LOW TURNOUT HURTING TEAMS

Boasters League round 4~~

I’m not sure what the problem is, so how does one go about fixing it? How do you convince everyone that they should be playing their matches? Another low turnout yesterday has spread out the teams even more. The most matches played by any team in round 4 so far is 6 (of 15). Overall court usage hasn’t waned, so why aren’t these matches getting completed? The last three teams on the standings have all had the bye so it is understandable that they currently occupy those positions, but the “Winky-Dinks” have had the bye too. And they are 3^rd.

“Busting Rails”, for example have only picked up 17 points combined in the last 2 weeks. Where are they? With 4 rounds in they are already 22 points off the last play-off spot – and 66 points of first. All I can do is keep pushing… it is up to you to get on court.

Exciting matches were featured last night, here are some highlights: Paul Huth (“Mongoose”) battled hard to take the 2-1 win over Rich Stimson (“Vivio’s”), and with that victory Paul remains undefeated so far this half. Dane Fossee (“Foss Nation”) snuck out a 2-1 win over Josh Slominski (“The Kampai Warriors”) celebrating his first win of the year; Chip McDaniel (“Paddy’s Dropshots”) s now 4-for-4 as he got past Steve Murphy (“Wardogs”) 2-1; and Andrew Spohn (“Butter Nutz”) took care of business with a 2-1 triumph over Joe Schaden (“Busting Rails”).

With the DAC Classic coming up next week - the league is still scheduled for Wednesday – everybody could use some much needed match practice. I won't sugar coat this. There are numerous people in the league that have committed the cardinal sin of not played any matches yet – it will be very difficult to get them all completed as the days go by. As I mentioned above – it is up to you to take a pro active approach and organize times to get on court. League success is not measured by how many people are listed in each team, but by how many matches get done. So get them done!

BUTTER NUTZ SQUASHES WINKY-DINKS

Boasters League round 2~~

The quick-fire lead the “Winky-Dinks” established in round 1 was short lived. “Butter Nutz” made up the deficit and more last night when the two teams squared off against each other. Bonus points aside – (“Winky-Dinks” picked up a season low 11 which was still more than every other team) - the “Butter Nutz” were instead content in handing out some goose eggs on the court. Five of them in fact. That’s a significant amount of points which is tough to overcome.

On the other end of the ladder, “Mongoose” improved considerably compared to week one’s performance, but are still reeling in 8^th place, 2 points ahead of “Wardogs” who have already had the bye. Unless they start now to get matches completed, they will be struggling mightily to make up the big difference that already looks threatening.

Participation was quite healthy for round 2, but there is always room for improvement. Every team picked up at least 6 bonus points, but you can’t live on those alone. Matches also need to get done, and if your team is scoring more bonus points than squash points because of that (3 teams did that last night), you may find yourself lingering at the back of the pack.

A few close results worth reporting: Nick Cinqueranelli (“Butter Nutz”) scrambled his way to a 2-1 victory over the improving and power-serving Brett Torgler (“Winky-Dinks”) who moved up a position from the first half. Stu Neufeld (“Paddy’s Dropshots”) picked up his first win – an impressive one – over Brian Bartes (“Mongoose”) 2-1 with some clever use of his angles; and Chuck Doyle (“Winky-Dinks”) squeaked a 2-1 win against Marc Lakin (“Butter Nutz”).

Take careful note that next week is the 2^nd Dividend. That means that league matches will only be scheduled up until 6.30pm. All other matches with be self-schedule. This does not mean that you cannot play after 6.30pm, but it is encouraged that you join the crowd to meet the candidates for the DAC presidency in the gym and enjoy the feed!

FALLING SHORT

Farris Cup 2014

As I made my way to the BAC down the I-696, I was thankful that it wasn’t a week earlier when it snowed almost a foot. It would have covered up the pot-holes of death that littered the highway. I felt like I was in a old-school video-car-game, avoiding the bottomless pit obstacles, only to be confronted with a blinding fog and rain once I neared Bloomfield Hills. Luckily I (and everyone else) arrived unscathed, and I hoped my prize would be a nice shiny trophy with the words “Farris Cup” inscribed on it.

Peter Logan (center) with the Farris family.
BAC's Tom Walbridge is on the right.

The past 3 years have been anything but successful. Comprehensive clobberings is an understatement and as the day started off for the 10th Annual Farris Cup event, it appeared as if we were in for another shellacking. Four matches in, and we had lost them all 3-0.

The fifth result was an improvement. Shail Arora didn’t win  - although he very well could have. When the game scores are as close as this: 12-10; 14-16; 11-9; 12-10 - just a little luck can change the outcome. Shail didn’t have enough of it, but at least the DAC had won one game!

Our first match victory of the day came at the hands of Tom MacEachern who took care of his opponent 3-0. I wasn’t surprised by this result. Tom, as I have mentioned before, has improved substantially since winning the 3.0 club championships 8 months ago. He was in control from the beginning, and didn’t let up.

Phil Pitters on the other hand also had control in the beginning of his match against Jeff Gembis. (Jeff is also a BAC member and was representing the ‘enemy’ on this day!) Running his  usual 20-court-sprints-per-rally self, Phil scampered and crosscourt-drop-flicked his way to a 2-0 lead before his McDonald’s based diet started to take over. Jeff began to wrest control and take advantage of the tiring Phil to take the next 2 games. It didn’t look good for the DAC, but somehow Phil mustered up enough energy to survive the 5th and win it 11-8. Who said an extra Quarter Pounder wouldn’t help?

The DAC were poised to take a third victory by the hands of Jim Stroh. Okay, maybe ‘poised’ is a little exaggerated, but at 1 game all and leading in the 3rd - and playing very well against BAC’s Mike Beauregard - Jim unfortunately tweaked his back and had to retire. It was, however, a victory the DAC missed out on and seriously needed.

Kurt Streng and
Andy Adamo

When Paul Van Tol got so close (but no cigar!) with a 2-3 loss, the BAC were only 1 victory away from retaining the Cup for a fourth straight year. Derek Aguirre kept our candle flickering a while longer when he had to battle hard for his 3-1 over the impressive 62-year old Claude Mencotti. Claude should play the Nationals...

Our hopes were finally dashed in quick fire fashion. Andy Adamo was in a no-win situation when his opponent graced the court. One could have sworn it was J.C. himself and how does one beat the Almighty Savior? You simply can’t. In actual fact, it was Kurt Streng, who happened to play like he was on a mission from God and he won 3-0 leaving the DAC without a prayer.

Sante making another
fashion statement!

Not far behind Kurt, Seth Rogers scored a 3-0 win as well over Anthony Fracchia and the BAC  had stamped their authority once again. But, even though the Cup was lost, their was still some fight left in us.

Sante Fratarcangeli - proudly displaying his all whites - was too fit for the skillful hands of Bob Mylod and won 3-1. Then Jed Elley stepped up to take on their club champion Jon Uffelman. To be fair, Jon is carrying a knee injury and how he competed the way he did was certainly admirable. Jed fell victim to Jon’s solid strokes to find himself 2-1 down, and had to fight his way through the 4th until he finally managed to move the ball around the court more effectively to also win the 5th - albeit a little more comfortably.

John Rakolta and
Brad Steel

The final match of the day was also an entertaining affair. John Rakolta floated the ball around the court and used his trademark crosscourt forehand lob-drop from the back corner to frustrate Brad Steel just enough. The players swapped games and went deep into the 5th game. A couple of awful and soft ‘lollypop’ serves threw Brad completely off as he clunked them into tin giving John the breathing space he needed. He finished it off 11-9 for the 3-2 victory.

 As usual the DAC failed miserably in the doubles as we lost all 3 matches and only managed to pick up one game in the process. We had lost the day 11 matches to 6, but to be honest the squash was a lot closer than that score represents. If Jim Stroh, Paul Van Tol and Shail Arora had managed to win, the DAC would have been victorious. Now, please don’t think I am blaming them - that’s the last thing I am inferring. What I am saying is that this year was very competitive, we had our chances, we could have won, and the Farris Cup has lived up to the reason for what it was created for. Thank you to the BAC for a very enjoyable day.

WE’RE OFF AND… SPUTTERING…!

Boasters League round 1~~

Except of course the “Winky-Dinks” who have bolted out the gates, sprinted down the straight, hurdled the fences, crossed the bridge, traversed the hills, and are already leaving the rest of the teams in their bonus point created dust: an impressive thirteen of those points – four more than the next best which came from “Butter Nutz”. Still, it is only week one, but if the first half was any indication, the “Winky-Dinks” are going to be a distant blip in the distance very quickly.

While the “Winky-Dinks” exploded out of the starting blocks, team “Mongoose” was still stuck in their driveways, scraping the ice from their car windshields. A not-so-impressive 2 points – total – for the evening, they better not wait too long to get their engines going and hit the gas pedal hard. The “Wardogs” are excused for their zero points – they had the bye week.

It was a relatively light night in terms of participation; the courts were virtually abandoned by 7pm. The keg, however, was swamped with bodies although many of them did come from the Handball arena. I am sure the treacherous road conditions had a lot to do with it…

Some commendable results to mention for round 1: Scott Langenburg (“Winky-Dinks”) jumped up to a number 3 spot after the first half and proved the move worthy by winning a tough match over Patrick Petz (“Paddy’s Dropshots”) 2-1. Glen Milligan (“The Kampai Warriors”) managed to fend off the brute force of Joe Paglino (“Busting Rails”) just enough for a well earned 2-1 victory; and Brian Schrage (“Butter Nutz”) held firm against quick riser Cleveland –CT- Thurber (“Vivio’s”) for a 2-1 triumph. CT was bumped up 5 spots from the first half.

It was great to get the league going again and now that this “polar vortex” has left us this year (hopefully for good), we will see the courts jammed up as usual again. It’s looking pretty full tonight, so people are getting back at it at last.

SQUASH SHOTS XVI

The “Mickies” Awards for 2013

2013 saw record numbers on our squash courts. Cries for more courts resonated throughout the hallways and locker rooms, along with the cries for more beer, and just the flat out crying when some of you would lose your league match. Wiping up spilt tears is just one of my duties as squash pro, as is making sure I share with the entire planet the best of the best of the best photos that have come my way in the past 12 months. It is said that you shouldn’t laugh at anyone unless you can laugh at yourself. Thankfully, I find myself indisputably hilarious, so I have every right poking fun at you with this year’s winners of the 2013 Mickies…

The “Chip(s) off the Old Block” award goes to… John Rakolta and George Kordas! 

Which is George, which
one is JR?

First came the “Murderers Row” from the New York Yankees. Then the “Steel Curtain” out of Pittsburgh. Now, we have the “Blue Chips” from central Detroit. Self proclaimed, the “Blue Chips” (Ooooh, scary!) got together on a whim and joined forces on the doubles court for this year’s DAC Classic. They did remarkably well considering their total lack of experience losing 17-16 in the 5^th in the semi final on a controversial double bounce call. The matching tracksuits are a serious fashion statement (that screams “I have no idea”) and I have to admit when I heard the name “Blue Chips” for the first time, my mind went immediately to the 1970’s tv show “CHiPS” with the 2 motorcycle cops. Anyone see any similarities?

The “State the Obvious” award goes to… Patrick Petz!

During the Cross Border Challenge, Patrick Petz decided to announce to the world his true feelings in the form of this easy to read t-shirt. I mean, who doesn’t feel the same way? Even our old Mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick, was apparently way ahead of his time when his love for the aforementioned was so uncontrollable it cost him his political career and 28 years of his life… Oh, sorry, that wasn’t quite the same thing… Anyway, Detroit has fell head over heels for Bush, but let’s all hope he doesn’t get overused and get mixed up with the tight-ends and wide-receivers - he does catch a lot of balls though! In fact, we are very blessed in this wonderful city of ours since we all love Johnston as well. Go Lions!

The “Vogue” award goes to… Liz McClure!

“Ladies with an attitude
Fellows that were in the mood
Don't just stand there, let's get to it
Strike a pose, there's nothing to it… Vogue” (Song “Vogue” by Madonna)

Liz goes retro. After dominating the women’s category at the Windsor tournament in March, she captured her moment in the spotlight with a perfect pose of her killer forehand volley! I am surprised I haven’t seen this magic pic on the front covers of all the sports and fashion magazines. Notice the racquet preparation, the left arm counter-balance, eyes on the... well, eyes staring into space, good balance, and nice pink outfit that even Sante would be proud to wear. All that is missing is the fact she isn’t actually on the court. Liz is currently studying in Lansing but we hope to see her back on our courts shortly where she could impress us with some more Madonna moves.

  

The “You’re My Hero” award goes to… Matt DiDio!

“Faster than a Phil Pitters crosscourt drop… More powerful than a Joe Bobzin overhead serve… Able to leap up and almost reach a Jerry Rock lob in a single bound… Look! There on the squash court! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No! It’s… it’s… it’s some member in blue and red spandex that appears to have enormous underpants!” I’m not sure what the big ‘S’ signifies on his chest, but let’s go with ‘Squash’, shall we? Superman was the Superhero of all Superheroes: strength, he could fly, indestructible… nothing could harm him except a geologist with a glowing rock. I think we have now all discovered his other hidden weakness: unable to escape the flash of a camera. Back in my day, Halloween costumes were supposed to be scary. Well, thanks to Matt for going old school here and frightening the bejeezus out of all of us.

We are in fact very happy to have Matt DiDio in our DAC squash community. He is a great supporter of the squash program. I do have to wonder though, why the beanie?

The “Clowning Around” award goes to… Kevin Prather and Brian Bartes!

Slipping on banana peels. Throwing cream pie into each other’s faces. Squirting water from flowers. Jamming 30 of your friends into a mini-car. Kevin and Brian apparently have very special skills, as they boldly showcased during the 2013 Detroit Thanksgiving parade! Deep down, I think we all knew what their true calling was. It was just a matter of time before they came out of the make-up salon adorned like Bozo. Kevin and Brian however, are hardly the same jokers on the court – both of them have been working hard on their games and are consistently improving. So don’t get caught out with their antics here, otherwise they’ll be slapping their racquet sticks around and the only ones with the red noses will be you!

READY TO ROCK AND ROLL?

DAC Squash Classic Feb 6-9, 2014

Are you ready? Ready for the greatest squash tournament this side of the Mississippi? And in fact the greatest squash tournament on the other side of the Mississippi too? You better be. This will be a Journey of the senses. The Oasis of the DAC will open The Doors and we will stimulate you throughout the 4-day weekend with an INXS of great squash competition, wonderful catering options, unbeatable social atmosphere, and a Saturday night party that will knock your sweaty white socks off!

You will feel like you are in Nirvana. Your squash may endure Blood, Sweat, & Tears, whether you are the Slayer or a Survivor or the victim, but be assured you can Cure all your Poison and ills by burning the Midnight Oil with guaranteed memorable socializing. Hopefully we won’t need to call on The Police to control you band of Misfits and Motley Crue (just don’t put yourself into such Dire Straits). We are not pulling any Cheap Trick here, this will also be an unbelievable value for money - you will not be asking for a Nickelback!

Click on the entry form to see all the details. You are allowed to enter 2 categories, but by doing so you are agreeing to play ALL of the matches. We do not want anyone pulling out half way through of one category just to save themselves for the other. That is not fair to your opponents. Categories include: Singles 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 5.0, 5.5. And Doubles - A, B, C. All categories are mixed. Restrictions are as follows:

•              Maximum 32 players in any on singles category

•              Maximum 16 teams in any one doubles category

•              Minimum 2 matches per singles draw

•              Minimum 1 match per doubles draw

•              Walkovers / forfeits count a match

•              All singles matches is PAR to 11 scoring

•              All doubles matches are best of 5 games to 15 - there is NO tie-break.

•              Maximum 145 entries for the entire tournament.

•              Minimum age to enter the tournament is 13

•              Registrations will ONLY be accepted with payment

•              Once registration capacity is reached, all subsequent entries will go on a wait list

For the DAC Classic to run smoothly and honorably, a lot of that responsibility lies with the player. Here is what you have to consider - and adhere to - when entering:

•              Any player entering the ‘A’ doubles is NOT permitted to play the ‘C’ doubles regardless of partner. In layman’s terms – no sandbagging.

•              We do not use referees for the tournament. It is required that all players conduct themselves on court with their best behavior and avoid all ‘let’ conflicts with their opponents. Be fair, be reasonable, have common sense. We are there to have fun. Arguments will not be tolerated.

•              On the flip side of the point above, for some matches, referees may be required. If you are asked to referee, please accept the duty.

•              Be on time for your match. Better yet, be early. Court usage is on a tight schedule and is maximized through the event and there is nothing worse than having a court sit open while we look for you.

•              By entering the DAC Classic, you agree to make yourself available to play during the below listed times. Once times are set, they will NOT be changed. It is your own responsibility to arrange your schedule around your playing times. I suggest you clear your calendar of any possible conflicts now:

•   For players in the Detroit area – including Ann Arbor, Lansing, Toledo, Windsor:

                        Thursday, February 6 between 4pm and 11pm

                        Friday, February 7 between 3pm and midnight

                        Saturday, February 8 between 8am and 8pm

                        Sunday, February 9 between 8am and 4pm 

•   For all other players:

                        Friday, February 7 between 3pm and midnight

                        Saturday, February 8 between 8am and 8pm

                        Sunday, February 9 between 8am and 4pm

If there are any players from out of town that can also play on Thursday, let me know. It will help me avoid organizing first round matches against your fellow club members - especially those from London.

The success of the DAC Classic has not been possible without our generous sponsors. Their support has been ongoing for several years now and we could not be more indebted to them. Please take some time over the weekend to thank their generosity:

•              Skidmore Inc – Patrick Petz

•              Smith Barney – Sean Moran

•              Advanced Voice and Data Solutions – Anil Kathuria

•              Corbet, Shaw, Essad, Tucciarone, Bonasso – Bruce Shaw

•              SVS Vision – Ken Stann

•              Metropolitan Baking – George Kordas

•              AARO Companies – Tom Fabbri

•              Adlhoch and Associates – Scott Adlhoch

•              Outrigger Imaging – Joe Schaden 

So...

Seal your commitment early. Avoid the Quit Riot that will go on in your head and Rush your entry in well before the deadline before U2 miss out!

Let’s Rock!

A TRULY PROFESSIONAL DISPLAY

We really could not have asked for any more. I am sure that the evening will be remembered by many for a long, long, time. As I watched the exhibition match between David Palmer and Thierry Lincou, it was interesting to hear the reactions of the crowd. The incredulous remarks at their retrieval ability, speed, fitness, touch… you name it. It blew people away.

Before I get into that wonderful performance, we do have some member matches to mention that was a part of this Hops Challenge. Just to get you working up a sweat and make you feel better about attacking the keg, two teams were put together: “Palmer’s Punishers” and “Lincou’s Liquidators”. There were no prizes for the wining team (pride?), simply a chance to beat up on each other.

And it was close. Only three of the 13 matches ended up 3-0. Four of them were 3-2. Kevin Prather couldn’t take advantage of a 2-0 lead he had against Joe Paglino as fitness became a larger issue towards the end. Kevin still hung tough, but Joe managed to keep the edge in the 5^th game to complete the difficult comeback. Niko Ahee scraped through the tightest of the matches of the evening with a 5 set win over Glen Milligan. Three of the games were stretched to a tie-break, barely a couple of points separated the two all contest long. Despite the loss, Glen was quite satisfied with the result.

Sean Fossee somehow managed to keep Kevin Kennedy from wining the 5^th game in their battle after the two traded the first four. Kevin looked a little less worse for wear, but Sean kept steady enough in the final stanza to stay ahead.

David and Thierry pre-match

Tom MacEachern continues to step it up. He took Rich Stimson in 5 demanding games and his comment afterwards: “That wasn’t easy.” No, I bet it wasn’t. But since Tom plays numerous times a week, and has started to work on his game with some lessons, these tough winning results shouldn’t be too much a surprise to anyone.

At the end of the member matches, “Palmer’s Punishers” had the unassailable 8 matches to 5 lead. The pro exhibition would unfortunately not be the deciding result (not that anyone cared – or probably even knew!) The showcase was upon us.

For many members watching, it was the first time they had seen professional squash. Being utterly made speechless by the athleticism is one thing, and a comment made to me the next morning was that even though it was unquestionably fantastic to watch, and certainly a opportunity to learn from them, emulating them would be impossible. Okay, sure. But remember you don’t need to play like them. Take some important tips and fundamentals away from it, practice those things and improve your game. It takes time and effort.

As a side note, I cornered our squash committee chairman – John Dunwoody – into refereeing the match. His initial reluctance quickly gave way when he realized he would be part of the spectacle. The PST

‘no-let’ rule was right up John’s alley since as the match wore on it seemed he didn’t know what a ‘let’ was anyway! He was the perfect fit for the occasion.

John Dunwoody.
"You're asking for a what?"

Even though it was an exhibition, David and Thierry must have had some type of bet going on between them – these guys went hard. Don’t get me wrong – we had the fancy shots, the cracking nicks, wrist breaking deception, the head-fakes, drop-shot rallies… all that one would expect from two guys that just know how to do it properly. But they also ran their tails off. They wanted to win. Palmer took a close first game 11-9 before Thierry bounced back strongly in the second. A few careless unforced errors from Palmer helped that cause, and the 11-5 Lincou win was never in doubt.

The third game was much like the first as the players went toe-to-toe, point-for point, up until 6-all. Thierry then managed a small 2 point cushion that he never relinquished and ended up taking it 11-8 and a 2-1 game lead.

The fourth game… well… the fourth game had all the drama. David found his stride early to sprint to a 6-1 advantage and it looked like we were in for a quick game. But no. It appeared Thierry had little interest in playing a 5^th. At 7-3 down, he went on a roll taking the next 6 rallies in a row for a 9-7 lead, two points from victory. At this stage, both players were having some furious exchanges. They were breathing very hard. Where their spare stores of energy came from was anyone’s guess, but the crowd was definitely feeling their pain!

And then came “The Rally”. It will be “The Rally” that will keep people’s tongue wagging, the one they will tell their friends about. I have seen a lot of pro squash in my time, and this rally would rank up there with the best of them. It included a David Palmer full length body dive into the left back corner, unbelievable retrieval after unbelievable retrieval, and it went on, and on, and on. Just as David looked on the verge of collapse, Thierry attempted a deceptive crosscourt from the front left corner that veered over his own head, and as David was running for the straight drive he managed to stick his racquet up enough to get the ‘stroke’ decision. Magical squash. And it deserved every second of the standing ovation it received.

The fact that Thierry ended up winning the 4^th 17-15 was inconsequential. The crowd was buzzed. What a performance.

Thierry and David post-match!

Once the boys had regained their breath a little, they spent a good 20-30 minutes answering questions from the members – a first-class touch for everybody to listen and learn some more. Another comment to me from one of our members expressed that the time these two spent off court with the audience was even more impressive than the time they spent on. I’m sure many would agree.

It was an exciting evening. The lads will be back in the first weekend of May for the 2014 PST World Championship that we will be hosting (May 2-4). Make sure you make the effort to back this event – we need your support. Come and see me for all the information.

BUCK UP FOR THE FARRIS CUP

Farris Cup – January 11 @ BAC

Here is what we are hoping for:

• Our DAC team will perform admirably. This I am sure of, since everyone puts in their best effort whenever they grace the court.
• Matches will be competitive. It’s understandable that some matches may be a little one-sided, after all we can’t get it spot-on every time. But after 9 years of doing this, we should be able to get it mostly right.
• The overall result will be close. Don’t get me wrong – I want a DAC victory, but win or lose, it should be competitive.

Can we manage it? We’ll see. The 10^th Farris Cup versus BAC is scheduled for Saturday, January 11. Competition starts at 9.15am and will feature 14 singles and 3 doubles matches. Our team has been selected from the winners and finalists of the 2013 Club Championships.

The DAC has so far won the Farris Cup 5 times, the BAC 4. So we do hold the edge on that count. As the years pass and the tradition of this event grows, our members get more excited every time to represent the club. It is the perfect opportunity for players from all the levels (2.5 – 5.5) to be a part of something special. Let’s hope we can continue this for many more years to come. John Farris – whom this contest is in honor of – would want nothing more than tough, well-spirited matches between the two major Michigan clubs that only builds their relationship.

Come on down to the BAC to cheer on our team. It should be a great atmosphere. A luncheon will be provided after the matches to present the winning team with the Farris Cup trophy and to honor the man himself. If you wish to join in for the munchies, coat and tie is required as is registration with me (I think its $15++ per person, but it may be a couple bucks more...)

Our representatives:

Singles:

Ted Morris – Jason Trombley – Tom MacEachern – Shail Arora – Sante Fratarcangeli – Paul Van Tol – Scott Adlhoch – Phil Pitters – Jim Stroh – Andy Adamo – Derek Aguirre – Anthony Fracchia – Pablo Buitron – Jed Elley

Doubles:

Peter Logan – John Birgbauer – Greg Rivard – Ryan Bendzinski – John Dunwoody – Bob Burton

Go Team DAC!! 

100 REASONS TO PLAY DOUBLES

Doubles 100 Tournament ~ starts Jan 7

In reality, there is only one real reason anyone would play squash: Because it’s AWESOME!! But, in case that isn’t adequate, here is another just as exiting motive to get on court: the Doubles 100 Tournament! Back for its 7^th year, once again we will be running an A and a B draw. You all know how this works by now: Simply, choose a playing partner so that your combined ages reach at least 100 years. Draws will be a knock-out format, so if you lose, you’re out. Matches are best of five games to 15 points, with no tie-break.

Sounds easy enough, but you will need to be quick in order to find your appropriate team mate. This reminds me to mention to you that please, please, please, do not register without one. Asking me to find a partner for you aged at least ‘x’, doesn’t work very well. There will be absolutely no guarantee I can manage that.

Peter Logan and Patrick Petz have been runner-up the past 2 years in the A draw, so I’m sure they’ll be looking at getting back in the winner’s circle as they did in 2011. Or will they not be able to get over the final roadblock? Last year, it was John Dunwoody and Eric Green who thwarted them, we’ll see if the same teams register and if that one extra year has made any difference to their speed, skills, decision making, memories, coordination, bed-time… ummm… what was I talking about….?

The B draw last year had Rich Stimson and Drew Creamer taking the honors over Joe Moran and Ken Katz in a tight 3-1 final. This was also Ken’s second runners-up result – he lost a heart-breaker in 2011 18-17 in the 5^th – also with Joe as his partner. No doubt he’ll be even more determined to come up trumps this time, but as we all know every year gets harder and harder. Will some of the younger troop coming into the game burst his bubble? Tom MacEachern? Margi Scholtes? Andrew Spohn… just name but a few?

More importantly, we want participation. Our goal is to surpass last year’s record entry of 44 players. I am sure we can manage that. Registration deadline is January 3. Better start contacting potential mates…

CLINK YOUR DRINKS FOR THE WINKY-DINKS

Boasters League first half final standings ~~

 

To no one’s surprise, the “Winky-Dinks” took the first half honors. Going into the final week, they were only 13 points behind “Butter Nutz” who had the round nine bye. Those 13 points were made up just in bonus points alone and a good thing they did too. The “Winky-Dinks” struggled on court for the final round losing 6 matches 3-0, 4 matches 2-1, and winning only 3 contests. Adding on the make-up matches that both “Winky-Dinks” and “Butter Nutz” completed over the final week, the five point victory margin in the end was a lot closer than I predicted it would be.

“Busting Rails” made a last week surge and impressively closed the gap to the second placed team from 39 points to 18. Also making a little progress, “The Kampai Warriors” ended up 6^th picking up a notable 43 points over the final week, and knocking on “Mongoose’s” tail for 5^th spot. “Vivio’s” failed to make any headway to get themselves out of the basement staying 8 points behind “Paddy’s Dropshots”.

It seemed that play was overall up for the league this half – much of that has to do with the increase of players – but let’s see if the statistics back up that claim:

• 74% of overall matches were completed. That’s 2% lower than the first half last season.
• Round 1 had the most matches played with 85%.
• Round 9 had the least matches played with 68%. The round that was ‘cancelled’ due to the Tiger’s play-off game had 70% played.
• No team played all 15 matches in any one round.
• “Winky-Dinks” played the most matches with 84%. “Paddy’s Dropshots” completed the least with 65%.
• “Busting Rails” had the best winning percentage with 59%. “Mongoose” had the lowest with 42%. They also had the highest point total for any one round – 37 in round 9.
• The lowest point total for any one round goes to “Vivio’s” – they scored 9 points only in round 3. It was the Tiger play-off ‘cancelled’ round.
• The “Winky-Dinks” averaged over 12 bonus points per round (Total 86). Their lowest bonus point total for any one round in the first half was 11. That’s equal to the next team’s highest. The only other team to pick up 11 bonus points in one round was the “Butter Nutz” – they did it twice.
• “Vivio’s” picked up the least amount of bonus points with 39.
• 18 players picked up all bonus points. “Foss-Nation” and “Paddy’s Dropshots” are the only 2 teams that didn’t have any player who picked all the bonus points.
• 27 players completed all 8 matches. That is a record.
• 3 of those 28 also went undefeated: Joey Gaylord (“Vivio’s”); JC Tibbitts (“Busting Rails”); Cleveland Thurber (“Foss-Nation”).
• Neither of those three mentioned above, however, scored the most points for the first half – that honor goes to Bob Rogers (“Butter Nutz”) with 27.

On to the “All Stars”. They are the players who have scored the most points so far in the respective levels – including bonus points. Over the next couple of weeks I will be going through everyone’s results and shuffling players around in the attempt to make the competition as equal as possible. Everybody will carry their first half point total into the second. I will do my utmost to keep teams together but a small percentage of you will have to be ‘traded’. So far, the “All Stars” are:

Chuck Doyle and Jason Trombley

1. Three way tie in the number 1 position: Brien Baker (“Busting Rails”); Jeff Gembis (“Vivio’s”); Jim Stroh (“Mongoose”)
2. Al Iafrate (“Busting Rails”)
3. Paul Van Tol (“Busting Rails”)
4. Tom MacEachern (“Paddy’s Dropshots”)
5. Greg Baker (“Vivio’s”)
6. Bob Rogers (“Butter Nutz”)
7. Chuck Doyle (“Busting Rails”)
8. Justin Winkelman (“Winky-Dinks”)
9. Joey Gaylord (“Vivio’s”)
10. Two-way tie: Jason Trombley (“Butter Nutz”); Niko Ahee (“Winky-Dinks”)
11. James Stuntz (“Wardogs”)
12. Two-way tie: Tom Bejin (“Butter Nutz”); Matt Turnbull (“Winky-Dinks”)
13. JC Tibbitts (“Busting Rails”)
14. Cleveland Thurber (“Foss-Nation”)
15. Brett Torgler (“Winky-Dinks”)

The second half of the season is set to get underway on January 8. All teams start at zero, but at the end of the nine weeks, there will be a 3-week play-off between the top 6 teams only. That means the bottom 3 teams will be kaputski.

I was reasonably pleased with the participation level for the first half. It is clear, though, that the more active captains have the more successful teams – If all 9 captains were as communicative and Justin Winkelman and Sante Fratarcangeli, we’d have a real tight completion on our hands. Let’s see if we can achieve this goal!