MAPTA_Ben_FranklinWallingford headed up 252 to battle against Waynesborough feeling good despite the fact that they were down three sets to zero as they had to forfeit court 4. On court 1, the undefeated Mike’s took on the #9th ranked player in the World Vlatko and former 18 and under champion Scotty Safford in great match. The Mike’s came out strong and took the first set and the second set was back and forth with Scotty and V pulling out the tie-breaker. Scotty and V went on to win the third set and take down the mikes and give them their first loss of the season.

The matches on court 2 and three were just as thrilling as Dunkel and Shrager took down Sopko and Beers in a 2 hour forty minute battle with the Wallingford duo winning the third set tiebreaker after being down 4 match points in the third set. Wallingford also won a tight three setter on court 3 which secured the point but because of the loss of three sets on court 1, Waynesborough took the match by a scores of 7 sets to 5. Waynesborough and Wallingford both stand tied for second with 17 points and look to be two of the favorites to claim one of the top 4 spots for the play-offs. Captain Tom stated, “While defeating Wallingford is always a good win, this was a wake up call that we cannot take anyting for granted. The only team that had earned a victory today was two subs playing on court 1!”

Huntingdon Valley clashed with Martins-1 and the win in also 7 sets to 5 fashion places them a top of the division in first place with 18 points with a week to go before the split. Court 2 appeared to be the difference as Rodney and Fred Woll teamed up to take all three sets from Beirne and Nofer. Trip and Seese won the first two over Tim Brooke and Scott Falatek (the 9th ranked player in the world’s partner) in what some would call a mild upset. No one would have predicted the overnight sensation that H-Valley’s D1 team has became this season. Fans have been filling the huts at both home and away matches to catch a glimpse of what this team got. Captain Rodney speaking quite candidly after the match, “I am not sure why everyone is surprised? I have been trying to tell everyone that this team has the firepower to go the distance this year and nothing short of championship is in our sights!!”

P-Cricket is now officially knocking on the Top 6 door with their victory over Merion in a tie breaker of 7 sets to 5. They also welcomed back Big Bruce on court two in which his court proved to be the difference as he and Ryan McDonald won all three sets over Jonathon Moyer and Dan Gallagher. Unfortunately for P-Cricket, they are going to need some help from an opposing team if they are to claim their ticket to the big show for the final 5 weeks of the season. For Merion, every point counts as this was their first point since November 7th when they won a huge upset over Aronimink. They now trail Kennett by 5 points as they look to get out of second to last place with six weeks to play.

Aronimink rounds out the Top 4 as they swept all four courts from Vic Mead with some interesting pairings as they try to find their best line up going into the final 6 weeks of play. Vic Mead is going to need a small miracle if they are going to make their way up the ladder as they trail the third to last place team by 7 points.

Greenville traveled down to Martins-2 and took all of the courts that were completed, with now only 1 point away from guaranteeing a spot in the Top 6. Unfortunately for Martins, not only did they lose the match but apparently a back screen is now holding on by a thread as the Court 1 match after split sets decided to complete their court at a later date.

Overbrook not only won courts 1 & 2 but also won court 4 and secured 2 points over Kennett this week. Unfortunately for them, they are mathematically eliminated from a chance at a Top 6 spot this year. Kennett has a huge bulls eye on them now as they are the third last place team or as some say least best team in the league. If they can hang on 6 more weeks, they get another dance next season with the best in Philly.

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