Its Auto Show week in Detroit and one would think when
driving into the DAC parking structure and not finding an open spot until level
5, that the club would be stuffed full of members climbing over each other to
use the athletic facilities and courts. However, it has been a relatively quiet
week on both fronts, and the league last night was no exception. The allure of
what’s new on four wheels has been too good to pass up. Cars – 1. Racquets – 0.
Few matches were completed last night. And the most bonus
points any team picked up was only 9. Five teams picked up more than that last
week. “Space Geckos” have extended
their lead on top of the standings ever so slightly, but with not many matches
completed across the board, I wouldn’t be reading terribly much into that. The
first couple of weeks have been rather slack, it is taking time for people to
get their motors running and get back into the swing of things.
Of the matches that were played yesterday, many of them were
worthy of mentioning. Josh Slominski
(“Space Geckos”) took on Mike LoVasco (“Butter Nutz”) and we witnessed a very high quality game. Mike
scrambles very well and extends the rallies beyond what his opponents expect
(or certainly want). Josh, however, was up to the task and consistently hit a
fine width and length. That was the difference: long, hard rallies, ending with
an excellent tight rail or crosscourt. Josh 2, Mike 1.
Rivals JC Tibbitts
(“Winky-Dinks”) and John Mann (“Vivio’s”) were once again at it. John has had JC’s number when their
match has meaning – i.e. a league or box match. After splitting the first two
games, and determined to break the trend (or ‘curse’?!) JC found an extra gear in the third. He moved John around
just enough to end the streak, but it certainly wasn’t easy. Breathing heavily,
JC took the match 2-1.
Also gulping for air after the match (and dripping in
sweat!) was Han Peng (“Foss Nation”) who almost snatched a win
from Jeff Gierlach (“The Nicker Ballers”) but he fell a
couple of points short to go down 2-1. John
Hanley (“Mongoose”) had his work
cut out for him against Dino Ricci
(“Nick at Night”) as he tried to get
his first win against him in his third attempt. Unfortunately, today wasn’t the
day; Dino took the match 2-1 but admitted afterwards it was a tough contest.
Round 3 is also the “Meet the Candidates” night for the DAC
elections. Matches are only scheduled from 4.30pm – 7pm, the rest of you will
be self-scheduled. So make sure you get with your opponent (and in many cases,
your week 1 and 2 opponents as well), and get on court.