Day 2 of the Club Championships Doubles began with most matches going according to form, and one unfortunate default. The default of Joy Jones and Mondee Breton, who missed their 10am start time, vaulted the team of Norma Schuyler and Bonnie Graham into the Women’s Ball Bashers semifinals without having struck a ball.
Without the benefit of a match played in the swirling winds, Norma and Bonnie did not have their A-games when they faced No.2 seeds Lee Tice and Mary Harrington in the semis. A-games were absolutely necessary, given the fact that Lee and Mary had soundly defeated a pretty good team in Joan Palermo and Karen Ackert, 6-1, 6-0 in the quarters, after Joan and Karen had defeated Caroline Cunningham and Helen Rogers in the previous round by the score of 6-3, 6-4. Lee and Mary advanced to the final by beating Norma and Bonnie 6-0, 6-1.
The other team in the Women’s Ball Bashers final, Judy Wilson and Lili Canfield had a much more difficult time reaching the final. After a good test in their first match of the day against Ann Tate and Daun Dessak (6-3, 6-4), they eked out a third set tiebreak in the semis against Angela Mitrisin and Anna Pitts.
Angela and Anna did not go quietly after losing the first set 3-6. They rallied to take the second set 6-4, and battled Singles Champion Judy and Lili all the way before dropping the breaker. Considering that Angela and Anna had not played together before this event, and had won a hard-fought 4-6, 7-6, 6-2 three-setter over Randy Thomas-Wohl and Sandi Hill earlier in the day, their effort against tomorrow’s finalists warrant major kudos. As with the other finals to be played, this one should be captivating.
In the Men’s Ball Bashers, Jake Keltner and Eddie Dance squeaked past Richard Edelman and Jim King 6-1, 6-7, 6-3 in the quarters, only to run into No.1 seeds Bill Wright and Tim Jones, who had little trouble dispatching Brian “The Hammer” Hammermeister and Jack “The Doctor” Noble, 6-0, 6-1 in their quarterfinal match. It’s safe to say that The Hammer didn’t do much pounding this time around.
First time partners Maxwell Thompson and John Hess outhustled the veteran team of Bill Cole and Bob Pleischl, 7-5, 6-2 in the quarterfinals to setup a matchup with No.2 seeds Rich Fox and Tim Baldwin in the semis. Rich and Tim faced a strong challenge from Frank Kaplan and Jim Rollero in the quarters, but emerged with the 7-5, 6-3 victory.
Maxwell and John continued their stellar play in the semis, eliminating Rich and Tim in straight sets (7-5, 6-3). They will face Bill Wright and Tim Jones, the No.1 seeds, who continued to outpace the competition. Bill, last year’s Ball Bashers Singles Champion, and Tim beat Jake Keltner and Eddie Dance in straight sets as well, but Jake and Eddie made them sweat a little in the second set. Final score: 6-1, 7-5.
Thompson and Hess have youth on their side, but after observing a few amazing gets by Tim today, I’m not sure how much of a factor that youth will be. If you are a gambler, you can bet that this Ball Bashers Final is going to a third set.
In the Women’s All Aces, Sunni Hammermeister and Judy Schafft tried to pull off their second consecutive come-from-behind win to reach the final, but fell short. After coming back from a first-set deficit in the quarters (6-7, 6-2, 6-1) against Carlotta Clark and Bev Adams, Sunni and Judy fell behind 1-4 to Carole Shapiro and Jane Heck, who eliminated Diane and Wennie Johannes 7-5, 6-1 in their previous match.
From the point of the 1-4 deficit, Sunni and Judy reeled off five consecutive games to win the first set 6-4. However, Carole and Jane found their stride in the second set and never looked back. They advanced to the final winning the final two sets 6-1, 6-1.
In other Women’s All Aces action, Sandy Gebara and Amy Ciarrocchi put the finishing touches on their quarterfinal match against Monica Robb and Pam Lemon (6-2, 6-4), before taking on the No.1 seeds, Jemin Martinsen and Kathy Lanzalotta. Sandy and Amy cruised through the 6-2 first set, but Jemin and Kathy stepped it up in the second, winning it 6-4. The third set stayed close until 3-3, before Kathy and Jemin pulled away to win it 6-3 in the third.
The match was terrific and it offered an illustration of how important it is to keep score in your matches. In the second set, Kathy was serving at 2-3, 30-30, and she and Jemin lost the next two points, which should have resulted in Sandy and Amy winning the game to get back on serve at 3-3.
Apparently no one realized that the game had ended, and Kathy produced a service winner on the next point, and she and Jemin won the game to go up 4-2. Whether accurate keeping of the score in that game would have affected the outcome no one can know. However, most players would rather be at 3-3 as opposed to 2-4. Keep and call your score after every point!
The first upset of the day occurred in the Men’s All Aces. No.2 seeds Pete McElroy and Ed Bonkowski fell to Alan Canfield, Jr. and Arnie Wohl in straight sets (6-3, 6-4). The No.1 seeds in the All Aces, Chip Graddy and Geoff Negin received a scare from Greg and Grey Pilant, but were able to meet the challenge. Greg and Grey got the jump on Chip and Geoff, winning the first set 6-2, but weren’t able to hold off the Singles Champion and Finalist, who took the final two sets, 6-1, 6-3.
The Women’s Court Crashers provided two terrific comebacks, and two serious candidates for “Match of the Day” honors. Jayme Lewis and Meg Jacobs came back after losing the first set at love, to win the final two 6-4, 6-2 over April Burkholder and Ilona Starr.
Jayme and Meg will face Sally Mellendorf and Sharon Bock, who beat Ann Wright and Stephanie Freeman in another three-set war that was over two and a half hours long. Sally and Sharon lost the first set in a tiebreak after a seesaw battle throughout the set, took the second set 6-3, and were neck and neck with Ann and Stephanie through 4-4 in the third before prevailing 6-4.
The Men’s Court Crashers didn’t produce the level of drama experienced in the other divisions, but you will not find a more diverse final as far as games go. On one side of the net you have the gentle giant in Tom VanWyk (not so gentle on the court), who is teamed with Manny Lima, the former professional soccer player who one might call “altitude challenged.” On the other, you have Tony Cupaiuolo, “The Running Professor” with his self-crafted game who partners with the Peter Malen, a former accomplished NCAA swimmer.
Tom and Manny, the No.1 seeds, downed the volatile Jim Masiello and his stoic partner George Olsen 7-5, 6-2 in the semis, while Peter and Tony upset No.2 seeds Bill Crouch and Ron Jones 7-6, 6-3 to make the final.
The finals start at 9am tomorrow (Sunday) and for a full review of the draws and starting times, go to the Tennis page of the Club Website.
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