LA CRÈME DE LA DOUBLES CRÈME

2022 DAC Club Championships

It’s like we are back to the good ol’ days. Covid is becoming just a fleeting distant memory and it won’t be long until we’ll be having the conversations and reminiscing… “remember – on pain of death - when we used to have to wear a mask, dress in a hazmat suit and keep a kangaroo’s leap away from any other human to go outside? That was awesome…”  It also brings back to normal the ineptitude of the Detroit Tigers, it’s May and we still have the heating on, my wife’s spring cleaning kick when she calls me at work to discuss if I still need that hand cream that expired 4 years ago or can she throw it away, and of course the DAC Club Championships, the celebratory event that signifies the end of the ‘busy’ season and honoring the conquerors of their respective categories!

Here is Part 1... Doubles…

Manny, Dave, Joe, John

60+… New kids on the block! No. no, not the players themselves, they have been around the block more times than a 5-year-old on a merry-go-round, but the category itself is new. I was delighted to see nine teams register, flaunting their youthful zealousness as if they had all discovered the fountain of youth. None more than the sprightly combination of Manny Tancer and John Roarty.A flawless performance through the entire draw, thwacking away their challenges like a couple of Aussies sitting on the back porch in the middle of summer fly-swatting all the mozzies away. Their opponents in the final were Dave Walker and Joe O’Connor who aren’t exactly push overs either, as they crept over the line in the semifinals against Ted Morris and Shail Arora 3-2. But Manny and John were taking no prisoners and took care of business 15-13; 15-11; 15-10 and awarded themselves with the first ever 60+ Doubles Club Championship title!

C Draw… I bow to the greatness of Renée Fershée! She has been a superstar this season with getting new members involved into the doubles league. She will email you, call you, wine and dine you, and if that doesn’t work, she’ll threaten you, kidnap you and chuck you onto the court and force you. If she could play doubles 25 hours a day 8 days a week, she would. From not even having a C draw last year, we managed 6 teams for 2022, and Renée was instrumental in arranging many of those players. Of course, she was also a victim of her own success since she teamed up the winning squad of Dan Pawlak (her own nephew as well!) and Spencer Roed. Dan and Spencer got to the final beating the DAC’s first ever all female crew of Sam Quilter and Ashley Thibodeau in an all-out 3-2 scrimmage. Word on the street from all involved was it was the best match they had ever played (win or lose). In the final, Renée and her partner Shane Wummel couldn’t quite come up with the goods and they went down 3-0. As expected, this hasn’t dampened Renée’s motivation, in fact it has no doubt stoked the flames… she is still on the warpath and throwing together a posse for the summer league that would have more players than in the winter. Unheard of and awesome!

B Draw… The largest of our doubles draws. Looming large and determined were the pairing of Jordan Dean and Colin Casey.

Jordan Dean and Colin Casey

The bridesmaids in 2021, that loss was still stinging deep into the veins. Like Frodo on a quest to Mordor, anything less than success would signify certain doom to the Colin Casey Shire. They reached the final dropping only one game and were preparing themselves to go into combat against the one and only team that had beaten them in the league since 2020… Mike and Alex Parker. However, Mike and Alex were upset in the semi-final against our tallest ever combined team of Andrew Miller and Will Owen. There aint no lob high enough, aint no crosscourt wide enough, it feels like you’re playing against two Dr. Octvaius’s. Undeterred, and with laser like focus, Colin and Jordan had nothing but eyes on the prize, and nothing – not even the supernatural wingspan of their opponents – was going to deny them victory. It wasn’t without complication or stress. Andrew and Will gave them all they could handle. At 1-game all and 14-14, the sudden death point fell to Colin and Jordan and that turned out to be the pivotal moment. That game loss took the wind out of the Miller / Owen sails and the 4^th was a little easier for the Casey / Dean team. The Shire was saved, Colin will be able to sleep nightmare free once again.

A Draw… A very competitive bracket. The first mega-result was in the first round. Rob Biskup and Robbie Biskup father and son combo went down to the wire against Charles Roby and Dewey “I-can-hear-you-before-I-can-see-you” Steffen. Maybe (maybe not?) a little controversial finish with the ‘let’ call on the do-or-die rally, but Roby and Steffen walked off the 15-14 in the 5^th as the winners. A confidence booster for the pair, they then took down the second seeded team of Dave Walker and Brandon Tasco 3-1. Dave tipped his hat to them and said that they were simply outplayed on the day. The unforeseen semifinal berth was as far as they would get however. Ian Edwards and Matt Paradiso were quietly making their way through the draw and very politely sent Roby / Steffen softly “Boo-Yah-ing” their way back to the locker room after a 3-0 victory. Meeting them in the final – Rich Stimson and John Roarty. The second mega-result for the category. In the semifinal Rich and John had a ding-dong clash against Patrick Petz and Manny Tancer. It what was one of the matches of the season no doubt, and nothing wrong with a little passion thrown into the mix, it was all in good spirits. It’s gut-wrenching to lose so close a match as well, but can be exhilarating winning one. Rich and John lucked out and pinched it 15-14 in the 5^th. An interesting final, it was a good showcase of the importance of playing doubles regularly and not just once year. Stimson / Roarty displayed the needed experience and kept their younger opponents off balance and frustrated. A well earned 3-1 win. This is Rich’s 3^rd doubles club champ title. His first came in 2009.

Open Draw… Probably the most tightly contested Open draw we have had in recent memory. Let’s start with Tom MacEachern and John Mann. Certainly (and no offense to them) not a team that was picked to reach the semifinals. Their run was impressive if not a tad unusual. In both their first 2 rounds, they were deep into the 5^th game when one of their opponents (Max Franklin in round 1 and David de la Torre in round 2) snapped their Achilles tendon. A horrible way to end any match and we send Max and Dave all the best for a full and speedy recovery (as much as an Achilles recovery can be quick!). That being said, not taking anything away from Tom and John, there was every chance they could / would have won anyway. Stopping them in their tracks was Stefan Houbtchev and Ryan Covell. Stefan and Ryan definitely looked like the team to beat in the final – cruise control up until that point. Meeting them there was Robin Basil and Vikram Chopra. No surprise there, but they almost stumbled in the semifinals against JC Tibbitts and Jason Currie. Currie / Tibbitts almost caused an upset as big as when the Australian army in 1932 declared war against an army of emus…. and lost (look that up – it’s actually true). They took Chopra / Basil to the brink only to fall short 15-10 in the 5^th. The final was the first 5-setter we’ve had since 2013. And it was a doozy. Stefan and Ryan were still in cruise control and motored through the first game 15-3 before Robin and Vikram even knew what hit them. But they got their mojo going in the second game and although they didn’t win it (13-15), they felt as if the tide was turning. It was as if Rocky Balboa had finally landed that one punch on that Russian drug cocktail and suddenly the match had a different vibe. The squash was high quality. Hard hitting, hard angles, hard running, hard drinking from the audience… enthralling, exciting, captivating…tasty. Down to the last couple of points in the 5^th game… 13-all… 14-13… Extraordinarily, from 0-2 down, Vikram and Robin completed the most improbable comeback to win 15-13 and with that, they retain the title for another year! Congratulations fellas!