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APL Inter-Club Tennis Team 2003 - B Division


You may check out the complete standings and results for the league at MCTA Tennis.

Individual APL match results:

5/18/03 APL at Edgemoor (Loss 1-4)

   Edgemoor 2             APL
#1 Jeff Fowle             Justin Figel           6-0, 6-4           W
#2 Richard McMichael      Pat Newell             6-2, 6-4           W
#3 Jon DuBrow             Ralph Brown            6-1, 7-5           W
#1 Jeff Fowle/            Ralph Brown/           6-1, 4-6, 6-0      W
   Richard McMichael      Justin Figel
#2 Jon DuBrow/            Mike Kane/             6-4, 5-7 (Retired) L
   Jay Winnik             Pat Newell
                                                 Edgemoor 2         4
                                                 APL                1

Commentary: The APL Inter-Club Team played their opening match of 2003 in a persistent drizzle. The amazing clay courts at the Edgemoor Club absorbed the rain and all of the matches were played. This was supposed to be our only home match but Edgemoor somehow found out the condition of our courts and suggested we play there. We need to tighten our security if we want home court advantage. Just wait until we get our new courts. Teams will be asking to play here!


6/1/03 APL at Potomac Valley (Win 5-2)

   Potomac Valley         APL
#1 Mike Farrell           Mike Kane              7-5, 6-1           W
#2 Kenny Stewart          Pat Newell             6-7(2), 3-6        L
#3 Tom Armstrong          Justin Figel           6-4, 6-3           W
#4 Sean Turner            Ralph Brown            1-6, 3-6           L
#1 Dayve Forman/          Tamra Payne/           1-6, 0-6           L
   Mark Nitsche           Mike Kane
#2 Jim Williford/         Ralph Brown/           3-6, 4-6           L
   Paul Thomas            Justin Figel
#3 George Coakley/        Gary Gerber/           0-6, 4-6           L
   Frank Creamer          Pat Newell
                                                 Potomac Valley     2
                                                 APL                5

Commentary: Last week rain, this week wind, next week gloom of night??? It hasn't exactly been tennis weather this spring but the APL team toughed it out at Poolesville High School (euphemistically known as Potomac Valley Tennis Club -- that sounds so posh). The average wind velocity was reported as 28 mph. Even with all of our PhD players, nobody ventured a guess at average wind direction. Nevertheless, we were able to win two singles and sweep the doubles.


6/8/03 APL at Norbeck (Win 3-2)

   Norbeck                APL
#1 Martin Hakim-Din       Mike Kane              3-6, 4-6           L
#2 Phil Blum              Justin Figel           6-4, 6-4           W
#3 Anne Geier             Tamra Payne            0-6, 4-6           L
#1 Mike Cohen/            Tamra Payne/           7-6, 7-5           W
   Matt Hopwood           Mike Kane
#2 Martin Hakim-Din/      Ralph Brown/           7-5, 4-6, 2-6      L
   Mark Gilroy            Gary Gerber
                                                 Norbeck            2
                                                 APL                3

Commentary: Despite torrential rains on Saturday, the APL team was able to play their match again -- amazingly, we haven't had a weather-related cancellation yet! Justin had strung racquets for both Mike and Tamra and when he handed them over we were able to intimidate the other team by claiming that we always restring our racquets before the Sunday matches to optimize them for the prevailing weather conditions.

The outcome came down to the final doubles match. Ralph and Gary came through for the team with a 3-set win, losing the first set 7-5 after squandering a 5-2 lead. Squandering leads was the trend of the day. Mike had been up 5-0 in his second set before winning 6-4, Tamra 4-0 before 6-4 and Mike/Tamra were up 4-0 in their doubles before losing 7-6. The captain has scheduled the team for paint-ball to hone their killer instinct (no ganging up on the captain, though).



6/22/03 APL at Quince Orchard (Loss 2-3)

   Quince Orchard         APL

#1 Tony Cornish           Chris Chiu             1-6, 1-6           L
#2 Bill Syzmzcak          Ralph Brown            6-4, 6-3           W
#3 Adam Grieder           Justin Figel           6-3, 6-4           W
#1 Brian McIntee/         Harry Chiu/            7-6, 6-2           W
   Dean Floria            Mike Kane
#2 Serge Sira/            Ralph Brown/           6-0, 4-6, 3-6      L
   Caryn Krasner          Justin Figel
                                                 Quince Orchard     3
                                                 APL                2

Commentary: The APL team dropped a close one 3-2 to a tough Quince Orchard unit. Another application of sun-screen wasted. There were more clouds, wind and rain but it seemed like nothing compared to the rest of this summer. The captain is trying to figure out the secret formula. We are 2-2 overall, 1-1 on clay, 1-1 on hard courts, 1-0 when there is only wind, 1-1 when there is only rain, 0-1 when there is wind and rain. After examining all of the empirical data the conclusion is obvious -- we are having a mediocre season. Our tour of northern Montgomery County continues next week with a match at Montgomery Village -- our first time there in several years.



6/29/03 APL at Montgomery Village (Win 4-1)

   Montgomery Village     APL
#1 Dave Krucoff           Mike Kane              4-6, 7-5, (4-10)   L
#2 Jerry McClellan        Justin Figel           4-6, 1-6           L
#3 Ray Pitts              Ralph Brown            0-6, 0-6           L
#1 Dave Krucoff/          Harry Chiu/            8-1                W
   Jerry McClellan        Mike Kane
#2                        Ralph Brown/           1-6, 0-6           L
                          Justin Figel
                                                 Montgomery Village 1
                                                 APL                4

Commentary: A singles sweep! It's been a while since that's happen. This was our first time at Montgomery Village for many years. The hard courts were very nice although they had a noticeable crown in the middle. On this first hot Sunday of the summer the swimming pool also looked inviting. I wonder if there is still time to add features to our new APL Tennis facility.

Mike won a tight one, Justin avenged a loss from a previous meeting and Ralph came up one game shy of a perfect sweep. Harry drove a long way to play so we insisted that the opponents field a strong #1 doubles team instead of grabbing a guy who was hitting off the backboard with his kids -- our mistake.



7/13/03 -- Bye



7/20/03 APL at BAE Systems (Wood Jr. HS)

   BAE Systems            APL
#1 Tom Greist             Chris Chiu             4-6 3-6            L
#2 John Hoffman           Tamra Payne            6-4 6-1            W
#3 Alfredo Cerritos       Mike Kane              6-2 6-2            W
#4 Dat Vu                 Ralph Brown            6-1 0-6 6-7        L
#1 John Thein/            Tamra Payne/           2-6 3-6            L
   Eric Palisoc           Mike Kane
#2 Bob Makuch/            Ralph Brown/           5-7 1-6            L
   Aye Thein              Gary Gerber
#3 Kerschenbaum/          Default (Medical)      6-0 6-0 Default    W
   Makuch
                                                 BAE Systems        3
                                                 APL                4

Commentary: At the end of the day everyone was smiling and not just because the team won. There were various reasons: Chris and Gary because they won, Tamra and Mike because they avenged their singles losses with a doubles win, and Ralph because he was allowed to stop playing. APL is now the frontrunner for fifth place at 4 wins, 2 losses.





7/27/03 APL at TennFest (Blake HS)

#1 Jamison Hughes         Fred Sommer            7-5 0-6 3-6        L
#2 Keith MacKinen         Tamra Payne            4-6 6-2 6-3        W
#3 Thayer Morrill         Mike Kane              6-4 4-6 1-6        L
#4 Brian Gilgeous         Ralph Brown            0-6 2-6            L
#1 Tiros Lee/             Tamra Payne/           3-6 4-6            L
   Keith MacKinen         Mike Kane
#2 Rick Bradley/          Rob Sevick/            1-6 1-3 Retired    L
   Ben Yee                Marc Kolodner
#3 Dave Mount/            Ralph Brown/           1-6 1-6            L
   Julian Boyce           Gary Gerber
                                                 TennFest           1
                                                 APL                6

Commentary: After preparing for the worst, expecting chain link fence nets and gale force winds at Blake High School, the team encountered new nets, calm skies and a gracious host team. You can't complain when the top three matches each go three sets. In the end our superior depth and an unfortunate ankle sprain to an opponent enabled us to finish our season a very respectable 5 wins and 2 losses. Fueled by a cooler of Gatorade provided by the TennFest team, the APL team staged a comeback in each match where they lost the first set. TennFest apologized for accidently purchasing the kid's-pack Gatorade flavors. No need to apologize! Next year we are switching to all Bubblegum and Watermelon flavors.



That wraps up another season. Next year we'll make our debut on the new courts, assuming we break ground at some point. I'm sure we'll all miss the old dirt patch.


Last Updated: August 26, 2003

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