Congratulations to Kingwood and the Hurricanes, who have both clinched their flights and have moved into the semi-finals on Sunday.
Omon and Odion again took care of the singles for Kilshaw's bunch, and the doubles swept as well as the team blanked the Valley 5-0. I'm not sure at this point if the semis in 4.5 will be a three team round robin of flight winners or whether a wild card team will be added as has been done in the past. I'm sure someone could clue me in.
The Hurricanes have been almost spotless thus far, dropping no lines and just two sets in their first three matches. Freeman's 3.5 team didn't do any tanking, so I imagine his 4.0 team will put out some effort in their final match, though I'm sure they'll rest some key players. It looks like they will be facing Austin in the semi-finals, but there's little doubt that they're the team to beat.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Friday, August 10, 2007
Kingwood Lookin' Good
Kingwood faced its sternest test against Dallas Wild and came up big. This time, however, they got an unexpected contribution to propel them to their 3-2 win. Former Mob Squadders Hai Vu and Phi Huynh dominated at 3 doubles to give Kingwood its margin of victory.
Odion Dibua dropped a third set tiebreaker at one singles to Donnie Pollard, but the other two "solid" lines, Omon and Hurlbert/Armstrong were again "money", though Hurlbert/Armstrong went to a third set breaker at line 2.
Kingwood now looks to be almost certain to make it to the semi-finals, where they will probably be joined by Austin and San Antonio.
The Hangovers pulled off a shocker, beating San Antonio 3-2. David B. and Grant Murphy both took their singles lines, and Whitsett and Bobo again dominated at line 2. Benzon/Green and Deluca/Teague both lost. San Antonio used Reader and Regmund in doubles and Hilderbrand again lost for them in singles.
Corpus beat Dallas 3-2 and can clinch with a victory over San Antonio tomorrow. Hangovers are still alive though, as San Antonio has a good chance to win tomorrow and who knows what kind of lineup Dallas will put out there tomorrow.
Rice's 4.0 team stayed alive mathematically, pulling out their second match against Lubbock by a 3-2 score. Quack Bui again dominated at one singles and Matt Evelt picked up a much needed win at line 2. Truc Tran redeemed himself by teaming with Ron Rexilius to clinch the match in a third set tie breaker.
As expected, both Houston 5.0 teams are having a tough time so far. Both teams lost their first matches. Dustin Phillips did dominate an overmatched opponent, and Arun Nanjappa but up a valiant effort against Rafael Omana. The Houston teams had to use players like Miguel Morales, Alain Tran, David Yang and Hernan Guevara, which just isn't good enough at the 5.0 Sectional level.
Odion Dibua dropped a third set tiebreaker at one singles to Donnie Pollard, but the other two "solid" lines, Omon and Hurlbert/Armstrong were again "money", though Hurlbert/Armstrong went to a third set breaker at line 2.
Kingwood now looks to be almost certain to make it to the semi-finals, where they will probably be joined by Austin and San Antonio.
The Hangovers pulled off a shocker, beating San Antonio 3-2. David B. and Grant Murphy both took their singles lines, and Whitsett and Bobo again dominated at line 2. Benzon/Green and Deluca/Teague both lost. San Antonio used Reader and Regmund in doubles and Hilderbrand again lost for them in singles.
Corpus beat Dallas 3-2 and can clinch with a victory over San Antonio tomorrow. Hangovers are still alive though, as San Antonio has a good chance to win tomorrow and who knows what kind of lineup Dallas will put out there tomorrow.
Rice's 4.0 team stayed alive mathematically, pulling out their second match against Lubbock by a 3-2 score. Quack Bui again dominated at one singles and Matt Evelt picked up a much needed win at line 2. Truc Tran redeemed himself by teaming with Ron Rexilius to clinch the match in a third set tie breaker.
As expected, both Houston 5.0 teams are having a tough time so far. Both teams lost their first matches. Dustin Phillips did dominate an overmatched opponent, and Arun Nanjappa but up a valiant effort against Rafael Omana. The Houston teams had to use players like Miguel Morales, Alain Tran, David Yang and Hernan Guevara, which just isn't good enough at the 5.0 Sectional level.
Update
Some more results have come through. The Houston 4.0 team again waltzed to victory, this time over their NOHO brethren. Chris Towle and Eric Urban took a set for NOHO. Sarosh Ahmed trounced Greg Leiker at one singles and should still have some legs tomorrow. Jason Kern made an appearance at 2 singles and took out Dan Zebrowski.
SE Tex lost their first matchup against Fort Worth. Jason Cooney won at 1 singles against veteran Jerry Pham, but Pat Abshire could not win over Bobby Cocanougher at 2 singles. Chris Hunckler and Khang Quach won the other line for Beaumont.
My old doubles partner used to tell me: "Four solid guys, that's all you need." Kingwood is riding their four horsemen: the Dibuas, Hurlbert and Armstrong. They've been virtually unbeatable all year and again carried Kingwood to a hard-fought victory over Abilene this morning. Houston's Craig Smyser won at 2 doubles for Abilene over Hamilton and Wright. Adam Paschal continued his slump at line 3 doubles.
The Hangovers lack of singles strength cost them against a Corpus team that is not exactly known for its singles strength. Jody Deluca and David Guy both lost close two setters. "Ringer" David B. and Red Benzon couldn't pull out the third set breaker at one doubles, and the Hangovers suffered a surprising upset at the hands of Corpus. Whitsett/Bobo won easily at line 2, and Huffman/Ballesteros squeaked one out at line 3. The Hangovers have a huge mountain to climb in that rugged division if they're gonna' claw their way back into things.
SE Tex lost their first matchup against Fort Worth. Jason Cooney won at 1 singles against veteran Jerry Pham, but Pat Abshire could not win over Bobby Cocanougher at 2 singles. Chris Hunckler and Khang Quach won the other line for Beaumont.
My old doubles partner used to tell me: "Four solid guys, that's all you need." Kingwood is riding their four horsemen: the Dibuas, Hurlbert and Armstrong. They've been virtually unbeatable all year and again carried Kingwood to a hard-fought victory over Abilene this morning. Houston's Craig Smyser won at 2 doubles for Abilene over Hamilton and Wright. Adam Paschal continued his slump at line 3 doubles.
The Hangovers lack of singles strength cost them against a Corpus team that is not exactly known for its singles strength. Jody Deluca and David Guy both lost close two setters. "Ringer" David B. and Red Benzon couldn't pull out the third set breaker at one doubles, and the Hangovers suffered a surprising upset at the hands of Corpus. Whitsett/Bobo won easily at line 2, and Huffman/Ballesteros squeaked one out at line 3. The Hangovers have a huge mountain to climb in that rugged division if they're gonna' claw their way back into things.
MIA
For the first time in almost a decade I'm not in Dallas this year for Sectionals, so my knowledge is definitely second hand.
It's always been my experience that Friday is the day when teams can often be shorthanded, missing a key player or two that can't get off work. Sometimes these players will show up if the team is still in contention, and sometimes they don't.
Only a few early results are in but it's already interesting to see some of the names that are not in the lineups. I have no way of knowing if they are being held out for strategic reasons or are unable to attend.
The Rice 4.0 team lost its first match against Dallas 3-2. Wade Karel did not play, and Coach Hunt was forced to use Truc Tran at number two singles. Neither Strasser nor Swartley was in the lineup, and I doubt that those players would be held out against a champion from a major city. It's disappointing to see the Rice team go down without its best lineup.
Others that have been missing in action in the early results: SE Tex 4.0 Jason Reid, Austin 4.5 Bo Bowman.
Incidentally, the Austin 4.5 rolled to a ridiculously easy win over the Waco 4.5 team. Stuart Holland and Chad Case should have plenty of gas left in the legs for their afternoon matchup with SE Tex (Ssshhhwing-lite).
It's always been my experience that Friday is the day when teams can often be shorthanded, missing a key player or two that can't get off work. Sometimes these players will show up if the team is still in contention, and sometimes they don't.
Only a few early results are in but it's already interesting to see some of the names that are not in the lineups. I have no way of knowing if they are being held out for strategic reasons or are unable to attend.
The Rice 4.0 team lost its first match against Dallas 3-2. Wade Karel did not play, and Coach Hunt was forced to use Truc Tran at number two singles. Neither Strasser nor Swartley was in the lineup, and I doubt that those players would be held out against a champion from a major city. It's disappointing to see the Rice team go down without its best lineup.
Others that have been missing in action in the early results: SE Tex 4.0 Jason Reid, Austin 4.5 Bo Bowman.
Incidentally, the Austin 4.5 rolled to a ridiculously easy win over the Waco 4.5 team. Stuart Holland and Chad Case should have plenty of gas left in the legs for their afternoon matchup with SE Tex (Ssshhhwing-lite).
4.0 Update
The Hurricanes won their first match, which figured to be one of their toughest hurdles, 5-0 this morning. San Antonio provided little resistance as only Knutson/Wood at line 1 doubles lost a set. Coach Freeman used Janek at #1 singles and Ahmed at line 2. Both Knutson and Kern were in the doubles lineup, leaving Goldberg completely fresh for the 11 AM matchup against NOHO.
Rice's 4.0 team is on the court as we speak, playing against the Dallas city champs. A win may propel them into the favorites role in their flight. A loss would cripple their chances. Houston's 4.5 teams are heading to the courts now. More news later.
Rice's 4.0 team is on the court as we speak, playing against the Dallas city champs. A win may propel them into the favorites role in their flight. A loss would cripple their chances. Houston's 4.5 teams are heading to the courts now. More news later.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Sectionals 5.0 Preview
With Austin's 5.0 team dropping out, Houston now has two representatives in the 5.0 division in Dallas: Lost Forest and Rice.
The Rice team has surprised me all year long, but they are very thin heading into Sectionals and it's hard to imagine that they will make much noise up there. They have ridden their horse (Arun Nanjappa) all year long, but the singles competition in Dallas will be much stiffer and I don't see him going unscathed in the Dallas heat, especially with his lack of weaponry. Soft-serving, consistent baseliners (David Pierson) have carried Houston teams to 5.0 Nationals in the past but I don't think Nanjappa is in Pierson's league and I don't think his supporting cast is as strong.
With Jorge Cuesta ineligible to play, Rice will have to rely on David Yang, Amit Garg, Ryan Kudva and Atsushi Fukunaga (if they're all available). Alain Tran and possibly Ira Jamshidi (I've not heard about his availability) could pitch in. But there's just not enough 5.0+ talent there to make any noise.
Though they were a second place team, the Lost Forest bunch may have more of a chance to do well. Hernan's teams have never really been good enough to excel at Sectionals in the past, and there's little reason to believe that this is the year they go all the way. Frederic Saint-Louis played only one match on the year...(UNCONFIRMED!) rumor has it he was a top 600 player in the world under a different name, but he will be unavailable in Dallas. Dustin Phillips will be a capable singles player for Hernan, and Bryan Taylor and Daniel Bello can certainly hold their own in doubles. If Robert Bickmore and Brian Montez make the trip, the team will be pretty solid on paper.
However, San Antonio has Max Dunaev as its singles player and no Houston player can touch him. Their team dropped just one line the entire season, and it's hard to see either Houston team taking two lines in one match from them. Admittedly, the entire San Antonio 5.0 league was filled with 4.5 players and 5.0's who were obviously tanking, so it's hard to put much stock in the near-spotless resumé.
Rafael Omana anchors the Fort Worth 5.0 team, and again he's going to be too much for Houstonians to handle. Oscar Gonzalez is a tough singles player for the Dallas wild card entry, and the Dallas City champs appear to be very strong in doubles, so 5.0 should be very interesting this year, but probably unsuccessful for our Houston teams.
The Rice team has surprised me all year long, but they are very thin heading into Sectionals and it's hard to imagine that they will make much noise up there. They have ridden their horse (Arun Nanjappa) all year long, but the singles competition in Dallas will be much stiffer and I don't see him going unscathed in the Dallas heat, especially with his lack of weaponry. Soft-serving, consistent baseliners (David Pierson) have carried Houston teams to 5.0 Nationals in the past but I don't think Nanjappa is in Pierson's league and I don't think his supporting cast is as strong.
With Jorge Cuesta ineligible to play, Rice will have to rely on David Yang, Amit Garg, Ryan Kudva and Atsushi Fukunaga (if they're all available). Alain Tran and possibly Ira Jamshidi (I've not heard about his availability) could pitch in. But there's just not enough 5.0+ talent there to make any noise.
Though they were a second place team, the Lost Forest bunch may have more of a chance to do well. Hernan's teams have never really been good enough to excel at Sectionals in the past, and there's little reason to believe that this is the year they go all the way. Frederic Saint-Louis played only one match on the year...(UNCONFIRMED!) rumor has it he was a top 600 player in the world under a different name, but he will be unavailable in Dallas. Dustin Phillips will be a capable singles player for Hernan, and Bryan Taylor and Daniel Bello can certainly hold their own in doubles. If Robert Bickmore and Brian Montez make the trip, the team will be pretty solid on paper.
However, San Antonio has Max Dunaev as its singles player and no Houston player can touch him. Their team dropped just one line the entire season, and it's hard to see either Houston team taking two lines in one match from them. Admittedly, the entire San Antonio 5.0 league was filled with 4.5 players and 5.0's who were obviously tanking, so it's hard to put much stock in the near-spotless resumé.
Rafael Omana anchors the Fort Worth 5.0 team, and again he's going to be too much for Houstonians to handle. Oscar Gonzalez is a tough singles player for the Dallas wild card entry, and the Dallas City champs appear to be very strong in doubles, so 5.0 should be very interesting this year, but probably unsuccessful for our Houston teams.
Sectionals 4.5 Preview
Houston is sending two teams to Sectionals in 4.5, where they will be joined by a "Southeast Texas" team that is comprised of mostly Houstonians. There are only 3 flights in Dallas in the 4.5 division this season, so I am assuming that Sunday will include the three flight winners as well as the top second place team. Sets and games will be extremely important to earn that fourth spot on Sunday, so we will see teams playing their top lineups even after losing their first match.
Houston's champ, Kingwood, was placed in Flight II, where they will be joined by Wild Dallas, Abilene and the Valley. Abilene's team, which includes Houston resident Craig Smyser, does not appear to have the strength to win the division despite their success at the qualifying tournament. The Valley team is a fixture at Sectionals and has advanced to Nationals twice in the past decade. Both of those teams featured Ramiro Cuevas, however, who is not on this team. Jacob Casas, David Ceron and Ivan Leal are all competent singles players, but none packs the punch of Cuevas or Edward Couoh who anchored the 2004 team that made it to Nationals.
Kevin Conway's Dallas squad will be the big hurdle for Kingwood. Moonballer Wade Zimmerman, who completely frustrated Jody Deluca at Sectionals last year, did not play in the Dallas City playoffs, but will be a handful at Sectionals. It will be interesting to see how he fares against the serve and volleying style of the Dibuas if they match up. Conway has several other singles options: Clint Cash, Donnie Pollard and Todd Feldman have all had previous success at Sectionals. Andre Champagne has seen better days and will not play against Kingwood. Kole Frink is new to the team this year and has played singles in big matches. The Conway doubles players haven't changed much, though they've added superstar Kevin Durten. Feisty Brad Sweeney and Jon Stein will be factors, as will cap'n Conway.
I'd have to install Conway's bunch as the favorites in Division II, but Kingwood will be in the hunt and will also have a chance at that wild card slot.
The Hangover team was placed in a super-heavyweight flight, which doesn't bode well for the wild card slot as blowouts and easy matches will be extremely hard to come by. Rusty Branch's Dallas team, a great San Antonio squad and a decent Corpus team join the Hangovers in Flight III.
Corpus has had a lot of success with pretty much this same cast of characters throughout the years, but truth be told they're overmatched this time around. I'm not sure who they can throw out there in singles that can match up with the talent in this flight. Robert Whitehurst has played singles in the past, and Glenn Shandy has had his moments (beating Phi Huynh one year) but Corpus will be a nonfactor unless they are underestimated.
San Antonio's team is just stacked. James Regmund, Mark Hilderbrand and Thomas Reader are extremely strong in singles. I have a feeling Tejinder Somal is a total stud too. Mike Miller, Vince Giordanelli, Patrick Johnson and Nathan Lenss are very capable in doubles. Despite all of the talk about the Austin team, I think this San Antonio team is the team to beat.
The Hangovers definitely have a chance to beat the Dallas team. Wesley James is a tough singles player, but they seem to lack a strong second singles player. Their doubles is tough,
but I give the Hangovers a slight edge in that department if they come with a strong team.
I've been a bit out of the loop since City playoffs and don't really know anything about the health and availability of the Hangovers. If Grant Murphy's shoulder has healed, and if David B. is making the trip, they could be very dangerous. They don't have any superstar singles players, though, which could be their downfall. Still, they are very dangerous and could give any team, including San Antonio, a lot of trouble if things are clicking.
The Beaumont team, which includes Peter Rothe, Augusto Rodriguez, Chris Hunckler, Jason Cooney and David Hall, is in Division I with Austin, Fort Worth and Waco. Waco should be a non-factor.
Fort Worth has a decent team, with Rob Hurley, Bobby Cocanougher and Jerry Pham manning the singles slots. Hurley is their top player and has lost only to Justin Huffman this season. He will be tough to beat, but I don't see Fort Worth posing much of a challenge to the Austin team. They should battle with Southeast Texas for the second spot in the division.
The Austin team seems to be the consensus pick to make it to Nationals. They are loaded. Stuart Holland has barely broken a sweat this season, surrenduring just 12 games in 5 matches and yet avoiding 3 strikes disqualification despite having a high DNTRP coming into the season. Sometimes the rating system defies explanation. Chad Case has been almost untouchable this year as well, and has yet to lose a set in his nine matches while playing (in my opinion) in the toughest 4.5 league in the state. Fred Schlotterback, Torch Acosta and Sal Martinez are all perfectly capable of pitching in in singles if necessary. Bo Bowman and Eric Strawbridge are VERY tough in doubles. Can I revise my pick to make it to Nationals????
Houston's champ, Kingwood, was placed in Flight II, where they will be joined by Wild Dallas, Abilene and the Valley. Abilene's team, which includes Houston resident Craig Smyser, does not appear to have the strength to win the division despite their success at the qualifying tournament. The Valley team is a fixture at Sectionals and has advanced to Nationals twice in the past decade. Both of those teams featured Ramiro Cuevas, however, who is not on this team. Jacob Casas, David Ceron and Ivan Leal are all competent singles players, but none packs the punch of Cuevas or Edward Couoh who anchored the 2004 team that made it to Nationals.
Kevin Conway's Dallas squad will be the big hurdle for Kingwood. Moonballer Wade Zimmerman, who completely frustrated Jody Deluca at Sectionals last year, did not play in the Dallas City playoffs, but will be a handful at Sectionals. It will be interesting to see how he fares against the serve and volleying style of the Dibuas if they match up. Conway has several other singles options: Clint Cash, Donnie Pollard and Todd Feldman have all had previous success at Sectionals. Andre Champagne has seen better days and will not play against Kingwood. Kole Frink is new to the team this year and has played singles in big matches. The Conway doubles players haven't changed much, though they've added superstar Kevin Durten. Feisty Brad Sweeney and Jon Stein will be factors, as will cap'n Conway.
I'd have to install Conway's bunch as the favorites in Division II, but Kingwood will be in the hunt and will also have a chance at that wild card slot.
The Hangover team was placed in a super-heavyweight flight, which doesn't bode well for the wild card slot as blowouts and easy matches will be extremely hard to come by. Rusty Branch's Dallas team, a great San Antonio squad and a decent Corpus team join the Hangovers in Flight III.
Corpus has had a lot of success with pretty much this same cast of characters throughout the years, but truth be told they're overmatched this time around. I'm not sure who they can throw out there in singles that can match up with the talent in this flight. Robert Whitehurst has played singles in the past, and Glenn Shandy has had his moments (beating Phi Huynh one year) but Corpus will be a nonfactor unless they are underestimated.
San Antonio's team is just stacked. James Regmund, Mark Hilderbrand and Thomas Reader are extremely strong in singles. I have a feeling Tejinder Somal is a total stud too. Mike Miller, Vince Giordanelli, Patrick Johnson and Nathan Lenss are very capable in doubles. Despite all of the talk about the Austin team, I think this San Antonio team is the team to beat.
The Hangovers definitely have a chance to beat the Dallas team. Wesley James is a tough singles player, but they seem to lack a strong second singles player. Their doubles is tough,
but I give the Hangovers a slight edge in that department if they come with a strong team.
I've been a bit out of the loop since City playoffs and don't really know anything about the health and availability of the Hangovers. If Grant Murphy's shoulder has healed, and if David B. is making the trip, they could be very dangerous. They don't have any superstar singles players, though, which could be their downfall. Still, they are very dangerous and could give any team, including San Antonio, a lot of trouble if things are clicking.
The Beaumont team, which includes Peter Rothe, Augusto Rodriguez, Chris Hunckler, Jason Cooney and David Hall, is in Division I with Austin, Fort Worth and Waco. Waco should be a non-factor.
Fort Worth has a decent team, with Rob Hurley, Bobby Cocanougher and Jerry Pham manning the singles slots. Hurley is their top player and has lost only to Justin Huffman this season. He will be tough to beat, but I don't see Fort Worth posing much of a challenge to the Austin team. They should battle with Southeast Texas for the second spot in the division.
The Austin team seems to be the consensus pick to make it to Nationals. They are loaded. Stuart Holland has barely broken a sweat this season, surrenduring just 12 games in 5 matches and yet avoiding 3 strikes disqualification despite having a high DNTRP coming into the season. Sometimes the rating system defies explanation. Chad Case has been almost untouchable this year as well, and has yet to lose a set in his nine matches while playing (in my opinion) in the toughest 4.5 league in the state. Fred Schlotterback, Torch Acosta and Sal Martinez are all perfectly capable of pitching in in singles if necessary. Bo Bowman and Eric Strawbridge are VERY tough in doubles. Can I revise my pick to make it to Nationals????
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