MIT's Rolling Thunder Series, November 7--23, 2003
Middlebury Indoor Tennis Rolling Thunder Series
November 7-23, 2003
The "Rolling Thunder" tournament series finished the third set of
rounds on Sunday November 23 with the advanced competition.
Previous weeks saw intermediate and advanced intermediate players.
Finalists in earlier draws of the Rolling Thunder Series may "roll in"
the next level without an additional tournament fee.
Rolling Thunder matches are held at Middlebury Indoor Tennis under the
supervision of MIT Pro Franz Collas.
Of particular interest to Middlebury tennis fans was the strong
performance of local teams in competition with top players from the
Burlington area. Collas and doubles partner Mike Wilkinson (Shelburne,
and assistant MIT Pro) won the Men's Doubles final against
Twin Oaks Pro Curt Johnson (Essex Junction) and Eric Franz (Westford),
6-4, 6-3. In the Men's Doubles semi-final Bill DiLillo (Middlebury)
and Jim Foley (New Haven) threatened Johnson and Franz, but in the
end lost the close match, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Other final round results are as follows. In Men's Singles
Curt Johnson defeated Eric Franz, 7-6, 6-3; Rachel Teachout (Cornwall) defeated
Sharleen Orellana (Middlebury) 6-3, 6-0 in Women's Singles;
Teachout and Sarah Peluso (Cornwall) defeated Gail Earley-Renaud (Swanton)
and Kristin Hartley (Charlotte) 7-5, 6-4 in Women's Doubles.
Results from early rounds include the following.
In Men's Singles, Franz over Carl Boss (Bristol) 6-1, 7-6;
Johnson over David Walters (East Middlebury) 6-4, 6-3;
Walters over Matt Day (Shelburne) 6-0, 6-0.
From Men's Doubles, Collas and Wilkinson over Carl Boss and
Phil Gridley (both Bristol) 6-1, 6-3;
Boss and Gridley over Mark and Nathan Slattery (Moriah, NY)
3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
In Women's Singles, Teachout over C.J. Sloane (Wallingford) 6-1, 6-0;
Orellana over Sarah Peluso (Cornwall) 6-3, 4-6, 1-0(tie break).
From Women's Doubles, Teachout and Peluso over Sloane and Deb Schneider (Shelburne)
7-5, 6-0; Earley-Renaud and Hartley over teen-agers
Lauren Sopher (Shelburne) and Danika Robison (South Burlington) 6-2, 6-2;
Sopher and Robison over Carol Bouyea and Kathi Roesler (both Shelburne)
4-6, 6-2, 6-2.
The "Rolling Thunder" series finished the second set of
rounds on Sunday November 16 with the advanced intermediate
competition.
Carl Boss of Bristol won the Men's Singles title 6-4, 6-0, over
Kishore Khandavalli of Burlington, and C.J. Sloane of Rutland defeated
Nancy Ryan of Williston, 7-5, 6-2 for the Women's Singles title. In
doubles Carl Boss and partner Amy Sheldon (entering the men's draw by
special arrangement) beat Khandavalli and Adam Crowley (Burlington)
6-3, 6-4. Teen-age girls Lauren Sopher (Shelburne) and Danika Robison
(S. Burlington) surprised the seasoned team of C.J. Sloane and
Alexandra Gonzales (Rutland) 7-6, 6-4.
Scores from the 29 early-round matches include the following.
First for Men's Singles:
Chris Westphalen over David McCluskey 6-4, 7-6;
Jon Lange over Dan Osman, 6-0, 6-4;
Chris Murray over Matt Day, 6-2, 6-1;
David Ignat over Nick McGray, 6-2, 6-1;
Crowley over Chris Dayton, 6-0, 6-1;
Khandavalli over Ignat 6-1, 6-1;
Murray over Lange 6-2, 6-2;
Boss over Murray 6-1, 6-1.
(Crowley retired from a semifinal match with Khandavalli.)
From Women's Singles:
Karen Didricksen over Sharon Gross 6-1, 4-6, 1-0 (tie break);
Ryan over Phyllis Severance 6-1, 3-6, 6-4;
Amanda Deluck over Amber Schneider 6-2, 7-5;
Sloane over Frances Foster 6-1, 7-6;
Ryan over Deluck 6-0, 6-3;
Sloane over Didricksen 6-4, 6-0.
From Women's Doubles:
Tammy Kennedy and Diane Orton over Amber and Deb Schneider 6-4, 7-6;
Sloane-Gonzales over Patty Whittemore and Anne Cohn 6-1, 6-2;
Sopher and Robison over Ryan and Margie Burger 6-0, 6-1;
Severance and Deluck over Sharon Gazley and Jeanne Keller 6-2, 6-4;
Sloane and Gonzales over Kennedy and Orton 5-7, 6-1, 1-0;
and finally
Sopher and Robison over Severance and Deluck 6-4, 6-2.
From Men's Doubles:
McCluskey and Dayton over Jim Samler and Wilson MacIntire 6-4, 7-6;
Peter Carothers and Bruce Lustgarten over Ignat and Lee Randlett 6-3, 7-6;
Crowley and Khandavalli over Barry Isaacs and Tony Spiridakis 6-2, 7-5;
Boss and Sheldon over McCluskey and Dayton 6-2, 6-0;
Crowley and Kandavalli over Carothers and Lustgarten 6-1, 6-0.
The recently-completed tournaments for the intermediate skill level
featured players aged 13 to 65 from Rutland, Brandon and Burlington,
as well as the Middlebury area. Results from the Finals on Sunday
November 9 are as follows. In women's singles Sharon Gross
(Middlebury) defeated Sharon Gazely (Burlington) 6-2, 6-2, while in
women's doubles Ann Bula and Barbara Giebink (both Burlington) won a
close match over Gail Jette and Kirsten McEdward (both Middlebury)
7-6, 1-6, 1-0 (third set tie-breaker).
Men's singles saw another very tight match, in which Lee Randlett
(Middlebury) edged out David Ignat (Ripton) 7-6, 0-6, 1-0. In men's
doubles Adam Crowley (part time tennis instructor at Twin Oaks in
Burlington) and Kishore Khandavalli (Burlington) had a relatively easy
time with Wilson MacIntire (Shoreham) and James Samler (Brandon) 6-0,
6-3.
For this year's implementation of "Rolling Thunder," a mixed doubles
competition has not been available.
Completed draw sheets are available from Middlebury Indoor Tennis
and at middleburytennis.com.