Congrats to Jason Freeman for steering two more teams to Sectionals and padding his already impressive resumé. Yes, we all know the Hurricanes were heavy favorites. But upsets happen. See Serena, Wimbledon.
The 4.5 Hurricanes pretty much waltzed through the field, dropping only one line over the weekend, to Zach Marnitz, who proved he was the real deal by going 3-0 in the playoffs. Say what you want about Freeman and the Hurricanes, but they dominated despite having no self-rated players, and only used Sydney Jim once, in doubles.
The 4.0 Hurricanes went into the weekend without the services of Ryan Reeves and Bobby Dornbos, (not to mention Chris Babbington) probably two of their top five or six players. Freeman managed to play fourteen players over the weekend, giving playing time to players sixteenth (or lower) on the depth chart. Despite that, the Hurricanes dropped only 3 lines in their 4 matches. While Chris Rossi deserves the MVP award, Brad Beinart deserves honorable mention for his enthusiasm. Every team needs a guy like that.
It was nice to see Old Schoolers Jody Deluca and Allen Teague continue to grind out victories after all these years. The duo was 2-0 on the weekend. The Good-er Guys win the "biggest disappointment" award, going 2-13 in their three matches and matching Teague/Deluca in total wins.
Kim Lequoc had a nice weekend before running into the buzzsaw that is Chris Rossi. Garrett Browne and Dang Huynh were dominant in all three of their doubles matches for the Unicorns, as were Zach Salinas and Diego Cairampoma for Copperfield. In fact, Copperfield won just one other line. Phil Kerig made an appearance in singles?? Wasn't expecting that...
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By the way, last year the "early season rating", aka midyears, came out on July 16th, so I will keep my eyes out for 'em.
ReplyDeleteI like your comment about freeman not having self-rated players... hehe! I don't know how you wrote that without giggling a little bit yourself. Freeman had no self-rated players because he cheated in the fall. Less "homerism" and more objectivity would be appreciated. Chris Rossi deserves the biggest cheater award, not the MVP. If you praise Freeman, then you are supporting his methods.
DeleteI am guessing by the poll to the right up here that there are a lot of unhappy campers in the Houston tennis circle and with how Freeman won city over the weekend.
Congrats Hurricanes 4.5! Well deserved. You guys have always been my Nemesis, but out of my 8 years of league, this team has to be the most talented one. Good Luck!!!
ReplyDeletethequackster
Classy comments are not usually tolerated on this blog. I will allow it just this one time.
DeleteHTownHacker you can always delete it like the other comments referring to Freeman\Red\Hurricanes.
DeleteAssuming 4.5 gets a wildcard. Which unicorns team has a better shot of betting the canes at sectionals.
ReplyDeleteI have heard that there will be no 4.5 Wild Card for Houston. That was unofficial, of course, but I trust the source.
ReplyDeleteany "ringers" revealed this weekend?
ReplyDeletewhat out for other sections as well san antonio ft worth austin all look solid this year.
ReplyDeletegood job jason freeman.
ReplyDeletecheating ain't easy.
But being horrible at tennis is. Glad you got that one down pat.
DeleteYou guys need to check out Tuan's blog on facebook. It is too funny.
ReplyDeleteWhy aren't the better players team captains? I would have expected some of the best players to captain and have other good players rally around them? Maybe the good players are all busy playing tennis instead of captaining?
ReplyDelete- The best teams had captains that almost never played - Freeman, Yang, Kim
- The captains who were actually good at tennis, were all on decent teams but not great teams - Teague, Mattson
- The captains who weren't very good but insisted on playing, lead their teams to last - Mei, Loken
4.5s
Hurricanes - Freeman N/A
Unicorns - Yang 0-0
Old School - Teague 2-0
Gooder Guys - Mei 0-3
4.0s
Hurricanes - Freeman 0-0
Unicorns - Kim 0-1
Sienna - Mattson 2-1
Spinners - Gabriel N/A
Westside - Burt 0-0
Lakeside - Kerig 0-1
Good Guys - Patangia 0-0
Copperfield - Loken 0-3
Mattson is a freaking beast and so is Philip Wallace. Both are nice guys also. Philip is the most humble fella you will ever meet. Unfortunately, several of their players are complaining that they did not get playing time. Guess what, this is TEAM tennis. Go work on your games.
DeleteMy team has been eliminated from the playoffs. I find myself wondering will I root for or against the Hurricane's in Dallas? In sports it seems like there's usually a strong opinion one way or another. In college sports I root for UT. Come bowl games or NCAA tourney or whatever I root for big 12 teams; I feel like I'm proud to have any of the Big 12 teams represent me.
ReplyDeleteI don't feel that way about tennis sectionals. I don't think the Hurricane's represent anything I'm proud of. The Unicorns are OK I guess, but their captain is just as shady as Freeman. I would have been cheering for teams like Good-er Guys, Ace & Spinners, Westside, Good Guys, or Copperfield. I'm not excited about our representatives.
What does everyone else think, are you proud to be represented by the Hurricanes or Unicorns? How about a poll:
Who are you rooting for in Dallas?
1) Hurricanes 4.5
2) Hurricanes 4.0
3) Unicorns 4.0
4) Anyone who beats the Hurricanes
5) Lost interest
Your wish is my command.
DeleteSo the poll closed. Here's my thoughts on the results:
Delete- I thought the 4.5 hurricanes would have done better. They seem like a generally likeable squad and I'm not sure their ratings were obtained as nefariously as the 4.0 squad's ratings.
- The 4.0 hurricanes did better than I expected. It looks like they are probably getting some backing outside of their team.
- No one supports the cities 2nd place teams in regional events. Makes sense, but I thought animosity towards the Hurricanes might garner at least a little support here.
- Lots of people don't like the Hurricanes, about the level I expected. I'm think this is more to do with how they win than that they do win.
- Apathy did well. For how seriously people seem to take the league itself, I'm surprised.
Probably a few Hurricanes voted for their own teams, several bitter types would vote against any team that beat them and/or won, and a bunch of people are really down on Freeman's methods.
DeleteSpeaking for myself, I lose interest in the offseason no matter who wins.
Welp, the midyear ratings are supposedly out, but there appear to be some missing links right now:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.texas.usta.com/UsaLeagueTennis/2013_early_season_league_ratings/
Working now. Lots of 4.5 Canes at 5.0, but I have only glanced at it.
DeleteWas there any doubt?
DeleteMidyears always provide some, uh, interesting results. Someone pointed out to me that Andrew Merritt of Austin got moved down. Check out his results.
DeleteI tried to generate a per team report. Here's the 4.5's that changed ratings
DeleteGypsies
Jason M. Kanthack is rated 5.00
HRC
Mike Eagle is rated 4.50
Robert Johnson is rated 4.00
Danny Schnyder is rated 5.00
Good-er Guys
William Stanton Brice is rated 5.00
Troy C Toole is rated 5.00
Ryan A. Cooper is rated 5.00
Old School
Jorge Cuesta is rated 5.00
Gautamizers
Ben Lynch is rated 4.00
Donn H. Nguyen is rated 4.50
Kristopher L. Knutson is rated 4.00
ETU
Alex Fuxa is rated 4.50
Daniel Young is rated 4.00
Phi Nguyen is rated 5.00
Hulks
Roger Meadows is rated 4.00
Mark Wilson is rated 4.50
Scott Joseph Brooks is rated 4.00
Net Crushers
Justin D. Jackson is rated 4.00
Eric C. Urban is rated 4.00
Jay N. Vogt is rated 4.00
Serve & Folley
Robert Dornbos is rated 4.50
Xiaoqiang Li is rated 4.50
Christopher Rossi is rated 4.50
Lakeside
Thomas V. Connell is rated 5.00
Philip Martin is rated 4.00
Christopher Lee Roberts is rated 5.00
Ace King
Kim Lequoc is rated 4.50
Kiet S. Nhan is rated 4.00
Alastair Le is rated 4.00
JCC
John F. Griffin is rated 4.00
Greg B. Medford is rated 5.00
Hurricanes
Timothy A. Green is rated 5.00
Bryan C. Taylor is rated 5.00
Raymond Martinez is rated 5.00
Odion Dibua is rated 5.00
Patrick Baer is rated 5.00
John Greenwood is rated 5.00
John E. Burrmann is rated 5.00
Hung P. Nguyen is rated 5.00
Clambakes
James A. Boone is rated 4.00
Gustavo Copstein Cuchiara is rated 4.50
In 4.0:
DeleteDudes
Larry Serota is rated 3.50
Columbia Lakes
tim l copeland is rated 3.50
nipun kakkar is rated 4.50
hackers
Roy S. Royston is rated 3.50
Larry G. Justice is rated 4.50
Hustlers
Russell T. Wong is rated 3.50
HRC
Joel Phipps is rated 3.50
Philip Christopher Martin is rated 4.00
Daniel Johnson is rated 4.50
Poachers
Michael Shields is rated 4.00
David Vincent Bryce is rated 3.50
Eric D. Schultz is rated 4.00
Bach D Nguyen is rated 4.00
Stanley S Beard is rated 4.00
Joey E Miller is rated 4.00
alfonso fernandez is rated 4.00
Chuck Blanks is rated 4.00
Hasan Josef Harrell is rated 4.00
Shock N Awe
George Orchard is rated 4.50
Zachary Salinas is rated 4.50
Donald Dupuis is rated 4.50
Dan Solis is rated 4.50
Rolido Boys
Juan Carlos Guzman is rated 4.00
Wranglers
Mathis Hamilton Dunn is rated 4.00
Souvik Choudhury is rated 3.50
Good Guys
Greg S. Olinger is rated 4.50
John Luke is rated 4.00
Unicorns
Kim Lequoc is rated 4.50
Shishir Mohan is rated 4.50
Jeff Luu Jacobson is rated 4.50
Garrett Browne is rated 4.50
Alex Fuxa is rated 4.50
Dang Huynh is rated 4.50
Warriors
Christopher Slawomir Jackiewicz is rated 3.50
Predators
Troy L. Whitney is rated 4.50
Hector Luis Mendez is rated 3.50
Daniel Magnus Estlund is rated 4.50
Sienna
Donnie Joseph Rochelle is rated 4.50
Hawkeyes
Ben Joseph Lock is rated 4.50
Dan J. Watson is rated 4.50
David C. Wang is rated 4.50
Lakeside
Jose Pascual is rated 4.50
Valdemar Soto is rated 4.50
Marvin Walton is rated 4.50
Kris Jacobs is rated 4.50
Chris Lutz is rated 4.50
Miles Marks is rated 4.50
Falcons
Mauricio Toledo is rated 3.50
Quentin Pongrass is rated 4.50
Thors
Theodore Ryan Shaffer is rated 4.50
Matthew H. Cobb is rated 4.50
Mark Wilson is rated 4.50
Aces
James J. Li is rated 3.50
Alberto J. Dufau is rated 3.50
Comets
Najmud Dowla is rated 3.50
Corporate
dennis quinio is rated 4.00
John Nguyen is rated 4.00
Henry Peng is rated 3.50
Tung Huynh is rated 4.00
nang b ngo is rated 4.00
Tiger
Xiaoqiang Li is rated 4.50
Jiaxi Mao is rated 3.50
Double Trouble
Ryan Schmidt is rated 4.50
Noor Mirza is rated 4.00
Bryant Chan is rated 4.00
Ace N Spinners
Jason Ye is rated 4.50
Jesus Madamba is rated 4.50
Ronnie R Pedroso is rated 4.00
Lions
Nicolas Le Gouhinec is rated 4.50
Ronnie D. Meaux is rated 3.50
Hurricanes
Jason B. Freeman is rated 3.50
Donn H. Nguyen is rated 4.50
Robert Dornbos is rated 4.50
Christopher Rossi is rated 4.50
Greg Michael Leiker is rated 4.50
Bruce Inting is rated 4.50
Spin Drs
Ronald B. Middleton is rated 3.50
Cobra Kai
Patrick Smitherman is rated 4.00
Peter Charles Nasser is rated 4.00
Gagan Singh is rated 3.50
Mark T. Schuller is rated 4.50
Aches N Pains
Dan Richard Schenck is rated 3.50
David Wilson is rated 4.00
Quail Valley
Robert P. Smith is rated 4.00
Victor Lee Harris is rated 4.00
Song Wan Yoo is rated 4.00
5.0 bumps by team:
DeleteHurricanes - 8
Good-er Guys - 3
Lakeside - 2
Gypsies - 1
HRC - 1
Old School - 1
ETU - 1
JCC - 1
4.5 bumps by team
Unicorns - 6
Lakeside - 6
Hurricanes - 5
Shock N Awe - 4
Hawkeyes - 3
Thors - 3
Ace N Spinners - 2
Predators - 2
Columbia Lakes - 1
Falcons - 1
hackers - 1
HRC - 1
Good Guys - 1
Sienna - 1
Tiger - 1
Double Trouble - 1
Lions - 1
Cobra Kai - 1
If a self rate got mid year bumped up, why didn't they get DQed in the playoffs?
DeleteTwo reasons: tolerance level and 3 strikes needed.
DeleteSydney jim = #9
DeleteYou do good work. I need a new blogger here. The job is yours. Pay = 25% of the bountiful advertising revenue. Email for details.
DeleteWhy be a puppet when you can be the puppet Master!!
ReplyDeleteThere's a rumor floating out there that the ETU 4.5 team was awarded a wild card when another team dropped out. Not sure how true it is, but it'd be great to have another Houston team up there.
ReplyDeleteI don't think anyone in Houston will have picked up a third strike over the weekend. But who knows, I've been wrong before.
I can confirm. ETU did get the wild card.
DeleteIts not a confirmation if you confirm anonymously.
DeleteI really hope that at least some of these guys who get bumped to 5.0 give it a shot and don't sandbag back down to 4.5 as usual. You hear these guys complain about there not being enough players in 5.0, but a lot of that is becuase most of the guys getting bumped up just throw matches to go back down.
ReplyDeleteWhats the unicorns and hurricanes top line up in 4.0. Seemed like neither put out the same players consistently throughout the weekend.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think would be the Unicorns and Canes (4.0 and 4.5) top lineups?
DeleteI love when other cities come here to try to get info. Maybe some Cane haters might help them.
DeleteEat me Dallas
DeleteMaybe now that Freeman's down to 3.5 he will focus on manipulating that level instead?
ReplyDeleteLet's ask the right question: With no hope of 4.0's coming up; This is Freeman's last shot at Natl's.
DeleteThe 4.5 Canes couldn't win in 5.0 level, so it is now or never to WIN a National championship!
The canes will win State, probly 4-1 every match. But Jason has to get past the 2nd place, 4th place mentality at Natl'.
This has to be the year.
How do you even come up with an assumption like that? Do you have the inside track? Is Jason 'retiring' from league tennis? If so, then yes I will agree with you...it will be his last shot.
DeleteAlso how does your "the 4.5 canes couldn't win in 5.0 level, so it is now or never' statement make any sense at all? No shit they didn't win, that's why they are in 4.5. But why this urgency? Why is it the 'last shot'?
2nd place, 4th place mentality? If anything, that is a boost, knowing that you've been there and experienced the big stage up into Sunday...which MOST people on this blog have not done before.
You guys are retarded.
-Arata
Freeman will dominate in 4.0 again next year locally. It's not now or never for 4.5 team. As long as Red is involved the 4.5 team will crush everyone in Houston. The Canes are no guarantee to win state at 4.0 or 4.5. I'd say the odds are against it in both cases.
DeleteWould love an explanation of how a second place/fourth place mentality manifested itself. Did Jason shoot his wad in the semis and leave his key players with no gas in the tank in the finals?
Jason Freeman > Asian captains
ReplyDeleteAs to the comment above about why captains are not the better players.... Warriors captain did not play because he had a ruptured appendix two weeks ago and was in the hospital for a week.. He is one of the best players on the team and his record is very strong. He would have played line 1 and he along with several missing players would have made a difference..Oh well.. Next time..
ReplyDeleteCome on... With 8 5.0 players on his 4.5 team there should be no way the Hurricanes should lose state. Unless Austin or Dallas has 9.
ReplyDeleteWhy did Freeman bench all the Asians in the 4.5 playoffs?
ReplyDeleteI don't care what silly jealously-related comments people want to throw at Freeman, being racist certainly isn't one that would stick. Although I think he's from Mississippi (the racist capital of the world) his teams have always been a diverse melting pot of different races, religions, sexual preferences, fincial backgrounds, etc. However, there is one thing they all have in common - they are all playing at a level lower than their skill level.
Deleteyes, you are right. On my Hurricane application I do remember putting my sexual preference, tax return, religious background.
DeleteGet a life and go back to work.
He benched the 4.5's
ReplyDeleteJason Freeman is actually recruiting for the Rockets. Rumor has it we can thank him for Dwight Howard.
ReplyDeleteRegard to comment above...why captains are not the better players...for some of us you would need to look further back, some of us have done this (captain) for over 20 years and although as a captain I have reached Nats at 4.5 and 5.0 (never winning) we do get a little older and priorities sometimes change but were very dominate for a while. Today my core team is still the same (yes older and heavior) but still reasonably competitive at this level. Be quick about it...its just around the corner!
ReplyDeleteOld School - Teague
Are you referring to Deluca. He has gained a few lbs.
DeleteTeague, why is Zachary on your team?
DeletePeople spend way too much time worrying about three strikes. It almost never happens. USTA needs to tighten that shit up.
ReplyDeleteIt only happens on teams with clueless captains.
DeleteTuan has turned into a sellout. Playing for Freeman and being his bitch
ReplyDeleteTuan is a good player but no way is he good enough to be in the line up at sectionals or national in 4.5. Not for this team, Freeman was right benching him.
ReplyDeleteIsn't Tuan there bitch water boy.
ReplyDeleteVery clever Einstein. You should at least learn the difference between there and their. #lowIQ
DeleteNo one can win in the Houston summer without water!
DeleteYour right Tuan. He should of said "there there" water boy, we need the bench warmed. #BenchWarmer #WaterBoyTuan
DeleteIt's "should have said", moron.
DeleteHe is trying to speak your ghetto speak so you can understand.
DeleteRizarri is...
DeleteIf Jason freeman was captain of poachers 3.5 team (which he helped in a way) he would have won 3.5 playoffs too
ReplyDeleteHe will win 3.5 next year
ReplyDeleteDo you think Zach Marnitz will get disqualified before sectionals? He had to have illegally self rated since he is a current college player.
ReplyDeleteMarnitz is not a current college player.
DeleteI just found this new app called Google. it's pretty neat.
Deletehttp://www.lmcbobcats.com/sports/mten/2011-12/bios/marnitz_zachary_ask5
If you browsed the site you could see he was not on the 2012-13 roster.
DeleteDoes not matter if he played 2012-13, he was on the team in 2011-12 hence he was a college player = 5.0 minimum rating, not hard to figure out
DeleteThoughts about each team going to sectionals?
ReplyDeleteFreeman vs Wild Dallas (Le) in 1st match of 4.0.
ReplyDeleteaustin houston or ft worth in 4.5
ReplyDeleteWild Houston will shock the world. Nobody will beat Marnitz!
ReplyDeleteHTA and the greater tennis community need to pray for the 4.5 canes. This will be Freeman's last chance to bring Houston a championship.
DeleteI encourage many to book your hotel rooms and run up to LB and catch the action next weekend. It will be interesting to see the ghost players on the canes, make their debuts up in Dallas.
There is no room for mistakes this year. The entire USTA is watching this event next weekend. Many wonder is the thinktank of Red and Freeman will crumble once again.
I guess you can call this the "this is it" Freeman tour.
you're an idiot
DeleteDid Houston get a wildcard?
ReplyDeleteYes. 4.0 and 4.5 Mens both received a wild card.
DeleteIt looks like NoHo 4.0 got a wild card.
ReplyDeleteThere's a guy on their team named Phat Hoang. I hope that's not pronounced the way I think it is. Might make for a nice introduction at the club, though.
Also looks like Houston 3.5 men and Noho 3.5 women won sectionals this past weekend. Way to represent!
ReplyDeleteHouston men's 3.5 has always struggled to get past semifinal for last four or five years. This must be a lucky year or a team of ringers.
DeleteHis team already has 3 DQs.
That last line would appear to answer your either/or.
DeleteIt has to be noted how they were DQd. Team 3.5 Houston was way better than any other team. It's obvious how people, when they lose, call other teams and players as ringers or sandbaggers.
DeleteHere is to them, suck it. You lost. Go home and wait another year.
Lets go Topspin!!!!!!
DeleteI talked to a Dallas guy that knows a lot about the Dallas tennis scene. He said 4.5 Fort Worth is really tough. They are a bunch of the best Dallas guys. He thinks it will be between the 'Canes and Fort Worth.
ReplyDeleteIn 4.0 he said it is the 'Canes to lose. Dallas has very little.
I talked to him before the season and he said the exact same thing and nothing has changed his mind.
7 Wild Cards in 4.0! Really USTA? How about cutting that number by 4 next year so each time will only have to play 3 times before the semis? That would keep out a lot of the marginal teams that have no chance anyway and are just wasting their time and money.
ReplyDeleteSo unless you win the tournament you're wasting your money? That's a pretty narrow view.
DeleteCounterpoint: More chances to get your subs into a match at Sectionals.
ReplyDelete