How it oughta go.... Unstoppable Force Meets Immovable Object..

Here is how I see this working itself out.  Superman versus Hulk or better known as Dallas West/Fort Worth (also known as Superman) vs NOHO (aka The Hulk).  The comic book question of who wins between Hulk and Superman will finally be answered.  DC and Marvel finally settle it on the tennis court in Kingwood, Texas.

First, they have to take down a bunch of B-List Superheroes.

Flight 2

I will start with the Dallas Team Flight.  The flight has Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Angelo and NETX.   We are represented by none other than Tony Le and his High Point based crew.  He has a strong team and here is my initial (actually final) breakdown.

At 4.5, he has Jean Nguyen, Alfredo Perez, Marcos Chavez and Sam Huynh.  There is a lot to like about that group.  I would think when it matters, he will go with Alfredo/Marcos but I would be hard pressed to leave Jean out.  Jean has won a lot and is as the Kelly sycophants call him... clutch!

At 4.0, we have a gaggle of reigning 18s and 40s national champs in this group.  You have Tony Le, Ryan DelaPaz, Hai Nguyen (not to be confused with Hai Thanh Nguyen as Tony has the better Hai), Victor Tran and Jared Kemp.  This is a very strong line any way he decides to go.  I would guess that he goes Tony/Ryan because they have been together a long time and I think this is as close to a lock down line as you can ask.

At 3.5, he has Mo Mahmoud, Wei-Bin Lai and Nick Strohla.  I'd be lying if I said I knew very much about any of them but I do see where Mahmoud won the 4.0 Cotton Bowl last year and won a lot last year.  The others look like guys who won a lot last year too.

Tony can put out three quality lines and in an event that only takes two to win, he has to like his chances in every match.

The flight has usually mighty Houston.  In no surprise, Freeman won Houston and looked to have a very strong team.  If early indications are correct, Freeman's boys are not representing Houston and are playing dirty pool by playing out of NOHO as Woodlands-Spearman.  More on them later.  This Houston team got beat by Freeman 2-1.  They took a pretty bad beating at 3.5 and 4.0 but won relatively routine (4&4) at 4.5.  I would think they are a 4.5 dominated team and hope to win one of those other lines.

Austin is the next team in that flight.  I am sure that this team is decent as Austin always puts out a good (usually not great) product.  They are captained by a 3.5 and that concerns me.  3.5s usually wouldn't know a good 4.5 if they saw one and are iffy on 4.0s as well.  Also, good 4.5s don't like to associate with too many 3.5s.  Looking at the players history, it appears to be a notch below Tony and Co.

NETX is here again and looks like the same guys that don't win every year.

San Angelo looks to be ready to bring up the rear.  If they are fortunate, they can pull an upset of NETX and stay out of the cellar but this team appears to be a contender for 4.0-3.5-3.0 Tri-Level.

Tony and Co appear to be in the driver's seat and should advance to the finals if he draws his lines out of a hat.

The Other Flight...

This flight has Wild Dallas,Newly Mighty Fort Worth (aka-Dallas West), NOHO, SETX and San Antonio.  This is clearly the tougher flight as all of these teams appear to be strong.

Wild Dallas is captained by the interesting Kingsley-Noel combination.  This team snatched defeat from the jaws of victory at the city level so I am hoping they make the most of their shot at redemption.

At 4.5, they have the captains of Vince Kingsley and Coredawg5.0 (formerly CoreDawg4.5 but originally CoreDawg5.0 and now CoreDawg5.0 again).  They also have the very good but geriatric Robert Barrie.  Rounding the team out you have very good 4.5s in Ryan Kirkpatrick and Hector Valentin. I would guess CoreDawg and Barrie play against toughest competition.

4.0s are Mike Sullivan, Craig Waters, Shawn Arcaria and John Sellars.  I am not sure what he does but Arcaria and Sullivan beat Tran and Le at the City level.  I would guess in the 'big one' this would be the line.

3.5 has Jeff Yarbrough, Jonathaon Wraith, Michael Campbell and Pushkar Chhajed (Random thought--how many names have back to back Hs?).  The first three all played in the sectionals finals and Wraith & Campbell got a win over Freeman's mighty 3.5 team.  I would have to think that is the line in the 'big one' for this line.

Wild Dallas should compete favorably as long as they make the right decisions.  They should have won Dallas and any team that can win Dallas is tough. 


Next up is West Dallas (aka Fort Worth)--Also Superman, this team is captained by the brain trust known as Sisk-Rigney.  Sisk has been around a long time and I think this is first time he has ventured out of of the friendly confines of Dirty Garland and now he teams up with Dirty Hurst and Wayne Rigney.  This joint venture appears to have worked out extremely well.  As this team is probably the best team either Sisk or Rigney has assembled.

4.5 has Voldemort Kelly anchoring his 4.5 line.  He is joined by very good 4.5s Donnie Pollard and Stephen Shreiner.  I would guess at the end of the day,  Kelly and Pollard are in the 'big one.'  As previously mentioned, I have to wonder if Kelly and Faris aren't actually the best 4.5 line.

4.0 has Scott Faris who laid waste to the competition at 4.0 40s sectionals and nationals.  There is Hai Thanh Nguyen ( the lesser Hai Nguyen in this event), the always precocious and controversial Mike Zackary (or is it Zackry, Zacry, Zackery, Zachary....), the even more precocious and controversial (not to mention hard to spell) Alan Abbruzzese, Mark Nguyen, and 1/2 of the team brain trust Wayne Rigney.  I would have to guess it will be Faris and ????.  All are good players so we will have to wait and see.

3.5 has the 9.0 line of Dong Long and Tam Huynh (1/2 of your 4.5 Cotton Bowl Champions).  They are joined by Phat Vu.  I have t think ths is the most unbeatable line at the whole event.


NOHO--Hulk is next also known as 'the big one'.  This is mostly your Houston city champs that abdicated their Houston spot to play out of NOHO and add a few pieces at 4.0.  After winning Houston they move to NOHO.  Dallas cannot do this and once again our friends at the DTA handcuff their teams.  To make matters worse, the DTA power trip rubbed off on Fort Worth.  I actually agree with Houston as the point is to play more tennis and not limit the amount that is played.  I just don't think it is fair that everyone doesn't play by the same rules and the DTA works their hardest to ensure we are handicapped.  This is a testament to Dallas tennis as we are effectively putting in 2 1/2 teams in sectionals (and FW gets 1/2).  Take that Houston!!!

4.5 has a potential Voldemort slayer in Tim Green.  He is joined with Antoine Ford, Phong Regent and Conor Holton-Burke.  I presume someone with Green will be the line when it matters.

4.0 is an interesting one as they add long time Houston 4.5/5.0 nefarious captain Red Benzon.  He was conspicuously missing from the Houston team.  I have to believe he is the reason for the move to NOHO.  I have to think it is Red and one of Freeman's famous Thursday night guys because that is what the rest of them look like.

3.5 has 4 defending 3.5 national champions but it doesn't matter as none of them can beat FW's mighty 9.0 pair.  I would guess Freeman goes with Benedict Wiley and one of the other guys. 

SETX may have some of the best 4.5s in the state; they just don't appear to be playing on this team.  This team won 2 of 3 doubles lines at sectionals finals against Freeman's mighty 4.5 nationals team but the ones that won are not on the roster.  Sadly, that is all they have.  The only way they beat one of these other teams is if someone gets injured.

San Antonio is represented by the mighty Borg that does well at sectionals every year and occasionally breaks through.  Like SETX, they just don't have the depth of lines to keep up with the big boys.  If they were in the other flight, they are fighting it out with Tony for a trip to the finals.  As it is, they are eliminated on Friday.

In the end, it will go to West Dallas (aka FWINO--Fort Worth in Name Only).  Kelly and partner will be just a little too much for Green and partner.  Will Faris and partner be a little too much for Benzon and one of Freeman's Thursday night extras?  The biggest question is whether FWINO's 3.5s serve 1 or 2 bagels to NOHO.  I guess Superman beats Hulk.

In the Finals, I see no way Tony's crew beat the Sisk-Rigney machine! 

How well do you know your tri-level team?

                    I've just seen the lineups and I can't bear to watch the match

We've got the right players.  We're convinced we can go the distance.  If we can survive our captain.  Yeah, you can only play the match if you're in the lineup but it may be won or lost long before the players take the court.

 

                             Every year they come in larger and larger hordes

Freeman used to have hundreds of 4.0s to choose from.  Then it was a seemingly unending stream of 4.5s.  Fresh off his 2015 national title now he seems to have waves of 3.5s to choose from.  But it all starts with the loyal immortals.  His Thursday night guys.  Can he convince a few to stay home or will he be saddled with having to play them all at Kingwood.  He has done well in the past steering a few guys towards the bleachers and still having them ready to saddle back up next year.

                                               The true 300, but all at 4.0

As the story goes, many moons ago Sisk had a team that got the wild card option but he couldn't accept it because he couldn't field a full team on late notice.  Since then he has filled his cupboards with players at 8.5 combo and tri-level.  This year it's only at 4.0 but he has a lot of them and it's a tough flight.  He's also too nice a guy to say no so we'll see if someone on his team steps up to deliver the bad news or if his two 9.0 lines can carry the day.

                             We've made sweet music all year, why stop now

Tony has ridden with his guys all year and it has paid off well for him.  But it's a little different now.  He had 4.0 cornered but he's had to step outside the band for 3.5s and 4.5s and I'm just not sure the music will be quite as sweet.  And yes, that is Tony on the right.

                                        I don't know, they all look the same

And finally it's everyone else.  Austin could be good.  SETX is respectable.  NETX always finishes in the middle.  San Antonio has the potential.  Wild Dallas already beat Dallas once.  What can I say?  At least this year, the rest all looks the same.  Pygmy cannibal mummies nipping at the big boys heals.

The Monster Lives

Sisk's challenge will be managing all the heads of his monster.

Yes, Virginia, the tri-level draws are out.  Have you figured out by now that they show up on tennislink last? 

Somebody really likes Tony.  They back door into the Dallas title after losing to team Vince/Corey.  And now they end up in a flight that does not have Freeman, SETX or the FW team.  Yes, it is cobbled together from various parts but it’s dangerous.  Bring your pitchforks and torches if you want to have any success, but FW is the favorite at this point.

Flight 1 Friday: play begins at noon with FW taking on Wild Dallas (Vince/Corey).  Congrats on your wild card invite.  Wild Dallas has already shown they can play but they start off down 1-0 on the 3.5 line, as will everyone else.  If you aren’t a believer yet look at the doubles finals of the 4.5 Cotton Bowl.  Yes, 4.5.  (One of Rigney's 3.5s beat Michael Reiman/Wyekhuen Hong, Sam Huynh/Victor Tran, Krystan Lazarin/JD Miles, Sam Huynh/Victor Tran and Tom Adcock/Brandon Myers on the way to winning 4.5 doubles).  At 1:30 its SETX versus NOHO.  Since SETX is basically SEHO, Freeman knows these guys well and I assume he will be adequately prepared.  At 3:00 Dallas Wild draws San Antonio.  No disrespect to SA but this may be as easy as it gets if you want a win.  Finally, NOHO versus San Antonio at 6:00.

Flight 2 Friday:  Tony’s biggest issue will be not looking too far ahead to the final and slipping up.  Dallas opens with Austin at noon so that should keep them sharp.  At 1:30 it’s Houston versus NETX.  Both teams are respectable but the Houston team actually finished second and NETX usually does ok but won’t contend.  At 3:00 Dallas has San Angelo and at 6:00 it’s San Angelo versus NETX. 

Flight 1 Saturday:  now it gets really interesting.  At 9:30 FW plays San Antonio but SA could be out of the running by then.  At 1:00 NOHO plays Dallas Wild.  This will be a fun match to watch as DW continues to find a combination that makes a statement.  SETX versus SA at 1:30 – yeah, yeah, get on with it. 

And at 3:30 the much anticipated tri-level final of FW versus NOHO.  A rematch of sorts at 4.0.  FW took out Freeman at 4.0 (18) sectionals and Dallas took out Freeman at 4.0 (40) sectionals.  We have a lot of those same players out on the court.  It’s a true heavy weight brawl.  So FW starts up 1-0 with their 9.0 line of 3.5s.  Actually, if they want to FW can roll out a 9.0 line at every level of play.  Should this have just been 4.5 tri-level instead of 4.5 and under tri-level?  Don’t think Freeman comes defenseless but it’s an uphill battle starting off 1-0.  And you still have to play Kelly and Faris.  I have to wonder if FW’s best line might actually be Kelly paired with Faris.  Much remains to be seen about who they will play with and will Kelly have to play every match for FW to win.

Oh, wait.  There are more matches?  Huh?  Wild Dallas plays SETX at 5:00 and the final is actually Sunday morning?  WTF?

Yes, it seems to be true.  There are more matches.  I am a big conspiracy theorist but I tend not to think USTA Austin conspired on the flights (we can discuss certain DTA actions another time) if for no other reason that I don’t see them rewarding Tony this year. 

I see no reason it shouldn’t be a Dallas versus FW grudge match in the final.  There is always the issue of guys who can't get to matches on Friday but I have to assume everyone is available.  Tony took out Rigney’s guys in 4.0 (18) finals but other than the 9.0 3.5 line, these aren’t Rigney’s guys.  And I do like Kelly as my second line.  Have to give this one to FW.

I am going to write a more in-depth analysis later but this is for today...

Champions often rise and fall with the bottom of the roster

                  Play me or I will share your weaknesses with your enemies

You didn't get him enough playing time at sectionals last year.  You owe him for bringing over one of your best players.  He runs down other team members thinking he can get more playing time.  He just plain nags the shit out of you until you put him in the lineup.  Yeah, that guy.

You hope for weak matches and good partners.  Maybe a default at cities would come his way.  Would that be enough?  What about if he actually thinks he's good?  The rest of the team literally holds their breath when he's serving in a tie breaker.  At least he got to a tie breaker, maybe that will help down the line.  But he knows about the secret path that would allow your enemies to overrun you so you can't just send him packing.  The yearly trials and tribulations of captaining. 

This is never a bigger issue than a three line event like tri-level.  There is very little margin for error, particularly when everyone else has ringers too.  There's an old saying that goes keep your friends close but your enemies closer.  The hard part is you aren't really sure which he is, or which he will become.  It's a day to day, week to week exercise and it changes constantly.  And he holds a grudge. 

How you handle this guy can effect your team long after the event is over. 

Tri-level Update - Rebirth of an Empire?

                             Will All Bow Down Before the Mighty NOHO?

As you are all now aware, Tony Le’s team back-doored into a city championship in tri-level but will be representing Dallas nonetheless.  Also no surprise that Jason Freeman won the Houston berth.  Fort Worth was won by the Sisk's Dallas West squad.  Austin will be represented by the Matthew Grant squad, although I’m not sure how good a team a 3.5C captain can put together.   San Antonio was won by The Borg.  They seem to take care of SA year in and year out.  And for any of you who may be new, don't fall asleep on the SETX team this year.  None of this is really much of a surprise so why the post?

NOHO is now represented by Freeman North, otherwise known as Woodlands-Spearman.  It is basically Freeman’s Houston team (the 3.5s and 4.5s are identical) plus some 4.0s extras, plus Red Benzon.  I’d say being able to add Red is worth starting another team, and they are abiding by Texas Section rules.  But how can they do it and Dallas can’t.  Well, for all of you who have heard that you can only play on one tri-level team, evidently that’s just a Dallas rule and not a Section rule.  Feel free to discuss with your local DTA rep if you like.

So kudos to Freeman for finding a way to strengthen his team.  That definitely makes his 4.0 line a lot stronger.  It also makes the potential sectionals matchups more interesting.   Fresh off losses at 4.0 18s and 40s, can the Houston boys have rebounded this quickly?

This story line is too interesting to drop.   More to come.