It was a very interesting tournament this year in Toledo, as temperatures never made it over 80 degrees and Saturday was a rainy and cold 55-degree high. The Toledo group did an amazing job getting all the matches outdoors this year! As usual, a great turnout from the Mid-Atlantic and also great results.
Alan Frank was given another opportunity to get his Grand Master status against the foe that narrowly beat him at the National Masters Singles event in March. Frank proved his mettle by winning his tenth National Title against Peter Service. Alan teamed with Dan Zimet and defeated Peter and Kevin Hill 21-8; 21-12. Alans family was on hand as he reached this rare milestone, and he was given a family handball picture signed by many of the players he has competed against over the years.
Bob Bardwell thrilled everyone by winning the 60+ Singles Championship. Playing a brilliant semi-final, he cruised past the higher seeded Gack 21-9; 21-1. In the final, Bob showed true grit and mental toughness, overcoming a first game loss and poor sportsmanship on the part of his opponent to win the second 21-10 and tie-breaker 11-1. This was Bobs first National title, and it was well earned! New to the Super Golden Masters, Bobs endurance and footwork proved his greatest weapon in the final.
Team Anderson has broken through with a great win in the B Doubles. Lee and Kyle Anderson, both of whom have shown quick development in their games over the past two years, defeated another local player in Will Bardwell and his partner Louis-Ferdinand. Will started the tournament with Eric Anderson, but a bad break in Erics opening doubles match put a scary end to Erics tournament. Eric was drilled in the eye by powerhouse Sean Lenning and was quickly taken off for medical attention. Thankfully, Eric reports no permanent damage and he promises to be back on the courts quickly. Meanwhile, Lee and Kyle rolled through the competition on their way to the finals. A close first game went the Way of the Anderson, and a strong second game brought two more National title plates home to Maryland/Virginia.
Dan Zimet repeated last years slam in the 35+ Senior division, defeating Kevin Hill in the singles final and Service/Hill in the final. A much smaller division than last year resulted in a round-robin, with Dan cruising through the field.
The two best matches of the tournament involved Josh Ho in singles and Frank/Anderson in doubles. Josh Ho battled a very talented up and coming player in Nikolai Nahorniak. After splitting the first two games, Nikolai seemed to have the match in the bag when he opened a 10-5 lead in the tie-breaker. But Josh can dig deep when he has to, and he fought off several match points to climb to 10-10. With the serve switching several times the outcome seemed completely up for grabs, until Nikolai was able to close out the match. Josh also gave Dave Munson all he could handle in the first round of the Open. Josh took the match to a tie-breaker after two 21-19 games, but was closed out 11-6.
Alan Frank and Rick Anderson knew they had a tough run to the final when they saw Carkeek/ Nicholas in the draw. Carkeek is a constant threat, and Nicholas exhibits steady power and a keen kill-shot. After winning the first 21-17, Frank/Anderson clawed out each point en-route to a 20-20 tie. With the TV cameras rolling, both teams fought off several match points and changed innings repeatedly. Anderson came up with two brilliant kill shots, one off a serve, to get his team in for what turned into the final inning as a skipped shot by the opposition ended this remarkable match.
Dave Hinkelman and Joe Pleszkoch had a nice run in the 60+ doubles, winning a tie-breaker under the lights on Saturday to set up a semi-final match against Uffer/Kraft. Unfortunately, they were unable to keep the run alive. After winning handily in the first they fell to the New Yorkers (9), 14, and 7. Dan Ho made an excellent run through the 50B, playing his way into the semi-final where he faced a powerful Ohio local Steve Kehoe. Kehoe had beaten Pat Lowery earlier in the tournament, but revenge was not to be had as Kehoe moved the ball well with excellent pace. Another player who made a fine run through the 50B was Wes Humphries, whose son made the trip to watch. Wes put up good numbers against eventual champion Eli Seaman before also falling in the semi-final.
Other players who made runs late in the tournament include Roger Berry, who had a nice tie-breaker win over Penick before losing in the final to Dave Dohman. Will Bardwell and Murzy Jhabvala made it to the semi-finals of the B Singles and 55 Singles, respectively. The team of Mort Frank and Lou Buckingham, newly eligible for the 70 Doubles, also made it to the semi-finals before falling to the eventual champions in Wicker and Harris. Unfortunately, Jay Millers back seized up after his win in the first round of the 40 Singles he was unable to challenge eventual Champion Nicholas. The team of Ray Estevez and Jarvis, last years champions of the 50+ doubles, had perhaps the toughest draw of the tournament and fell to Corrigan and Kirk in the semi-finals.