It started at Fuddrucker's, I think. It was during Tri-Level Sectionals, and I sat down to lunch with League tennis geniuses Tim Green, Red Benzon and Jason Freeman. I sat quietly, occasionally nodding my head and sipping about three gallons of Diet Coke while the three of them began making their plans and creating the Hurricane "franchise". Most of the discussion focused on the 4.5 division, but the seeds were being planted for the goal of Nationals trips for the 4.0, 4.5 and 5.0 Hurricane teams. It seemed like an overly ambitious goal, but they were just a few bounces away from achieving it.
What will I remember about this weekend? Had a great time watching the 4.5 team...it sounds like a cliche but they really ARE a great bunch of guys. I'm astonished that they were able to win both matches on Sunday without taking a singles line. I've never seen that done before.
Tennis-wise, Jason Pieters was astounding and literally had me jumping out of my seat after he hit consecutive "trick shots" (I can't even describe them) during one of his matches. His opponent was frustrated, screaming "What is he doing here???? He should be at the Legg-Mason this week!!!" Truly awesome.
I'm happy and disappointed with the 4.0 team...we were a talented team that ran into a Dallas team that was just a little bit better. I'm now about oh for ten at Sectionals in my quest for Nationals. Still, it's been a great year...it's always a treat to play for Freeman. The highlight of the year for me was reconnecting with my old friend and doubles partner Mike Lo, who's returned to tennis after a long absence and whose game is coming back. He'll be a factor next year.
I'm glad to see Omon and Odion make it to Nationals after coming so close the last few years. I don't think they could have gotten there if they hadn't brought their college buddies Sumrall and Tam along. Even the best captains sometimes need some talent dropped into their laps and Freeman, Green and Benzon got a little lucky with these two.
Good luck to the Hurricane 4.5 and 5.0 teams and Natural Guts at Nationals. I'm pretty confident they'll do us proud. As for me, and the Hurricane 4.0 team...next year I plan on being one for eleven.
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Good weekend overall, I think Houston represented well.
ReplyDeleteGood luck to those going on to the next round.
Yep you all brought some great talent up here. It was fun watching the 4.0 final. Foster is great and I had never seen Inting and his partner play before, I can see why their results are so good.
ReplyDeleteI hope to see you all again next year, thanks for the advice I am taking all my guys to Fuddruckers tonight.
Congrats Jason and Red.
Good job Houston, you all dominated sectionals this year.
ReplyDeleteChris Doyl D Ted P 6-2, 5-4 ret
ReplyDeleteMark Hildebrand D David B 6-1, 6-3
Tim/Omon D Bradford A/ Kevin P 4,5
John B/Odion D John T/Josh V 2,1
Soon T/Matt S D John A/Michael M 6-3,4-6,1-0
So, basically it took 4 former/recent A&M Players to win 4.5 Sectionals.
ReplyDeleteAnd on the women's side it took 1 former UH player (now asst coach), Sam Houston, and 2 former SEC players (Alabama and Samford)
4 recent a&m CLUB players, not varsity. There is a difference.
ReplyDeleteA huge difference.
ReplyDeleteHurricanes will be in trouble at Nationals. Ted P and Omon are clearly not the answer in singles.
Congrats to the Houston 4.5 team. Our singles players did their job and you guys won 2 close doubles lines. It was a good match and you guys have a really deep team. Good luck at Nationals.
ReplyDeleteMiller
Dwyer is actually a pretty good writer. I think Houston showed the rest of the state where the best tennis is played.
ReplyDeleteGood job Red/Tim et al. You guys did it using all your players. I still can't believe you took all three dubz lines from us.
ReplyDeletekramer
I can believe it. The Houston doubles lineup is ridiculous. I don't think any of those teams dropped a match all season. Tam/Sumrall dropped two sets (one in their first match of the season) but I don't think the other two dropped a set.
ReplyDeleteIf you study the results close it's obvious that the Houston 4.0 league was weak in singles this year. The top players from Dallas, Waco and San Angelo just destroyed some of the Hurricane and SAP's top players. Grego, Osorio and Chamber all got killed at least once.
ReplyDeleteOn the women's side in 4.5, they only gave up 6 games in 12 sets of tennis. That's remarkable.
ReplyDeletePurely by the numbers you might be right, but having been there and seen the play in person, here is my perspective..
ReplyDeleteThe guy that killed Roger on Friday AM (Westbrook) should not be playing 4.0. Bill hid him well all year only letting him play twice in 11 matches. He did not drop a set all weekend at Sectionals. What does that tell you?
Grego lost to a hack on Sat AM from San Angelo that got everything back and hit with slice and shit. Maybe John was tired or frustrated. Who knows? Westbrook killed the San Angelo guy later that day.
I would not say that Houston was weak but just came across some tough well hidden competition from the smaller markets is all.
It's not like the Houston 4.5 singles guys were all that great either. Hasker is the only one who did anything. Puma and Dibuas were not exactly tearing up the joint.
ReplyDeleteWestbrook (Waco) did not play the hack from San Angelo, he beat one of their other singles players in a close match.
ReplyDeleteSchroeder played the hack and lost. Westbrook is a very strong 4.0, but I don't think he was any more out of level than some of the other top singles players from Dallas or Houston. How many matches/sets did Foster lose?
Last year at Sectionals some guy from Dallas destroyed Westbrook.
Sorry, all you crackers look the same to me.
ReplyDeleteExactly my point as if Foster is a 4.0.
My point was that by the scores it does not show that Houston singles is strong or weak, but just competitive
Well Chris, I partly agree with your comments, and partly disagree. Agreed (1) Houston's singles was not weak. Scott Foster has a perfect record. In fact it was the Hurricanes doubles losses against Copperfield that nearly kept them from even going to Dallas. (2) Some of the smaller areas did have some great players.
ReplyDelete(3) Westbrook is ready to move up, as are Grego, Foster, Featherstone, and a few others.
Disagreed (1)San Angelo's Henderson is not a hack. He only lost 5 games in his first three matches combined, and was undefeated all year. (2) Westbrook didn't play him at all; he played their other singles guy Askins, and I wouldn't call 6-4, 7-6 a "kill". (3) I never hid Westbrook, nor did I have any reason to, since he is computer-rated, as are all of our players. He was away at college until early May, when he returned and was able to get two matches in.
From my perspective it seemed like things were closer than ever this year, with lots of tiebreaks and 3-2 scores. In our match with San Angelo alone, there were 7 tiebreakers. A few point swing in the SAP-Waco tiebreaker would have put SAP in the semis. A 2 point swing in the Waco-Hurricane TB would have put Waco in the finals.
B. Sanders
Alright. Someone finally mans up and posts with their name.
ReplyDeleteYep, Eric and I blew our chances for a clean path to Sunday. That is why we were out there rooting for San Angelo. You guys pulled it out when needed.
I agree it was nice to see lots of 3-2's versus lopsided 5-0 wins.
Does TTA evaluate the results for the wildcard teams for next year? Having Wild Waco & Ft. Worth was not competitive. I can name 2 other Houston teams that would have fared better IMHO.
Foster might have lost to Featherstone and Westbrooks just like Chambert did. He did get the easier match ups. We will never know.
ReplyDeleteIt was good tennis all around. Hoping Wild Dallas does well in Vegas.
ReplyDeleteI dont like the current wild card system either, for a couple of reasons. Some very weak teams get in, while other, more deserving teams stay home. And when the draw is published before leagues are finished, some teams can decide if they want to be the wild team, if that flight looks easier, and tank the finals to achieve that.
ReplyDeleteI'd rather see a qualifying tournament with all second-place teams, only the winner of which advances to sectionals. That way, you would have smaller flights, with only three matches on Friday & Saturday.
Sanders
Jason Pieters is probably stronger that most of the players who were on the open level teams. According to his bio on the Georgia Tech website, after graduation he wanted to play the pro tour...well I guess he had to settle for playing 5.0 league tennis.
ReplyDeleteWhich team has the best shot at winning the whole thing at Nationals. Betsie's team showed the most dominance at Sectionals.Can she finally get a National Championship?
ReplyDeleteI think that any one of the 3 Houston teams has a legit shot. In the end it comes down to a few points most of the time.
ReplyDeleteI would guess that 5.0 is the biggest unknown b/c there is so much talent at that level. Who know who will be there?
4.5's both have as good a shot as anyone, they have the talent and experience and need to get the right lineups each time to give the highest probability of winning.
Houston 4.5. If you get David B. in shape you will win Nationals in my opinion. He has mad skills but clearly is not in good shape. You guys need him tuned up. My guess on David B. is he teaches but does not play very much and you guys talked him into playing the bare minimum. If he trains you guys are a lock. If he doesn't you guys still have a good chance but are vulnerable. Just trying to help. HE IS THE KEY.
ReplyDeleteMark Hilderbrand
5.0 has the best chance. That team is loaded with not just former division 1 players, but elite former division one players. Every player is 5.5+ easy. the 4.5 team has alot of average 5.0 players, but no ridiculous super ringer like Pieters and Sadler.
ReplyDeleteGiven the dominance Betsie's team had in singles, that has to be the team with the best shot. Anyone who has coached a team to Nationals knows it's all about the singles. If all of Betsie's players show up they should take it. She's never gone with a full team so we'll see.
ReplyDelete5.0 Definitely has the best shot of taking it all. With Pieters playing the way he is he's pretty much a guarantee. With Sadler and Smith you have 2 guys who have 2 National 30's doubles titles and all the experience nedded to win. Their supporting cast is not to bad either if they are all healthy.
ReplyDeleteBetsie's 4.5 team will do well, in fact I would have to say that this years team would beat last years Texas representative 5-0 if they played.
And that team, from Midland, came in second.
ReplyDeleteUpon second thought I retract what I originally thought. As stacked as Betsie's team is there are 5 lines instead of 3. With 3 lines and Jason Pieters you only need to win 1 other line and there's less variable in stacking or dropping lines. Anything can happen in a 5 line configuration.
ReplyDeleteBetsie's team this year would beat every 4.5 Texas winner ever crowned. Even her 2005 and 2007 teams.
ReplyDeleteSo looking at roster and results, I would rate the Texas teams with the best chance to win Nationals as below:
ReplyDelete1. Men's 5.0
2. Women's 4.5
3. Men's 4.5
4. Men's 4.0
I don't know the 3.5 or women's 4.0 teams that well in order to rate them. But you can try.
Agreed that this years 4.5 team Betsie would beat all previous 4.5 Sectional Champions. She will be the Favorite at Nationals. Sadly enough,Houston will probably ever have a womens 5.0 league ever again b/c she has them all on her 4.5 team. At least she gives other teams a chance the even years when she's rebuilding. Look out for her fall team b/c I'm sure she'll have new talent surface.
ReplyDeleteI agree that David B. is the key to the 4.5 team having a chance at Nationals. They obviously need to find a singles win (whoever it is)every now and again while maintaining a killer 3 lines of doubles. They will represent Texas very well at Nationals. I enjoyed talking to all the Houston guys this weekend, go bring home some hardware, you guys deserve it.
ReplyDeleteJust got off the phone with Todd Reed and Bruce Inting was the only player at any level that received his 3rd red flag during sectionals last weekend.
ReplyDeleteWow that's amazing considering Jo Keene on Betsie's team lost 4 games in 4 matches. Connie Hsiao lost 1 game in 2 singles matches.
ReplyDeleteIs that just for the men?
Bruce can still go to Nationals, can't he?
ReplyDeleteAs I understand it there are no DQs for computer rated players, which Bruce is. Had Bruce been self-rated, his results would stand as is (ie. not affect the outcome), however, he would not be able to advance to Nationals.
ReplyDeleteBruce can't go to Nats because his team didn't win.
ReplyDeleteMaybe he should go with the 4.5 team since he will be on the team next year : )
ReplyDeleteBruce was an "A" not a "C.". Only Bs and Cs are protected.
ReplyDeleteBruce is a Hurricane 2 type of player, not a Hurricane 1 player in 4.5.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry yes Betsy team will probably win Nationals but half the players should not be 4.5's. I do not care if they are computer or not. Jo Keene played at McNeese and UH, McDougall played Top 2 at SHSU they should be 5.0's minimum but playibng the computer does come in handy so guess that makes her the queen of women sandbagging coaches, last years Midland team at least was partially legal as most of the girls were JUCO players and not D1 players.
ReplyDeleteSour Grapes I'd say. Which team that won last weekend didn't have any "sandbaggers". According to the USTA Player Guidelines, Jason Pieters should be a 6.0. At least no one can say that Betsie tells her players to lose games or matches which is rampant in the men's league. Look at the scores, there was no tanking by any of her elite players.
ReplyDeleteNice Post by the last poster. Must be a Natural Gut poster. Well if you check Pieters he has a computer rating from competing in 5.5 last year and losing. Don't attack others b/c your team is being criticized. Who out of the men tank amongst the Elite Players? Natural Gut Team dominated period. Let's leave it at that.
ReplyDeleteLooks like Htown Hacker needs to change the title of the blog to add WOMEN'S in there :).
ReplyDeleteonly us men blog during work, while the women really work.
ReplyDeleteIt is way too late to start whining about any players now. If you have a problem with any teams players, you need to protest them early in the season, not after it's all over.
ReplyDeleteAnyone playing Combo?
ReplyDeleteWhat is combo?
ReplyDeletei love how everyone gets a boner about 4.5 and 5.0 tennis. who cares?
ReplyDeleteChristopher,
ReplyDeleteA client of mine, Tennis Plaza, is interested in a small link in the right nav of your website at http://houstontennis.blogspot.com/. Not a banner, just a simple text url link over to their website for the phrase "Tennis Plaza" under the any section in the right nav. They can pay you $25 by PayPal if you are interested.
Tennis Plaza also has a possible interest in helping equip your players at a group discount for equipment. If you do not get equipment for less than retail let me know and can help facilitate a deal for you.
Also, If you are ever down in the Pensacola, FL or Destin, FL area please contact me to play. I am a 4.5 NTRP player and always enjoy new talent on the court. I sometimes play with a 5.5 player that's a former tennis player from the University of Florida. He's so good it's disgusting.
Christopher, if none of this is of interest to you I would still be interested in a blogroll link to my personal tennis website at http://tennisnoise.wordpress.com. It doesn't make me any money but it allows me to share my passion for the game.
Look forward to hearing back from you.
David
dpaterson at elbrusconsulting (dot) com
I KNEW this blog was gonna' turn into a gold mine!!!! :)
ReplyDeleteBtw, if anyone in the league tennis community has a business and wants a free plug, email me at houstonleaguetennis@gmail.com.
I have been ordering stuff just recently from tennis plaza. so far pretty happy with their products & service. Greg - your vision for this blog has come to fruition - j/k. cool to see an interest in the blogsite by them. Back to the blog - real happy with houston's showing in dallas. we were so close to the semis & Freeman's team was so close to nationals that sun. Mike & I caught last part of the finals - even though our team wasn't playing, I was getting anxious in that final doubles match. Thought Alex & Jamie were gonna make a mad comeback.
ReplyDeleteTom
I got a combo at Sonic today.
ReplyDeleteDoes that mean Bruce Inting will not be allowed to play at the Masters event at the 4.0 level? Can any one confirmed that, I am right outside of the top 8 and could sneak in if Bruce is bumped up immediately.
ReplyDeleteI grant you permission to pass him.
ReplyDelete3=bad. <3=good.
Don't you get the baseball analogy?
Bruce can continue to play tournaments at the 4.0 level until the end of the year. He is ineligible for 4.0 league play however.
ReplyDeleteAre you sure Greg? I was under the impression that a Dynamic DQ meant you were instantly kicked up a level for league and tournaments (I actually think Todd explained it to me that way...but I could be making that up).
ReplyDeleteKern was actually Dynamically DQ'd after nationals in 2007 but they allowed him to play as a 4.0 at the Masters (2 weeks later) because he was already signed up...anyway, that's how I remember it - doesn't make it true :)
I stand corrected. Bruce just emailed me and told me that he is not able to play tournaments as a 4.0.
ReplyDeleteApparently, if they had been running the computer after each match at Sectionals, Bruce would have been DQ'd after the first one.
Bruce will do just fine in 4.5 and can be in the doubles rotation of a Sectionals-level team.
So Jason: Was Sarosh also DQ'd after nationals? Didn't he kill everyone at Nationals? I know he wasn't a self-rate (was Kern)?
ReplyDeleteNope, Sarosh wasn't DQ'd. I suspect it was because Sarosh had more competitive matches during the local league and Kern was playing less competitive matches in Fort Worth. There were no self-rates on the 2007 team.
ReplyDeleteBasically, Kern was DQ'd because he had an awesome partner in Veilluex who carried them in most matches.
That's pretty funny. Getting a jab in on FTW
ReplyDeleteIs Veilluex still up in PA?
I wanna play 4.0-4.5 leagues
ReplyDelete