What a finale to the Unlimited Winter League season!
Despite the wind, the teams dealt with it and their rivals and some of the best games played all season long.
Over in the Cream of the Courts Champions bracket, the Lobsters held off the Double D’s, 3-1. It was an amazing contest, with 3 of the matches going to 3 game sets, with 4 games in those matches going into OT. The D’s brought it all and notched 4 game wins and 1 match victory over the previously perfect Lobsters. But the Lobsters needed only 1 victory to clinch the Gold, and doing that with the Women’s Doubles win. The D’s earned Silver for a stellar second place finish.
In the battle for the Bronze, the Honey Badgers slammed the door close on the WIZARDS by sweeping the Final Four. The WIZARDS would have needed their own sweep against Kitchen Carnage but the Carnage managed to take one bite off the WIZARDS to seal the deal as their spoiler. The WIZARDS have nothing to be ashamed of for the 4th place finish.
In the Gerkins Consolation bracket, it was indeed a photo finish, with the points total going 15, 15, 14, and 13 for the top 4 teams. The Dreambreakers won the Gold by winning in a Dreambreaker against rival, Net Warriors. And by winning today, that gave them the head-to-head tiebreaker victory for that Gold. The Warriors put in a great effort to get Silver.
Jim & Friends could have it made it a 3-way tie for first had they swept the Unforced Terrors (and it would have been a headache to figure out the tiebreaker with each team having a win against each other). Fortunately for me, and the fans, their match went into a Dreambreaker, with Jim & Friends, outlasting the Terrors for the 3-2 win (the third Dreambreaker to go in their favor during the playoff season!) and the Bronze.
Kongrats to all the participants and what has been a truly entertaining season! And thanks to Fred Veenstra for the extra support tracking the scores today, and to the fans who came to watch.
Next up:
- Apr 5: Easter Sunday – extended open play, no tournament
- Apr 12: Women’s Intermediate – signup opens Tue night, Mar 31, 8:30p at kingkongtournaments.com
Here is the link to the photos for the final day of the playoffs: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCPmHL
Here is the link to the playlist on YT, including the replay of the livestream of Double D’s v Lobsters on court 6, the GoPro footage of Net Warriors v Dreambreakers on court 4 and the Unforced Terrors v Jim & Friends on court 7: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLy0MUnaQ-KX_81pgi9GRqN0qHbWH2byBI
Livestream Court 6
Double D’s v Lobsters
- Lisa Deister cartwheel (0:04:21)
- Men’s Doubles G1 (0:04:25) Perry Olson and Jason Hedden v Todd McLain and Andy Biederman
- Women’s Doubles Warm-up (0:18:50) Women’s Doubles G1 (0:22:00) Bryana Witt and Kristen Nagrani v Sharon Miller and Lisa Deister
- (Men’s Doubles G2 on court 5 at the same time as the Women’s G1)
- Women’s Doubles G2 (0:38:51) Sharon Miller and Lisa Deister v Bryana Witt and Kristen Nagrani
- (Men’s Doubles G3 on court 5 at the same time as the Women’s G2)
- Mixed 1 Doubles G1 (1:00:00) Perry Olson and Kristen Nagrani v Lisa Deister and Todd McLain
- Mixed 2 Doubles G1 (1:16:36) Bryana Witt and Jason Hedden v Sharon Miller and Andy Biederman
- Mixed 1 Doubles G2 (1:31:30) Lisa Deister and Todd McLain v Perry Olson and Kristen Nagrani
- Mixed 2 Doubles 2 G2 (1:50:06) Sharon Miller and Andy Biederman v Bryana Witt and Jason Hedden
- Mixed 1 Doubles G3 (2:05:29) Perry Olson and Kristen Nagrani v Lisa Deister and Todd McLain
- Mixed 2 Doubles G3 (2:23:10) Bryana Witt and Jason Hedden v Sharon Miller and Andy Biederman
- Cream of the Courts Awards (2:40:40)
This is how the Lobsters celebrated their win: https://grok.com/imagine/post/069e2f94-c4b5-4329-b858-f04789a8a6f3
Who would have thought that they would have this much energy left?
Livestream Court 7
Unforced Terrors v Jim & Friends
- Dreambreaker (2:47:03) Deb Ryan/Jim Schultz/Rick Stehno/Deb Merlock v Beth Dicomitis/John Shable/ Jim Faggiana/Maureen Plainfield (game in progress at 18-6, Jim serving)
- Gerkins Awards (2:53:25)
GoPro Court 4
Net Warriors v Dreambreakers
- (0:03:49) Don hams it up to the fam, Mo jumps in to give rabbit ears
- Women’s Doubles G1 (0:08:33) Marlene Milkosky and Julie Van Sambeek v Julie Seavey and Wendy Bledsoe
- Women’s Doubles G2 (0:22:28) Julie Seavey and Wendy Bledsoe v Marlene Milkosky and Julie Van Sambeek
- Men’s Doubles G1 (0:36:04) Tom Musone and Michael Vacanti v Bill Harris and Don Seavey
- Men’s Doubles G2 (0:50:48) Bill Harris and Don Seavey v Tom Musone and Michael Vacanti
- Men’s Doubles G3 (1:05:07) Tom Musone and Michael Vacanti v Bill Harris and Don Seavey
- Mixed 1 Doubles G1 (1:25:44) Marlene Milkosky and Tom Musone v Julie Seavey and Don Seavey
- (Mixed 2 Doubles G1 with Julie Van Sambeek and Michael Vacanti v Bill Harris and Wendy Bledsoe play on court 5 at the same time – camera angle too low to get a good crop)
- Mixed 1 Doubles G2 (1:40:38) Julie Seavey and Don Seavey v Marlene Milkosky and Tom Musone
- (Mixed 2 Doubles G2 with Bill Harris and Wendy Bledsoe v Julie Van Sambeek and Michael Vacanti play on court 5 at the same time – camera angle too low to get a good crop)
- Dreambreaker (1:58L51) Michael Vacanti/Tom Musone/Julie Van Sambeek/Marlene Milkosky v Don Seavey/Bill Harris/Julie Seavey/Wendy Bledsoe
GoPro Court 7
Unforced Terrors v Jim & Friends Women’s
- Doubles G1 (0:00:00) Deb Merlock and Deb Ryan v Maureen Plainfield and Beth Dicomitis
- Men’s Doubles G1 (0:17:12) Jim Schultz and Rick Stehmo v John Shable and Jim Faggiana
- Women’s Doubles G2 (0:28:23) Maureen Plainfield and Beth Dicomitis v Deb Merlock and Deb Ryan
- Men’s Doubles G2 (0:42:52) John Shable and Jim Faggiana v Jim Schultz and Rick Stehmo
- Women’s Doubles G3 (0:53:47) Deb Merlock and Deb Ryan v Maureen Plainfield and Beth Dicomitis
- Men’s Doubles G3 (1:11:36) Jim Schultz and Rick Stehmo v John Shable and Jim Faggiana
- Mixed 1 Doubles G1 (1:28:01) Deb Merlock and Rick Stehno v John Shable and Beth Dicomitis
- Mixed 2 Doubles G1 (1:40:14) Jim Schultz and Deb Ryan v Maureen Plainfield and Jim Faggiana
- Mixed 1 Doubles G2 (1:57:56) John Shable and Beth Dicomitis v Deb Merlock and Rick Stehno
- Mixed 2 Doubles G2 (2:07:41) Maureen Plainfield and Jim Faggiana v Jim Schultz and Deb Ryan
- Dreambreaker (2:29:32) Deb Ryan/Jim Schultz/Rick Stehno\Deb Merlock v Beth Dicomitis/John Shable/Jim Faggiana/Maureen Plainfield