VICTORY AT LAST

A Win Is A Win

And a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. Just ask Nina or Coogan. More on that topic later.

Agawam is the first domino to fall. Now we have our first match win of the season under our belt.
Griff played the 1st match at the #5 position and won 3-0 over "High Shorts" Baroker. When the match started, it looked like it was going to be a blowout. Steve had many of his very writsty, flicky, well held shots working and HS had no answer. Then the courts started to get a little hot; the ball started staying up a little bit longer; Steve's fleece jacket seemed to be a little constrictive and HS was getting everything. Some of the points were pretty long and HS climbed back to 7-7 in the middle game. Griff felt no pressure. It was patently evident to anyone watching who was in command when, in the middle of a point, Griff paused to adjust his wristband, let the ball bounce past him and returned the shot without even a flinch.

Jenks played a tough one again at #1. Although very, very short, Jenk's opponent held the edge on experience (played in college - Williams I think). The guy moved very well and didn't make too many mistakes. Maybe a lob could have been implemented? Jenks could have been a little squashed out during his match. Prior to his match he made a trip to Beantown for a Quick on-court conference; used the ball machine for 1 hour on Sun; played a Boston match; had a clinic on Sat. and probably something else that I'm missing. Dude, you need to take a day off every once in a while and let your body catch up.

Nina's opponent defaulted. SCARED!

I played former politician and current President of Bryant University, Ron Machtly. Talk about experience, the guy has been around. Hell, he lived in Washington D.C. and escaped without a scandle or an allegation of any inappropriate communications with Pages. The guy had the shot making ability you see with hardballers. Luckily for me he ran out of gas and I was able to squeek out a 3-2 win. After missing, what seemed like 20 dropshots, I went back to the "just hitting another rail" approach so I could keep the rallies going longer. It worked.

Coogan was asked to reschedule. He and Wally will battle it out on Thurs. 12/14.

The Re-Match That Never Was

The chirping, the smack-talk, the goading, and the excuses were all to be stopped with the Coogy v. Nina rematch. After his big win over Nina (even in her condition) Coogs couldn't keep the posturing to a low roar. He was called out; the challenge was made and the court was booked. Coogy couldn't make it the first time so Nina re-booked the court for Sunday (the day after the Christmas party - tough one). From all accounts, Coogs couldn't answer the bell and voluntarily offered the default and the rung on the ladder. Coogy was thinking Neens would again show sportswomanship, would decline the default and only be happy with an on-court win and hold off moving the chips around until after a best of 5 was played. Wrong! "A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do." So much for the 3 strikes rule. 2 lame excuses was enough for Nina.

Clincs

They seem to be going pretty well. Attendance is good and the time seems to be working for most.

Fitness

Work on increasing stamina. The heat factor on the RICC courts can be be a big advantage if you are used to the temperature and are just a bit more fit than your opponent. 3 sets of court sprints (12x) will really help in the 4th and 5th games.

Capt. Morgan