USPTA Pro League- 7 Down, 3 To Go!

Boston Retirement Advisors (BRA)

vs.

Auto Drive (AD)

On the heels of notching nine points last time out, BRA posted the most dominant performance of the season (in fact of any season in the four I’ve played) this past Friday at Shadow Wood Country Club, taking all five courts from AD, while losing just one set! AD just barely avoided a shutout in points, earning .5 of a point on Court 3. BRA’s 15-point lead with two matches to play is pretty much insurmountable, especially given their success against the other teams.   

Court 1  

Undefeated Manuel Encalada & Tyler Owens

On Court 1, Manuel Encalada and Tyler Owens continued their undefeated roll, handing Denny Rager and Jared Kalpin their worst defeat of the season, 6-2, 6-3. With only two matches to play before the playoffs, the rare undefeated season is within their grasps.

Court 2 

Frank Fourgeau & Luke Andreae

Frank Fourgeau and Luke Andreae also posted their most dominant win of the season against Elliott DeBolt and Kevin Kearns, 6-2, 6-0. I saw the early stages of this one, and was surprised to hear the final score. Frank and Luke have lost just once seven matches, and they appear to be getting stronger as they go.

Jim Katterfield & Fred Hindle

Court 3
Captain Jim Katterfield and Fred Hindle were the only blot on the, otherwise unblemished, performance by BRA. They had the nerve to drop a set to John Jerome and Tom Fisher (sub). Ok, ok, that was really a good win, because John and Tom are a very good team at the three slot…perhaps even at second doubles. The score was 6-4, 3-6, 1-0.

Court 4

Dave Dooley & Rick Calton

Dave Dooley and Rick Calton had quite the tussle with Alex Hermeto and Rob Vinal, but the stars were aligned properly for BRA that night, and Dave and Rick edged Alex and Rob in straights, 7-5, 6-4. Given that Alex is usually a Court 3 player, and that Dave and Rick have had their struggles this season, this was a very nice “W” and two points for BRA.  

Erica Cossairt & Jeff Timmer

Mixed Doubles 
If there was ever a sign that the tennis gods were solidly camped in BRA’s camp, it was the Mixed match. Jeff Timmer and Erica Cossairt scored a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Terry See and Carolyn Lawver. Huh! Are you jerking my well-kinked chain! Terry and Carolyn are a very tough duo, and the last time this foursome met, it went to 15-13 in the third-set super-tiebreak.

Two and oh! That just doesn’t happen to Terry See and Carolyn Lawver. But it did this day, and they won’t have another chance to avenge this loss unless it’s in the Playoffs.

Harborside Dental (HD)

vs.

Johnny Malloy’s (JM)

After our (Harborside Dental) dismal showing last time out at Bonita Bay, during which we garnered a mere three points and gave up our second position to AD, we can only be grateful to AD for an even darker showing against BRA.

We are now two points ahead of AD, and we play them next time out at Heritage Palms on the 24^th. Johnny Malloy’s (JM) gained a point on us (HD), and crept into  a third-place tie with AD.

Sergio Rebolledo & Mike Curran

Court 1 
Against JM this past outing, HD Captain Mike Curran and Sergio Rebolledo put in two strong sets to beat JM's Co-Captains Scott Harrington and Shawn Hedrick, 6-3, 7-5. Like most of our team, Mike and Serg has had see-saw season, but perhaps they’re peaking at the right time.

Court 2 

T A Niles & Oliver Stenger

Playing with Park Meadow’s Oliver Stenger (sub), my third partner in seven matches, we got off to a quick start against Patrick Kangwa and Jeff Diggs (6-1). So much for quick starts! We lost the second set 1-6. The super-tiebreak was a back and forth affair, but we held on for the 10-7 win.

Court 3 

Mike Lawver & Mark Drons

Mike Lawver and Mark Drons failed to get back on the winning track losing a hard-fought victory to Jorge Magalhaes and Todd Wise. After losing the first set 2-6, Jorge and Todd battled back to take a close second, 7-5. A 10-6 super-tiebreak clinched it for JM.

Court 4

According to Fran Coryell and Dan Moenning of HD, Anthony Hatori was “a beast” on the court and missed absolutely nothing. Well if you know how hard Anthony hits the ball, if he isn’t missing, that spells trouble for any opponent.

Steve Shortridge & Anthony Hatori

When you consider that Steve Shortridge was Anthony’s partner- and Steve never misses anyway- it’s no surprise that Anthony and Steve posted one of the most lopsided Pro League scores in years. They dropped an “ouchy” 6-1, 6-0 on my teammates.

Mixed Doubles 

Armor Persons & Kerry Kendrick

Christie Bradley would not have any fun whatsoever if she didn’t play a three-setter. That’s got to be the case, because five of the seven matches she’s played (a few with different partners) have gone to the third-set super-tiebreak. That includes her last outing with partner Toni Halski, when they won the first set 6-4, lost the second 1-6, and fell just short in the super-tiebreak (8-10) to Armor Persons and Kerry Kendrick.

Christie Bradley & Toni Halski

I watched the end of this one and it was some terrific and gutsy play by Kerry and Armor that clinched this one. If I were going to Pro League to watch one match, it would have to be one in which Christie played. Can’t top that drama!

HD takes on AD next time out at Lexington, with the two teams a mere two points apart and battling to see who will play first-place BRA for top money this season. BRA will take on  JM, and if BRA comes out complacent, JM, only two points out of second, could easily vault into second place. Should be closely contested all around on the 24^th.

Here are the Team Standings and the remaining matches. Look forward to seeing you out there. Thumbs up and huge appreciation for those faithful fans who show up match in and match out all over the city! Game, set, match…T A

Team Totals 

Boston Retirement Advisors-   51

AutoDrive-   34

Harborside Dental-    36

Johnny Malloy's-    34

Remaining Schedule

Feb. 24     Lexington

Mar. 9      Colonial

Mar. 30     Legends (Playoffs)