Hot! Hot! Hot! And I’m not just talking about the weather! It may still be spring on the calendar but it’s already Florida summer here in The Villages. And the heat didn’t deter the 15 teams who came to play and brought their own version of heat with them!
Each of the brackets sent 1 undefeated team into the playoffs. Leading things off were the Amanda (Mandy) Berg and Jackie Minyard in the blue bracket with a total point differential of +33. The second seed was filled by Susan Moore and Teresa England of the white bracket, who coincidentally just met and never played together before, with a point differential of +29. The third seed from the red bracket were Barb Kennedy and Kim Miller, finishing with a +22 point differential.
The battle for the fourth and final seed came down to three teams with 3 wins each and separated by 5 total points between them. The nod went to Cheryl Hallgren and Tinley Vermoesen with 42 points, followed by Shawn Spaulding and Gretchen Kerr with 39, and Chris Ressler and Kathy Konigsmark at 37.
In the playoffs, Cheryl and Tinley faced Mandy and Jackie and built and early 6-2 before Amanda and Jackie made it interesting by closing the gap to 9-6 before Cheryl and Tinley closed the rally down to win, 11-6. In the other playoff game, Barb and Kim played it tight with Susan and Teresa early in the match at 2-2 before Susan and Teresa tightened their game to then cruise to a 11-3 win.
That setup a revenge Gold-Silver game between Susan and Teresa v Cheryl and Tinley. In an evenly played game 3, Susan and Teresa came from behind to win 11-9 so Cheryl and Tinley were eager to have a second go at the duo. They played tough but Susan and Teresa played tougher to earn the Gold with a 11-5 win. Cheryl and Tinley made a fine showing to get Silver. The Bronze game saw a good match between Mandy and Jackie v Barb and Kim. Barb and Kim kept it close but Mandy and Jackie prevailed with a nice 11-7 win for the Bronze.
Well done for all the teams playing though the heat and Kongrats to the medalists! Thanks to Fred Veenstra, Miriam Bernstein and Diane Fuleky for keeping the games moving and managing the score keeping. And thanks to Tony Chiravolo for keeping me energized with my java.
Next Up:
– Men’s Advanced Doubles, Sunday, 5/4
– No tournament Mother’s Day weekend, 5/11
– Signup for the Men’s Intermediate Doubles opens, Tuesday, 5/6 @ 8:30p
Here’s the link to this week’s photos: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCbzWz
Here’s the link to the YT playlist, including the replay of the livestream and footage from the GoPro: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLy0MUnaQ-KX9–ZKOQRRCO927nvkTtBQY
Livestream Court 6
- Intro (0:03:52)
- Game 1 (0:08:05): Kim Grafton and Denise Vinci v Susan Moore and Teresa England
- Game 2 (0:34:28): Sandy Phillips and Lorraine Gloersen v Susan Moore and Teresa England
- Game 3 (0:50:04): Judie Lee v Tami Downs v Lorraine Gloersen and Sandy Phillips
- Game 4 (1:25:33): Cheryl Hallgren and Tinley Vermoesen v Kim Grafton and Denise Vinci
- Game 5 (1:46:20): Judie Lee and Tami Downs v Cheryl Hallgren and Tinley Vermoesen Who’s In! (2:02:52)
- Semis (2:08:07): Amanda Berg and Jackie Minyard v Cheryl Hallgren and Tinley Vermoesen
- Gold-Silver (2:26:05): Cheryl Hallgren and Tinley Vermoesen v Susan Moore and Teresa England
- Medals (2:43:50)
GoPro Court 3
- Game 1 (0:00:00): Nancy Krau and Debra Johnson v Rose Kopja and Mary LaFrancois
- Game 2 (0:13:58) : Gretchen Kerr and Shawn Spaulding v Rose Kopja and Mary LaFrancois
- Game 3 (0:30:04): Gretchen Kerr and Shawn Spaulding v Cathy Huffman and Julie Shore
- Game 4 (0:47:20): Barb Kennedy and Kim Miller v Nancy Krau and Debra Johnson
- Game 5 (1:02:34): Barb Kennedy and Kim Miller v Julie Shore and Cathy Huffman
- Semis (1:19:16): Barb Kennedy and Kim Miller v Susan Moore and Teresa England
- Bronze (1:34:19): Amanda Berg and Jackie Minyard v Barb Kennedy and Kim Miller