Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Team of the Decade?

The names are just starting to trickle in, but Freeman/Benzon may end up assembling the best team this city has seen in quite some time.   On board already are the Dibua brothers, Burmann/Day and Tim Green and whoever...that's a formidable doubles lineup already.  Ted Phoummarath is a very capable number 2 singles guy.  I'm guessing there will be some more studs added to the roster before all is said and done.

Alain Tran's team is poised to add some talent to his roster, supposedly, but at this point most teams should be shooting for that wild card slot, if there is one.

Mike Davis, Alann Torres and Rusty Branch are definitely gonna' be keeping a sharp eye on the Hurricanes....

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Signups in Full Swing

Tennis season is finally upon us.  The "Coke" is just weeks away and league rosters are beginning to fill up.  I took an early look at the rosters this morning and saw a few things that caught my eye.   The Kingwood Crush begins its new era under Chantz Chanthanalay and has added a couple of new players in Don Rios and Quack Bui.  Aadrian Hasker has joined the newly formed Sienna 4.5 team which at first glance doesn't figure to be a heavyweight, though Hasker alone will make them dangerous.  An intriguing new name on the Westside team:  Rodolfo Benitez.  I haven't yet googled him, but a quick look at his results include a two and one shellacking of Neil Carpenter and Monty Lindloff in a doubles matchup...I suspect we may have our first ringer.  Time will tell.  Jason Freeman's 4.5 entry Hurricanes 2 appears at first blush to be a nonfactor, composed at this time of all 4.0 bumpups.  

It looks as though Donn Nguyen's Sienna 4.0 team will again make some noise this year. Pennsylvania import Bret Anderson was impressive in HTA season, teaming with brother (?) Brian to beat, among others, teams like James Bui and Andy Diep.   Freeman's team is always one to watch, and has some solid veteran signups already.   It will be interesting to see whether onetime stalwart Phong Hau has recovered from two knee injuries. 

As usual, roster moves will start moving into full swing once the Gallery Furniture Open reaches us.  For those interested in playing in the tournament, I believe the deadline is approaching this weekend.