Don't really have a lot to say. I didn't watch very many matches due to the fact that I brought my 8 year old daughter, Hannah, down to the event. It was the first time she has gone to the event with me and we had a great time.
Jake and Rosy took a 5th as they lost to Stein and Lambo in the winners semis and then lost to Dax and Jeff. I did see some of the Dax and Jeff match and Rosy made some sick plays and hits. Jeff and Dax were just really consistant throughout though.
Stein and Lambo seemed like they were playing really well until they met Ring/Olsen in the crossover semis. I know they had a close game against Williams and Jennings but they should have won that in two games. They had sideout opportunities to win but were unable to sideout. Took it in 3 though. They were even in control with Ring and Olsen but I saw Ring get a few stuffs at the end of the game. I don't know if they were on bad passes or bad sets or just great blocks, as I was watching with my daughter from a distance.
Ring and Olsen had another great tourney. Congrats to them. They are now solidly the fourth seed.
Dax and Jeff played another good tourney with a 3rd place finish but Dax put it well when he said that we (players) are not in shape anymore for 2 day tourneys. Especially if you drop into the losers bracket. They were pretty gassed against us but did have a good victory and entertaining game vs. Jake and Rosy.
Williams and Jennings had some tough losses to Stein and Lambo as well KK and Wong. I think both were 15-13 losses in the 3rd. KK and Casey go at it with one another. I don't mean verbally, I think they have great respect for one another, I mean in the digging dep't. They have the craziest rallies where they each get multiple digs per rally. They finished at 7th.
Fred and Anthony took a dissapointing 13th after losing to KK and Wong in the 2nd round. Good 3 game match though.
Sean and Matt took a 7th with a loss to Phil and I and then Dax and Jeff. They continue to progress and get better. I didn't see the loss to Dax and Jeff unfortunately. I would have liked to see that matchup. They continue to play together and Sean is digging more balls than I am from the AVP stats. They pushed us the most in this past tourney as we squeaked by with a 22-20 win in game two.
KK and Wong had another solid finish at 5th. Almost took down Ring and Olsen. Started slow but picked it up in the second. Lost in the third 15-12 I believe. Wong is playing with Dax this weekend as both Karch and Jeff are out. They are seeded 5th I think and should be a good blocker/digger team. Reunited from San Antonio of 1997.
Stat of the week is Nick Lucena's defense. I don't think I saw him all weekend long but according to the AVP he had something like 101 digs in 9 games. If that is not a typo, that is amazing. The guy is a cat on defense but that is taking it to another level! Over 11 digs per game is unheard of. Wish I had seen some of his games. Nice grovelling Nick.
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3 comments:
Todd,
Do you know why Karch isn't playing? His list of tournaments put out by the AVP in the beginning of the year included Louisville. Did he get hurt in Hermosa? I was looking forward to see if they could carry their momentum into a semis appearance?
Also do you believe there will be some major partner switches after this event if certain team finish lower than expected. (i.e. Nick/Will, Furb/Scott, Casey/Mark, etc.)? How difficult is it when trying to do a partner switch?
I live in Orlando, and plan on coming out to Tampa, like Phil I am a graduate of UCF:) Go Knights!!!
Good stuff Professor! You and Phil are getting to the point where you could be mentioned with some of the best teams of all time if you continue this run thru Beijing. I wonder how you guys would fair in a tournament with 3 of the best teams I have ever seen: Stoklos/ Smith; Karch/Kent; Hovland/Dodd? Stoklos could get into Phil's head as Hov could do too and throw him off his game. Phil might need some more seasoning as well but I think your combo of block and defense might pull you through on the present court dimension. On the old court I think Karch and Kent would wear everyone else out. Good fodder for conversation. Have a great week! Scott from Barnstable
KK isn't playing as he is 46 years old and played 7 games in deep sand. I don't think he is injured, just worked from Hermosa. Understandable considering. I don't think there will be any major shakeups right now. It is Friday and the teams that you named are doing well so far. See you in Tampa.
Always fun to compare different generations. Right now I would put all three of those teams as well as others ahead of us. Maybe in a year or two we could have that conversation and it would be fun.
Todd
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