The Virginia State Hardcourt Championships End with a Bang, but Quietly

8/13/07

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The Men's Doubles Final, in which Eddie Parker picks up the trophies at 5-2 and changes the course of the match....7-6 (5), 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3).  

I really can't do a play by play on the Men's Doubles Final, besides this:  There was a "disagreement" about a line call  in the middle of it and thereafter it seemed nobody got along; but then I wasn't there on the court. They could have been telling jokes and giggling at change-overs for all I know.

You'll have to ask one of the ball kids:  Adam and Ehab Ali, Anna Fuhr and Elizabeth Stone spent all day Sunday on the hot hard courts retrieving balls.  They did a great job in extreme conditions, and I don't mean only the heat.

But moving past that, it was great tennis.  How else to explain a match that went to a tiebreak in every set?  Kevin Reichert and Phil Thacker versus Brandon Corace and Brent Wilkins.  Three of the four are current or former Hokies (all but Thacker went to school there).  

In the first set, it was 3-all, 4-all, then 5-all.  For those of us who had been watching tennis for most of the day, by 3:00 it was hard to concentrate.  I lost track in the second set, but not as badly as Eddie Parker.

In the third set, the score was 3-1, with Reichert & Thacker leading, when Stacey called Eddie to let him know he needed to drop whatever he was doing to come to the table to get ready to present the trophies.

Eddie showed up, but mentioned that 3-1 didn't necessarily require sounding the alarms.  

"Well, it's about to be 4-1," said Stacey.  And it appeared to be so.

So Eddie took a seat, although his mind was still focused on other matters.

"Who won the first set?" he asked to everyone present.

"Wilkins & Corace," was the response.

Eddie sat for a moment.  Then:  "Who won the second set?"

At that, Stacey and I burst out laughing.  "Well, Eddie, you know they are in a third set, so who do you THINK won the second set?"

It was that kind of a day.  

Corace appeared to be struggling.  It had been a long day for him - longer for him than anyone else.  The semis, then the singles final.  And a doubles match that could not have been any closer.

At 5-2, Reichert/Thacker leading, Eddie predicted a Reichert/Thacker win.  "I guess I'll head on down with the trophies."

He picked up the engraved acrylic blocks (very nice looking), but didn't go anywhere.  Eddie just held them in his hands for awhile, which seemed to be all that was needed to change the direction of the match.

5-2 became 5-3.  Then it was 5-4.  Then, unbelievably:  5-all.  "Put the trophies down," we all cried (not because we favored any particular team, but because we wanted to go home.)

Eddie carefully placed the awards back down on the table.  "Leave them there," his wife instructed.

The third set of the match was tied 6-all.  The tiebreak began.

Corace served and won the first point.  He and Wilkins broke for the next two and it was 4-0 when somebody suggested (might have been Bridget, Kevin's wife, who was back by the water cooler) that Eddie should pick up the trophies.

"Just watch me change the direction of the match right here," he whispered to me as he walked by.  "Be sure and write about it when I do."  (Then he mumbled something about being the god of tennis and laughed wickedly).

Sure enough, as soon as Eddie had those trophies in his hands, Wilkins hit a seemingly easy  volley straight into the net.

Score:  4-1.  Then 4-2.   Eddie continued walking, but very slowly.

Score 5-2.  

Wilkins and Corace won the tiebreak, thank goodness.  I don't know how we would have handled Eddie had it gone the other way. 

Kyle Parker may not have won this one, but he's still only a junior in high school.

Thank you to Corporate Sponsors:

Men's Singles Final:  
Wilton Development

Women's Singles Final:  
Castle (the Window People)

Men's Doubles Final:  
Richmond Tennis Association

Women's Doubles Final:  
West Broad Honda

Other sponsors:
Rutherford Insurance
Magic Properties
Cavalier Telephone
Starbrite Enterprises
Koontz-Bryant

Vera Petrashevitch and Kirsten Elim.  Vera is from Russia, and is attending VCU where she plays on the highly regarded women's tennis team.  She worked at Westwood Club this summer.  Kirsten is a 39 year old mom to three and a former Executive Director of the Richmond Tennis Association.  She moved several times in the past six years and has recently relocated back to the city.

Chris Edwards partnered with Kyle Parker in doubles.  The team defeated Andy Kim/Kevin McMillen 6-3, 7-6 before losing to Reichert/Thacker 6-2, 6-4 in the semis.

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