Blitz Tournament - October 5, 2018
What a memorable moment in DAC Blitz Tournament history! I
write this with watery eyes, a slow shedding of the joyous tear as I look back
to that Friday evening of October 5, 2018, where… wait for it… not only did ALL
the 28 players that registered turn up, they were ALL ready to go
in the court area at exactly 5:07 pm, a mere 7 minutes past that start time. It’s
a moment that may never be repeated, so I wanted to take that blip in the matrix
and share it with you. A moment of silence please…
As I throw my damp tissue away, (sniffle…) I thank
you.
Four groups of 5 and two groups of 4 were sent on their
merry way to fight over the 12 knock-out round spots. Players ranging from raw
novice to our current esteemed club champion Vikram Chopra - another
rare treat as a few select players got to experience the effort of returning a
squash ball that’s being ripped at you like it’s coming out of a bazooka. I
didn’t make it easy for Vik. He entered every game he played 13-0 down. He went
2 for 2, both of wins at 15-14, both of his losses not quite as close.
The 2 wins wasn’t enough for him to advance.
For the raw novices, it was never going to be easy either.
Full credit though for both Laura Collier and Brady Savage who
stepped into the lion’s den after playing only a handful of times between them.
But it is one of the best things to do, a great way to learn, experience,
watch, and of course meet some fellow squashes and share a frothy beverage!
Brady did manage to win one game though - against Dane Fossee who
immediately branded him a ‘ringer’, but with a 15 -4 (!!) score line, the only ‘ringing’
Dane was hearing was his own shots crashing into the tin. Laura was not so
fortunate, but she did hold at least 1 game ball against Paul Gormley.
Matt Paradiso almost fell into the ‘raw novice’ category,
but he did play the Cross Border Challenge last month so he has earned his
promotion to the next level: 'blossoming neophyte’. Matt can already nail the
scalp of Vikram Chopra above his mantelpiece as he took down the club
champ 15-12, and in fact went through the group stage with 3 wins and just 1
loss to earn his way to the finals round.
The Mr. Consistency award for the round robins goes to 2
players. Firstly, Jason Currie won 3 of 4 matches, every single score
was 15-13. That’s a pretty decent effort, considering he lost just 4 rallies
total in the 3 victories (and 7 in the one he didn’t!). Sam Fogleman
collects the other one, although he no doubt doesn’t want it. He lost all 3 of
his matches 15-12, but understanding all of his opponents were significantly
higher ranked, he actually faired rather well.
For the first time in a long time (since I can recall
anyway… which maybe not that far back considering I’m lucky to remember to wake
up in the morning these days!) we did not need to draw straws in any of the 6
groups to see who would advance to the knock-out round. There is an asterisk to
that statement however, since we we’re supposed to draw straws in group
4 between Dane Fossee and Justin Winkelman, but Dane conceded the
short straw and bowed out. He blamed his lack of ‘straw-drawing’ practice. I, however,
have a slight feeling there was another reason.
On to the finals, where the handicaps are made up on the
spot and the beers everyone has consumed by this point don’t factor into it. I
did voice my willingness to be bought however - $5 a point - but nobody seemed
prepared to take me up on the offer.
 |
| Paul Gormley and Jon Diewald. The 592nd meeting. |
Paul Gormley matched up against Jon Diewald,
a couple players very familiar with each other since they played 437 matches in
the summer league. It felt like every time I checked my email, another result
between the two was staring at me. Paul won most of them so I gave Jon 4 points
head start. However, he must have misunderstood my incredibly generous $5 per
point offer and insisted he start with only 2. I wasn't giving him $10
though. It was a sporting call. It was a brave call. It was the right call. Jon
took the game 15-13. I then gave him 10 points against Joey Gaylord, and
he decided to be believe me this time not even debating handing any back.
Another good decision as it turned out and he won that game as well 15-12.
Han Peng took on David Zack in his
first finals game and the two started 0-0. Han has been playing well lately and
he took control of this one quickly, David not able to catch up from an early
deficit. Han advanced with 15-9 win to then contend with Brian Ellison.
I gave Han 6 points to start and this was arguably the most exciting game of
the tournament. The hustling from both players was great to watch, the 6 points
a perfect handicap as it turned out. Han held 2 game balls at 14-13 and
desperation squash kicked in, Brian flying around the court, diving into the
corners, his bright orange Salmings often higher in the air than his squash
racquet. He won that rally when he really had no business doing so and on the
sudden death point… he nicked out the serve.
The joy of that escape was short lived, a minute later he
was back on court in the semifinal with Jon Diewald. Again, Jon accepted
his 9 point handicap without a squabble and did all he could to cause the
upset. Brian continued to play urgent squash, he did not have much margin for
error. It got close, they got nervous, but in the end Brian avoided the tin
just enough to take it 15-13 and move on to the final.
The lower half of the knock out draw featured the current
Blitz Tournament title holder - Brandon Tasco. Making his push for back
to back titles, a feat not achieved since way back in Oct 2013 and March 2014,
Brandon’s first match was against Greg Allare. Greg’s never-say-die
attitude makes him one tough cookie, but Brandon’s 8 point handicap was just
little too much to overcome - even for Greg. A 15-10 win and Brandon was now in
the semifinal facing his biggest challenge of the event so far - Jason
Currie. This game would be another candidate for being the best one of the
evening, Brandon stepped on with a 9 point lead, and the rallies long and
punishing. It was fantastic to see how Brandon stepped up his game and went
toe-to-toe with a player quite a few rungs up the ladder higher than him. On
the other hand, Jason accepted the challenge that was thrown at him and kept
his errors to an absolute minimum - there were no easy points. Huffing
and puffing, plenty of bent bodies with hands on the knees, Jason was able to
outlast Brandon and take the 15-13 win.
 |
| Jason Currie and Brian Ellison |
The final: Currie v Ellison. Ellison was given 9 point
handicap. Currie was given a beer. Ellison had the support of his wife and new
born, on the sidelines, Currie had the support of his racquet to help him stand
up. But, to be honest, it did look like Brian was the worse for wear between
the two. He too had run rivets into the wood to get this far and his legs were
not happy with him. Jason’s plan was the same - run that ball down, and do not
make an error. Make Brian earn every darn point. He did, but not enough of
them. He managed 3. Jason, who has twice been the bridesmaid in the Blitz,
finally picks up his first title with the 15-12 victory!
