For the second time in two years, Way-1 earns the top spot on the final week before the holiday break. Captain Tom, pulled out an old line up from years ago and his squad responded by winning 11 out of the 12 sets.
P-Cricket, due to injuries and illness, was no match for the Way-1team which has seemed to catch fire and has pulled off their sixth consecutive victory and has not yielded a single point since their unceremonious loss to Picket Post. P-Cricket will be amongst the bottom six after the break, and will be fighting for their D-1 lives amongst the likes of Picket Post and H-Valley. After the break, Way takes on Aronimink which is always a competitive match. Aronimink is looking for some revenge after losing twice to Way last season.
In a we bit of an upset, Martins-2 won in a tie-breaker of games over Aronimink. The finals scores have not been posted so no details are available. MD-2 has now won 4 of their last 5 matches and holds a 3 point leave over Merion for the final spot in the Top 6. Aronimink along with Waynesborough are the only two clubs that have secured their top 6 spot with two weeks to go which is a testament to the parity in the league this season.
Wallingford gets back on the winning track (but barely) with their tie-breaker win over Picket Post after dropping their last two matches. Wallingford just needs a single point over the last two weeks to secure their top six spot. Picket- Post picks up an always crucial point by winning courts 2 & 3 as they now are tied with P-Cricket for the 10th spot and only a half a point away from the 9th spot.
MD-1 sweeps Merion as Merion was caught short handed this week. Falatek has turned his season around. After he dropped his first four matches, he has stormed back to win the last 5 against real quality components. MD-1 only needs half a point over the next two weeks to secure their top six spot and Merion would need to win both of their last two matches and would also need some help to pass the teams ahead of them and get out of the 7th spot.
Overbrook, the comeback team of the season to date pulls of a sweep of H-Valley. H-Valley had their chances as they took the first set on both courts 1 and 4 but could not pull out the second or third sets in either match. Eger seems to be the difference this year for Overbrook, as he has racked up a 7-2 record on courts 1 & 2.
H-Valley is going to have to figure out something over the remaining 7 weeks of play, although they play Picket Post immediately after the break for the best of the bottom and attempt to earn some well needed points.
What more can we say about Greenville that has not been written in the column. With Zink, they are the masters of the universe, without him, they are at best a middle of the road D2 team. Well this week, the almighty showed up and Greenville defeated a now very despondent P-Country squad. Tried as they might the Gonzalez/Hill duo on court 2 split sets with the nationally renowned Zink/Donoho squad but could not pull out the third set.
Papa Nowlan, whose record now stands at 3 and 6 has purchased a hyperbaric chamber for his son Patrick as it was only a few years ago that he was undefeated for an entire season. This week’s loss for P-Country takes them out of any shot of making the Top-6 for this season and although Greenville has won their last three matches, their slow start will preclude them as well for any shot in the Top 6.
With two weeks to go before the split, there are still plenty of exciting races for the top of the league, the bottom of the league and the final Top 6 spot is still up for grabs for Merion.
See you in the a few weeks, it is the last call
Happy Holidays, Happy New Year and Good Health to us all.
D-1 Standings after 9 weeks
1 Waynesborough* 16.0
2 Aronimink* 15.0
3 Wallingford 14.0
4 MD-1 13.5
5 Overbrook 13.0
6 MD-2 13.0
7 Merion 10.0
8 Greenville 8.0
9 P-Country 7.5
10 P-Cricket 7.0
11 Picket Post 6.0
12 H-Valley 5.0
* – Clinched Top 6 Spot
In D-2 News
Still looks like 4 legitimate teams have a shot for one of two spots to move up next season.
1. Kennett – 17 Points – Has win over Whitford and Conestoga
2. Vic Mead – 16 Points – Have won 7 in a row including win over Kennett
3. Whitford – 15 Points
4. Conestoga – 15 Points – Has win over Vic Mead
