Post by beavis on Sept 2, 2017 2:24:35 GMT -5
Actually chillier but much nicer watching today, mainly because the wind seemed down just a bit and the sun was out all day. Still chilly on the lakefront courts, but actually kind of warm in stadium court, and the wind is almost non-existent in there, so if you are lucky enough to play inside, it seems that you really have an advantage (unless you benefit from having the windy conditions, which some teams naturally do).
A bunch of really good matches and comebacks today. Here are some highlights from the ones I watched in person. Dykstra/Pardon take apart Shaw/Zhang pretty easily in two. Although Shaw is one of my big ten indoor faves, I have to admit that she is, even at 6'1", that tweener type player who will likely never break through. Just not an effective blocker - seems to be late a lot, and not very good at either making the hitter change her mind or in dropping off and popping balls up. Ratledge/Zaun v Losik/Wilson - Ratledge went on a blocking tear. Finally figured out who he reminds me of with the hair and bandana thing - he is the second coming of Pat Powers!!! is he at least in the top 5 of the best players who have never pulled the right partner and won a tournament? Everyone always says it is Troy Tanner, but when he gets on a roll, the guy is wayyyyy fun to watch.
Burik/Roberts v. Paulis/Samuels. This was a really fun match to watch. Sat next to Samuels' Mom, who was telling me a bit of his background and how he has moved out to Cali to take a shot - pretty cool. I went from really liking Burik and Bates when they made some progress and had a few decent runs years ago to hating him when he blew off Russ Marchewka in New Orleans and took a 3rd (instead of playing on Sunday). As a result, I was happy to see Paulis and Samuels spank them in 2. They are real scramblers, and after seeing Samuels skyball it a lot on Thursday, we now see that the guy has a heckuva jumper as well. Cook/Spieler v April/Lauren and then v Hingis/Allen. They were up 17-16 and 18-17 on April in game 1, and missed serves both times. Brutal after playing sooooooooooooo well. Still took them to 28-26, but then Cook got into another sideout funk in game 2 and they got hammered. Can you guys tell that the 5'5" Spieler is my new favorite player? If I can't watch the Lindquist sisters anymore, its nice to have her to root for instead! They shook off the loss and played really solidly against Allen/Hingis, so that is a really good win for them. Next up is Vucich/Phelps-Ponnet, so maybe a best-ever finish for them both?
Last match of the day was Clemens/Vaught v Marciniak/Rodriguez. Vaught is a very scrappy lefty, and young Clemens is from Indianapolis, so I had to give them a look. The kid went to Harvard!!! Anyway, they played really well, but Marciniak and Rodriguez were just that much better. Take a peek at Clemens pic on BVB - does he look like Scott Ayakatubby's love child or what? Actually met his parents - very nice, supportive people - are there any other kind of volleyball player parents out there?
Biggest disappointment - no food anywhere near the venue. Oak Street restaurant next door is closed, and finding a sandwich or a burger means leaving for 45 minutes to walk down Division or past the Drake quite a bit, so that really blows. Would it have been that hard to get a single food truck or a guy with a hot dog cart to hang out nearby? That is another reason why North Avenue has it all over Oak Street, in mu humble opinion.
Best part of the day? Everyone is gone and we are sitting in the stadium chatting, and watching Mike Dodd play 3 on 4 with some other folks and a 10 year old kid (who could really play) - just did my old heart good to watch him out on a court again. I wish a "seniors" game could be a part of every tourney, or at least the ones in Cali where most of them live anyway?
Go Karissa and Katie!!!
A bunch of really good matches and comebacks today. Here are some highlights from the ones I watched in person. Dykstra/Pardon take apart Shaw/Zhang pretty easily in two. Although Shaw is one of my big ten indoor faves, I have to admit that she is, even at 6'1", that tweener type player who will likely never break through. Just not an effective blocker - seems to be late a lot, and not very good at either making the hitter change her mind or in dropping off and popping balls up. Ratledge/Zaun v Losik/Wilson - Ratledge went on a blocking tear. Finally figured out who he reminds me of with the hair and bandana thing - he is the second coming of Pat Powers!!! is he at least in the top 5 of the best players who have never pulled the right partner and won a tournament? Everyone always says it is Troy Tanner, but when he gets on a roll, the guy is wayyyyy fun to watch.
Burik/Roberts v. Paulis/Samuels. This was a really fun match to watch. Sat next to Samuels' Mom, who was telling me a bit of his background and how he has moved out to Cali to take a shot - pretty cool. I went from really liking Burik and Bates when they made some progress and had a few decent runs years ago to hating him when he blew off Russ Marchewka in New Orleans and took a 3rd (instead of playing on Sunday). As a result, I was happy to see Paulis and Samuels spank them in 2. They are real scramblers, and after seeing Samuels skyball it a lot on Thursday, we now see that the guy has a heckuva jumper as well. Cook/Spieler v April/Lauren and then v Hingis/Allen. They were up 17-16 and 18-17 on April in game 1, and missed serves both times. Brutal after playing sooooooooooooo well. Still took them to 28-26, but then Cook got into another sideout funk in game 2 and they got hammered. Can you guys tell that the 5'5" Spieler is my new favorite player? If I can't watch the Lindquist sisters anymore, its nice to have her to root for instead! They shook off the loss and played really solidly against Allen/Hingis, so that is a really good win for them. Next up is Vucich/Phelps-Ponnet, so maybe a best-ever finish for them both?
Last match of the day was Clemens/Vaught v Marciniak/Rodriguez. Vaught is a very scrappy lefty, and young Clemens is from Indianapolis, so I had to give them a look. The kid went to Harvard!!! Anyway, they played really well, but Marciniak and Rodriguez were just that much better. Take a peek at Clemens pic on BVB - does he look like Scott Ayakatubby's love child or what? Actually met his parents - very nice, supportive people - are there any other kind of volleyball player parents out there?
Biggest disappointment - no food anywhere near the venue. Oak Street restaurant next door is closed, and finding a sandwich or a burger means leaving for 45 minutes to walk down Division or past the Drake quite a bit, so that really blows. Would it have been that hard to get a single food truck or a guy with a hot dog cart to hang out nearby? That is another reason why North Avenue has it all over Oak Street, in mu humble opinion.
Best part of the day? Everyone is gone and we are sitting in the stadium chatting, and watching Mike Dodd play 3 on 4 with some other folks and a 10 year old kid (who could really play) - just did my old heart good to watch him out on a court again. I wish a "seniors" game could be a part of every tourney, or at least the ones in Cali where most of them live anyway?
Go Karissa and Katie!!!
