Cross
Border Challenge - April 12
A record 28
matches for the 15th Cross Border Challenge was an excellent way to welcome in
the summer months as we approach the end of the season... and wait for the snow
due on Tuesday! I mean, why not have at least one more snow fall to remind us
what a wonderfully frigid winter we’ve had and not to get too comfortable.
Mother Nature is mean old b...
A number of
firsts were attached to this record breaking day as well: 1. We emptied the
keg. Surprising as that may sound since we empty a lot of kegs, this is actually the
first keg we’ve destroyed at a Cross Border. It’s what happens with 60 plus
people I guess. 2. We won all 4 doubles matches. Either we are getting better,
or they are getting worse. Either way, going 4 for 4 is miraculous. 3. Mike Counsman didn’t have one beer all day.
Haha haha! Sorry, couldn’t write that with straight face! 4. Team uniforms were
ordered - sort of. You can see from the photo what a few of the DAC players
donned for the day. Brave? Yep. Could be a good tradition to start... let’s get
patriotic!
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| Need I say more? |
It appeared
nothing could stop the Canadians on this particular day. Not even the American
Border Police as they stopped, searched, probed, scrutinized, poked, jabbed,
and explored all cavities, creases, and compartments of their... belongings.
Who knows what they were looking for but eventually they allowed them to
continue on to the DAC with their balls and racquets in tact to take out the
embarrassing episode on our players.
The
inflicting pain started immediately. Niko
Ahee and John Mann both couldn’t get anything
going, struggling to keep up with the pace and length of their opponents, and
they rolled over 3-0. Dave Devine went a little better and
admitted he performed well but his opponent - Ty Stacyszyn - simply outplayed him and he went down 3-1. Our
lone victor in the first round of singles matches came at the hands of Mike LoVasco who did it tough to scrape
through in 5 sets over Adam
Pole.
The second
round of singles matches were not something the DAC wants to remember. If goose
eggs were a currency, we’d be able to afford a new court center after Saturday.
Made of gold. All four of our lads came off the court chewing on sour donuts,
big fat zeros splattered the DAC score line. The Canuck tsunami was hitting us
hard.
A better
spread of results followed however as we tried to climb out of the wet,
slippery crater we had found ourselves in. Matt DiDio
and Dane Fossee returned the 3-0 favor making
quick work of their opponents and at that juncture, we were still within reach
of Windsor down 7 matches to 5. (Including the 2 doubles victories we had
chalked up). And we were very close to tying it up. Unfortunately, the next 2
results fell onto Windsor’s side - both tight 3-2 wins. One of our almost-wins
was Sante
Fratarcangeli, who I
of course have to mention based solely on outfit alone. If points were awarded
on appearance, we either should have won in a landslide or be disqualified
immediately depending on which side of the fashion sense you lie. It was so
wrong, it was right. Only Sante could pull it off.
We were now 9
matches to 6 down after our third doubles victory. Still in the hunt,
especially with 13 matches yet to play. Derek
Aguirre pulled
another one back with a comprehensive 3-0 drumming over an opponent he lost to
in 5 games at the Cross Border a year ago. It was gearing up to be an exciting
finish... and then... POP!
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| Craig Guthrie and Peter Logan. Two giants of the Michigan Squash world. |
The DAC
bubble burst. After we had picked up the fourth and final doubles match, it was
the last sweet taste of victory we would receive for the afternoon. Windsor
decided to assault us from every angle and the abuse didn’t let up. At least we
weren’t bageled in all the matches, so the chastising in many cases was slow as
well. Dino
DeMare almost begged
for the defibrillator after his 3-2 loss, lucky for him the keg still had some
beer left and that seemed to do the trick just as well (if not better). The
losses kept on piling up and it wasn’t long before retaining the Cross Border
title was out of our reach.
The final
match of the day had Peter
Logan play his long
time buddy Craig
Guthrie. It was a
great match to finish with; these two have a long history of going back and
forth. Peter especially likes playing Craig since he is one of the very few
opponents that is actually shorter than him that isn’t a junior!
Some fantastic rallies, great court coverage, delicate touch, both players used
all four corners well. Craig, however, ended up being the steadier in the 5th
game, his length slightly more consistent, and amidst the chant of ‘one more
game’, he walked off the 3-2 winner.
