The premier match up of the evening was between the undefeated H-Valley (15pts) and Aronimink (12) who had lost 3 out of their last 5 matches but can never be underestimated. Captain Rodney changed up his #1 and #2 lines for the first time this year which appeared to be an act of Genius as both H-Valley teams won their first two sets but dropped their 3rd set. Courts 3 & 4 could not have been any tighter either as both courts split sets but once again, Aronimink won the 3rd set in both of those matches and won the match by a total of 1 game (53-52). Truly the difference was in the 3rd set, where Aronimink won all 4 court’s third set which kept them in their competition. Drew Friel, never shy for a comment stated after the match, “These guys are soft! I have never seen a top flight team like H-Valley drop that many third sets in one match. We will take the “W” and look forward to playing them again after the split.”
Greenville (10pts) takes down the formerly undefeated Wallingford (13pts) in what is now their second huge upset of the season and place them in a tie for sixth place. Greenville has now won 4 of their last 5 matches with wins over both the current second and third place teams. The undefeated court 2 team of Dunkel and Shrager got Zinked this week and dropped all three sets to the undefeated team of Ben and Chris Donoho. Mashek and Peichel splits sets on court 3 with the Mark’s but the Mark’s won the third set 6-0. On Court 4, “The Gloved One” Dana Walker and Mike Fleming were also able to secure their first sets which allowed Greenville not only able to win the match but did not allow Wallingford to win a point for the evening. On Court 1, the Wallingford Mikes’ won the first set and were tied 4-4 in the second, when an injury to the Greenville side stopped the match but proved inconsequential as Greenville already secured a victory. Greenville for the year has only lost on courts 2 and 4 once each the whole season. Makes for a really interesting next week, as Wallingford takes on H-Valley, where one of the teams is going to have their second loss with the likes of Waynesborough and Aronimink hot on their trails.
Waynesborough (13pts) took on their “Battle of Sugartown” opponents Martins-1 (11pts) who went into the match tied for third place. Court 1 featured 3 players who individually have won over 20 PA States events, numerous national titles, is in the Platform Hall of Fame, former President of MAPTA and APTA, sponsored by Viking, ranked 10th in the country and Roger Korfmann. Captain Falatek teamed up with Korfmann to take on his partner Vlatko and Tim “Mr. Philly Paddle” McAvoy. Set 1 featured some great paddle as all were making their fair share of amazing shot making which Falatek and Korfmann took in a thrill packed tie-breaker. Unfortunately for Martins-1, that was the only set that they would win on all four courts for the evening and now places Waynesborough holding onto 3rd place. Captain Safford stated after the match, “We always enjoy traveling up Sugartown to take on Martins. Unfortunately for them, they were down a few guys, and when I can get Vlatko and McAvoy in the same match, I always like my chances.”
Vic Mead (1pt) picks up their first point of the season as they lost in a tie-breaker of sets to Kennett (7pts). This was a big win for Kennett as they now have opened up a 5 point gap with Merion in third to last place which most likely will determine who will be challenging for the Top of D2 next season. Kennett has now pointed in three consecutive weeks but has a tough schedule remaining before the split. Vic Mead is certainly not out of the running for staying in D1 for next season with some wins albeit upsets in the final 8 weeks of the season.
P-Cricket’s (10pts) win over Overbrook (7pts) may have won them the Golden Ticket into the Top 6 with three weeks remaining. Overbrook’s Hall and Tomson won all three sets over Ritesh and Tom Harris but it would be the only court that Overbrook would win for the evening. Overbrook was down both John Adams and Tom Burt and the loss on court 2 was Ovebrooks only second loss on court 2 this season. Overbrook has only lost once on court 1 the remainder of the season. This loss could have been the final dagger in their chances for a spot in the Top 6.
Unfortunately, the scores have not been posted for the Martins-2 vs. Merion match. Rumor has it that Martins took all 4 courts off of Merion which makes Martins the hottest team in D1 paddle with their fourth consecutive victory. They are still going to need some major help if they are going to secure a spot in the Top 6. They play Martins-1 in the annual “Feats of Strength” Competition before the holidays. Merion on the other hand now has a 5pt gap they need to make up on both Kennett and Overbrook to run with the Big Dogs next season. Still 8 weeks left of regular season to turn theirs around.
Standings after 8 Weeks (matches remaining before the split):
H-Valley – 15pts (Wall, Green, MD1)
Wallingford – 14pts (H-Valley, MD1 , Way)
Waynesborough – 13pts (Ken, Ovb, Wall)
Aronimink – 12pts (P-Cricket, MD2, VM)
Martins-1 – 11pts (MD2, Wall, H-Valley)
P-Cricket* – 10pts (Aron, Kenn, Merion)
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Greenville – 10pts (VM, H-Valley, MD2)
Martins-2 – 9pts (MD1, Aron, Green)
Overbrook – 7pts (Merion, Way, Kenn)
Kennett – 7pts (Way, P-Cricket, Ovb)
Merion – 2pts (Ovb, VM, P-Cricket)
Vic Mead – 0pts (Green, Merion, Aron)
(*) P-Cricket holds the tie-breaker for 6th place over Greenville
