Sunday Finals posted

All Finals are on Sunday! This will be yet another rocking day at the Club! Finals are schedule as follows:

Sunday 8:30am: Men's Open Singles, Men's A Singles, Women's B Singles, Women's A Singles

Sunday 10:00am: Men's A Doubles, Women's A Doubles, Men's B Singles

Sunday 4:00pm: Men's 50+ Doubles, Men's B Doubles, Women's B Doubles

Compete Saturday Schedule

We hope that everyone is enjoying themselves!  This happens every year at this time during the biggest and most fun tennis event on St. Croix...The St. Croix Heineken Open Tennis Championships!

Complete Saturday schedule is as follows:

8:30am - ALL MEN'S OPEN SINGLES STARTS!

COURT #1 - Kris Elien vs Freddie Velez

COURT #2 - Angel Diaz vs. Shane Dalton

COURT #3 - Erwin Lopez vs. Fernando Negron

COURT #4 - Jerry Adames vs. Kevin Motta


10:00am - Men's A Doubles

COURT #1 - Kevin Motta/Angel Diaz vs. Freddie Velez and Shane Dalton

COURT #2 - Erwin Lopez/Fernando Negron vs. Kurt Buska and Kris Elien


4:00pm - Women's B Doubles

COURT #1 - Sharon Quinn/Brenda Sinfield vs. Norma Cruz/Barbara Robbins

4:30pm - Women's B Doubles

COURT #2 - Gabrielle Armstong/Natalie Nelson vs. Flo Logan/Deb Schreiber

5:30pm - Men's A Singles

COURT #1 - Junior Bannis vs. Alec Kuipers

6:00pm

COURT #2 - Men's 50+ Doubles

Don Dewilde and Colin Robertson vs. Larry Morris and Stan Vanesse

Congrats to the following finalists!

From match play tonight...the following teams have advanced to the finals on Sunday:

Susan Armstrong and Karen Heckman will take on Patsy Knight and Debbie Woodson in the Women's A Doubles at 10:00am. 

Al Baptiste and Wendell Powell will take on Michael Armendariz and Carl Maschauer in the Men's B Doubles at 4:00pm

The join the B Singles players who already advanced:

Elmer Aquiero and Nyan Bansal in Men's B Singles at 10:00am on Sunday

Joan Warren and Greeba Richmond in Women's B Singles at 8:30am on Sunday

Friday Night MADNESS!

Matches for Friday:

Court #1:  Motta/Diaz vs. Miller DiPersio   4:30pm

Court #2:  Adames/Rosas vs. Velez/Dalton  4:30pm

Court #3:  Baptiste/Powell vs. Bansal/Guilford 4:30pm

Court #4:  Armendariz/Maschauer vs. Morris/Vanesse

6:00 matches

Logie/Cooper vs. Knight/Woodson

Armstrong/Heckman vs. Fenster/Abramson

Lopez/Legron vs. Elizee/Francis


Tonight is LASAGNA NIGHT....$6.00!  See Sherry Mansfield at the bar/kitchen area!

THE THURSDAY NIGHT ROWDY GROUP!

Thursday night was off the hook....look at these crazies! 

Thursday night MADNESS!

What is it about this annual event that brings out the fun...the friends...the beautiful weather...and the ROWDIES out ever year at this tennis event!  Tonight...the energy was electric with great matches and great times at the Club! 

First off...kudos to Sherry Mansfield and yet another great inexpensive meal for spectators to enjoy.  Her pasta bake was a huge hit and was a sell out.  Can hardly wait for Friday night's LASAGNA NIGHT! 

First off on Court 1 was the team of Robbie Stamper and Bill Bowles taking on the impromptu team of Nayan Bansal and Bob Guilford, who replaces Nayan's father Deepak, who abandoned his son at the eleventh hour.  Someone please call Child Protective Services.  With his lovely mother, Vivianna, in attendance a great match ensued.  Robbie and Bill put up a great first set but end up losing in a tiebreak.  Nayan and Bob take charge in the second set with as dramatic a final two points we have ever seen with Bob taking a tumble on the court and Nayan taking charge while his partner writhed in pain on the court, to take the match.  Nayan and Bob advance with a 7-6, 6-1 win!  Big thank you to Bob for picking up the match and allowing Nyan to play...great thanks to you!

Court 2 showdown were the Wednesday night Bumblebees Larry Morris and Stan/Carl/whatever Vanesse taking on Monty Mrotz and Morris Anselmi.  Riding high on their win from the night before, Larry and Stan played super aggressive (killer bees!), with Larry dare I say..."swarming" all over the net.  They take the match 6-0, 6-2.  Killer bees prevail...but we understand their next opponents are "Team RAID!"

Court 3 faced Joan Warren with the enthusiastic Cindy Clearwater.  Joan won the match 6-0, 6-0...the score was not indicative of a blow out by any means.  Many deuces ensued...but the more experienced Joan prevailed on the big points.  Great job by Cindy for entering her first big tournament and having a blast and being positive through this whole event!

Court 4 had Michael Armendariz and Carl Maschauer taking on Donovan Hamm and John Warren.  Now...Joan Warren had called Michael and pleaded with him to, "PLEASE don't hurt my husband!"  Well Michael and Carl wanted to have a urine sample taken on John because he stormed the net like a young man possessed.  Celebrating his birthday just the night before, Michael and Carl were temporarily caught off guard but composed their selves to blow out John's candles a second time.  Great to see a return to the court from Donovan Hamm and his great lefty game.  In a very fun match, Michael and Carl prevail 6-2, 6-1. 

The US OPEN is well known for having amazing late night tennis matches every year.  Well...New York has NOTHING on St. Croix!  Three late night matches were scheduled and the players did NOT fail in their attempts to keep the crowd entertained. 

In a rematch of last year, Alex Elizee wore out Carlos Rosas, 6-3, 6-2.  Running here and there, back and forth, to and fro...his movement was cat-like (much like Jay Craft *).  Carlos is know for his wheels as well but Alex was just too good.

Greeba Richmond and Natalie Nelson battled it out in Women's Singles...and what a battle it was.  Play started on time at 6:45 and ended after 10pm!  Greeba takes the first set, Natalie the second with Greeba finally prevailing in the third!  Natalie ran down ball after ball...Greeba and her compact strokes going crosscourt to crosscourt.  The last crosscourt finally did Natalie in.  What a great match and very entertaining to watch!  Congrats Greeba!

Trying to defend their title, Kurt Buska and Kris Elien took on the hot playing pair of Alexis Camarena and Junior Bannis.  On a continued high from their drumming of Jay and Steve earlier, Junior and Alexis came out swinging.  But...they were swinging against Kris.  Try they did, but Kurt and Kris take the first set 6-0.  A mini comeback ensues but they fall short and Kris and Kurt take the match with a 7-5 win in the second set.  Great match guys!

Now.  The match of the night.  The loudest match of the night.  The most tempestuous match of the night.  Joel Mahepath and Melbourne Adams took on Big Al Richards and Stan Myrie G.  A great match of crosscourt returns, drop shot, slices, dices, overheads...and lots and lot of groans.  And whining.  At one point Stan yelled so loud he lost his last name.  And the whining?  Well...never mind.  All kidding aside, this was the match of the night with the match going the distance to a third set tiebreak.  High quality play with three of these four players being in the finals just last year.  The match ended...at 11:05PM.  That's right...US OPEN has nothing  on Tennis Club of St. Croix!  The crowd was vocal in their support of the good and exciting play that they watched.

MAKE SURE AND COME OUT FRIDAY NIGHT! 

Wild & Wacky Wednesday night!

FROM THE TENNIS CLUB SPORTS DESK

DATELINE: 10/17/2013

* Last Night's Matches-

 

* Zingers & Entreaties Rebuffed-

* Fun Facts-

The Tennis Club was at overflow capacity last night. The upper deck railing was shoulder to shoulder with dozens milling around behind trying to secure a view. The food was incredible… the bratwurst Man-wiches (the Sports Desk refuses to deem them mere “sausages on a roll”) drew audible gasps.  Great to see so many people out enjoying the company, the drinks, the foods...and yes... the tennis!

 

 

A quick tip of the Sports Desk’s fedora to Tournament Director Armendariz and the many Club volunteers who have worked tirelessly to make this a special event. The Sports Desk follows that gesture with a shot of Corn Whiskey out of respect and gratitude because it is the right thing to do.

Now onto last night’s matches…

We’ll begin with a heartwarming 6-0, 6-1 Woman’s B match. Norma Cruz and Barb Robbins took down Emma Miller and Cindy Clearwater much as expected. Cruz & Robbins will be a tough out in the tournament. But also of interest is the fact that this was the first time that Miller & Clearwater played in a tournament. It takes guts to get out there in front of friends and strangers and these gals acquitted themselves well. The victory celebration after winning a game off seasoned veterans in the second set was priceless.  We haven't seen dancing like that since Carlos decided to show off his dance skills in the Club house. The Sports Desk swipes someone’s half-consumed Manhattan off the bar and downs it in happy acknowledgement to small victories.

 

 

In the other Woman’s B match of the evening, Sharon Quinn and Brenda Sinfield beat Pat Worede and Greeba Richmond 6-4, 6-2.  Pat and Sharon at the net, Greeba and Brenda from the baseline.  Greeba, visiting from St. John, had not dropped a single game in any of her previous matches, but she and Pat came face to face with a strong team.  A solid result for Quinn and Sinfield who seem to be peaking at the right time.

 

In Men’s B Singles, newcomer Elmer Alquiero beats Hakeem Logie, 6-4, 6-4. Logie was flying all over the court and is an imposing figure out there, not unlike the sum total of the Sports Desk’s many unpaid bar tabs around island. But facing a guy that looks like LeBron James with a tennis racquet in hand couldn’t unnerve the unflappable Mr. Alquiero. Time and time again, Alquiero successfully passed or lobbed the hard-charging Logie in a tight contest.  Congrats, Elmer the newcomer!

 

 

In Mens A Doubles, Junior Bannis and Alexis Camarena defeat Jay Craft and Steve Wagner 6-3, 6-2. The big lefty shot-makers played nearly flawless tennis. They will be a handful in this tournament if they keep up that level of play. This was Wagner’s first tournament on island and similar to the first time the Sports Desk saw then rookie Stan Musial walk out on a bar tab, it has the collective feeling that this player is something special.

 

 

Another Men's A doubles match was Jason Miller and Julian DiPersio outlasting Alec Kuipers and Jordan Lawrence 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. The quality on display was incredibly high all the way through, somewhat like the Sports Desk’s columns back in the Eisenhower Administration when it actually gave a collective damn. The future of St Croix tennis was on display last night and the juniors put on quite a show. Shots seen: DiPersio’s swinging half-volley backhand behind the baseline down the line for a clean winner; Lawrence turning on a big forehand return from DiPersio and ripping it around the post for a point; Kuipers taking five monster shots from Miller further and further off the court and lashing them all back, eventually forcing an error. But the story of the night wasn’t the junior players—rather, it could be found in old man Miller’s redemption after his crushing singles loss to Kuipers earlier in the week. Miller elevated his play in a tough three-setter and came through big on many clutch points. Afterwards, he collapsed into a disgusting, sweaty heap on the Club porch and may need a Heineken IV to make it to the next match.  Actually, Miller is always a disgusting sweaty heap but he deserves a Heineken after withstanding the abuse of the juniors.  So you might buy him a beer sometime.  Just keep a towel handy.

 

 

 

What ended up being the match of the night was the Men’s 50 and over battle with Larry Morris and Stan Vanesse beating Dominique Durand and Bill Bowles 6-2, 3-6, 6-2. This was a highly entertaining match that could have easily gone either way.  The late night crowd was energized by the gutsy performance by Bill and Dominique.  Always forcing Team Bumblebee (their moniker for the evening) to hit JUST ONE MORE BALL, Bill and Dominique drew out each point with retrieval after retrieval.  After dropping the second set the crowd was wondering if Morris/Vanesse were honeybees or killer bees.  But they came back in a spirited third set.  The crowd was loud...and I do mean LOUD with screams and cheers coming after each and every point.   A gutty performance by Morris & Vanesse against a talented team.  Kudos as well to both these team who double entered in Men's 50 and Men's B Doubles.  We bet Jason Miller couldn't do that. 

Zingers & Entreaties Rebuffed!

The Set-up: Infamous Club villain and general island heel, Jay Craft, has been trying to reconcile with his estranged mixed doubles partner, Sherry Mansfield, ever since their devastating loss on Saturday night. The unsinkable Ms. Mansfield has bounced back nicely despite Craft’s brutal on-court manners.

The Zinger: Craft, in his usual boorish manner, was tearing down other players’ choice of outfits when Mansfield swanned around a younger, more talented, and better looking version of Craft (let’s call him Alexis C. who by coincidence had crushed Craft minutes earlier in straight sets). When Craft asked Mansfield, “Baby, what are you doing here with HIM?” she calmly replied, “I only hang out with winners!”.  While the Sports Desk has been collectively divorced a total of eight times, it can’t remember hearing a more apt put-down.

The Aftermath: A chastened Craft retreated to the bar where he made clumsy mixed doubles partnership offers, all of which were sensibly rejected out of hand. Even the usually non-judgmental Kenny refused to look at him.

Fun Facts!

 

1.       Jason Miller was older than the combined age of the other three players in his doubles match.

2.  "Does Dominique EVER stop talking?"  "No", replied a very quiet MRS. DURAND.

3.      "Mm, I love scotch. I love scotch. Scotchy, scotch, scotch. Here it goes down. Down into my belly. Mm-mm-mm” The Sports Desk opines that this Ron Burgundy quote is in fact, a fact.

SEE EVERYONE TONIGHT!  THINGS ARE HEATING UP AT THE TENNIS CLUB OF ST. CROIX!