Wednesday, October 22, 2014

HIDEAWAY BRONZE EDGES LANDINGS IN SECOND MATCH

Ready for another tiebreak?
Well the season is really off to an exciting start for our ladies teams! Last Wednesday, the first LCWTL match at home for our Bronze team ended in a thriller, with Hideaway resident Vivian Landis and Nina Carpenter 
Vivian & Nina last week
closing out the final match of the day with a hard fought win in a match-tiebreak. The following day, also at home, Rennie Bassett (new co-captain of the Bronze team and co-captain of the 3.0-Minus team) and Jane Hill lost a heartbreaker in a match-tiebreak to close out our first 3.0-Minus match.

The Hideaway emerged with more points than the other team on both occasions, despite splitting the four courts in the 3.0-Minus match. That was also the story today, as our ladies captured 14 points to 12 for the Landings in our second home match for the Bronze team.

Court 1 Heroines Diane Russ & Fran Negin
We jumped out to early leads on Courts 1 and 2, but what may have seemed likely to be relatively easy wins early on, turned out to be anything but! On Court 1, Diane Russ and Fran Negin cruised to a 6-2 first set, but their opponents were determined not to go gently into that good night, and fought back to take the second set 6-3.

The match-tiebreak was drama-filled to say the least, with both teams having match points. However, Fran served for the match at 11-10, put her second serve in, moved forward and hit a splendid cross-court forehand that the opponents couldn’t handle. Game, set match, Hideaway!

Pat & Reggie together again
On Court 2, I don’t know that Pat Ben-Dov and Reggie Mishkovish could have played any better early in their match. It was good to have Reggie’s pinpoint accuracy on hand and Pat was firing darts of her own. Our ladies went up 4-2, but I could see that it was going to be a very tough match to close out.

Just too much running!
The two ladies that Pat and Reggie played were probably as good as we are going to see all year at the Bronze level, and they got to just about everything, and forced Pat and Reggie to work really hard for just about every point. The effort took its toll and Reggie and Pat lost the first set 4-6, and the second 1-6. The team they played could easily have been on first court.

Calamity Jane & Resilient Rennie
Rennie and Jane represented us on Court 3, and boy did they ever! The match was relatively close early, but the opponents jumped out to a 5-2 lead and took that first set 6-3. I suspect that when I left for lunch our ladies relaxed, because Jane and Rennie returned the favor in the second set, taking that 6-3, and won the ensuing match-tiebreak as well. I’m sorry I missed that comeback, but if my absence is what it takes, then so be it.

Court 4 featured Hideaway resident Paula Barry (in her return to the courts after considerable absence) and Nina Carpenter. Our ladies showed a resilience that is fast becoming our trademark, because they bounced back from a 2-5 deficit as well, to push the first set to a tiebreak. Alas, they lost that tiebreak and the second set 3-6, but they battled valiantly to the very end.

All in all, it was another inspired and inspiring effort from all the ladies on the courts today, and I was pleased to be a part of it! Tomorrow (Thursday the 23rd) the 3.0-Minus team will travel to Heritage Palms for their first away match. Let’s continue to give it our best and enjoy our time on court. There are so many things that are more important than winning or losing a tennis match; right? We miss you already Pearle, and thanks for assuming the mantle Ren! Have fun ladies! 

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

HIDEAWAY OPENS 2014-15 LCWTL SEASON WITH A BANG

The Hideaway’s Bronze team opened its 2014-15 season with a bang today, taking three of four courts to outscore Legends 18-8. There weren’t many spectators, but it was great to see Co-captain Pearle Warren, Susan Macintire and husband Charles in attendance, along with Dave Russ and Barb, a potential new teammate. Surely all who attended were treated to some fun matches to watch!

On Court one, it took Lynne Price (Co-Captain of our 3.0-Minus team), and Fran Negin a while to get going against the strong duo of Jackie DeVita and Carol Sarosik, and that resulted in a 2-6 first set. I’m not sure what happened, because it was 2-2, and next thing I knew the set was over.

Lynne and Fran started strong in the second set, jumping out to an early lead, but Jackie and Carol stormed back with very solid play and took the second set 6-4. I’m sure Lynne and Fran aren’t happy about losing the match, but it was a much more competitive match than the score indicated, and I thought our ladies played well.

On Court 2, Diane Russ and Pat Ben-Dov (Co-Captain of the Bronze team) also started a bit slowly and faced an uphill battle early against Tanya Johnson and Julie Grabiec. I think the nerves of the first match took their toll on everyone today.

Diane and Pat fell behind early (I believe it was 2-4) in the first set, but they stormed back to take the set 7-5. They didn’t let go of the momentum when they took the court for the second set, and they emerged victorious, taking the final set 6-1.

Rennie Bassett (Co-Captain of the 3.0-Minus team) and Jane Hill played a really tough first set against Sue Ann Fahnenstiel and Linda Kollar on Court 3. Again the nerves showed early, and Rennie and Jane faced a 2-5 deficit in the first set.

Ah, but Hideaway women are resilient, and Rennie and Jane chipped away at the lead, coming back to take the first set 7-5. Like their teammates on Court 2, they held their momentum for the rest of the match and claimed the second 6-2.

Our ladies on Court 4 were not to be outdone when it came to comebacks. Nina Carpenter and Vivian Landis (one of two octogenarians on our team, Paula Barry, the other, was on injured reserved but present) came up well short in the first set, losing it 2-6 to Mary Ann Hight and Linda Lowery. But you don’t find yourself closing in on age 90 by giving up when times get tough.

Nina and Vivian fought back to take a hard-fought second set, eventually taking it 7-5 to reach the match-tiebreak. The match-tiebreak was no piece of cake either, as Nina and Vivian edged the competition 10-7 in the tiebreak. It was a tremendous comeback, and I hope Vivian can walk tomorrow. I think she ran a marathon today!


All in all I was really proud of the way our team played today, from top to bottom. I was a little concerned when we started, but all lifted their games once they had warmed up and the nerves had settled. I suspect we will have an even tougher match tomorrow, but I know our team will give it their very best and represent The Hideaway with the utmost class and sportsmanship!