48 have signed-up so far. Always quality on this roster so they must be taken seriously!

Royal Oaks – The Bells are back and with James Warner added to an already impressive roster these guys will be contending and I will pick them to take this flight.

Brookhaven – These guys have depth and some new additions (Myers, Moore, Taylor & Renwick) will make them very tough every week!

Best of the rest:
Greenhill – These guys are tough every week but haven’t added anyone to their spring roster that will help them compete with the teams above

Lifetime – Have lost a few guys (Vahdat & Myers ) who will be tough to replace. Eddie knows what he is doing though and all the guys on the roster want to play every week. They too will be a tough team to beat every week!

Garland 2 (Sisk) – I suspect they won’t be as tough as in the spring since John appears to have split his talent between 2 teams. You never know though what he has up his sleeve?

Bottom-dwellers:
JCC – The addition of Vahdat and a second season at 4.5 for many will help these guys but will struggle against the 6 teams listed above

Stonebridge – No reason to believe these guys fortunes will change. No significant additions that I know of. Will struggle to compete with any of the teams listed above.

TBAR – same as for Stonebridge

DFW – same as for Stonebridge

Fall 4.5 Pre-season - Flight A

I liked the way Corey ranked the teams in the spring so I will try to do something similar. One flight per week before the season starts. Of course I don’t know and haven’t played everyone so will likely be horribly off on some predictions again….

Flight A

Teams to beat:

Garland/ Noel - With the addition of Saqueton, Akhtar and Baker these guys have more than made up for their loss of Hawkins & Xu AND they proved me wrong in the play-offs so I think they are the smart pick right now.

Las Colinas - second on tie-breakers with the addition of James and anticipated Wescoup sign-up this is a good roster

Lakes – Strong dubs, and Kirkpatrick is a solid singles guy. They have lost some depth to the Weatherby team which may be an issue in the fall.

Best of the rest:
Village – tough team to beat every week!
Oak Creek – Don Smith knows what he is doing so these guys are a tough out every week even if they don’t have any superstars
High Point – Carlquist takes over as captain. Some strong players even though they struggled at times in the Spring. Are they motivated to go out and win every week? We will see.
Canyon Creek – talent from the spring split between 2 teams with numerous 4.0s playing up. Don’t expect a repeat of the strong debut

Bottom-dwellers:
LBH – nice guys playing for fun. Pretty much the same roster that struggled in the Spring
Hackberry – If they can get 8 guys to all their away matches they will be tough but are notorious for a lack of commitment and also lost their best player (Andrew Pretty); I'm sure these guys will take issue with this prediction so hopefully it will motivate them to have a good fall. There are some solid players on the roster.
SpringPark – Struggled in the Spring – not sure that the one big addition can jump them to the next level.

USTA Participation

I apologize to Cap't Fantastic for posting right after his post, but he made me wonder about USTA Participation numbers and what the trends were for Men's tennis after the massive bump ups. I will attempt to use as little space as possible to keep the 4.0 thread inside the page fold. Spring League measured only.

4.0 Fall Preview - Flights are out

The 4.0 season currently consists of 522 registered players spread amongst 45 different teams.  Needless to say, I can't drill down on each player and each team to give a perfect assessment of what's  in store for the Fall.  I will make my general and limited observations for everyone else to fill in the blanks.

The first question to address is which teams will be truly vying to win in the Fall to take the City title, and which teams will be using the season to protect their ratings and get their self rates with computer ratings.  With the Fall Season City winner now only securing a Spring QT spot, will teams really fight and risk losing players to bump ups to go and obtain it?   With so many teams and players, I would have to think we would see another migration upward made by the USTA to get more players up to the 4.5 level, and more 4.5s up to the 5.0 level.  

The 522 registered players are broken out into 5 flights:

Flight A - Lifetime Arcaria seems to get off easy being placed in this flight and should finish #1 or 2.  This team comes off from going to Sectionals in the Spring and only losing a handful of players to mid-season bumps.  As of now, only one of his "ringers" has re-signed but it is still early.  He still has a core of solid players but are they enough to go to the finals back to back without re-stocking additional ringers?  In this flight, my guess is he should make it just fine.

Runner ups - Springpark has a decent team and faired with a winning record in the Spring.  My guess is they fair well and finish in the top 3 or 4.  Stonebriar had a 50/50 record in the Spring and perhaps should do better in this flight.  Huffhines Ratcliffe could also make a showing but he lacks the fire power in singles which carried him over a year ago to make the DCC.

New Comers - HP Kaiser appears to be the Bender 3.5 team going to Nationals minus a few players and adding to HP Jameson's remaining squad from the Spring.  They could be the flight spoilers depending on how quickly they adjust to 4.0.   Brookhaven Alzuro also has a team but not sure why he does as he struggled with most of these players in the watered down 3.5 Spring league.

Flight B - At first look you see Garland Sisk 1 and you begin to tremble.  But taking a closer look at the Garland's 4 teams, I am abit miffed and confused.  Each team just meets the 8 player minimum and he has some of his stronger players spread on the different teams and not lumped together.  I guess when the Death Star imploded, it shot fragments of his squadron abroad and this is what is left over.  The only way I see the Garland teams finishing in the top in any of the fligths is if there is some re-shuffling of players made to put the stronger ones together on one roster.  Sisk must be in tight with Jane Gilpen to make something happen quickly.

Stonebridge Muniz should have a good team and with this flight the way it is, should have a shot at finishing in the top 3.  Same with Canyon Creek.

New Comers- It appears fragments of the Death Star made it all the way to Fretz with Clark, Wiley & Co. having departed Garland with a few other players and formed their own team.  They could definitely be the flight spoilers if they wanted to with a little more recruiting.

Flight C - O.K.  We see HP Somabut.  Same thing, start to shiver.  Right?  Wrong.  What?  There are two 3.0 self rates and a 3.5 self rate??  C'mon Bob, who are you kidding??  At least self rate them at the level they are playing in.  Having guys who are truly 4.5s self rate at 3.0 just doesn't make sense and you are going to have Tosha calling you up one Monday to let you know she re-rated them to 4.0.  It still doesn't protect them and you know it !!    This is like laying all your cards on the table and tells me the Fall for this team will be getting proper computer ratings and building for the Spring.  I don't see them taking any risks to make a run for the QT spot.

Greenhill has an impressive roster and they should finish in the top 3 if  not taking the flight.  Village Gordon should also do very well and could make a run at it.   We see yet another Sisk team but this one is mainly his 3.5 bump ups with the exception of Tyler Price.  My guess is that Tyler gets moved to another team, or the Fall and the spreading out of his key players on all these different rosters is to protect them from year end ratings and save them for the Spring.

Flight D - (I am starting to get tired here so forgive me if these start to get brief.)  Brookhaven Strohl has a great squad and they finish within the top 3.  High Point Bazan also has his core group of guys and were just shy of making the DCC in the Spring.  They definitely make a running.  While the Lakes had an impressive run this past Spring, it was mainly due to his 2 singles players which are no longer 4.0.  While he has some good dubs players, they are not as strong as Strohl's or Bazan's and I see those 2 edging them out of any post-season hopes.

Garland Sisk 2 ??.......ZZZZZZ.....this is getting old. Not sure why Corcoran, Wickman, and Stein, aren't on team 1 with Price.  Now Big John, don't go making changes based on my assessment.  I'm sure you have something up your sleeve.   I guess we will see how accomodating Jane is and what your rosters look like after the first match in September.   We will be watching you!!!

Flight E - Brookhaven Pearlman has most of his team from the Spring in tact and should do well.  Oak Creek should also be a finisher in the top 3.  Another Garlad.  JCC loses Lutes and Reiman which weaken their ability to compete agains Brookhaven or Oak Creek.  Not much else of noting in this flight.

So there you have it.  The low down on 45 teams and 522 players.  Give us your insights and let the smack talking begin........

Combo Next Weekend

In a blatant attempt to push the whinning and crying down to the next level, we will talk about ....

COMBO


Looks like we have 5 teams that made the cut at 4.0/4.5 Combo. Odds are written as beer to beers odds. You will catch on below.

Somabut:
6 players. Every player plays every time. This is my most fond style for these types of tournaments. People getting hurt is greatly over exaggerated. In order for Somabut to take the prize, however, there will have to be a strict beer drinking ratio of 3 beers for the opponents for every 1 beer by Somabut team. (3 to 1)

Pickett:
This team seems to be ramping up for another "shot" at Sectionals Combo I see. These have to be the front runners at this point. I am going to guess opponents will need 6 beers and 1 shot by every Pickett player for every 1 beer by opponents. Advantage Pickett (1 to 6+1)

Rossow: So far, I have seen more talk about beer than practice. I would put this out as a 3 beer to 1 odds ratio, but, unfortunately I see the Rossow crew self inducing their own odds making prior to match play. Odds calculator adjusted accordingly: 9 beers for opponents for every 3 beers by the Rossouw team. (9 to 3)

Johnson: On the one hand, I only recognize 2 names, on the other hand, I only recognize 2 names. One as being a good guy, and the other, well, blog rumor can be greatly exaggerated . The beer meter seems dsyfuntional against this crew, so I will SWAG a 5 to 1 beer ratio (5 to 1)

Sisk: I have to say that I like the 4.5s. This crew will give team Pickett the biggest run for its money. I will have to rate this team a 6 to 1 beer ratio. (1 to 6)

Only time will tell if the beer meter is correct. Good Luck Gentlemen... Start your practicing!

Sectionals Wrap Up

Not sure if Team Branch feels like this but it made me think of the Red Sox who had sniffed success for many years but never actually got what they were looking for. I know there is still one step to go for the big title but "getting" to Nationals is an extraordinary achievement. This team continued to amass talent over the years and this year it just seemed like it all would come together, I had doubts when Kern joined the Noho underground club but it turned out OK in the end. Congrats to all of them. The 4.5 tourney seemed stronger overall with teams like Waco making the semis and both San Antonio teams making it through and leaving the three Houston teams on the outside looking in.





But enough about those guys who know how to play tennis, 4.0 did not disappoint with a number of good surprise teams as well. In Flight 1 San Angelo not only won the flight knocking out the Houston Hurricanes and then went on to make the finals v. Lubbock. Who picked that one?





In Flight 2 Waco stormed through to take that flight undefeated getting past San Antonio and Austin. I will say Caleb told me he had confidence in this team to go far so at least one person picked that one. Their run ended in the semifinals.





In Flight 3 a flight handpicked by Greenhill/Wild Dallas, things started off well for them with two shutouts but there are no style points in tennis and a tough match v. Austin on Saturday morning took them out of contention entirely. That was a tough way to go out I am sure. NETX, Dallas and Austin finished in a 3 way tie for first but Austin had the tiebreakers mainly due to their 4-1 win over Dallas. Singles play seemed to be the difference in this flight.





In Flight 4, the 2008 Texas Champs returned many players for the 2010 version of their team and added a strong line 1 singles player in Lance Coleman and never seemed tested in this flight. Wild Houston and Lifetime had hopes of sneaking past but this Lubbock team seemed determined to go far and left these two teams searching for answers.



In the end it was Lubbock who essentially returned the same team from 2008 and will represent Texas again in 2010. I know there was a little back and forth regarding how this could possibly happen but I didn't do in depth research but just on a glance their 2009 match results seem pretty on the level, it is more curious how their 2008 sectional results and National results didn't keep them at 4.5. It was interesting to look at the Springpark v. Lubbock 2008 final. All 8 players on the Springpark team are now rated 4.5 and I think Gene might be 5.0 very soon if not already. In contrast only one player Tyler Chadwick is rated 4.5 out of that Lubbock 8 man lineup. Conspiracy?

I wish them luck on the next level, it will be curious to see if Lance Coleman survives the dreaded Monday computer run because they will need him to be competitive at Nationals.

I have to give it up for the smaller cities this weekend who showed up Big D and Houston. San Antonio probably had the best showing from all the big cities that came to Dallas this weekend.

Now all in Dallas start all over again to work towards August of 2011.

4.0 Sectionals Preview

I want to start this out that I would never plagiarize anything from the Houston Blog or from anyone else for that matter.

Flight 1
Corpus
San Angelo
Valley
Wild Ft. Worth
Houston

There are two dangerous teams in this flight. Houston and Wild Ft Worth. You can't discount Wild Ft Worth, as Ft Worth City winner (non wild) might just find themselves in Nationals this year.

Houston - This is a Freeman team who always has solid squads. They are led by their 2 stud singles players Ellingsen and Knutson. Both are top 4.0s in the state. As a doubles team they beat Somabut/Palacioz 6-1 6-1. Doubles are strong but the core of the team is those 2 singles players.

The Houstonians should waltz through this group. I couldn't believe the amount of players that they have and with a roster so deep that they could play all their matches and never have the same guy play twice.

Winner - Houston

Flight 2
Wild Austin
San Antonio
Fort Worth
Waco
Abilene

Wild Austin used Vlad Chub at 1 singles and Chris Lewis at 2 in the finals of their playoffs.

San Antonio's Blossom Smash waltzed through their playoffs, dropping only one line. Rodrigo Sabag was really tough playing singles, with a win over Carl Bain on his resume. Isai Martinez looks to be even tougher. This team looks really tough. In the Spring season, they won most of their WHOPPING SEVENTEEN (17) Spring matches 4-1 and 5-0.

Fort Worth's team is the team to beat in this flight... Jay Bigam is a flat hitter with old school grips, but has had success at the 4.5 level in the past. Chris Whipple has also been dominant in singles. Their doubles look solid. Their name "Old Gang" is very deceptive as many of these kids are stupid young. As long as they don't get Young Kid's chokeitis, I think that they win most of their matches in their flight with a 4-1 and 5-0 spanking.

Waco and Abilene don't have much data to draw from. Waco's Erich Schwarze is a 4.5 drop down who was dominant the last time he went to 4.0 Sectionals.

Flight 2 winner - The Ft Worth Young Children lay a solid whooping on San Antonio with a 4-1 crushing blow leaving San Antonio wondering and other teams shaking.


Before we start with Flights 3 & 4, I need to note that the big clear advantage for BOTH Dallas teams is that they have already played at LBH, the courts that somehow are able to maximize both heat and Mosquito potential in Dallas. Mosquitoes there are not to be taken lightly as I can't remember which I use more of, OFF or Sunblock while at LBH. It should also be noted, as all of Dallas knows already, the outdoor gun range next to LBH can be a little disturbing when Johnny Yeehaw decides to take his Uzi to the gun range on Saturday.

Flight 3
Austin
Wild Dallas
NETX
NOHO
Midland


Austin had its "ringer", John Dwyer, DQ'd after their city playoffs, which will really hurt its strength. Interesting that the match that got Dwyer DQ'd was a 7-6 6-3 win in the playoffs, further proving that NO ONE REALLY KNOWS WHAT THE FORMULA IS TO GET DQ'd. Of course, maybe he just got DQ'd because Sisk or Arcaria had dirt on him and turned him in. We will never know. Nevertheless, without their ringer in singles, they never would of made it through the city playoffs, as many of their wins were 3-2 wins. Of course, Austin notoriously has good teams in Sectionals, so this team should still NOT be overlooked.

NoHO - The core of this team also went to Sectionals last year. Their 2 top singles players got SPANKED last year in Sectionals with 6-1 6-2 losses, so I don't know if they crack under the pressure again, but can anyone every forget a 6-1 6-2 beat down? Never mind, I am sure that they have forgotten that by now and whom am I to remind them? There doubles are very strong, however, and the doubles will need to carry NoHo if they want to get far.

Dallas - Scouting report. Many of the players are former Davis Cup champions and should not be playing at 4.0. I hope this doesn't get out.

Midland - notoriously a middle of the pack team in sectionals, but it is always fun to go to Sectionals. Enjoy yourself gentlemen. There are no bad teams in Sectionals, and when a captain overlooks a team is when a captain makes mistakes.

NETX - Tierney & Wynn look to be a really good doubles team. Dallas is also going to have to watch out for Aaron Smith. If I were the captain of Wild Dallas, I would definitely have all barrells blazing against this team. Fortunately for NETX, the Dallas captain is lazy and generally doesn't scout other teams. This is a clear advantage for NETX.

It's going to be a dogfight of NETX v Wild Dallas in the last match, but I just can't pick against the previous Davis Cup players.

Flight 4
Dallas
Amarillo
Lubbock
Wild Houston
SETX

I wrote this completely myself, but I must state I am very disappointed that July 22, 2010 1:23 PM (aka Shawn Arcaria) was able to plagiarize my hard work and research before I even wrote it. All I can see is as far as 4.0 goes here is what I know.

Lubbock - This team returns almost all of the key players from the team that went to nationals less than 2 years ago. How they are back at 4.0 is beyond me and is a complete joke. They have 2 very good singles players. Lance Coleman is a former 4.5 who did very well at that level, beating some very good players and going 3 sets with Huffman (Oc Branch). He was not even part of that national team and makes them that much better. Shaunaman was part of that national team and is their other singles player. Most of their doubles players were all the national team. That national team did beat the Dallas 4.0 team from Springpark, which included Charles Rasor, Eugene Davis, Jim Walters, Greg Odell, etc. All of which are still at 4.5. This team will be strong.

Wild Houston - they lost to the Houston Freeman team 3-2 in the final. Another team with strong singles with Wooten and Larrazolo. Wooten has a win over our John Kraemer and Mark Anderson locally in singles and did not lose in league this year. They look to be very strong.

Amarillo - Another team that made it to Sectionals, only to have their star player Jason Wait DQ'd just before sectionals. This is yet another obvious DQ mistake by the captain, as Jason Wait crushed his opponent in his final match with an eye catching 6-3 6-4 win. I believe Dallas is playing Amarillo in morning, but Amarillo would not be on my mind.

Dallas - Many of Shawn's self rates are future Davis Cup Champions as soon as they become old enough to play Davis Cup that is. It should be noted that Stephen Bennett is a former Sumo wrestling super champ. Sisk tried to get him DQ'd under super champ status, however, the appeal was denied.

Flight Winner - I really want to pick Dallas, but I have to give the nod to Lubbock this year.

4.0 Wrap up done. My biggest disappointment is that I had to bump down the great Fantastic with his exceptional Star Wars based summary. That was post of the decade Fantastic - IMO.

Star Wars 7 - Decimation of the Sith (aka GTC)

There were battles of galatical proportions this weekend throughout the DCC from 3.5 to 4.5. All season long we heard about the army of players Darth Sisk had recruited and that City Championships were in the bag for 3.5 and 4.0. His side-kick Nancy Noel defects from his home base to form a 4.5 team out of GTC, hoping to ride his coat tails and have 3 teams from Garland go to Sectionals.


While the hype has been about GTC and their dominance in recruiting ringers, out of state players, college players, nationally ranked juniors, high school ringers, ex-convicts, and the extra-terrestrial (not to mention playing “dirty”), it was all for not as the stars were aligned against them. Their “dirty” tricks could not break the power of the Force and the mighty Jedi. Call it Fate. Call it Karma. But the lines went against him. The Death Star implodes, and Garland is shut out of post season play, losing the DCC with no teams advancing as wild cards to Sectionals.

THE CAST:

Jabba the Hutt (aka Sisk) – Known for his evil and menacing ways, he has recruited an army and built an empire of warriors for the Rebel Alliance, boasting of their ability to attract the most experienced of players to the Dark Side. Between his 3.5 and 4.0 teams, he has recruited close to 60 players. However, this vast army of players were unable to capture a title, and were choked off at both levels 3.5 and 4.0.
 
 
 

Salacious Crumb (aka Nancy Noel) – Known as Jabba’s sidekick and pet, and for burrowing his head into Jabba’s back side. As an avid supporter of Jabba the Hutt, he leaves his base of Northwood to join the Rebel Alliance and form a 4.5 team out of Garland. Unfortunately, Jabba’s hands are too full with is other teams, and Salacios Crumb was unable to get the manpower to compete. While making a respectable showing this weekend, Obi-Wan and his Jedi knights decimated too many along the way and taunt him with a Sunday win, knowing he still falls short by lines.  Karma strikes again.

 
 
 
 
 

Master Yoda (aka Bender) – Known in the galaxy for his power with the Force, and for using it to go to a place called Nationals. Yoda has made the trip too many times to count, and has won almost as many titles as Federer’s reign at Wimbledon. His focus is to go their again with his team of newly recruited Jedis, who have sharpened their skills with the light-saber at level 3.5.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Han Solo (aka Traeger) - Although not officially a Jedi, this warrior can compete with the best of them and proved so this weekend by giving the upset to Garland at 3.5. They were underdogs from the beginning, but pulled themselves together nicely to secure a wild card spot at Sectionals.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Luke Skywalker (aka Arcaria) – This young Jedi apprentice steps in with no prior experience but quickly gains respect from his peers. He is lured by the Dark Side in questionable recruiting practices, but is quick to stay resolved in the Force, and benches his self rates before the post season. While questioned of his ability to go up against other seasoned captains, this Jedi paved the way with some impressive wins over worthy opponents to secure a spot at Sectionals. He hopes the Council looks favorably on his newly recruited Jedis, and that all of them can join him in the post season.
 
 
 
 

Anakin Skywalker (aka BMO) – This Jedi fled his home turf to establish his own Alliance force . He was rumored to have the most powerful Jedis at 4.0 throughout the City, but were put to the test early in the season by a loss to the Lakes, ony to face Déjà Vu again this weekend. However there upset win against Jabba himself and decimation over Brookhaven gave them lines needed to make the finals. They put pride aside and lay down to team Arcaria in the finals hoping for an easier path in Sectionals. But nothing in life is ever easy. It will be interesting to see if Anakin made a wise choice.
 
 
 
 

Obi-Wan Kanobi (aka Branch) – This veteran Jedi knows what it takes to build a powerhouse and Force of domination. This year was no exception as his slew of the most talented Jedi knights, decimated anyone that came up against them.  Their experience is next to none, and appear to be the most capable of all Dallas teams to take the Sectionals title.
 
 
So the drama is over in Dallas, and now it is time to pull our forces together and root for our home teams.


Good luck to all in your Quest for Nationals. And may the Force be with you.

Enjoy Commenting…….

DCC Underway

The games have begun and I have to say this looks like it will be a lot closer than I thought. Oh let me rephrase, the 4.0 DCC will be close. The 4.5 looks like it will be quick and easy. Well Team Corey did have a nice sweep to start out the DCC over Brookhaven but it is early but OC cruised past High Point tonight in what some thought might be there best test. I was surprised to see Gene Davis get taken to a tiebreaker v. Komshon but Mr. Sudhi is tough.

But enough about those guys with skillz, let's talk some 4.0.

Team BMO is now 0-2 v. Lakes. I drank the kool-aid too early on this team I guess although it isn't over yet. Or is it? That lineup for the Lakes although it has a massive drop off after line 1 doubles it will still be tough to beat and I think they were missing one or two players that played in the last win over GH. Garland edged out a win over Brookhaven, Zackary barely beat Archer to make this 3-2. If Garland fields that lineup again Greenhill and the Lakes will have a chance to take this flight. Luckily the young kids did play well. No Obannon??????

In the other flight, JCC got overmatched and the mightly Lutes and Reiman got taken down by Minchul and the donut man. WTF??? Next thing you are going to tell me BMO is rated 4.5 and BP fixed the oil spill. What? He is....and they did? I give up. In the High Point v. Garland rematch, Team Bob eeked out a win but it did not look pretty as Pearson edged out a win over Don Harvey, former 3.5 star from two years ago. I think the oddsmaker might have to change some numbers after looking at this result. If the thought of Lifetime winning didn't make me queasy I might make them the favorite but I don't want to make any rash judgements.

Best of luck to all of you tomorrow and stay cool. I will be at the pool but I will be thinking about you all, oh who I am kidding. I hope to be toasted by 3p.

2010 Early Season DNTRP Ratings

The 2010 Mid-Season ratings are Out!

Check them Here!!!

4.5 DCC preview

First let me start with a little rant! It is absurd that Dallas, with 28 4.5 teams do not get a wildcard! San Antonio, Austin & Houston apparently get them. San Antonio only has 8 teams that I can find! Austin not many more and Houston I believe has 19. What gives Texas? (I also think there should have been more teams included in QT - What gives DTA?)

Having said that I still believe that there is only 1 team in it this weekend and that is Oak Creek/ Branch. They are prohibitive favorites with great depth at singles and very strong doubles (Kiron/ Huffman; Slezak/ Williams are virtual locks and then on singles Kelly and Davis are backed up by a string of talented singles players like Underwood. The big mystery is their 3rd dubs line….Durten & Ledezma perhaps?). This team is built to win and I don't see anyone stopping them.

Now Brookhaven, High Point & Corey's team many give them some tough lines but I just can't find 3 lines than can beat them on the same match.

First up it's Brookhaven & Garland. Brookhaven has some very capable and play-off tough guys. My good friends Jeff Laselle & Ricky Ramos are always tough. With Schlager, Yuri & Sechen also all very capable players. Adcock & Conway had a very impressive win together over a tough Lakes pairing so they will be tough to beat. Their weakness may be their singles depth. Garland's ace is unquestionably Ben Hawkins. He has been playing incredibly well this spring in tournaments and league and mixed. If I was Corey I'd play him at singles. He's as tough as anyone playing this weekend. However, I am still picking Brookhaven 3-2 in this one as I'm not sure that Corey has 2 more lines that can beat BHaven...... (to quote Corey: "prove me wrong - how's that for motivation?"

Then it's HP vs Branch! The big match of Friday should probably be the final! High Pt have been sandbagging all season thanks to their wildcard and have a very deep squad. The quality on the Branch roster though will be too much though. Branch can field 7 or 8 lines that will give HP best 2 lines fits! 4-1 to Branch

Saturday we see BHaven & HP play and this should again be tough. This was Bhavens only loss in the regular season and they will be looking for revenge. Again I am picking BHaven 3-2.

Then Royal Oaks vs Garland: Royal Oaks fresh off a tough QT play Garland. Interesting matchup but I think Royal Oaks will squeak out another 3-2 win. The Bell's and Ponder are really good. Webb & Flores are solid. They have a tough team.

This will leave the standings as follows going into Sat afternoon:

Brookhaven 2-0
Branch 1-0
Royal Oaks 1-0
Garland 0-2
HP 0-2

With only 1 spot for Sectionals expect to see HP to protect the ratings of their better players and play some of the other guys on their massive roster for the rest of the weekend......

Sat pm:

Branch vs Brookhaven! Bring your popcorn. This will be a great match and again could be the final. Again I am picking Branch 4-1 but the matches will be closer than the final result.

Royal Oaks vs HP: Royal Oaks may take down HP if HP are 0 & 2. However, if HP continue to bring it I think they may be able to scrap this out 3-2. Yoshida, Ribman, Tikashi, Brownlee, Marasigan & Blumberg are all very capable and with the right matchups could pull it off. Watch out for Tada. He doesn't look like much and is rated 4.0 but he is a ringer......

Sunday:

HP vs Garland – I suspect Garland will continue to play for honor while HP at this point may be spreading the love amongst the other 33 players on the roster. Garland 4-1

Branch vs Royal Oaks – More good news for Branch, One match Friday and one on Sat means rested singles players for Sunday and this neutralizes the young Bell. Branch 4-1


Branch vs Garland – Branch 4-1. Branch are just too strong.
Brookhaven vs Royal Oaks – Brookhaven will be hoping for Garland to spring an upset and bring it all against Royal Oaks who at this point are out of it. Brookhaven 3-2 bu that won't be enough

Final Standings:
Branch 4 & 0
Brookhaven 3 & 1
Garland 1 & 3
Royal Oaks 1 & 3
HP 1 & 3

I could add more detail but this would get too long.........

4.0 DCC this weekend

So it comes down to this weekend to decide whether team Bob will return to sectionals, again. Or will John Sisk make his first 4.0 appearance after 3.5 success. A retooled Lifetime could make a 2nd appearance in two years if their new young guns deliver. Brueckner's Garland team, BMO's Greenhill crew and the Lakes look to make some noise as well.

Blue Flight
Adjusted Odds to win and advance to sectionals:

High Point: EVEN
This team although not even close to the national team from a year ago does have some solid talent like Bearden, Taylor, Pearson, Quist, Baker, Le, Thierault and Robinson (not Keith but Mike this year) Because of that depth and some solid singles players for backup like Pearson this team will be tough to overcome.

Lifetime: 5 to 1
I got to see this team first hand and most likely their strongest lineup and they will match up well with Garland and JCC but not well enough to overpower Team Bob. Huynh, Carey, Smith and Zach Baker are strong but if it comes down to Stephen Bennet, Gerber and others to come up with wins against the names listed above I am going to be hard pressed to see them coming up with wins.

Garland/Brueckner: 15 to 1
I think it will be a wash between this team and Lifetime. Sierp, Metcalf, Huling and Singh showed they can put this team on their back and make some noise but 2nd place in the QT does not get me excited enough to pick an upset but should handle JCC just fine.

JCC: 80 to 1
Happy to be here team although they will not be pushovers at all. There is just not enough depth to win a flight like this, if they do they will most likely have to win 3-2 each time out.

Red Flight
Odds to win and advance to Sectionals

Garland/Sisk 2 to 1
I don't consider this pick a lock at all. I know John has recruited and a college dorm room to play half the matches but club tennis is essentially 4.0 tennis so who knows. I do think it will come down to how these guys play and they will be up against some experienced players. They tough thing about Sisk's team is they played in a weak flight so it is tough to know how good they are.

Greenhill 12 to 1
This team showed up strong and BMO was even throwing out some INSTANT Karma smack talk. I love it. This team has some depth and after avoiding losing any players last weekend I like them even more. I think Bergeron/Yaremenko will be the difference if these two can win against Garland and Lakes I like their chances, if not I don't see them winning.

Lakes 25 to 1
I have always been a fan of this crew and I am surprised they cruised along to the DCC. It is hard to pick them 3rd but I just don't see them overtaking Greenhill and Garland but they will be in the mix till the end.

Brookhaven 60 to 1
Also in the happy to here crew with JCC. This team earned this spot with a great DCC in the Fall and it will take another great effort for this team to make some noise. The pieces they lost were just not replaced and therefore they are just in it for fun but will still be dangerous in doubles, there only reasons for pause is there win over High Point in the regular season, but can they pull out 3 wins of the caliber in a weekend?

4.0 QT Results, Look Ahead to the DCC

So Greenhill(pictured above) and Garland took the top two spots and had a close match to close out a somewhat uneventful Sunday as the final match only decided placement but that may prove to be important. Village was a surprise finishing 3rd and Brookhaven was hurt by the absence of Arenas and Kraemer for sure. After looking over results I think the outcome would have been the same either way. Congrats to both teams and good luck next weekend at the DCC.

The winner of each flight will make it to sectionals next weekend and to me it is hard to say there are clear cut favorites.

1st Flight:

High Point/Bob

Lifetime

JCC

Garland/Brueckner

2nd Flight:

Garland/Sisk

Greenhill

Lakes

Brookhaven

These are 8 solid teams and I do think it is anyone's weekend and will depend on lineups, tiebreakers and availability.

I will put out some odds and poll soon but feel free to throw in your two cents, as if I needed to request that.