Washington in Good Form

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.  The #1 pairs squared off next and Moroscak/Hufford got off to a sizzling start winning the first set 6/2, however the athlethicism of Matt Porter and consitancy of Jeremy Wintersteen proved to be too much in end as N.E. won in three sets.  Only one match away, N.E. seemed to have the momentum and the outlook appeared grim for the Washington team as they had to face the talented Pat Winthrop in the next match.  The #2 pair of Bill Barker and  John Motz got out of the gates slowly, mostly due to Winthrop’s blazing start.  However, Barker/Motz eventually found their groove (and Winthrop’s partner John Damon) and took over the match playing some spectacular tennis which visably frustrated Winthrop and eventually led to the N.E. pair’s demise.  Therefore, with the final tied at two matches all, it came down to the final match – the #3 pairs – Jim Zug/Brad Allen v. George Bell/Preston Quick.  The N.E. team proved early that nerves were not going to be a factor for  them as they didn’t seem to make any racquet errors, forcing Allen/Zug to hit winners in order to win a point.  It took them a while but Zug/Allen eventually did just that going up 40-Love at 4-4 and in great position to take the first set, but the retieval ability of squash phenom Quick and the guile of Bell overcame that deficit and the momentum that comeback generated propelled them to an easy next game and they took the first set 6-4.  Zug and Allen fought desperately to gain the upper hand in the second set, hoping to force a final third and ultimately deciding set, but in the end the N.E. team was just too consistent for our boys and for the second year in a row, New England is crowned the champion of the Whitney Cup.  Even though we did not win the cup this year, I think it is noteworthy that our team has now reached the final in back-to-back years.  This is quite notable as up until last year, Washington had never won a match against another club.  The Washington players have worked hard over many months to ensure that our club was represented with the character and effort that our members and the court tennis community could be proud of, and under Captain Moroscak’s guidance, I believe that goal was certainly achieved.  Let’s hope that next year, the third time is the charm!