2007 Eastern Regionals

            The 2007 Eastern Regional 3-Wall tournament was help on August 18 and 19, and featured 62 players from the Mid-Atlantic and Florida.  In atypical fashion, Saturday was a cool, sunny day far different from the oven-like temperatures of the previous few years.  While last year brought a number of forfeits due to the heart, this year many of the finals were rained out on Sunday.  Several matches were rescheduled, others went indoors, and unfortunately the A Singles needed to be cancelled.  Catering was provided by Bill Littleton, and Sharon Parsons was responsible for the embroidered tournament towel received by all entrants.  Charlie Parsons created an overhang that saved us from the sun on Saturday and protected us from the rain on Sunday.  Nathaniel Frank took on the challenge of organizing the tournament entries and did a tremendous job with court assignments.  Special thanks to Alan Frank for again taking on the responsibility of creating the draw.

            Will Bardwell and Lee Anderson proved that their No Frills victory earlier this summer was no fluke, as they made it to the finals through a tough lower half of the draw by defeating Angel/Bastidas in a tie-breaker and then cruised past Ho/Lewis 4, 11 in the semi-final.  Lewis and Ho had their own troubles in the first round, escaping Adam Zimet and Alvaro Rebaza in a tie-breaker after losing the first game.  Dan Zimet and Alan Frank, who have traditionally elected to play with different partners in the Eastern Regional, joined together to practice for the upcoming Nationals.  Their path to the finals was smoother, winning handily over Murray and List and then surviving a tough second game against Rick Anderson and Jay Miller.  After cruising in the first game, Miller became very steady in the deep court and Anderson’s classic front court game turned red hot.  However, they were unable to hold off Zimet/Frank, who won 5, 16.  The final was delayed a week due to the rain-out on Sunday, and Anderson/Bardwell seemed to lack the fire and spirit that has carried them to victories summer.  Unable to return Zimet’s serve, they fell behind quickly in the first game and were unable to recover.  The second game was more closely contested, but ended in the same result as Zimet and Frank won the division by scores in the low teens.

            The Master’s Singles final, won by Alan Frank over David List, was a contest far tougher than the scores indicated as Frank prevailed 21-7, 21-12.  List plays a solid game punctuated by few hand errors, outstanding conditioning, and solid power.  Perhaps Frank’s knowledge of these courts was the difference, as he broke away in the first game on a long service inning punctuated by a series of unreturnable aces each hitting the fence just past the long-line.  Frank’s road to the final included a very tough second game against the improved 3-wall play of Jay Miller, whose tenacious retrieving and ability to put the ball away make him a dangerous part of any draw.  List’s road to the final required him to get past the spirited play of Tony Winter, who was unable to match Lists physical prowess this year and fell at 13 and 9.

            The 50+ singles was played indoors and proved one of the tightest finals with Tim Murray emerging from the 3-seed to win 21-8, 9-21, 11-9.  A man of few words, Murzy summarized the match as, “You can say it was a hard fought indoor battle and he came out on top.”  Murray’s road to the final was helped by the toughest contender in the division, as Dan Ho needed a tie-breaker to win his play-in match against Danny Yee, and then held Ken Greco at match point to prevail in the quarterfinals 15-21, 21-20, 11-9.  Murray was prepared to pounce after an easier match against Jerry Yee, prevailing in the semifinal 15 and 16.  Pat Lowery seemed unable to press Murzy out of his game plan in the other semi-final, which usually calls for an overhand serve and then deep passes down the wall.

                The 50+ doubles featured 4 teams each with players who have won National titles.  On the top of the draw, Roger Berry and Rick Anderson seemed to have the upper hand throughout the match by keeping both Steve Alicandro and Tony Winter scrambling for retrieves during grueling rallies.  After an adjustment, Bob Bardwell and Dave Hinkelman made it to game point before falling 21-9, 21-20 against Bob Dyke and Ken Greco.  In the final Anderson/Berry were able to survive the aggressive 4-wall offensive play of Bob Dyke and Ken Greco by scores of 21-8 and 21-18.  Both Anderson and Greco took their normal control of the front court, picking off many short balls and ending the volleys with unreturnable (and sometimes unexpected) kill-shots. Dyke and
Berry did their best to fight off the tough glass back-wall and not give too many soft shots to the other team.  Dyke pointed out that this match took place on Anderson’s 50^th birthday.  Welcome to the Golden Masters, Rick!

            With a number of players unable to compete in this year’s 60+ division due to injury, the field was open for someone to take advantage.  That person was George Fambro, who made it to the finals in both the singles and doubles.   In the singles, Fambro took out Joe Pleszkoch in the semifinals in two hard fought games, using his lanky reach and speed to keep the ball away from Pleszkoch’s dangerous power.  Graham Palmore started his march to the finals with a decisive win over 2^nd seeded Healey, then dispatching Norris in two games in the semi-final.  Fambro started strong but seemed to run out of answers as Palmore came back from an early Fambro lead and never looked back, winning 21-10, 21-4. 

            The 60 doubles final developed into a match of which team had the better service game.  In the first game, the team of Pleszkoch/Greenwald dominated with superb serving by Greenwald and the always strong overall left side play of Pleszkoch.  “Greenwald’s wicked serves down the left sidewall were a thing of beauty,” said Fambro.

In the second game, after a strategic timeout by Fambro with Pleszkoch/Greenwald leading, Fambro’s serve started to dominate with aces and driving right side serves to Greenwald.  Healey’s consistent left side play kept Pleszkoch in the backcourt, which allowed Fambro to play his very effective frontcourt game when Pleszkoch/Greenwald were able to return his serves.  A win set the stage for a tie-breaker.  In the tiebreaker, Fambro’s service game continued to dominate.  Again, aces and driving right and left side serves kept Pleszkoch/Greenwald from on their heels as Healey/Fambro prevailed 14-21, 21-10  and 11-5.

            The B Doubles was a round-robin event featuring numerous tie-breaker matches as all teams seemed evenly matched.  Eventually, John Coughlan’s overall solid game and power proved the difference as he teamed up with Bryan Nelson for the victory.  Their fiercest competition drove in from Philadelphia, as Peart and Woodward took them to 21-18, 18-21, and then 11-9.  It was great having a Nelson back in the tournament, and we hope to see Bryan continue to develop his game.

            Unfortunately, the A Singles was left unfinished as Danny Silva waited for the rains to stop on Sunday but eventually had to make his way back to Queens.  John Coughlan won his semi-final with two big games over Tim Fry.  Meanwhile, Silva beat Adam Zimet in two games as well.  Hopefully these two will get the chance to make the final happen at some point in the future.

            The Eastern Regional remains an excellent event and the draw is always filled with players preparing for the Nationals, looking to challenge themselves after a summer outdoors, and looking to enjoy the hospitality organized by the combined effort of the MHA Executive Committee.  The MHA works hard to accommodate schedules, get matches out on time, and prepare hospitality for players as well as guests.  As the Maryland Handball Commissioner I would like to express my thanks to the many players and their families who make the trip to Ellicott City, Maryland each year two-weeks prior to Labor Day.  I would also like to point out that these events would not happen without the volunteer efforts of both the MHA and the players who referee matches.