Another Fast Start for the Midd-Hit-Men

Middlebury, Vt.

Well, another league season of tennis is underway for the Midd-Hit-Men
of Middlebury Vermont. The opening match went exactly the way it has
every year since the team was established. For the 7th straight year
the Hit-Men have sent the rest of the league a message on opening day:
sorry guys, we not only stayed together as a team, but we improved--
again! If the rest of the league hoped that somehow the Hit-Men would
weaken and they might have a better shot at qualifying to go to
districts (the playoffs), they are again disappointed. This year the
Middlebury men will play matches against Stowe, South Burlington and
two separate teams from Essex Junction.

For the Hit Men it is very different. They know that they are the team
for all others to set their sights on if they plan to be the best in
Vermont. After all, Hit-Men history is impeccable.

The match was played at Middlebury Indoor Tennis, where all of their
home matches are played. The first competitors to take the court were
all of the doubles players. Watching three matches of doubles is
somewhat like watching a three ring circus. Twelve players are
serving, volleying, scrambling, and reacting. There are great points
being played on all three courts, and in order to catch as many of
them as possible, you tune in on the court that is the most
entertaining and immediately look at another court when each point
ends. This gives you better odds of seeing some of the shot sequences
that highlight the character of the match as well as the talent and
grit of the athletes. You scan back and forth, hoping not to miss any
of the great points that send the other viewers into a frenzy of
applause. You are always ready to shift your gaze to another court if
you hear reactions from other spectators, but you know if they have
reacted, you have already missed it! Observer's emotions quickly
switch from awe and appreciation to sympathetic disappointment because
we all know how it feels to make the unmakeable mistake. You hope it
is your team mate that eventually wins the point, but you respect the
other player and applaud him if he has earned a hard fought point.

At first doubles was the reunion of Chris Murray and Curt Gross, who
haven't played a league match together in three years. The Hit-Men
landed an uppercut as soon as the opening bell sounded, as Chris
blitzed them with serves that looked like little pellets as they
ricochet off the opponent's rackets. The hold at Love set the tone and
it was 4-0 before the pair from Stowe won a game. The Hit Men had no
trouble closing out the first set by a convincing 6-1 count. The
second set was more of the same. They continued to out serve, out
volley, out hit, out hustle and out think their opponents as they
cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 win. Patrick McEnroe would refer to it as a
comprehensive beating.

Lee Randlett and rookie Eric Rice squared off on center court at
second doubles. The first set went just about as planned, as they won
it going away, 6-2. The second set was a different story, though, as
the pair from Middlebury could not dominate as they had earlier. It
was touch and go for a while, but the Hit-Men put it together and won
the match by securing the second set 6-4. Eric brings youth and a
unique combination of talents to the table, or in this case court. He
mixes raw foot speed with power strokes and topspin. If he is closing
on the net and you can see his face, you're in a bad spot. Be prepared
for an aggressive volley that just might be heading your way.

A last minute substitution was made in the Midd-Hit-Men lineup at
third doubles. David McCluskey had to follow orders of the emergency
room doctor and stay off his badly swollen leg. Since Tim Wilcox was
coming to watch the match, he had already been put on notice to be
prepared to play just in case. You never know. He and his partner Jim
Inglis spent most of the first set getting used to each other and
trying to get into a rhythm. After losing that set 6-4, they took over
the match with a sound, 6-1 second set victory. The third set tie
break was tied at 8 when the Hit-Men seized the moment by winning the
next two points to take the match. This guaranteed the team win, as
the Hit-Men had already won the three matches necessary for the team
to win. Tim filled in admirably, as he is just getting back on the
court after a long layoff. Tim and Jim demonstrated the mental
toughness it takes to win a third set tiebreaker when nerves come into
play.

The pressure of the team win was off when Roger Kimberly took on his
opponent and well known foe Mark Draper. Roger found himself trying to
dig himself out of a hole right from the start. After making a push to
get from down 4-1 to 4-3 he just couldn't sustain the momentum. Set
one goes to Mark 6-3. A short while later, Roger again found himself
staring down the barrel of a 4-1 deficit. He continued to battle and
was on serve late in the set. While serving to stay in the match at
4-5, he made critical mistakes that he wished he could have taken
back. Throughout the match he was frustrated by his ability to earn
the opportunity to win the point only to make a simple mistake and
lose it. He knew that if he had cut down on the errors he could have
put himself in position for a win. It was a gallant effort by Roger,
whose recent decision to improve his fitness level will surely pay
off.

Caleb Kenna, at second singles, played an excellent match. He
completely dominated his worthy opponent and served up a 6-0 first set
bagel.  The second set was almost as easy, as Caleb recorded the match
win by taking the set 6-2. There were a lot of great points in this
one. Their backhands were similar and they had several points where
backhand slices dominated. It always seemed that Caleb had the answer
with one more great shot than his opponent. The Stowe-man (get it,
snowman, Stowe-man--) played solid tennis, but on this day "Slice K"
(formerly "superslice") could do no wrong. Although Stowe-man had a
nice slice on the backhand, we have seen no one with the damaging
slice that Caleb puts on the ball.

Midd-Hit-Men 4; Hot Shots from Stowe-1.

Look out! The Midd-Hit-Men are back on the court and they are out to
see just how far they can go toward making it to the "Nationals". They
play their second match on Sunday April 27th against "Golden Oaks" who
are based in Twin Oaks of South Burlington. The Hit-Men have a
lifetime 6-2 record against them. Look for future write ups about this
dynamic team, as they compete for another exhilarating season as only
the Hit-Men can.