|
THE
2007 MID-ATLANTIC CLAY COURT CHAMPIONSHIP
SETS A NEW STANDARD
7/11/07
Page
1 / Page 2 / Page
3 / Page 4 /
Page 5 / Finals
/ Still More Photos
The
rain came, and after the brief delay in play, so did the crowds-- as the Clay
Court Championships offered the best entertainment in town
|
|
| Richmond
locals Charles Einwick, Brent Wilkins and Phil Thacker wait for the
courts to dry on Tuesday. Charles and Phil got a few games into
their 4:00 matches when the skies opened, but were able to return after
a short delay. Einwick lost a third set tiebreak, but Wilkins and
Thacker will move on to the Round of 16. |
Here
are a few things the local newspaper won't tell you.
Julie
Kaczmarek, a seeded player in women's doubles, hit a deer with her car on
Tuesday morning, slightly injuring her left wrist, forcing her to pull out of
the tournament. Julie, a perennial finalist in these high level tourneys is
getting married next month. Feel better soon, Julie!
Al
Thomas had a baby boy on Sunday (it is reported that his wife Tracy did most
of the work) -- Al and Tracy's first. Welcome to Kaden Miller
Thomas. While exuberant about his new family addition, Al has enjoyed no
sleep since, and had to leave partners John Hudson and Steph Green seeking other
engagements. Congratulations Al & Tracy!
 |
Bo
Webb, head pro at Midlothian Tennis Club, had unnamed difficulties
making his doubles match with partner Matt Seeds on Tuesday.
Matt scrambled to locate another partner, and came up with Jacob Bean.
Jacob played #1 at Hanover HS this year, and he and Matt gave a very
respectable performance in their first round match with the Newman
brothers of Midlothian. A fine example of flexibility under
pressure, and their coaches should be proud. |
|
Remember
Kate Harrington & Lindsey Howard? They're back
from college, and they've got their groove back too. Kate, who
hasn't played much tennis since she headed off for higher studies, paired
up with her old Godwin partner. "Her instincts kicked in,"
said Lindsey.
Harrington and Howard (who played for the University of Michigan last
season) won their first set 6-3 and were up 5-0 in the second when
opponents Ginny Wortham (All American at Washington & Lee) and Leah
Weston came back to 5-4. Harrington & Howard pulled out the
match and moved on to the next round. "We really could have
made more errors, but we didn't," said Harrington, which about said
it perfectly.
|
 |
The
golf cart rides to the parking lot are staffed with extremely well-mannered and
talkative young drivers. The beer is icy cold. The courts are are in
pristine condition. The matches aren't, well, too backed up.
And if you stay inside the viewing gazebos the mosquitos don't bite
(much). But mostly, the competition is fierce and if your job makes you
stay late at work, no worries. The matchplay can go on all night.
Just
ask Kevin Long. Actually, he would rather not talk about it. His
doubles match with partner Bradley Frohman versus Jason Kinder
& Charles Palmer on Sunday night got on court two hours late. At 11:30
pm. "We had four match points in the second set, around midnight, but for
some reason, it just kept going into the third set."
The
match lasted until 1:30 am, with the strangely final score of 6-1, 5-7, 6-1. It
was reported that Frohman slept until he was due on court the next day at the
Men's 45 City Doubles Final at Willow Oaks. (Frohman couldn't be reached
for confirmation). His first set there went into a tiebreaker, but
the match ended early due to an injury retirement. Surprisingly, not his
own.
|
Dearth
(114) d. Bricker (113)
Last
year, the tournament organizers were determined to make this event a potential
stop on the circuit for satellite or challenger level players looking to
supplement their income.
|
 |
|
Lorenzo
Sison, Yakov Diskin, Eddie Glidewell (front) and Sonny Dearth
(waving) hail from the Hampton Roads area |
|
Bill
Barnes, McDonald's Franchisee and the title sponsor, put together a
tournament committee that in turn pulled in sponsors. After seeing how
great things were last year, sponsors were more than eager to be a part of the
project in 2007. More sponsors = more prize money = higher level players
in the draw.
This
year's top seed, it is told, beat last year's winner handily when they met in
previous tournaments. Oren Motevassel, an Israeli
who also lives in Alpharetta, GA, and David McNamara, an Australian
living in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, signed on to play and quickly separated
themselves from the rest of the draw.
"It's
really strong at the top in Men's," said Scott Steinour.
Challenging the former tour players are big names: Andre Iriarte
(a former #1 player at NC State) from Rockville, MD, Dominic Inglot
(University of Virginia), Perennial City Champion Sean Steinour, Brendan
Lynch of Rockville, MD, Ted Angelinos (University of VA)
and Brent Wilkins, who lost to his boss Steinour in the finals of
the City Tournament.
 |
But,
in all honesty, fans don't seem to consider current rankings if the players on
Court 1 are giving them a good show. The King brothers from Lorton,
VA faced tough competition in their first round doubles match versus the
intimidating pairing of #1 & #2 singles seeds Motevassel and McNamara.
The former players from Robinson HS in Fairfax didn't roll over easily and
fought for every point. The fans ate it up.
<Riley & Matthew King,
Motevassel & McNamara |
And
then there are the players who are up and coming, the stealth candidates who may
steal the purse in future years. Lorenzo Sison may have lost in the
third round to Ted Angelinos, but he has a strong future ahead of him at
Christopher Newport. Sison's dad is one of the "great players" in the
Philippines, the former Davis Cup Coach who went to the quarters in the French
Open in doubles. Lorenzo admitted there was a "little pressure" back
in the Philippines, but he sure seemed to be having a good time here with his
pals Yakov Diskin (ODU), Eddie Glidewell and Sonny Dearth.
Dearth
is an interesting story. "I remember playing tennis in the 12-U
division, and reporter John Packett (then with the News Leader) covering my
matches," recalled Dearth. "That's when I decided that was what
I wanted to do....to cover the tennis beat; eventually I contemplated succeeding
him."
But
Packett's still around, after all these years (although, so far not presently at
this tournament) so Dearth had to take a job at the Daily Press in Newport
News.
Dearth
got a kick out of being interviewed for this article, so much so that he's
getting the headline: Dearth
(114th seed) d. Bricker (113th seed).
You'll have to read the Times-Dispatch to
figure out the seedings, because no one else around here has.
|
|
Tom
Ager with Sponsors Heavenly Ham Catering at the Food Service
Tent. |
|
|
|
.
Salisbury
Head pro Trip Baisden (left) with Hugh Waters. Hugh,
who ran some pretty good tournaments himself over the years, volunteered
to help coordinate ball boy/girl teams from local clubs. "It's
exciting for kids to be a part of something like this, and to be so close
to the players." |
|
|
|
|
|
