1st weekend of Tri Level (Jan 4-6)

So the 2nd annual Tri Level tournament has expanded this year to include a lower level tourney with 3.0, 3.5, and 4.0 players.

Thanks to many of you on this blog and your answers to my constant email cries for help we were able to create 4 very good teams to compete against one another this coming weekend for the right to represent Dallas in February at the Sectional Tri Level tourney in Houston-Kingwood.

Team Bazan
Team Hess
Team Kelsey
Team Dewan

I of course would love to say my team is the strongest but I took a lot of players on referral so many I haven’t met at all especially the 3.0 players so this should be pretty evenly matched up. The final match I will get another match against Marcus/Kelsey unless I decide to send in my ringers to beat you all. :)

I look forward to playing this weekend and I have been checking out the rosters of week two of the tournament (3.5, 4.0. 4.5) and there are some very good rosters there as well. I will update my predictions once you all have a schedule.

Senior League Starting

So unless I can get a fake ID I cannot play in the senior league that starts this coming weekend but good luck to all of you “old” guys as you start up this weekend. Everytime I look at a senior roster I think "no way that guy is 50."

3.5
It looks like all the favorites are in Flight A: High Point/Bender, Canyon Creek, Shores and Oakridge. Flight B has some good entires as well High Point/Northcut and Kayser’s team should be the favorites but Jim Burn’s LB Houston has some good players including himself since he just got bumped back to 3.5.

4.0
Bartlett returns everyone to his Sectional team but there are some other strong teams and they are all in one big flight. Other favorites should be Pearlman’s BH team, HP/Northcut, T Bar and Springpark.

4.5
I truly have no idea but Springpark looks to have a good roster as well as Oak Creek.

Best of luck as you start this weekend.

Cotton Bowl Tourney (Two Days away)

So only two days till the Cotton Bowl starts. I don't play on Friday so three days for me but here are some interesting early matchups. Let me know if you see some others.

Singles

3.5
2nd round-- Robert Wisdom v. David Prather

4.0
1st round-- Kelsey v. Kraemer
2nd round--Buford v. T Nguyen, Dutchover v. Russell, Mcintosh v. Marcus

4.5
Favs to win: JD Miles, Warren and Griggs, anyone else who can beat these three???

Doubles

3.5
2nd round--Bostick/Muniz v. Leclair/Nichols

4.0
1st round--Kelsey/Marcus v. Kraemer/Ludwig
2nd round--Dutchover/Nguyen v. Helterbrann/Mattes

Blog Challenge #3 Winners (Pickett/Bazan)

So I will be honest I expected a similar score as in the first two challenge matches but due to strong play by Kelsey and Marcus they gave Joel and I a run for it.

Final score 7-5, 4-6, 6-3

Obviously the largest factor in the match was the wind but 3 out of the 4 players on the swing so hard the wind didn't matter but it did mess with all of our serves a bit.

1st set:
I was broken twice in the 1st set but somehow we were able to come back and Joel served it out at 6-5. Jonathan was nearly broken but held strong a few times to make this 1st set close.

2nd set:
Kelsey/Marcus went up 3-0 quickly and we fought back to 4-4 but couldn't make it happen and we lost that set on some great shots by Jeromi and Jonathan.

3rd set:
We broke early and were able to hold serve and then Jeromi served at 3-5 and we were able to break him to win the match.

Overall I think Jeromi and Jonathan although not pure doubles players hit with enough power that they force you to make errors and come up with some great angles. When we could approach well it worked out but they rarely gave us short balls to attack so I think that is why the match was so close.

Nice match guys!!

Challenge match (Batman v. Robin)

So Batman and Robin will part ways this Saturday and face one another.

Joel Pickett/Cary Bazan
v.
Jonathan Marcus/Jeromi Kelsey

Date: Saturday, December 22nd

Where: Springpark Tennis Center

Time: 11:30 AM

Of course when we set this time the forecast was great but now there is a slight chance of showers but if the skies stay clear Joel and I will be raining down WINNERS.

I predict Jonathan and Jeromi will have plenty of time to get to the Singles Tourney at Oak Creek in fact can we get some court fees back if we finish in 30 minutes or less? :)

Cotton Bowl Tourney Update (DRAWS!!!)

The draws are out. Let me know some interesting matchups.

My challenge partner (aka Batman) will be playing John Kraemer in the first round on Friday night in the 4.0 singles draw. Yikes, sorry John I like Jeromi in this matchup.

Tuyen Nguyen will likely play Don Buford in the 2nd round, so one of the Houston duo should be ousted early. The other half of the Houston crew will play seeded Scott Russell so hmmm they could both be out early.

I avoided the "play in" match on Friday night in 4.0 doubles that honor goes to Zach Stein and his partner. How crazy is this I just saw Kelsey and Marcus will take on Kraemer and Ludwig in the first round. John and Jeromi will be sick of one another by Saturday afternoon.

I pulled my old friend Steve Adams and his son in the first should be a good match. If we win we get the #1 seed Nguyen/Newman. I am so psyched for that.

Singles Battle Royal Update (Note from Marc)

We will give this one more try.

Saturday Dec 22 2:30pm - 5pm

The Oak Creek Christmas Massacre

Same Rules as Before. Please confirm by tomorrow so I can post the Draws!

New Feature: Child Care Available
Oak Creek Holiday Jr Tennis Party - Games, Prizes, PizzaRun by Jennifer Jerabek and the Oak Creek Pros - My Daughter will be there.
Ages 5 -13 - $15 per kid call the Tennis center for details.

So fool your wife, tell her you will take the kid while she does some last minute Christmas shopping,Then drop them off and make them someone else's problem, and Come out looking like Husband of the year and reap the benefits.Or maybe that's just how I roll.I already have tentative confirms from 6 players including myself so look like we are good to go,Thanks

I can't make it but I hope yall have fun.

Blog Challenge #2 (Batman & Robin reign supreme)

So it was a little bit of different match compared to the first challenge but the result was exactly the same 6-4, 6-2.

A close 1st set with a late break of Jim Yauch allowed Jeromi to serve out the first set. The 2nd set started on serve but then two early breaks set up Jeromi to serve at 5-2 and yet again close it out.

I have to say the ball was flying a lot faster than in our first match. Both Marc and Jim blast the ball as well as Jeromi so I spent most of the night attempting to mix it up a bit.

We did play a 3rd set for fun which the OC crew won 6-3.

I don't think anyone played their A game probably since none of us have played due to the weather lately and also some wind gusts and chilly temps that made the ball a little tougher to smack around.

Overall a pretty good match.

Next victim???

Singles Battle Royal (RAINED OUT)

Well the weather spoiled our plans but Marc is attempting to get us together for another date. It was a miserable day for tennis or existing outdoors for that matter. YIKES! I am still cold.

Blog Challenge #2 still set for Monday night, bring your long johns.

Blog Challenge #2

So Challenge match #2 is set:

When: Monday, December 17th
Time: 7 PM
Where: Oak Creek Tennis Center

Jeromi and I will travel to old and crusty hostile territory and defend our title against the OC Super team.

Cary Bazan and Jeromi Kelsey
v.
Marc Klamecki and Jim Yauch

Early odds are in favor of the champions but Yauch and his monster serve should prove to be more of a challenge than what we saw in the first match.

Now if the snow will just stay away...

Cotton Bowl Tourney Update

So the list of competitors is now listed for this tournament. There are 42 and 48 entries at 3.5 and 4.0 singles respectively and 15- 3.5 and 17- 4.0 doubles teams.

Some good entries at both levels. Ismael Dutchover and Tuyen Nguyen are coming up from Houston and playing singles and doubles. Hai Nguyen and Tim Newman playing together should be strong at 4.0 and Jeromi and Jonathan are playing in that draw as well. Jacques and Ron Corcoran should be strong too.

Any other thoughts and entrants?


http://tennislink.usta.com/tournaments/TournamentHome/Tournament.aspx?T=49396

Leaguetennis.com (FREE for Winter League)

Hey guys wanted to let you know about this:

There is another new flexible tennis league that is just launching in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. They offer singles AND, doubles formats. Individuals sign up for singles or with a partner for doubles and get a competitive schedule of matches over a 7 to 8 week time period. Very similar to the Ultimate Tennis or flextennis format.

They are offering all of their leagues FREE this Winter ( a savings of $25 which is the regular fee). They also offer a referral program that allows players to earn $2 in LeagueTennis dollars every season a referral plays so if you refer 13 players who play regularly, you could essentially play for free forever :)

Go check out their site for more info and get in quick for the doubles league the registration deadline is January 6th and the singles registration deadline is February 11th.

It seems like online tennis is growing and this seems like an interesting new site especially since they include a doubles format which for a doubles specialist like me peaks my interest. Also the creators of this site seem to have cost in mind since $25 is cheaper than other sites and even cheaper than local club leagues.

So many new tennis leagues to try out please let me know positive and negative feedback about any of these new sites.

Go check it out!!

Tri Level update, no blog challenge

So due to scheduling conflicts and nasty weather there was no blog challenge showdown #2 but stay tuned for a new victory photo soon with my new Batman partner.

Also thanks for reponse on the Tri Level. It seems there are some super teams being formed out there and even some people playing in Ft. Worth (I thought I was addicted to team tennis)

I am actually still sorting out stuff till Wed so if you are interested let me know it seems everyone is in need of 3.5 players so if you are out there and want to play let me know.

Right now I am just trying to fill up as many teams as possible on that 1st weekend but I might actually end up not playing in that tourney and opt to play in the upper level tourney on my B-day weekend.

Jason Freeman from Houston has put together a team that won the Houston area tourney and will be repping for Houston in the sectional event in February. His team last year won the TX tourney and represented TX in the tourney in Indian Wells, CA.

In order to help Jason and his travel expenses we need to put together a team good enough to crush him and his group. Sorry Jason we must put an end to the dynasty you are creating it is kind of like the NE Patriots or something down there.

Tennis, Tennis and more Tennis (Another challenge match)

As most of you know coming up in early January is the 2nd annual Tri Level Tournament.

January 4-6: Lower Level Tourney 3.0, 3.5 and 4.0
January 11-13: Upper Level Tourney 3.5, 4.0, 4.5

The Upper Level tourney filled up extremely fast. Two of the upper level teams have asked me about some top level 3.5 players if any of you are interested let me know.

I am also working to build teams in the lower level tourney on Jan 4-6. So feel free to contact me and I get you on a team. bazan.dean@gmail.com

The winners of both tourneys play in a State tourney down in Houston on February 22-23. (Road trip!!)

Also wanted to let you know about Ultimatetennis.com. I have heard great things about it and I saw they had an ad in our Tennis Life USTA magazine and they are starting leagues in Texas. These are flexible schedule leagues and have fun prizes like KSWISS shoes. The inaugural season in Texas is free so if you are interested sign up quick. I am already signed up and waiting for ya.

Also check out the article in Tennis Life about sandbagging. Apparently the eyes of Texas are upon us and are talking about unveiling some rules for the 2008 season. I will be interested to see what new changes will arise in 2008.

Marc’s Singles Battle Royal coming up next weekend (12/15), email him or post your info to his site.

Kelsey/Marcus v. Bazan/Pickett looks like it might happen this weekend or Monday barring rain.

Also don’t forget the deadline to sign up for the Cotton Bowl is December 9th.

Whew, did I forget anything……………..I thought I said this was a the dead time of year for tennis.

1st Blog Challenge Winners

So the results are in and 27% of you were right that Jeromi and I would win in straight sets. The first four games remained on serve and actually David and Jacques held rather easily while Jeromi and I struggled to hold serve. At 2-2 we were able to break David and held onto the break until Jeromi served it out at 5-4 but I believe we had 2 or 3 set points before we closed that out.

Jacques and David then held serve and immediately broke me to go up 2-0 in the 2nd set (I'll be honest I envisioned a 3rd set at that moment) Then Jeromi and I picked it up a bit and won the next 6 games for a final of 6-4, 6-2.

They are a good doubles team but I think we were just able to hold a little easier in the 2nd set which allowed use to take some risks.

Highlight of the night: Jacques hits a good serve down the middle to me and I hit a inside out forehand that clips the line and Jacques somehow curls a backhand around the post that just misses multiple water bottles and possibly a small child down the street and it somehow landed on the outside of the line.

Good stuff, I hope we can generate even more great challenge matches like this one.

Nice match guys!!!

Blog's 1st Challenge Match

So it is on!

Date: December 5th
Place: High Point Tennis Center
Time: 6:15 PM

Jacques Delira and David Prather
vs.
Jeromi Kelsey and Cary Bazan

Let me know your thoughts and feel free to give advice either way and your thoughts on who might win and how. Odds? Score predictions?

I look forward to playing these guys especially since Jacques gave me a loss a month or so ago.

Final day of Playoffs

So Garland and GH are on the court now as are HP and Lakes. Can't wait to see the results.

Looks like Oak Creek Branch is rolling along posting a sweep over T Bar paying them back for a regular season loss.

Correction the 3.0 result from yesterday it was actually Canyon Creek that won that tourney.

Playoffs Day 2

Well the forecast is shaky for rain and such but I don't see any on the radar so hopefully all the matches go on as scheduled.

3.5 starts the day in about 20 minutes

HP v. SBridge and Garland v. OC

I'll go with HP and Garland. I just didn't see enough last night from OC to take out Garland.

4.0
Lakes v Pearlman and HP v. Spk

Tough matches but I like the Lakes and HP

4.5
T Bar v. LB and F Oaks v OC BRANCH

T Bar should win easily but the next match is the one to watch, I hope I can make it in time but I think Branch will get a close win.

3.5 then ends the day at 3p
Garland v. Oakridge and HP v Greenhill

I see Garland and HP rolling in these matches.

Good luck.