What a tumultuous year it's been. I must admit that personally I'm not too crazy about all of the protesting that has been going on. Apparently the San Antonio 4.5 team started the trend last year and it's snowballed a bit out of control here in Houston this season. Most of the "rumors" that have been floated in the comment section here have turned out to be true. It appears that Guerrero and Cuesta will be DQ'd, which will again turn the 5.0 division upside down. In a way it's too bad. The Rice team had overcome a lot of obstacles and had needed contributions from some unlikely sources in order to get to the top, but it appears their success may be fleeting. Posters have mentioned that Daniel Bello of Lost Forest is also a division I college player, but he is a benchmark and is not protestable.
I really hope that I (or this blog) am not responsible for this rash of protests. That was certainly not my intention, though if USTA League tennis gets "cleaned up" somewhat then I guess something good may come out of it in the long run.
I understand there is a bit of a dispute about the Kingwood/Hangovers division and some halfhearted efforts to play matches against Kingwood. I did notice that one scorecard had just two lines competing. Unless things have changed or my memory is faulty, I thought that three lines needed to be contested for a match to be playable. I'm not sure if this will cause previous results to be altered/invalidated. Cheryl certainly is earning her paycheck this year.
I have been doing this league thing for a long time and don't remember defaults coming into play in determining regular season playoff qualifiers or division winners. The situation often arises in city playoffs when a team has no chance of advancing with a match still remaining. Most teams have put forth the effort to play competitively in that situation, but on occasion some teams have chosen to drop out.
Get out there in the heat and play or run, y'all. The combination of nerves, pressure and scorching temperatures in the daytime tennis of city playoffs and sectionals can make it less about tennis and more about conditioning.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Friday, June 29, 2007
Wow
What a clutch performance by the Rice 5.0 team last night. As noted in previous comments, former UT-Pan Am number one Jorge Cuesta was placed in the singles lineup last night and took out 49 year old slicer/dicer Ward Jannuzzi in straight sets. That result was not surprising. Rice sweeping the doubles WAS surprising. Interestingly enough, I just noticed that Cuesta had double bageled one of Jannuzzi's fellow Met teaching pros back when he was in college
Former 5.5 player Craig Hiddleston was supposed to have an easy time of it in 5.0 this year but has been a disappointment. A recent marriage and a lack of court time have contributed to his subpar performance. Amit Garg and Atsushi Fukunaga (who clearly CAN hang in 5.0, as most of us already knew) took out Hiddleston and Leland Putterman in two tiebreakers.
Line two doubles featured three 4.5 players as Henry Li and Ryan Kudva took out David Toney and Danny Weingeist two and five. Henry hasn't gotten much court time in 4.5 this year, but still came up big in a match Rice HAD to have.
So, Rice got the 3-0 result they so desperately needed last night. If there are no protests, the Met will need a 3-0 win in their makeup with Lost Forest in order to tie Rice in lines won. Unless my calculations are incorrect, it appears they would have to lose no sets and less than nine games total in order to come out on top on the court.
In other news, it appears that the Hangovers somehow managed to get David Bvunzabawaya into two matches. I haven't heard any details on that, but it does seem odd.
Former 5.5 player Craig Hiddleston was supposed to have an easy time of it in 5.0 this year but has been a disappointment. A recent marriage and a lack of court time have contributed to his subpar performance. Amit Garg and Atsushi Fukunaga (who clearly CAN hang in 5.0, as most of us already knew) took out Hiddleston and Leland Putterman in two tiebreakers.
Line two doubles featured three 4.5 players as Henry Li and Ryan Kudva took out David Toney and Danny Weingeist two and five. Henry hasn't gotten much court time in 4.5 this year, but still came up big in a match Rice HAD to have.
So, Rice got the 3-0 result they so desperately needed last night. If there are no protests, the Met will need a 3-0 win in their makeup with Lost Forest in order to tie Rice in lines won. Unless my calculations are incorrect, it appears they would have to lose no sets and less than nine games total in order to come out on top on the court.
In other news, it appears that the Hangovers somehow managed to get David Bvunzabawaya into two matches. I haven't heard any details on that, but it does seem odd.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Makeups/Playoffs
As is customary in spring and summer in Houston, we've had a lot of rain and there are numerous matches still to be made up. Citywide playoffs begin on July 12th, but there are still a few questions to be answered before then.
In 4.0, the second slot from Division I is still in question, as is the second slot in woeful Division II. In Division III there is still a mathematical possibility that Rice can be overtaken for the second spot.
With the playoffs in 4.0 having two four team groups, it appears that Group I will feature Lakeside, JCC Dudes and Rice. Group II will have the Hurricanes, Chancellor's and a competent team from Division I (Lost Forest Hackers or Copperfield Copperheads). The Hurricanes have been rewarded for their season-long excellence and will not have a great team standing in their way.
In 4.5 it appears that Ssshhhwing will win Division I, though with a makeup against Jedi Knights there is still the possibility they will finish second. I haven't done the math on how the Kingwood/Hangovers division will end up. It MAY even depend on the finish of the Green/Dibua slugfest that was so rudely interrupted a few weeks back. Division III appears to be Sugar Creek in first place and the Black Sheep in second.
I'm making assumptions, of course, but assuming Kingwood comes out on top and that Ssshhhwing hangs on, the playoffs will have Group I: Ssshhhwing, Hangovers and Sugar Creek and Group II: Jedi Knights, Black Sheep and Kingwood. Seems like that first group is pretty tough.
In 5.0, there is a big match slated to go tonight as the Met and Rice finally square off in their makeup match. A win by Rice will make the Met's final match against Lost Forest quite interesting. (I'm assuming here that there are no disqualifications on the way) If Rice wins tonight by a 2-1 score, they will be just one line ahead of the Met and will be in dire straights. A 3-0 win by Rice will make the Met-Lost Forest makeup verrrrry interesting. I'm not sure if Rice has the manpower to pull off a 3-0 shocker tonight.
In 4.0, the second slot from Division I is still in question, as is the second slot in woeful Division II. In Division III there is still a mathematical possibility that Rice can be overtaken for the second spot.
With the playoffs in 4.0 having two four team groups, it appears that Group I will feature Lakeside, JCC Dudes and Rice. Group II will have the Hurricanes, Chancellor's and a competent team from Division I (Lost Forest Hackers or Copperfield Copperheads). The Hurricanes have been rewarded for their season-long excellence and will not have a great team standing in their way.
In 4.5 it appears that Ssshhhwing will win Division I, though with a makeup against Jedi Knights there is still the possibility they will finish second. I haven't done the math on how the Kingwood/Hangovers division will end up. It MAY even depend on the finish of the Green/Dibua slugfest that was so rudely interrupted a few weeks back. Division III appears to be Sugar Creek in first place and the Black Sheep in second.
I'm making assumptions, of course, but assuming Kingwood comes out on top and that Ssshhhwing hangs on, the playoffs will have Group I: Ssshhhwing, Hangovers and Sugar Creek and Group II: Jedi Knights, Black Sheep and Kingwood. Seems like that first group is pretty tough.
In 5.0, there is a big match slated to go tonight as the Met and Rice finally square off in their makeup match. A win by Rice will make the Met's final match against Lost Forest quite interesting. (I'm assuming here that there are no disqualifications on the way) If Rice wins tonight by a 2-1 score, they will be just one line ahead of the Met and will be in dire straights. A 3-0 win by Rice will make the Met-Lost Forest makeup verrrrry interesting. I'm not sure if Rice has the manpower to pull off a 3-0 shocker tonight.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Results
Sorry y'all. I have limited computer access this week and next. I was glad to see that no controversy had erupted while I was away. Hahaha
There were just a few matches of any importance whose scores have been reported. In 4.0's largest division, the two main contenders for the second (behind Lakeside) playoff spot went at it in a makeup match as Lost Forest Hackers slipped past the Copperfield Copperheads 3-2. Copperfield's strategy of putting Jack Maxwell in singles and Sam Ahn in doubles backfired, as they lost both lines. Lost Forest has just one loss but still has to play Lakeside. They are ahead of the Copperheads by two lines won, with Bear Creek still in the picture.
Not much of interest in 4.5 yesterday. Rich Ryu gave Omon Dibua a battle but the rest of the Yutts went down meekly in a 5-0 loss to Kingwood. Tor Krosby was did not playfor the Yutts. West Side's No Way Out had almost no chance to beat Ssshhhwing as they had to default two lines. Michael Chec made his first singles appearance for Ssshhhwing, easily handling captain Richards.
Rice's 5.0 team did not handle the absence of Arun Nanjappa very well, getting shut out by Lost Forest. Amit Garg tried the singles role and dropped a tough three setter to Dustin Phillips. I haven't heard the results of the Met-Teague matchup, but it's fairly safe to assume that the Met is in the driver's seat for a trip to Sectionals. Hernan and Lost Forest could still make things interesting, but that's a story for another day...
There were just a few matches of any importance whose scores have been reported. In 4.0's largest division, the two main contenders for the second (behind Lakeside) playoff spot went at it in a makeup match as Lost Forest Hackers slipped past the Copperfield Copperheads 3-2. Copperfield's strategy of putting Jack Maxwell in singles and Sam Ahn in doubles backfired, as they lost both lines. Lost Forest has just one loss but still has to play Lakeside. They are ahead of the Copperheads by two lines won, with Bear Creek still in the picture.
Not much of interest in 4.5 yesterday. Rich Ryu gave Omon Dibua a battle but the rest of the Yutts went down meekly in a 5-0 loss to Kingwood. Tor Krosby was did not playfor the Yutts. West Side's No Way Out had almost no chance to beat Ssshhhwing as they had to default two lines. Michael Chec made his first singles appearance for Ssshhhwing, easily handling captain Richards.
Rice's 5.0 team did not handle the absence of Arun Nanjappa very well, getting shut out by Lost Forest. Amit Garg tried the singles role and dropped a tough three setter to Dustin Phillips. I haven't heard the results of the Met-Teague matchup, but it's fairly safe to assume that the Met is in the driver's seat for a trip to Sectionals. Hernan and Lost Forest could still make things interesting, but that's a story for another day...
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
This Week on the Courts
Wow. It must have been a slow Wednesday at work. The comments were coming rapid fire. I do track the visitors to this site...interestingly enough we do have some visitors from the USTA offices in New York. Perhaps some of the venting has at least reached the ears of someone in a position to do something about it. Don't get your hopes up.
Even though there are a bunch of interesting matches this week, the one I'm most curious about is in the 5.0 division. The Met is taking on Teague. Teague is out of things, but with Arun's "suspension", the Rice team is vulnerable and is in the awkward position of relying on the team that protested them. If Teague were to put out one of its strongest lineups the Met would be hard-pressed to beat them. As we've seen, Teague has not often fielded a top flight team, but I'll be curious to see if they put out any effort to help out the Rice team. I'm getting off the subject a bit, but one year my team was in a similar situation: two teams were slated to head to Sectionals from Houston and I needed the team that had clinched to kick a$$ in their final round robin match in city playoffs. I had some friends on the team and begged and pleaded for them to play a strong lineup. It was not one of my finer moments or something I'm proud of. However, they did field a strong lineup and we managed to make it to Sectionals. Later on their captain told me it was a very tough decision for him. On the one hand he felt it was fair to everyone that he put a competitive lineup out there every match, but on the other hand he had lower level players who had played all year and would love to have gotten a chance to play in city playoffs. Anyway, I probably never thanked him enough for his fairness. Thanks again. Too often we hear the negatives about League Tennis, but there are a lot of positive stories out there as well.
There's an important match in 4.0 Division II between Chancellor's and Briargrove Park. Both teams have two losses and the loser may be on the outside looking in for city playoffs. The first meeting of the two teams was rained out, so this is not necessarily a do or die situation. Chancellor's has added Dimitri Ang, a very good 4.0 player, so their roster is considerably stronger than it was early in the season.
In 4.5 Division I, Ssshhhwing again takes on West Side No Way Out. Ssshhhwing handled them pretty easily the first time, but Alex Bitoun and Peter Hill were not in the lineup in that one.
Kingwood looks to take care of business against the Yutts, who are still alive, at least mathematically, for a playoff berth. The Yutts had the misfortune of being in the same division as two heavyweights this year, but do have a lot of talent on their team.
I'm also curious to see if Men In Black have packed it up for the season. If so, the Hangovers will not be able to get some of their studs eligible for playoffs.
In other news, it appears that the Rice-Black Sheep makeup match has been entered as all defaults and a victory for Scott Carr's boys. Very strange, considering that a playoff berth was being heavily contested between the two of them. I wonder if there's a story there....
Even though there are a bunch of interesting matches this week, the one I'm most curious about is in the 5.0 division. The Met is taking on Teague. Teague is out of things, but with Arun's "suspension", the Rice team is vulnerable and is in the awkward position of relying on the team that protested them. If Teague were to put out one of its strongest lineups the Met would be hard-pressed to beat them. As we've seen, Teague has not often fielded a top flight team, but I'll be curious to see if they put out any effort to help out the Rice team. I'm getting off the subject a bit, but one year my team was in a similar situation: two teams were slated to head to Sectionals from Houston and I needed the team that had clinched to kick a$$ in their final round robin match in city playoffs. I had some friends on the team and begged and pleaded for them to play a strong lineup. It was not one of my finer moments or something I'm proud of. However, they did field a strong lineup and we managed to make it to Sectionals. Later on their captain told me it was a very tough decision for him. On the one hand he felt it was fair to everyone that he put a competitive lineup out there every match, but on the other hand he had lower level players who had played all year and would love to have gotten a chance to play in city playoffs. Anyway, I probably never thanked him enough for his fairness. Thanks again. Too often we hear the negatives about League Tennis, but there are a lot of positive stories out there as well.
There's an important match in 4.0 Division II between Chancellor's and Briargrove Park. Both teams have two losses and the loser may be on the outside looking in for city playoffs. The first meeting of the two teams was rained out, so this is not necessarily a do or die situation. Chancellor's has added Dimitri Ang, a very good 4.0 player, so their roster is considerably stronger than it was early in the season.
In 4.5 Division I, Ssshhhwing again takes on West Side No Way Out. Ssshhhwing handled them pretty easily the first time, but Alex Bitoun and Peter Hill were not in the lineup in that one.
Kingwood looks to take care of business against the Yutts, who are still alive, at least mathematically, for a playoff berth. The Yutts had the misfortune of being in the same division as two heavyweights this year, but do have a lot of talent on their team.
I'm also curious to see if Men In Black have packed it up for the season. If so, the Hangovers will not be able to get some of their studs eligible for playoffs.
In other news, it appears that the Rice-Black Sheep makeup match has been entered as all defaults and a victory for Scott Carr's boys. Very strange, considering that a playoff berth was being heavily contested between the two of them. I wonder if there's a story there....
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Interesting Roster Addition
Red/Tim's Hangover team has added a stud. David Bvunzawabaya, former satellite player from Zimbabwe with a computer 4.5 rating will certainly put them in the hunt for a return trip to Nationals.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Random Musing
A computer ranked friend of mine who's been whipping up on the competition this season asked me the other day if he should "tank" a match. He was worried about a three strikes violation. Putting aside the ethics of the situation (I DO have SOME ethics, believe it or not), I told him "You have nothing to worry about".
My own personal opinion is that the "three strikes rule" is virtually nonexistent for computer rated players. The Black Sheep have found out that self-rateds are a different animal, but I'm here to tell you that not only are computer rated players untouchable from a protest standpoint, but they also don't need to throw games/sets/matches to keep their ratings for the current season (the following season is a different story).
Check out the records of a few of these folks that I stumbled upon this morning while checking out some teams across the state:
Chad Case, 7-0 against top competition in the very tough Austin 4.5 league. Closest match thus far was 13 games to 6.
Jason Kern, who plays on our own Hurricane team in addition to his Fort Worth team. 10-0 in doubles with just one set surrendured. Additionally is 15-0 in doubles in tournament play this year.
Ronnie Blake, rated 4.0. Undefeated in his 4 4.5 matches in addition to an 8-0 4.0 record with nine of his sets being 6-0 or 6-1.
Thomas Skowronek, playing for the Austin 4.0 champ. 8-0, no sets lost, closest match 12 games to 6.
You get the picture. Rule #1: If you're computer rated, you can kick a$$ and take names and you have NO worries about a three strikes violation.
My own personal opinion is that the "three strikes rule" is virtually nonexistent for computer rated players. The Black Sheep have found out that self-rateds are a different animal, but I'm here to tell you that not only are computer rated players untouchable from a protest standpoint, but they also don't need to throw games/sets/matches to keep their ratings for the current season (the following season is a different story).
Check out the records of a few of these folks that I stumbled upon this morning while checking out some teams across the state:
Chad Case, 7-0 against top competition in the very tough Austin 4.5 league. Closest match thus far was 13 games to 6.
Jason Kern, who plays on our own Hurricane team in addition to his Fort Worth team. 10-0 in doubles with just one set surrendured. Additionally is 15-0 in doubles in tournament play this year.
Ronnie Blake, rated 4.0. Undefeated in his 4 4.5 matches in addition to an 8-0 4.0 record with nine of his sets being 6-0 or 6-1.
Thomas Skowronek, playing for the Austin 4.0 champ. 8-0, no sets lost, closest match 12 games to 6.
You get the picture. Rule #1: If you're computer rated, you can kick a$$ and take names and you have NO worries about a three strikes violation.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)