For women’s paddle today was the first big tournament of the season. With 50 teams in the main draw, the number 1 seeds Kerith Flynn and Liz Jaffe almost did not sweat on their way to the semis and are looking very strong for Saturday play.
Another team that also made a statement in their first three matches was Lauren Mandell and hall of famer Gerri Viant, who only lost five game on their way to the semis. They will now face Flynn-Jaffe. As of the writing of this report the other semis was not yet known. In the bottom quarters were Connecticut residents and Cinthia Dardis and Amy Shay versus Cash-Manley.
In the round of 16s, Maria Manley and Lauren Cash produced the first upset of the tournament in their match against Suzanne Lemery and Marina Ohlmuller. The won 6-4, 5-7, 6-1 and will now go for a spot in the semis. In the other quarter finals match, Heather Prop and Lynne Schneebeck will play against #4 seeds Kerri Delmonico and Chelsea Nusslock.
With lots of teams playing with new partners in the beginning of the season it will be interesting to see if any of the new “marriages” ends up on top or the few “old” teams manages to win in Chi-town.
For complete details and updated scores you can follow the action at the Chicago Charities online-scoring site.
