Copying the
management approach of Stewie Griffin from “Family Guy”, I will do this report
in the style of a ‘compliment sandwich’. That’s when I start out with some
praise, follow up with a topic to work on, then finish up with some more
flattery. For a 1-year old, Stewie is wise beyond his infancy.
So, let’s
start out with a positive note. We had 16 members sign up for the Cross Border
Challenge in Windsor which is a pretty good number. I was pleased with that and
when we do receive that level of support, organizing matches becomes a lot
easier.
Something we
can enhance. The disappointing aspect, however, was the fact that we only had
one match above a 4.0 level. Windsor put forward some higher standard opponents
that we simply could not match-up - that includes the doubles where I had to
step in to make up the numbers. The Cross Border Challenge is the perfect
opportunity for everybody - of all levels - to get some
irreplaceable match experience. Windsor is close, social, and they have a deep
pool of tough opponents - of all levels. Everybody should be
taking advantage.
The top slice
of the sandwich. This will take a little longer since the event itself needs to
be covered, and it was all good. Getting things started for the DAC was Tom Fabbri who had been floundering with
his form of late. I gave him a simple 3-word advice: Back to basics. He came
off the court a 3-1 victor and was a lot more satisfied with his performance
(winning can do that!).
Windsor came
back strongly in the next 2 singles matches with Rich Routley taking out David
Devine in 3 close
games and Stephen
Allen beating a
nervous Kevin
Prather also 3-0.
For the red-face award of the afternoon, Paul
Ward turned up 40
minutes late as he realized when he was 5 minutes from the tunnel that he had
forgotten his passport and he had to go back home to pick it up. His patient
opponent - Anis
Khan - took it all
in stride and then took Paul on a 4-corner tour of the court as he beat him
3-1.
 |
| Buddy "Superman" Ranchuk and Joey Gaylord |
Joey
Gaylord then proved
than wearing a Superman t-shirt doesn’t actually make you a Super Hero as be
handed a 3-0 lashing out to his ‘big S’ bearing opponent, and Sante Fratracangeli just keeps on finding ways to
win when he muscled through the only 5-set singles match of the day with a 3-2
triumph.
The DAC then
scored 3 more victories when Jim
Stroh showed no
mercy for the fairer sex with a 3-0 win over Cathy Corchis, Brian
Bartes handling Colin Bateman after they split the first two
games before Brian ran away with the 3rd and 4th, and Greg Rivard tasting sweet revenge on Adam Pole with a convincing 3-0 clobbering
when Adam beat Greg in 5 at the previous Cross Border. But those 3 matches were
nullified when Windsor took control of the final 3 singles matches of the day,
taking two of them 3-0 and one 3-1.
 |
| Jim Stroh and Cathy Corchis |
Onto the
doubles. History would suggest that Windsor has the upper hand here, but
recently we have been having a little more success. We would need it on this
occasion. For the comeback of the day, Patrick
Petz and Greg Rivard found themselves quickly 2-0
down against Dave
Hornby and Herb Funkenhauser. Luckily, they managed to turn
things around in the 3rd and from there they refused to give up the momentum.
The 5-set win was invaluable.
Next on the
doubles court was John
Dunwoody and myself.
We were up against Tom
Porter and Dean Lansens and we had our work cut out for
us. It was a match of one game on, one game off. We took the first, lost the
second, won the third, and lost the fourth. It was our turn for the fifth, but
the Windsor lads were not sticking to the plan. Dean’s low forehand volley kill
proved a little too much for us, and Tom’s low forehand half ‘drop shots’ from
the back corner (he’s a leftie) had us flatfooted a couple of times too often.
We lost 3-2.
 |
| James Konrad, Rich Routley, Tom MacEachern, Shail Arora |
When the
final doubles match was on, it was an exciting scenario. For Windsor to take
the Cross Border trophy, they had to win 3-1. The DAC team needed 2 games. (If
we lost 3-2, both clubs would have been tied with 8 match victories, and 30
games won. We would have kept the Trophy as reigning champs...). The poor four
souls that had to suffer the pressure: Tom
MacEachern and Shail Arora against Windsor’s Rich Routley and James Konrad. This is what it is all about.
Rich and James started strongly and they were looking very good with a 2-1
lead. The atmosphere was ramped up, the cheering increased 10-fold, and the
anticipation could be felt all the way through the club. Of the 4 players on
the doublers court, Shail was by far the most experienced and in such
situation, that can be invaluable. It equates to a steadier hand, less errors,
a calmer mind. Plus, it can have a soothing effect on the partner (if needed!).
It was a difference maker. Shail and Tom fed off their opponents mistakes as
the pressure built and they won the deciding 4th game as well as the 5th for
the icing on the cake (or the olive on the sandwich!)
The DAC
retains the Cross Border Trophy for a 4th consecutive win with 9 matches to 7.
Kudos to Windsor for being the wonderful hosts we are accustomed to. The next
one is scheduled for April at the DAC... can we make it 5-peat???
 |
| Most of the players and supporters - Thank you for a great event! |
