2.5 category – James claims the games…
For all the winners this year, and not diminishing anyone else’s performance, I think I am more pleased with this res
ult than any other. James Van Dyke [pictured left] has been working on his squash, taking lessons and practicing hard; and the pay-off is evident. The top 4 seeds reached the semi final of the 2.5 draw, and both of those matches could have turned out differently to what they did. James battled with last year’s finalist Shail Arora, well known for his speed and tenacity. The two had a monumental 5 game battle and James did the unlikely – he made Shail tired – and managed to finish him off in the 5th. Andrew Spohn won the other semi 3-1 over new-comer Brandon Dobbins, a match that easily could have gone to 5 games as well. For the final, James controlled Andrew from the get-go and did not relinquish control. His 3-0 win a testament to all the effort he has been putting in.3.0 category – The Matt that’s all that…
The number one question I had for this event was: who was going to stop Bob Rogers? Bob has been virtually unstoppable since he started playing at the DAC back in the summer of 2009, and in fact he won his first 40 matches before recording his first loss. He reached the semi final rather comfortably where he came up against Matt Didio. Matt had cruised to the semi final round as well, and it appeared that he had hit form at the perfect time. He was able to stop the ‘Rogers Express’ with an excellent 3-1 win, stepping into the final against last
year’s 3-0 winner, Arnaud Mangin (pronounced “R-no”; it’s French!). Arnaud suffered a nasty foot injury at the beginning of the winter that had him side-lined for much of the season and his preparation for the club championships was minimal. But there are no excuses. Matt outplayed Arnaud in all 3 games for the 3-0 win, and for me, was the biggest surprise winner of the tournament. [Pictured: Matt Didio with his wife, Angela]3.5 category: Heartbreaker for Baker…
Without a doubt, this final was the match of the club championships. It’s been the most talked about amongst the
members, and both players have been admired for their effort, sportsmanship, and level of play. Matt Jarboe and Brien Baker [pictured left] both reached the final but neither of them had it easy. Matt won his first round 3-2 and the semi 3-1 to get there, and Brien won his first two matches 3-2 before dispatching last year’s finalist Rich Stimson 3-0 in the semi. I predicted this match would be tough, and to state the obvious, it was. Matt jumped out to an early lead and snapped up the first 2 games. Never one to quit, Brien knuckled down for the next 2 games to take the match to a 5th. It was a real ball-burtsing, gut-wrenching, lung-rupturing adventure. Nor could it have been any closer. Matt won the battle 10-9 in the 5th but in reality – and to be very cliché – there were no losers in that match. Both players have to be lauded… and both players will be playing at least the 4.0 next season.4.0 category: Gembis v Ward yet to cross swords…
Since Paul Ward played the 4.5 final on this day, the 4.0 final has been postponed – result still pending…
4.5 category: Scott’s got the shots…
A small draw this year for the 4.5 category. Only 6 entrants (as opposed to 13 last year) and 5 of those were also in the 4.0 draw! The only stand-out was Jim Stroh who lost his first match to Paul Ward 3-1. The handful of players in the draw are all of a similar playing standard, so this title was literally up for grabs for any one of the six. Jeff Gembis lost to Scott Adlhoch in the semi final 3-1, but in the 4.0 draw he beat Scott 3-1 to get to that final. On paper, the Adlhoch v Ward match had all the makings of another long, run-filled expedition. Up until the final, Paul had been playing very well and was full of confidence. Funny how things can turn on you. Also, maybe it was a mental block – Scott had beaten Paul 6 times in a row dating back to October 2008. This ended up being number 7. Paul struggled for the three games to find the rhythm that got him to the final in the first place and Scott wasn’t taking any prisoners either. The 3-0 victory for was an excellent follow-up on Scott’s 2009 4.0 club championship win- also over Paul.
5.0 category: Rock of Gibraltar Rakolta…
This was the hardest of all the draws to organize. I counted anyone of 8 players to win this one, as on any given day, the results can go either way. But lately, one of the players has been slowly lifting their game and is beginning to dominate the others. Defending 5.0 champ Peter Shumaker reached the final again winning all of his lead-up matches 3-0.
Meeting him there was John Rakolta. Although John has gone through recent patches of inconsistency, overall he has improved his squash noticeably. Finer court coverage, better mental toughness, greater steadiness. He would need all of these attributes to overcome Peter who continues to defy the odds year after year with his downright doggedness, experience, and staying power that simply must be admired. The intense match was a fascinating tussle between the two contrasting styles. Verifying John’s progression over the last 12 months (he won the 4.5 category last year); he won this match 3-1. He is now ready to tackle the top tier players. [Pictured: Peter Shumaker and John Rakolta]Open category: Clockwork Kirk…
It was fantastic to see the Open draw filled with the younger guys wanting a crack at the ‘old-school’ crowd. It was eye-opening for them to get on court and see exactly what they need in order to compete at that level – and the work required to get there. The absence of the 2009 champion Peter Logan (recovering from knee surgery) opened the door for different finalist to challenge Kirk Haggarty for the title. Kirk had to get through 2 rounds to reach the final and he did so untroubled. John Birgbauer was tipped to be his opponent but that almost didn’t happen. In a huge scare, that would have been the upset of the championships, John Rakolta was one rally away from knocking John B. out. He was 8-6 in the 5th up – match-ball – before failing to close out the match and eventually went down 10-8. For the final,
apart from being 2-3 down in the first game, Kirk was always in the lead forcing John to play catch-up. At 2 games to 0 up, and 5-0 up in the 3rd, it looked like the match - and John - was done. But slowly and unpredictably, the momentum started to change. Maybe John relaxed more, but he started to hit better, more controlled length, started to hold his shots and wrong-foot Kirk, and started to inch closer on the score board. One rally a time, John got back to 6-7 and threatened to snatch the game away. But it was not to be. Three quick rallies to end it, and Kirk shut the comeback down. Kirk Haggarty becomes the 2010 DAC Club Champion – congratulations! And, adding to this fine achievement, this is Kirk’s 10th singles title! [Pictured: John Birgbauer and Kirk Haggarty]
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