Across the State in 4.5

There don't seem to be any super-dominant teams this year in 4.5. Kingwood may be the favorite, coming off their runner-up finish last year and losing only Odion Dibua from that strong team. There are five or six other teams that can realistically feel they have a good chance at getting that coveted trip to Nationals. Here's a thumbnail sketch of some of the heavyweights.

Kingwood Crush

Add former tour player Juan Lopez and doubles stud Stephen Valentine to a team that was already loaded and you've got a recipe for Jimmy Kilshaw's bunch to finally get over the hump and get that trip to Nationals. The big question mark, at this point, is the health of the presumed singles players. Juan Lopez has been out for a while, and at age 53 it will be interesting to see how he will hold up under the scorching Dallas sun. Omon Dibua is noticably hobbled with knee trouble. Despite Hai Vu's recent singles wins, you have to wonder about their singles. Gary Armstrong will be formidable, but the doubles will be weakened if he is moved to singles. Phi Huynh doesn't appear to have the form that he had years ago, and even then he was not a guaranteed win against the heavyweights at Sectionals.

Austin Wild

Mike Davis has again assembled a powerhouse and his team gets great competition playing in what I feel is the state's toughest 4.5 league. Jeremiah McMillan's disqualification really hurts this team, but there is an abundance of talent to fall back on. Former Met member Kevin Lemke and Doug Langford were the singles stars on the Austin team that made it to Nationals many years back (2001?) and some of the other players were on the Austin Wild team that finished fourth at Nationals just two years ago. Lemke and Fred Schlotterback played singles in their huge match last week. Are they capable of carrying the load in Dallas? They will need some singles depth and may have to rely on David Harrison, Tony Lum or Daniel Rockey to fill in at Sectionals.

Bay Area

On paper this team doesn't really seem to have the strength of some of the others, but the season is still ongoing and you never know if a Benzon-led team will add some strength late in the season. How good is Billy Heim? Are Antoine Ford or Jody Deluca strong enough in singles to win in Dallas against the other top players? There's no evidence in the recent records to indicate that they can, but they're both talented players capable of playing top notch tennis. Tor Krosby is a possible answer there as well and David Guy has had his moments. Bobo and Whitsett will give this team a great chance at taking a doubles line every time they play, so if Heim is as good as some people think, the team will give anyone trouble.

Dallas Branch

It's no coincidence that we see the same captains bringing elite teams to Sectionals every year. They recruit and reload when they lose some talent. Rusty managed to get himself back down to 4.5 and he and Wesley James give them a very solid 1-2 punch. Donnie Pollard is a capable third singles player. The doubles players are all quality veterans who've withstood the rigors and pressure of Sectionals many times.

San Antonio Miller

They squeaked out the championship by just four sets, but as usual this team can play with anyone. Co-captain Alann Torres is a master at assembling a talented squad and this team is no exception. Orlando Galvan is a 5.0 dropdown who won all of his matches at 5.0 Sectionals in 2003. Alejandro Sanchez has been a force on the 4.5 tournament scene this season. There are quality players throughout the roster, and maybe even a hidden gem or two.

Corpus Christi Grand Slam

Every year the unheralded Corpus team brings many of the same players to Sectionals and sometimes finds itself playing on Sunday. This year, they've added Division one recruit Andrew Maingot to the mix. If he retains eligibility, it will give them perhaps the best singles player in Dallas. Lamine Bangoura won all three of his singles matches in Dallas last year, and would give them a solid #2 if he gets his two matches played. The doubles crew appears to be the same as usual.

Harlingen HEB

Every few years the Valley brings a team North that makes some noise. At least twice in the past decade or so they've made it to Nationals, and both of those teams were anchored by Ramiro Cuevas. Cuevas is back at it after a break since their 2004 Nationals run, and he's not the only talented player on the roster. Alfonso Rodriguez has been destroying everything in his sight on the tournament scene, Leo Solis was a Coke finalist, Steve Cuevas was a singles player on the 2004 team that went to Nationals, and Guillermo Martin Del Campo has some solid singles wins and a major zone doubles win to his credit this year. The valley team is always thin in numbers with a lesser talent pool to draw from. We'll see if depth is a problem for this team that has the capability to play with anyone.

Locally, besides Kingwood there are a couple of teams that might have a puncher's chance for a knockout if they can get to Dallas. Both Copperfield and The Mob Squad have some singles guys that are capable of winning all of their pool matches at Sectionals, but neither seem to have the doubles strength of any of the top teams mentioned above. The Met has some doubles talent, but so far their singles (Mills excluded) has been less than spectacular. Ward Jannuzzi is claiming he's their secret singles weapon...time will tell.