THE COULD’VE’S AND THE SHOULD’VE’S

Farris Cup 2020

The “would’ve’ s” “if-only ‘s”, the “what-about ’s”… the fumble in the end-zone on the end of the game winning touchdown… Okay, okay, it wasn’t quite as dramatic as that but this one did sting a little. Sometimes I feel we have a little of the Lions curse hanging over the DAC squash team as we get so close to winning matches but somehow find a way to let it slip. Is it our proximity to Ford Field? Has that black magic voodoo seeped through the outer walls of courts 7 and 8?

Last year, the BAC comprehensively spanked us 11 matches to 6 and at no stage were we anywhere close to making it a contest. This year was a different story. One of the most competitive days between the 2 clubs in recent memory, only 5 of the overall 17 matches ended up with a 3-0 score line. And - in all seriousness - that is the perfect spirit of the Farris Cup. When we have days like this, which club ends up winning is secondary. (It also eases the ‘sting’ considerably!)

The day kicked off at 9.15am with 2 singles matches. Mario Ferrini was tested early by not only Warwick Stirling but also by the BAC’s new glass side wall squash court, recently converted over the Xmas break. Taking a little to get used to the bounce and orientation, Mario eventually found his footing and the DAC struck first blood with a 3-1 victory.

Rick Paige and Robbie Biskup

Julie Vande Vusse was battling her opponent on a more conventional court and was finding it difficult to put him away. Bill Venner just kept hanging on, kept on hustling, kept on being enough of a nuisance to stretch the match not only to 5 games but all the way to a tie-break as well, saving 1 match-ball along the way. His persistence paid off and the 12-10 in the 5th win kicked off the BAC campaign.

An interesting matchup between Robbie Biskup and Rick Paige. Robbie has only a couple of seasons experience and is young, improving, athletic, tall… all the things us old folk are dreadfully jealous about. Rick is one of us in that sense - very experienced (!) but recently had to change from a right hander to a leftie because of a shoulder injury. Hats off to Rick for perseverance - I am not sure I could do that myself - and understandably he has dropped a couple of playing levels just so he can continuing playing. Even with his left arm, Rick gave Robbie a tough run for his money. Remarkable touch into the front corners, Robbie used every inch of his athleticism to chase down Rick’s drops. The longer rallies was the advantage Robbie needed and he took the win 3-1.

Matt Paradiso, Nathan Marsden

Matt Paradiso had a nervous start against Nathan Marsden losing the first game but he managed to calm down the jitters in the second with stronger hitting and less errors (always seems helpful). Matt was a lot more comfortable in games 3 and 4 and added to the DAC’s tally taking the match 3-1.

By the time the first doubles match was over… which was John Mann and birthday boy Scott Beals  - his b’day was the Friday and the lads were having joyous festivities in the DAC practicing their doubles play and practicing celebrating their upcoming doubles win with a few wobbly-pops - practice that clearly paid off since they won 3-1!… the DAC was enjoying a dream start to the day with a 4 match to 1 lead.

Then the cracks in the armor were starting to appear. Mike Petix had his chances against John Giudici but couldn’t maintain the consistency he needed and he lost in 4. Andy Adamo was always going to have a tough run against Brad Steel but with a little more fitness, Andy could have taken the match. Brad won 3-1 but Andy did have a game ball in the 4th.

Scott Beals, John Mann

In the tightest result of the day, Michael Wilson and Joe Bigelman gave themselves a ‘tour-de-court’ for over 60 minutes. Michael started off rather sketchy in the first, looking a little out of sorts having trouble finding his strings consistently and reading his opponent. But settling in, he pulled himself together and although it wasn’t easy, he did look in command with a 2 games to 1 lead. But Joe wasn’t about to roll over, he fought back hard taking the 4th and laying it all on the line in the 5th. The two went at it deep into the tie-break, both players having their chances to close out rallies, letting their opponents back into the point, hitting a couple of unforced errors, shanking a winner here and there… with eventually Joe walking off the 14-12 in the 5th victor… a body-blow to the DAC for sure.

Our second doubles match also did not go as planned. Bill Oddo and John Dunwoody started their mission positively winning the first game but it all unraveled after that. Their 1-3 result probably surprised them more than anyone else.

We did manage to steady the ship a little after Chris MacKenzie’s 3-0 win and David de la Torre getting through 3-1, but by the time the last round of matches were starting, the BAC had tied up the day and we were now 6 matches a piece. We had 4 singles and 1 doubles match to go.

Jess Berline, Stefan Houbtchev

On two of these singles matches, the BAC were clearly too strong. The quick 3-0 victories really put the pressure on us since now we had zero margin of error. We had to win all the remaining matches. Vikram Chopra kept us in the game taking care of business against Jack Parks 3-0, and then all eyes were on the last singles match of the day, Stefan Houbtchev v Jess Berline. My money was on Stefan here, and for 3 games I was feeling comfortable with that assessment. At 2-1 up, he did look the fitter of the two, and more in control of the rallies. But, Jess is hardly a slouch. His experience really started to show. It was relatively simple stuff… patience, minimal unforced errors, some clever angles that caught Stefan on his heels… Stefan got antsy under the heightened pressure and was now on the defensive, more scared to lose rather than looking to win. Jess was too mentally tough in the end and took a well deserved 5 set victory - the result that secured the Farris Cup for the BAC.

As it turned out, we also lost the last doubles match 3-1, so we ended up losing the day 10 matches to 7. The result felt like it was a lot closer than that though.

Congratulations to the BAC! They figured out a way to win those tight matches, it was the difference in the end. Once again our trophy cabinet will feel a little empty for the next 12 months, we will need to work harder net year if we wish to decorate that shelf again.

This was the 16th running of the Farris Cup, overall the BAC and the DAC have won the title 8 times each. Fitting.