The April tournament was a marathon. On both courts the women played a stunning SEVEN rounds with NO BYES. That's 42 games of tennis without stopping. In professional tennis, outside of the Grand Slams, the most the women play at a time is 36 games and 3 tiebreaks!! 4 of the women were actually scheduled for an eight round but by unanimous agreement, they called it a day.
On Shorebird, 4 women and 5 men were playing. The games were close: Kathy Miles and Carole Wong tied for 1st place, earning their wins by just 1 game over Barb Urrutia. Rick Urrutia won on the men's side with just 2 games more than his closest competitor.
On Quay, the competition was even fiercer. Karen Brodersen and Calona Paiko were the only 2 women playing and they were well matched. Despite the variety of partners, the women were tied after each 2 rounds. In the 7th and what was thought to be the deciding set, they tied 4-4! The tiebreak was just as close as the rounds but eventually Karen prevailed.
The men played magnificently, especially during the men’s doubles rounds. It was a treat to watch the power and angles that they displayed. At the end of the 6th round, Michael Garb had 25 games to Steve Hogan’s 24. They played as opponents in the 7th round and Steve aced the round and the tournament.
The Taste of India social was held at Sundar and Smita Venkateswaran’s home. Many thanks to them for hosting us! Delicious Indian dishes abounded and the air was redolent with curry. Sundar declared the tastes so authentic that he thought he was back in Delhi! We all indulged to our hearts’ content, feeling that we had earned it.
