With most teams having completed 4 matches, the FCPTL is more than a third of the way through its season. And just like a 3-set paddle match, the intensity and pace of the matches has started to pick up. Teams off to a fast start are eager to stay ahead of the competition while teams that have struggled out of the gate are looking to turn things around in order to avoid the dreaded divisional demotion. Below is a quick recap of some matches from this past week.
As is FCPTL tradition, Divisions 1-3 will be on bye this week as many players elect to play in the Soundshore Invitational tournament. Division 4-7 will still be in action with a Featured Match of the Week highlighted as always.
Division 1
Wee Burn continued its hot play of late with another 4-0 victory, this time over Patterson Club. While Wee Burn pro Sebastian Bredberg and David Gedney took out Patterson pro Scott Slobin and Geoff Mullin in straight sets at the 1 spot. Bryan Kelly and Boie Bogardus needed 3 sets to get by David Amendola and Mike Stern. Wee Burn also pulled out another 3 setter at the 4 spot to get the sweep and firmly put Wee Burn at the top of Division 1. Wilton Y hoped to keep pace but could only manage a split with Lake Club and now sits 2 points behind Wee Burn in 2nd place. Rowayton 1.1 welcomed back Jared Palmer to their lineup. With Palmer winning with Greg Brents at the 1 spot, Rowayton 1.1 took down their sister team Rowayton 1.2 by the score of 3-1.
Division 2
Tokeneke versus Wilton Y was highlighted as the Featured Match of the Week and it was noted that Tokeneke would need to get their players out to combat Wilton Y’s depth. Unfortunately, Tokeneke was without their top two players, and consequently, fell 4-0 to Wilton Y. It was a tough match match that saw three of the matches go the full three sets including the 1 spot where Wilton’s Andy Leggio and Paul Calzone defeated Gordon Hough and Jay Bennett 6-4 in the 3rd. Woodway CC, paced by their top team of Tom Richardson and Pat Mullin, took out Round Hill 4-0 and now sit atop Division 2. Currently, it appears to be a three team race between Tokeneke, Wilton Y and Woodway but things can change quickly in paddle as Tokeneke just found out.
Division 3
First place Rowayton played second place Burning Tree CC and frankly it was not at all close. While Rowayton lost their first point at the one spot to Burning Tree’s pro, Jack Waite, the other 3 matches all went Rowayton’s way in straight-forward fashion. Rowayton has taken a strong hold of first place in Division 3 with a 4 point lead. Right now, the more interesting race looks to be that for 2nd place and the other promotion spot. Wilton Y 3.2 currently holds that spot after defeating Wee Burn 3.1 by a score of 3-1 to pass Wee Burn 3.1 and Burning Tree.
Division 4
Division 4 is always a tricky, unpredictable division. With Sunday matches, it has the biggest overlap of players from Saturday’s Division 1-3 and thus, can make for highly competitive play depending on who shows up. This year is no exception. This past week, Tokeneke took out first place Stamford Yacht Club 4-0 in a match that featured 3-setters at the 2, 3 and 4 lines. Meanwhile, Tokeneke’s 1 team of Wright Ferguson and Dan Murphy, both of whom have seen action for Tokeneke’s D2 team, took a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Stamford Yacht’s 1 team of James Calcagnini and Brian Ramsey, who also have seen regular action for SYC’s D2 club. Patterson Club defeated Milbrook 3-1 while Middlesex could only manage a 2-2 tie with Rowayton. The end result after the weekend is a 4 way tie for first between Middlesex, Patterson, Stamford Yacht and Tokeneke with Milbrook and Roxbury lurking only 2 points behind. This division looks like it will be a free-for-all to the very end.
Featured Match of the Week
Middlesex vs Roxbury. Middlesex will be looking to rebound from its disappointing tie with Rowayton last week and stay atop the division. Roxbury, on the other hand, is coming off a 4-0 victory and will be hoping to keep the momentum going and get into the chase for first place. The match will probably come down to which team is able to bring its frozen players out and with each club’s top teams having byes this week, there should be no excuses for not fielding their strongest teams.
Division 5
Can anyone stop the express train that is Aspetuck Valley CC? This week, Aspetuck swept New Canaan FC, although the 4 team of Bob Kempenich and Dave Semple were stretched to a third set by New Canaan’s Hunter Smith and Jack Horner. Nonetheless, Aspetuck runs their record to 16-0 and is now the only undefeated team in the FCPTL. Darien Town swept Wee Burn in a match that many expected to be a bit closer. However, Darien needed the sweep in order to stay within 2 points of Aspetuck.
Featured Match of the Week
Darien Town vs New Canaan Town. 2nd place squares off versus 3rd place. Darien will need a victory if they want to stay within shouting distance of Aspetuck and a chance at the division title. A New Canaan needs a victory if they are to have any chance of passing Darien for 2nd place and the other promotion spot.
Division 6
Like Division 4, Division 6 is shaping up to be a barn-burner of a race. Last Sunday, 5 of the 6 matches ended in a 2-2 tie. Only Lake Club 6.1 was able to eke out a 3-1 victory over Rowayton, yet required 2 set wins to do so. Consequently division race is tightly bunched at the moment with Darien CC, Lake 6.1 and Weston FC tied at the top with 11 points, Stamford Yacht only a point back and Wilton Y only 2 points back. Still as was seen in last week’s matches, on any given Sunday, any D6 team can compete with any other D6 team.
Featured Match of the Week
Lake Club 6.1 vs Stamford Yacht. Lake is one of the 3 teams tied for first, while Stamford trails the leaders by a single point. A loss for either team could derail their hopes for promotion. Lake will have a slight advantage by being the host team, but no one should try to predict a D6 match at this point in the season.
Division 7
Maybe it’s the coffee. Maybe it’s the danishes. Maybe it’s the coaching. Whatever it is, Aspetuck Valley continues to roll on Sundays in the FCPTL. Aspetuck’s D7 team won with a 4-0 sweep over New Canaan Field Club and like its brethren D5 team, sits atop the division standings, albeit with a single loss. In the featured match of the week, Wee Burn defeated Patterson 3-1 paced by Wee Burn’s team of Woods/Woedkoof who took a 3-set victory at the 3 spot.
Featured Match of the Week
Aspetuck Valley vs Roxbury. Roxbury will travel to derail Aspetuck’s current momentum, although being the visitors will make the challenge that much harder. However, Roxbury comes off a solid 3-1 victory over Tokeneke and knows that a win this Sunday will give a clear shot at promotion to Division 6.
