Temple Grassi, “the Amabassador”, presided over an on-court ceremony last week in which new Prince’s Court member Hakan Lonaeus was crowned the Court Tennis Champion of Sweden. However upon hearing that this event occured, Radley Head Professional (and father of our beloved Ivan), Chris Ronaldson, has placed an objection via the Real Tennis Online Open Forum, stating that he believes he has a Swedish member there that could handily dispatch Hakan. The challenge has been issued, the trash talking has begun…click here to follow the developments.
Washington battled New England for a second straight year in the Whitney Cup Final on Sunday. Haven Pell and Robin Martin got the team off to a promising start with a dramatic 6-5 third set victory over the talented N.E. team of Jonathan Pardee and Alex Walsh. However, N.E.’s Herlihy and Horine countered with a rollercoaster 6/1 2/6 6/1 win over Carey/K. Motz to level the contest at one match all. Read the rest of this entry »
The H.D.S. Boenning Award for Sportsmanship was given to Rich Moroscak at the USCTA Annual Dinner in New York this past weekend. It was the first time a Washington player has won the award. Well done , Rich!
Washington defeated Philadelphia today 4 matches to 1 and earned a spot in Sunday’s Final.
It came down to the final match of the day to determine who our opponent would be. New England had to win their Senior’s match against New York in straight sets to advance and they did 6-5, 6-3! So it is deja vu all over again and a rematch of last year’s final.
9:30AM Haven Pell/Robin Martin v. Jonathan Pardee/Alex Walsh on the East Coast
10:00AM #4 pairs Kris Motz/Ryan Carey v. Shawn Herlihy/Jeff Horine on the West Court
11:00 AM #1 pairs Rich Moroscak/Steve Hufford v. Matt Porter/Jeremy Wintersteen on the East Court (start time follows prior match)
12:30PM #2 pairs John Motz/Bill Barker v. Pat Winthrop/John Damon on the East Court (start time follows prior match)
2:00PM # 3 pairs Brad Allen/Jim Zug v. George Bell/Preston Quick on East Court (start time follows prior match)
The 2009 Whitney Cup gets underway this weekend in New York City. The Whitney Cup is an interclub doubles comptetion where the 10 best players from each club play against one another. Last year, Washington almost turned the court tennis world on its head by reaching the final and came within one point of winning the whole thing (mind you Washington had never beaten a team in this competition previously). The Whitney Cup coincides with the United States Court Tennis Association Annual Dinner and Auction and it is strongly encouraged that we have as many members of Prince’s Court attend as possible. It’s a wonderful evening and why not make a weekend out of it by watching some spectacular tennis whilst cheering on your Prince’s Court brethren to victory!
The Prince’s Court Whitney Cup Team
1. Rich Moroscak and Steve Hufford
2. Bill Barker and John Motz
3. Brad Allen and Jim Zug
4. Ryan Carey and Kris Motz
5. Senior – Haven Pell and Robin Martin
Washington’s first match is against Tuxedo from 11AM-4PM on Friday
The second match is against Philadelphia from 1Pm-6PM on Saturday
Camden Riviere took on Steve Virgona in the finals of the National Open at Prince’s Court. Riviere got off to a quick start, taking the first set 6-2, while Virgona struggled to find his usual consistency. But, as they say, “ask and you shall receive.” Virgona found his usual skill in the second set, and the points and games got longer as both players returned seemingly impossible balls.
Ultimately, the war was won in the air. Camden’s aim for the openings was near perfect, while Virgona’s forces sometimes clipped the sides of the dedans and grille. The difference was enough. The second set was a hard-fought 6-4 to Riviere, with many games going to deuce. But Virgona flagged in the third set, and the match went to Riviere, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2.
This win followed Riviere’s defeat to Virgona in the British Open last month. The match was available via online streaming on Prince’s Court’s website, and comments on the magnificent quality of play came in from New York, England, and Saudi Arabia.
In addition to our already unprecedented and almost Emmy winning live, written coverage of this year’s final, we are attempting to top ourselves once more and believe that it will be possible to webcast the final live! The match starts at 11AM local time, so if you can’t make it to the club to watch the match in person, Click the play button on the window below or simply go to www.justin.tv/princescourt
December 6, 2009 at 03:28 · Filed under Uncategorized
Temple shows the crowd how to "tie one on"!
The Final is set. Mr. Camden Riviere will try to avenge last year’s loss to defending champion Steve Virgona. If they even come close to last year’s epic five set thriller , the expected crowd of over 100 will certainly be in for a treat. We saw some impressive play on Day 2 with Oooos and Ahhhs coming from not only the spectators, but also the onlooking Pros. The Day started out a bit dodgy as ”Whiplash” Smith was forced to withdraw in the second set against Virgona. However, the Bainton Whitehouse match was an excellent blend of determination and talent. The Fowler Gooding match showed the crowd why Mike is boss and Cam smoothly got past Hollins. The semis were a lot of fun to watch with unbelievable shot after unbelieveable shot but despite a small hiccup in the second set against Gooding, it was smooth sailing for the world’s #2 and #3 players.
In what surely was a rigged event by the tournament director, Ryan Carey and Josh Bainton won the Pro-Am against Andrew Fowler and Kris Motz.
Temple and I blogged for almost 12 hours today and hopefully those of you who were not here, enjoyed it. Remember, you can follow the matches live by signing into RTO and clicking here.
