A PAINFUL CLOBBERING

Farris Cup - January 15, 2022

Simply put: No. Chance.

This wasn’t even close. Before the day started, I wasn’t exactly brimming with confidence, even on paper the matchups were not overly attractive for us. And as if the task ahead of us wasn’t almost insurmountable enough, we lost our number 1 player 24 hours before the start of the event due to Canadian Covid protocols. Not that it would have made a lick of difference on the overall result, it just would make the score line a smidgeon less disfigured.

Joe Sheena and Paul Gormley

Kicking the day off, we had Paul Gormley against Joe Sheena (BAC). Scuttlebutt on Joe is that he’s a respectable tennis player that can serve the ball at over 110 mph. His squash serve of course is a carbon copy and he did his utmost to drill the ball through our front wall and send it into the back pavilion. Now at the 2.5 level, serving at that pace is a tremendous weapon. It’s difficult to react and handle effectively. Paul did a reasonable job for the most part and once the rally was going, the two had some decent exchanges. However, brute power ruled the day. Joe got the BAC motor humming early and loudly and took the 3-0 win. The BAC never looked back.

While Paul was fending off the bullets on court 8, Josh Gershonowicz was giving himself every chance to even the deal on court 7 against John Giudici. A lot more controlled pace, Josh took one game to find his feet and rhythm, and the second and third were a lot more balanced. Josh was actually leading in those games and it’s so important to convert opportunities when they arise, but the business end of the sets belonged to John, and he squeezed out both of them in tie-breaks. Another 3-0 win for BAC.

It didn’t improve for the DAC. The next 2 singles matches were decided in even quicker fashion. We were now 4 results into the day, and we hadn’t made even a slight dent into the score board. 4 matches to zero. 12 games to zero. My foreshadowing was becoming a reality in a hurry. However, a brief moment of joy relieved the gloom momentarily - AJ Peleman and won his match 3-0! A notch in the DAC win column! Was there hope?

Logan, O'Connor, Mehta, Payne

For a while, it looked like the vortex of despair was creeping onto our doubles court as well. Peter Logan and Joe O’Connor were definitely one of my (few) favorites on the day, but to my bewilderment they were looking down at a straight sets loss after losing the first 2 games to Henry Payne and Mehul Mehta. The glimmer of optimism that AJ had set alight was fading fast. But all was not lost. The comeback was in full gear. Peter didn’t come all the way from Montana to go down in a screaming heap in three. A comprehensive third and fourth game turnaround, the fifth was closer until about 8-all when the DAC team started to string together some points and they finished off the match in fine style. It was now 2 matches to 4… could we make something of this after all?

Ummm… no. We could not.

The singles results were coming in thick and fast. It was complete one-way traffic. It was ugly. Of the 14 singles matches for the day, we lost eight of them 3-0. Plus add on 4 more losses that were 3-1 or 3-2, that’s 12 of the 14. To win the Farris Cup, 9 is the magic number. 

Wins for the DAC were scarce. Our third victory for the day also came via the doubles court. Robin Basil and Ryan Covell have turned themselves into rather proficient doubles players. Their racquetball background no doubt very helpful here, they recognize and execute angles that are unconventional but are also the base of what the doubles tactics should be. Effective being the operative word. They were unlucky not to take their match 3-0, I believe the game they lost (2nd), was 14-15. They deserved the ‘W’, they were the better team this day.

Some other diamonds amongst the rough here, special mention to Jordon Dean. Jordan was scheduled to play at 10am and his opponent was nowhere to be seen. After an exhaustive search by the BAC team, eventually the fellow was found, and he rocked up 2 hours late. Jordan was still very eager to play his match, so I commend his sportsmanship and effort for the day. We were unfortunate not to see the encounter, it was played upstairs, and probably one of the best matches of the day with an epic 5-setter. Jordan unluckily on the wrong end of the result.

Matt Paradiso and Jack Parks

Also, I would like to shout out Matt Paradiso. I am very impressed with his game. He took on a tough opponent in Jack Parks, who can run like a jack rabbit (pun intended). Matt stays very calm on court regardless of the situation, and even though he went down 3-1, I felt that he is more than capable of winning matches of this caliber. A little more experience is needed - it’s not just being more consistent with tightness and unforced errors, some shot choices at critical junctures also let him down. He’s a quick study however, and he’ll will be a better player after this.

All eyes at the end of the day were on the 2 club champions going head-to-head. Even though the Farris Cup was long ago decided, there was still interest amongst the clubs as to who has the top-dog overall. Vikram Chopra for the DAC versus Jess Berline for the BAC. It was a curious contrast. Jess is a smooth customer, flowing technique, clean striker. He knows how to finish a rally, hunts the volley well. However, his movement is suspect. Vikram on the other hand cracks the ball very hard with a whippy technique that can be difficult to read. 

Jess Berline and Vikram Chopra

He likes pace in the game but can be inconsistent with his hitting. He does, however, hold an important advantage in that he moves quicker than Jess. A telling factor at the end of this match. The players swapped games. Vik the first, Jess the second, Vik the third, Jess again in the fourth. But by this stage, going into that 5th, I knew Vik had him beat. Jess was struggling with the fitness and movement. He was hanging back off the ’T’, shoulders were starting to slump, he was becoming flat-footed. Vik’s key was to be steady and patient. He was also tired, but importantly he was less tired than Jess. He needed not to force the short ball but wait for that opportunity. He executed that game plan almost flawlessly and Vik took the 5th in comfortable fashion, and small victory for the DAC at the end of a day that needed some positiveness for us.

Brian Rassel...!

The overall result: 13-4. Ugh. Congratulations to the BAC, we will be licking our wounds here for some time. This being the 17th episode - we started way back in 2005 - the BAC now leads 9 wins to 8. At the end of the day, though, it’s all about getting together and celebrating what the Farris Cup is all about - honoring the late John Farris for who the Cup is named after, and the continued healthy relationship between the DAC and BAC. Breaking bread and clinking glasses after the matches is - in reality - more important than the games of squash itself.

Thank you to all that participated. I just have one more shout out before I leave you. I am very grateful to Brian Rassel for being able to fill in for us last moment after we lost Stefan in our lineup. It’s not always easy to jump in unprepared. So, I guess we can forgive Brian for forgetting to pack his collar and jacket for the luncheon and accidentally bringing his pajamas instead. Very fashionable, mate… very fashionable.