PCA squeaks past Kinetix

Why is it that at every club we visit, the home team absolutely brings out their best?  These challenges are where we thrive and it’s this kind of competition that brings out the best in us.

But first, a quiz (answers are at the bottom of the post):

Which is greater – the number of bones in your body or the number of countries? What % of women say that they’d marry the same man? What is the green stuff on the occasional freak potato chip? Which state has the longest coastline in the continental US?

Kinetix, although not mathematically out of contention at 5-3 entering the match, was clinging to the hope of repeat playoff seasons.   To this end, they stacked their lineup at 2^nd & 3^rd doubles to accomplish their goal.  What happened was a thrill to watch.  We won quickly on Court 1, lost in straights on Court 3 and the match was decided by a 3 hour match that went to 7-5 in the 3^rd set tiebreaker.

On Court 1, Cheri Sciscione and Joe Ferry faced off against Donna Molinaro & Ted Miller.  Donna is a 4.5, Ted a 3.5.  When Joe shook Ted’s hand at the beginning of the match, I said to myself, “sorry Ted.” A 3.5 guy against a top of level 4.5 is a rough road to travel.  The match was quick, Cheri adjusted well to Donna’s tricky slice and we won 2&0.

On Court 3, Eileen McKeogh and Rob Attman played Karen Slattery and Pete Smith.  Pete was running late and I know if I’m running late I tend to start slow so I thought we had a chance.  Karen has been playing some 9.0 matches in addition to a full slate of 8.0 and Pete is rock solid.  Eileen & Rob can start slow and they faced near flawless play from Karen & Pete in the first set.  Karen doesn’t really go for winners but I can only recall one unforced error.  Pete is aggressive and he put the screws to us all night.  We got to 3-3 in the 2^nd and Pete was running quite for several shots in a row and was looking winded.  My hope was that he would start missing.  Wrong  again!  We lost 1&3 to a very good team.

On Court 2, Jenna Hope & Wanzell Flemming played Deanna Ng and Canh Ho.  Just a little background, Jenna is a senior at Ursinus College who has been playing #1 singles for the last few years with a .500  record in the competitive Division III Centennial conference.  Wanzell is  a teaching pro, graduated from Phoenixville High School as did Deanna and Canh.  All of them were coached by Canh’s Dad, 3^rd term Mayor of Phoenixville, Leo Scoda.  And, Deanna’s sister, Laura, played with Jenna at Ursinus – small world. 

Initially we rocked and raced to a 6-2 first set victory.  Then Jenna & Wanzell (who have a combined age of about 40) seem to settle in and actually dictated the events during the rest of the match.  Wanzell would go between aggressive strokes and lobs and Jenna hits out on every shot including volleys.  As they went, so did the score.  Jenna would from time to time make a couple of errors in a row but they were few and far between.  They both served big and Wanzell used that to his advantage to dig out of two 0-30 holes in the 3^rd set.  Jenna often hit two first serves which gave us fits but what was even more effective what her occasional 2^nd serve that she spun out wide.  I think that was her most effective shot and both Deanna and Canh had trouble returning it.  At 5-5 in the 3^rd set, Jenna was down 0-40.  Jenna/Wanzell  won a hard fought point that we hit just long after about 14 strokes and then Jenna used two big serves to level it at 40 all and went on to hold serve.  Deanna held and then came the tiebreaker for the match.  It seemed to be all Kinetix in the tiebreaker.  At 3-5, Wanzell took a medium ball hit down the middle and drilled it at Canh who was closing the net.  It jammed Canh but he managed to volley the ball between Wanzell and Jenna who were also at net for the clean winner. Canh held his two serves for a 6-5 lead and then we won the match on the first match point.  After seeing Jenna & Wanzell save so many break points (over 10) I was surprised that we got the last point when we did.  Amazing job (again) Deanna & Canh.  Way to hang in there.  I don’t think Jenna and Wanzell could have played any better in the last two sets. 

I met Karen’s mother and Wanzell’s father and it was great to see so many spectators cheering them on.  It was also wonderful to see the enthusiasm displayed by Jenna and Wanzell.  They are great competitors and look out if they are across the net from you. 

Here are some more odd ball facts you might enjoy.  

43.7% of all statistics are made up on the spot Tipping in Iceland is considered an insult

Bumping foreheads with a hand shake is the traditional greeting in Tibet Reno, NV is West of Los Angeles, California Pearls melt in Vinegar The QE2 gets 6” per gallon of diesel fuel

Here are the answers to my questions at the beginning of the post: You have more bones in your body than there are countries (206 vs. 194). The % of women who say they’d marry the same man – 50% The green on the occasional freak potato chip is chlorophyll. The lower 48 state with the longest coastline – Michigan.

Our Kings & Queens tournament is nearing the end.  As of this Sunday we will be down the semi’s with Deanna/Canh playing the winner of Celes/John vs. Diana/Russell and Sue/Ron playing the winner of Eileen/Rob vs. Cheri/Joe.

Playoffs are April 17^th & 18^th at Pennsbury.  We wrap up our regular season this Saturday vs. UMLY.