Monday, January 25, 2010

WTT shines despite the lack of sun!





Warm weather, cloudy skies and a lot of amazing matches highlighted this past weekend in the WTT event held at Copperfield Racquet & Health Club. In the 4.5B bracket, the WTH team captained by Michael Le Tan and the BushWood Country Club led by Brian Smith cruised through the first two matches setting up a clash for these Titan teams. In a tightly contested women's doubles match, Abbe Ulrich and Emily Jacobs (WTH) were able to defeat Crystal Bryant and Sandi Pike (Bushwood), 6-4. Brian Smith and David Wanja (Bushwood) teamed up to defeat the Dibua brothers (Omon, Odion from WTH), 6-3. This match consisted of some awesome serves, amazing volleys and a lot of balls flying over the fences. The singles event for the ladies featured Nancy Nguyen (WTH) and Crystal Bryant (Bushwood) won by Nancy, 6-3. On the men's side, Brian Smith (Bushwood) was able to defeat Omon Dibua (WTH) 6-4 in another high powered match. Both teams were tied entering into the all important mixed doubles matches. Omon Dibua and Emily Jacobs (WTH) defeated Brian Smith and Sandi Pike (Bushwood) in the first mixed match 6-4. David Wanja and Crystal Bryant (Bushwood) took out Odion Dibua & Abbe Ulrich (WTH) in the deciding match, 6-3, leading Bushwood to a one point victory!






















In the other bracket, the Hook'em team captained by Betsie Hollis and Mason Creek captained by Monty Lindloff collided in the last match of the day as both of their teams were undefeated in the first two matches. Dawn Tollefson and Erin Keys (Hookem) took down Dustin Sadler and Julie Tolbert (Mason), 6-5 in the ladies doubles. Neil Carpenter and Peter Rothe (Mason Creek) teamed up to defeat Tim Green and Ted Phoummarath (Hookem), 6-4 in the men's doubles. Erin Keys (Hookem) played a very strong match and beat Dustin Sadler (Mason Creek) 6-2 in the ladies singles round. Neil Carpenter (Mason Creek) took on two different opponents in Ted Phoummarath & Robert Plummer (Hookem) and defeated the combo 6-5. That gave a 2 game edge to the Hookem team entering into the mixed doubles round. Tim Green & Dawn Tollefson (Hookem) took care of David & Daryl Hall (Mason Creek) 6-1 and Robert Plummer/Kaye Estrada (Hookem) defeated Monty Lindloff/Julie Tolbert (Mason Creek) 6-2 to give Hookem the victory.








Here is a list of the champions at each level:
3.5A Cinco Ranch Cinco Seis (3-0)
3.5B Tomball Fireants (3-0)
4.0A San Antonio Party Animals (3-0)
4.0B MPTC Fried Twinkies (3-0)
4.0C Copperfield Super Smash (3-0)
4.5A MPTC Hook'em (3-0)
4.5B Copperfield Bushwood Country Club (3-0)


The next WTT event will be held the weekend of June 12th & 13th. The schedule will be as follows:

Saturday, June 12th
3.0 (8 am, 12 pm and 4 pm)
4.0 (10 am, 2 pm and 6 pm)

Sunday, June 13th
3.5 (8 am, 12 pm and 4 pm)
4.5 (10 am, 2 pm and 6 pm)

Get a team together and participate in this unique event! For more information, go to http://www.wtt.com/ or contact Lance Loken at lance.loken@woodgroup.com

Check out the wtt event this Wednesday (January 27th) at the Australian Open. The Australians, featuring Pat Rafter, Pat Cash, Nicole Bradtke and Alicia Molik wil take on the International team of Tracy Austin, Goran Ivanisevic, Todd Martin and Mary Joe Fernandez!

52 comments:

  1. Wanted to bring this post forward from the last thread. Who out there has the coconuts to file a protest against Chalkley? Div 1 player straight out of college self rating 4.5. That is just wrong. The captain and the player should be kicked out of the league. And the rest of the league should be disgraced for allowing it. Speak now or NEVER EVER complain about the DNTRP self rate system again.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Its not a question of "if" he'll be protested, its just "when" will it happen. It could have just been an accident. Lets give Letan and Chalkley a little time to self correct the mis-rating before we start throwing around all the negative talk.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm sure that Chalkley just wants to play some tennis. Give the guy a break. I saw he played in the Fall doubles league and had some competitive matches. Watching him play this weekend was fun though. He made for some exciting WTT tennis. Sadly if he is a 5.5 then he's out of the league mix.

    ReplyDelete
  4. So, I'm sure Letan has no plans of putting him on his summer team. Hey I'm all for letting the guy play tennis. He can play Spring and Fall at the highest level. But don't play him USTA. Lots of people have to do that. It's called playing by the rules.

    ReplyDelete
  5. NO, I think not. It's called lying and cheating. The HTA league is set up to allow 5.5 players at the highest level. This, let the guy play, is just crap and excuses. You don't lie on the self rate profile to make yourself a 4.5 player. Let's call a spade a spade.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I agree, if you're gonna cheat may as well cheat big. They could have self rated him 5.0 (instead of 4.5) and he could still play USTA. The 5.0 League in Houston has actually grown to be very competitive. There's no convincing me. It was not an "accident". It was deliberate deception.

    ReplyDelete
  7. There were a lot of very strong players participating over the weekend. Chalkley's team didn't even finish in the top 4

    ReplyDelete
  8. Nice try, Lance. Being a CField bigot. We're talking USTA League not WTT. WTT holds much loser rating requirements. So basically, if your USTA team doesn't do well it's ok to have 1 or 2 cheaters on the team because the team didn't win. Basically no threat to the league.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wow Perry. I didn't realize you were going to start name calling on here. How do you contend that the WTT has a more loose rating system? It's the same as the USTA. You are allowed to self rate in the USTA and all of the ratings in the WTT are based off of the USTA.

    ReplyDelete
  10. WTT does suffer from looser rules. It allowed an ATP Touring Pro (Ryan Anderson) to compete in the 4.0 division.

    That team CHEATED and won their "4.0" flight. The team was not DQ'd despite the fact that everyone knows an ATP Pro is nowhere close to a 4.0 level.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Touring Pro? Should rate no less than 6.0

    ReplyDelete
  12. Whoa, everyone take a step back here.

    WTT is a great event and had been a lot of fun for everyone. Thanks Lance for bringing it to Houston.

    As for rating and people being stronger than their NTRP ratings. There are countless posts that go on endlessly about who should be rated what. Just check out the USTA Summer Playoffs posts to validate.

    PS: Ryan Anderson was DQ'd out of WTT.

    ReplyDelete
  13. LOL - You guys are funny!
    There too many strong players in 4.0 and too many strong players in 4.5. Please! Everyone should be thankful that we have such great talents in our league. To compete at the level with Benson, the Twins (Omon and Odion), Summerall, Martinez, Carpenter, Lacey, Hasker, Greene, just to name a few, we all should be so lucky. Unfortunately, some have move to 5.0. Play these players and you will learn something about yourself and about them.
    As for Chalkley, you judge him on a single match he played with Brian Smith? The cynics and whiners should go out and play him. IF you think all the names on the list here are too strong for 4.5, you really should not be competing at the 4.5 level. You should not enter a tournament and you should not play league. You will lose most of the time. Just dump all your matches and play 4.0. What will you be then, a too strong 4.0? Unlikely!
    One person on a team does not make the team a winner. It does however improve the odds, but that is the odd of ONE line. There are 5 lines! Think of it as a chess game, let the captain play chess with another captain. It’s all about matchup.
    I have monitored this blog on and off. I will lay it out there. Jason Freeman is a genius. He has put a team that we would love to part of. I hear lots of jealousy throughout the league. He put a team to give them a chance at Sectionals and Nationals. Last year he sent a team to Nationals and lost in the finals. Think about that. That is an awesome team that represented from Houston at Sectionals and at National. Not to knock the Hurricanes down, but they barely made it out of Sectionals. It took 10 best players from Houston to get it right. Congrats to the Hurricanes. If you haven’t congratulated them, you should! Give them the respect they deserve!
    Red, Jason, Alain, Peter, Ristau and the rest of the captains, I believe and hope you will put a team to represent well! Of course, Copperfield will do everything we can to represent!
    If you are looking for one player to knock us out, you should be more worried about the Deucebags, the Ssshhhwings, Westsides, Red’s (NoHo) and Jason’s (Hurricanes) team.
    The Copperfield Lobsters is a good team. We compete well. We drink well too! We are the greatest drinking team in the league! We have not proven to be great in tennis. To add Chalkley, is a great addition, not sure about drinking though!
    Btw, playing in a tennis league is a hobby. Enjoy it! Look for the good wins and savor it!
    For all the captains in this league, protest now! If you do it later, I will call you out on it! Once league start, let it play out!
    If I have offended anyone on this blog, call me! First, second and 3rd round are on me!

    LeTan
    832-620-0440

    ReplyDelete
  14. That was a lot of rubbish Mike. Why do you think it's ok to lie on the self rate profile? That's the only thing I want you to address. All the rest is crap. It's very simple. For those who have never seen the self-rate online test, it is black and white. About 3-4 questions in it asks you if you've played on or comitted to a Div 1 team. If you are an honest person and answer it correctly it will immediately drop you out of the test if you answer yes and it will require you to self rate no less than 5.5. Mike for you to feed us with all that bullcrap is insulting and only defines you as a cheater and a liar too.

    ReplyDelete
  15. jason and red do it all the time, so why isolate mike

    ReplyDelete
  16. OK, call me a cheater! I was the one who rated him. He joined the club less than 2 day. Members of the club thought he is a good player. I met him less than 4 hours. I could not verify who he was. So I signed him up as a 4.5 to play on the team.

    Please, I want the protest now!
    Do it now, don't do it when league starts.

    btw, who am I blogging with?

    LeTan

    ReplyDelete
  17. Mike, why are you doing his self rate? Shouldn't the player himself do the rate? Did you know that he played D1? If so, then you flat out lied. You're too nice a guy to be pulled down into that trap for league. If the guy is not good enough to play 5.5 or whatever his rating comes out as there are plenty of opportunities other than league to play and see his rating dropped. Sorry if it takes a year or two for that to happen so you can add him to the team. If I were a captain I would protest him immediately.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Lance,
    I've made two comments on this blog, and that was months ago. I do enjoy reading it, but I don't call people out. It's not what I do. Besides, I know the difference between "looser" and "loser," not that I'm into semantics or anything. You'll have to figure out someone else that called you out.

    I enjoyed your event and the people I met. Rob's a good guy although I doubt a 4.5.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Perry, my bad. I apologize for assuming it was you. I should have asked you point blank via email instead of assuming. You played great this past weekend and I was very appreciative that you participated.
    Again, my apologies

    ReplyDelete
  20. I am not a nice guy. I am usually an a$$hole. Please change your view of me :). This is playground for me. I have a family and job that I take more serious. As for kicking me out of the league, within 2 years, I will be a 3.5. I become more of a thread then, than with my mouth and my writing! LOL

    I just like the game and want my team to have the best shot. This is team tennis.

    As to how you guys want to protest or not, its up to you.

    LeTan

    ReplyDelete
  21. 3.5 and 4.0 sienna players will reverse appeal to become 4.5 wannabe ... good luck losers , get your ass handed to you in 4.5 big boy league hahahaha

    ReplyDelete
  22. OK, sorry I gave you the benefit of the doubt about being a nice guy. You really are an @$$hole.

    You didn't answer my question about the self rate - did you know that he played D1 when you did his self rate (not that I understand why you were doing his self rate)?

    If you truly take you family that seriously, is this the type of behavior that you want to teach your son - that it is OK to break the rules and cheat just as long as it gives your team the best shot?

    Just because others do it doesn't mean that you should. Enjoy your team but keep your integrity.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Mike Le Tan is a straight up guy and has a lot of integrity. He even signs his blog responses, unlike you. So, until you can stand up for yourself in public, quit bashing what everyone else is doing.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Why does it take someone to protest Chalkley? Mike, you know his credentials now so do the right thing. Don't play him. Get on the phone or send an email and tell Tosha he did not self rate correctly and have them self rate him where he should be. You have no excuse now. Why are you suddenly acting like the victim now? The bloggers haven't done anything wrong. Just because you've been caught you get on your high-horse and bring your family and job into it. You are the one who took it upon yourself to self-rate a D1 college player incorrectly. You've been around long enough to know better. You don't randomly self-rate someone without asking them the basic questions. Did you play in college? What division. Quit making excuses.

    ReplyDelete
  25. You took the time to get the guys USTA# but failed to ask him where he's played. HMMMMMM

    ReplyDelete
  26. Sound like Benson or Freeman are complaining since they didn't get the guy first.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Yep, let's see what a nice and honest guy is come sign up time for USTA. It's ok, let Chalkely play a few critical swing matches and then drop the bomb.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Last blog of the day and for a while:

    This is quite an experience and it has been fun. However, this is way too serious for me!

    Guy(s), you have a problem with me. You don't need to bash on Red and Jason.

    Don't be haters!

    See you guys on the court!



    LeTan

    ReplyDelete
  29. Lance, because Mike signs his name to his posts makes him a stand up guy? I guess we have really lowered our standards.

    Having said that, I've known and played against Mike for a long time and always look forward to seeing and talking to him. One transgression (in my opinion) does not change my opinion of him. I choose to remain anonymous because although I really want to encourage him to come clean as another poster suggested, I have no desire to damage any interaction I may have with him in the future.

    ReplyDelete
  30. who cares if he was a div1 player. doesn't mean he was a really good one. i say let him play 4.5. at least now, we're aware that he's going to be tough to beat, but not beatable. quit whining and get better or go out and recruit!!!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Must we go through this again. It DOES NOT MATTER how good a player you are. If you were ever on a Div 1 team, or comitted to a Div 1 team, and you are younger than 45 years old, you MUST self rate yourself 5.5 or higher. Hey, if you suck, as you imply, then you will be dropped and you can then play 4.5. Who the heck elects you God and NTRP know-it-all. It's not up to you or anyone to decide where someone's playing ability puts you. That's why there's a grid. It makes it very simple and while it is basically dummy-proof, it is not cheater-proof. Anyone can lie. So, now let's condone lying instead, oh well hey, it's ok, let the guy play anyways. Un-F'ing-believable.

    ReplyDelete
  32. I agree with the previous poster. Hey Mike, ball's in your court now. You can claim ignorance all you want but now you know the truth. What are you going to do about it. What's more important to you, winning or your reputation. I don't want to hear any crap about he's not that good. First of all we know that just aint true, and secondly it's worse than cheating and lying because now you know the truth and EVERYONE else does too. So basically, if you don't do the right thing here you're telling the entire tennis community you don't give a crap.

    ReplyDelete
  33. I absolutely agree with the last poster. Why is it always we should let someone work their way up to where they belong rather than work their way down to where they belong?

    Rules are rules and we should follow them rather than each of us applying our own judgement. If the rules suck, work to get them changed.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Mike, don't pull this, y'all are too serious BS. You're the one who erroneously self rated a guy 2 levels below where he should be. You seem to be the pro at turning the table.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Guys, I wouldn’t sweat this one too much. LeTan knows the rules, knows he broke them, and won’t be shamed into doing the right thing (straight-up guy though he may be), so there’s no point trying. Eventually a competing captain will protest this guy and will win, timed to gain maximum advantage for that captain and maximum disadvantage for LeTan, possibly even sanctions for him beyond just the DQ. Just wait it out and enjoy the outcome.

    ReplyDelete
  36. YA!!! And the Rolido Boys are the best drinking team in Houston leaguea. They drink before, during and after their matches.

    ReplyDelete
  37. At least the Rolido Boys are good at something because it sure aint winning tennis matches.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Division one players cannot self rate at 4.5s. He needs to be self rated properly. If he decides to tank for a couple years then the computer will move him down then so be it.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Wow. Fun comments. Simple answer is call USTA Texas and get him rated in the right place.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Aaaah the voice of reason. Who Dat???

    ReplyDelete
  41. Nah. Just let him play and then disqualify him during city playoffs. Standard operating procedure for competitive captains.

    ReplyDelete
  42. For all those who monitor this blog, it has been interestingly freaky, literally FREAKY.
    I have submitted the change and Chalkley is now a 5.5.
    Believe it or not, as I was getting Chalkley’s rating change, someone did submit a grievance.
    Think of me how ever you want to. This action was done by me and not by my teammates or my club. Tennis is a hobby, enjoy it as a hobby!
    Greg has done a great job to make this place. Have fun!
    Don’t be a hater or a cynic, you will only bring yourself down and push everyone else out of this blog!
    Later!

    LeTan

    ReplyDelete
  43. Doesn't the submitter of the grievance have to be documented?

    Cutthroat captains would have let him play all year and gotten him DQ'ed the week of city.

    ReplyDelete
  44. who's going to be the superstar for copperfield now? bergmann can't be the only one to carry singles. someone mentioned salinas, but that's a joke.

    ReplyDelete
  45. It was probably either Freeman or Benzon.

    ReplyDelete
  46. It was neither Benson and Freeman. If someone guess it right, I will buy you a beer!

    LeTan

    ReplyDelete
  47. It was not Red Benzon or Jason Freeman. We know who it was already. Not worth calling him out. He's not even a 4.5 player.

    ReplyDelete
  48. well, now, in that case I may have to name him! I'm all for getting a free beer from the great Le Tan!

    ReplyDelete
  49. 21 questions mike? Person or animal? Male or Female? Captain or Player? 4.0 or 4.5? Boxers or Tightie Whities?

    ReplyDelete
  50. LanceL,

    Why was the "hta playoffs" blog deleted? I wasn't able to read Harold's response, so could you summarized it for us that missed it?

    ReplyDelete
  51. Harold Gardner has left a new comment on the post "HTA Playoffs":

    A couple of things:

    1. HTA is going to sponsor playoffs for all the HTA league winners for the Spring and Fall seasons. The HTA league committee is working on the exact details now and will roll out that information shortly. We even have some money in the budget to support this. We set this up in response to the overwhelming interest indicated by the survey we did.

    2. We are setting up a conference call to give team captains a chance to ask questions, share concerns, and make suggestions. If you are a team captain, you should already have an email from Lera about this. If you don't, send her an email at Htalera@houstontennis.org.

    This is what Harold wrote

    ReplyDelete