Thursday, May 28, 2009

Sienna

I just completed my 300 mile drive home from the remote outpost of Sienna Plantation and figured I'd share the results with y'all.  

In 4.5, the Deucebags had an interesting lineup.  Aadrian Hasker, James Bui and Miguel Morales were all missing for various reasons, (Hasker had a commitment to a friend and I was told that Bui and Morales didn't want to make the long drive, but that may not be true) but Alain Tran and Derrick Dugas were both there to cheer their teammates on.  Captain Tran decided to leave himself and Dugas out of the lineup.  

Without Hasker, the Deucebags were shorthanded in singles and Sienna took advantage, as Juan Trevino and Andre Costilla both won.  The Deucebags took the first two doubles lines and the match came down to Ward Jannuzzi and Ed Mouton against Ian Bird and Justin Smith.  Last year I played some 4.0 and 4.5...Bird kicked my ass in a 4.0 match and he was every bit as impressive as any of the 4.5 players I played.  Tonight he and Smitty came up big, winning the clincher for Sienna.  

Sugar Creek will benefit from the Deucebags loss, but also lost themselves tonight by a 4-1 count to the 4.5 Hurricanes.  Omon Dibua trounced Simon Jim and Odion squeaked past Antoine Ford in a third set breaker.  Phong Regent saw his first action for the Hurricanes and came through with a W.  

In 4.0 out at Sienna, the Hurricanes squeaked out a 3-2 win.  I'll be honest, I was expecting a more lopsided score.  The Hurricanes played many of their new players, but all of them were in dogfights with the tough Sienna players.  

Daniel Durand is not an impressive looking player.  I'm sure most spectators were thinking "I'd kill that guy", as he continually floated balls back at his opponent and hit first serves that may not have broken the speed limit.  But the guy is good at what he does, and has frustrated many an opponent.  He came through with another 3 set victory tonight over Hank Kravec.

Greg Dwyer pulled out a tough win at line 2 singles for the 'Canes over Doug Whitehead, a class act whose son will be attending UT next season on a tennis scholarship.  Bruce Inting continued his remarkable run...he's now 20-1 this year in all of his league matches (HTA, USTA, mixed, tri-level, etc.)  after having a similar record last season.  He teamed with rookie Tu Tran to pull out an 11-9 win in the third set breaker.  

Ronnie Kwan and Ed Metoyer pulled out a big win over Scott Foster and Sebastien Chambert, both of whom have had success at the 4.5 level this season.  Kwan and Metoyer played solid tennis and really frustrated their opponents with some well-placed lobs, winning in straight sets.
  
So, the two matches between the Hurricanes and Sienna 4.0 teams both went 3-2 and could have gone either way.   The division winner will probably come down to lines or even sets won.  

As noted, some other results are trickling in....Bear Creek pulled out a win in their showdown and NWO continued to roll.  Kingwood Crush also had an easy victory over the Hurricanes 2 team. Also, Lakeside won their battle with the Smokers 3-2, making it a three horse race in 4.0's most competitive division.


61 comments:

  1. Hurricanes were lucky to beat Sienna tonight. I thought their new guys would be really good. They are not.

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  2. Great playing by Ronnie and Ed. That guy Durand is a scrapper. Hurricanes have to play hard to finish 2nd half of season.

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  3. What's the story with JJ and Joe retiring in the CuField-Bear Creek match?

    That is not like them.

    Yes, that place is far. Funny how it is sold as a convenience of "close to downtown and the medical center". That is some good marketing.

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  4. Joe pulled his hamstring running for a ball near the fence. He may be out for awhile.

    Lance

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  5. Sienna has an advantage over all the teams. no one wants to drive 100 miles away to play tennis afterwork.

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  6. Why does it show Double Default for last nights match for the Deucebags?

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  7. I'm not a cartographer but I do know that it is not 100 miles to sienna. Suck it up and get an eztag

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  8. where does it show double default? Scores and matches show they were completed.

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  9. GB, be positive... everyone has slumps. You will be peaking come playoffs! BTW, perhaps priapism is hindering your play.

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  10. It will show a double default if you try to check the scores as they are being entered in.

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  11. Who did Bulan lose to? I wish captains would enter scores right away.

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  12. Seriously, Freeman is there anything about league tennis you don't know?

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  13. I am told that Remi Osho at Lee Leclear passed away.

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  14. Remi always had a humble and kind personality. He found a way to be cordial and friendly to all. He will be missed.

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  15. Does anyone know when and where the funeral and/or viewing will be

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  16. It sounds like Hasker, Bui and Morales are selfish and let their team mates down.

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  17. It could be that Hasker and the other guys on Alain's team went to play in the Waco major zone this weekend. That is possibly where their priorities are. Any truth to that rumor?

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  18. Alain basically was shorthanded and didn't have his best line-up out.

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  19. Why didn't Alan play himself? He had some very weak players in doubles. Him and Ward probably would have won that doubles line I think. Are they out of the playoffs now?

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  20. Ward is suppose to be able to carry any player. At least that is what Ward believes.

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  21. Sienna 4.5 does not suck anymore.

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  22. No. They still do.

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  23. Alan didn't want to play with Ward, not to many people do.

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  24. Is the 4.5 Flight III the toughest flight? Or are the Hurricanes the strongest team and the other 3 just beating up on each other? The 2nd through 4th place team already have 3 or 4 loses.

    I would love to see Sienna sneak in there and steal the 2nd playoff spot. That would be worth talking about.

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  25. Maybe I caught him on a good day but I thought Ward seemed like a nice guy. In a close fought match, we didn't have any problems and he consistently gave credit for our good shots.

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  26. If a qualifier can beat Blake in the first round, Sienna can beat anyone not named after a Natural Disaster anyday....at least at their place.

    Ward is a cordial guy. He just reminds you everytime that he had beaten you in the past.

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  27. If I heard way to much about Sienna on this blog... There's teams in the other divisions that are better than their team. Even if they got luck and made it to the playoffs one of the other division teams would easily beat them.

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  28. Hasker is in the Waco draw, so yes, he did have prior commitments.

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  29. Ward has been humbled as of late.

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  30. i wouldn't blame hasker, bui, or morales for not driving to sienna. it's just too far and should be out of the venue or have their matches played at memorial or somewhere more central.

    and sienna does suck as a team...

    a good match to see is sienna 4.0 vs sienna 4.5

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  31. Sienna 4.0 would probably lose both singles lines to Sienna 4.5 as no-one can touch Costilla and Trevino. Perhaps Brian could get Costilla to overhit and 4.0 could take a singles line. Darnell could drive Costilla nuts also (experience vs youth). The three lines of doubles would be close and could go either way. Kwan and Metoyer could beat anyone on the 4.5 team and so could Boarman and Whitehead (Or Cushing). I would also like to see a match between Sienna 4.0 and 4.5.

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  32. On second thought, I have not seen Brian in the lineup this season. Must be injured. I have not seen Donn Nguyen much either, just when he and Kwan spanked the Hurricaines in round 1.

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  33. what is priapism ... poor GB ... no wonder he looks frustrated all the time

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  34. the Hurricanes turns out to be a Tropical Storm, nothing to worry about, not even Cat 1. Just alot of thunder & lightning noise to scare people but harmless. Too arrogant, bad attitude...
    Character is more important than winning !

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  35. Hurricanes don't really surface til they get to Dallas.

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  36. In 4.5 division 3 ... Sugar Creek is clearly the second best team in the division. Aside from the 2 loses to the Hurricanes, they are 3-1 against the other 2 teams ... beating each of them 4-1 with their improved roster.

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  37. Sugar Creek is probably the 2nd best team in 4.5 right now if they get their top players out ... With Antoine Ford and Simon Jim in singles ... and Herr/Heinstra,as well as Straley and Marco anchoring the other 2 doubles lines, they may even be able to take the Hurricanes.

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  38. Sugar Creek hasn't even finalized its roster yet.

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  39. Kenlee and Sugar Creek might pull off the greatest comeback in Houston 4.5 history. What a shitty roster they had on opening day.

    Bobo is a genius.

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  40. What if Burrmann & Day had stayed with Sugar Creek?

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  41. Word on the street is that their new Director Trevor Salton might jump on board with them if Douds has any payroll left.

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  42. Ok, I've learned my lesson with the priapism jokes... poster on May 30, 2009 @ 10:07am. Please leave it alone.

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  43. Sugar Creek is no big surprise ... they have been to the city playoffs 3 of the last 4 years ... guys like Cooney, Douds, Epstein, and Matthews have all won city playoff matches.

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  44. Sugar Creek sucks!!!!!!! Bobo does too!!! Hurricanes will win div. and city. Duecebags will make a comeback and will take 2nd in city to go Dallas.


    Enuff said

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  45. I guess Douds/Bobo has imposed a challenge to Freeman/Benzon/Green. Sugar Creek has a good group of guys.

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  46. Cooney, Epstein, Douds and Matthews (Mr. Poor Sportsmanship) have been to city playoffs but have lost the great percentage of the matches there. The Peter Principle at work.

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  47. By the way, I realize that certain teams get more "coverage" than others. My exposure to some teams is limited, and I tend to write more about teams/players that I'm familiar with.

    I would love for others to contribute to the blog as Chris and (to a limited degree) Michael have done. I also realize that I completely ignore 3.5, women's leagues and mixed leagues. I would particularly love for Betsie or someone else familiar with the women's leagues to occasionally contribute, as well as someone with deep knowledge of the 3.5 arena.

    Anyone who's interested feel free to email me at houstonleaguetennis@gmail.com

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  48. Hey Greg, I'll take a stab at giving you some of my thoughts and biased opinions of the Women's 4.0 and 4.5 Leagues (don't know much about the 3.5's). The Women's league is not as exciting as the Men's league. There just isn't the volume of talent spread among multiple teams like the Men's league.

    Before I do that, I think it will be real interesting to watch the 9.0 Mixed this year. It will be a real dog fight between Mason Creek, Lakeside, and Mixed and Matched (Green et al). It will probably come down to a few 3rd set TBs. With only 3 lines, anything can happen.

    4.0 Assuming the HTA doesn't put them in the same half, it will come down to Dena Days Sugar Creek team and Angie Lindloff's Mason Creek team again. They both made the trip to Dallas last year and both did quite well. Both teams are ridiculously bored in flight play.

    Dena did a lot of recruiting on the single's side and it will pay off for her come August. She had some big shoes to fill with the loss (Bump) of Lisa Ellingsen but she more than made up for it with the addition of Amy Crouser (former 4.0 Nationals), Lan Chen, and Keri Bassett. Had she been able to convince Emily Jacobs to play for her, I believe she would be the team to beat at Sectionals. Still might be.

    Angie's team was fortunate to keep Julie Tolbert around for one more year. They also added former Taylor HS Jr Dustin Sadler who will really help out in singles. Angie's team doesn't have the depth that Dena's team does however with the right lineup, they could potentially upset Dena's team.

    4.5 It will be between my team and Monday Met team captained by Christy Galtney. Christy's team went to Sectionals last year while my team sat out. I suspect most players from that team want to redeem themselves from a relatively poor showing considering the talent they had on that team. Christy's team is weakend by the absence of Phil Palmer, however, she added Renee Heckler and Kai Siewratten. Both very good players, however, I don't believe of the same caliber as Phil.

    The team I have this year is actually stronger and probably deeper than both my 05 and 07 teams. From the 07 team, I lost Erin Arnold (Bump) and Chanel Brown (Moved). I picked up Kaye Williams Estrada, Kristen Samuelson, Jo Keene, and Emma McDougal. Assuming no injuries and I don't screw up the line-up (rumor has it I'm guilty of that LOL), I believe we have the edge over Christy's team. While a formidable opponent, I don't think she has enough power players to contend.

    On a side note, I'd just like to say that I am really saddened by the passing of Remi. He will be missed by everyone in the tennis community. He was a bright spot in everyone's life he touched.

    B Hollis

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  49. Met-Mix is a sleeper in 9.0 Mix. With Omon/Odion they can carry their team to victory.

    Good Job Betsie with the women preview.

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  50. Thanks for the updates. If anyone needs a mediocre 4.0 guy for their mixed team, holla'!

    Thanks Betsie...I sent you an invite to contribute. Feel free to post as often as you like, especially around playoff/sectionals/nationals time.

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  51. You're right. I overlooked Met Mix. They'll definitely be in the Mix (haha). My issue with that team is their best women are primarily singles players (Lori, Terri, Connie). Connie and Odion lost to Tim and Susanne in the GF Final and Susanne is only going to get better as she plays more after having her baby.

    I think Tim should have added a better 5.0 to pair with Emily Jacobs. Jason Pieters would have solidified it for them

    The real question in the men's league is will the CField 5.0 team drop a line. That, and why is Alex Montes on the team. No offense, Alex, but weren't you just playing 4.0 last year?

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  52. The Met Mix team will be solid. What's wrong with the 5.0 guys on Mixed and Matched? Both 5.0 players went to Nationals last year. BTW,Tim is not the captain of the mxd team.

    Copperfield Hurricanes 5.0 shouldn't lose a match in houston local league.

    You have assembled a GREAT team this year Betsie. Good Luck at Nationals :)

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  53. Montes serve 120 mph second serves. He should be playing 5.5.

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  54. I think that since Montes serves 120 mph 2nd serves that maybe Copperfield 4.5 team should put him in the line up.

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  55. Wasn't he a benchwarmer on his 4.0 team last year?

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  56. Mixed is always so unpredictable because it's played on Sunday nights. And in the summer you're not guaranteed of having your best players around when you need them.

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  57. To all tennis players,

    Remi Osho has passed. His family and friends are having a memorial/fundraiser for him this evening at Woodlake tennis center at 7pm. Address is 2200 Tanglewilde. Thanks to all for your thoughts and prayers.

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