NetCaptain Blog

It’s the big day and we’re starting much earlier today at 7:30am. The wind gusts are definitely gone and the temperature much more reasonable. Still a bit chilly but it’s early morning. It’s sure to warm up during play. Captain Mike a put in a slight lineup change

1 Singles – John Saunders – LOST in two sets

2 Singles – Huy Cat – LOST in two sets

1 Doubles – Jay Posey and Robert Cornett – WON in two sets

2 Doubles – James Livingston and Jason Novoselsky – WON in two sets

3 Doubles – Terry Whitlock and Mark Crichett – LOST in two sets

So we fell short for the finals. We’re off to play for 3rd place. Here’s what Captain Mike has going.

1 Singles – John Saunders – WON in two sets

2 Singles – Mark Critchett – WON in three sets

1 Doubles – Jay Posey and Robert Cornett – WON in two sets

2 Doubles – James Livingston and Jason Novoselsky – WON in two sets

3 Doubles – Mark Gupton and Rick Huff – LOST in two sets

We are now officially 3rd place in the National Championship. The team, San Diego, that beat us in the semi-finals won the 1st place over Colorodo.

Here’s quick picture of the trophy taken at the airport. It’s about 6 inches tall.

Here are some photos from today.

Yes, it’s do-or-die day against our last round-robin opponent who is also undefeated thus far, Southwest. But, it’s also Mark Critchett’s Birthday. The Southwest team is from Tucson, AZ. The winner of this matchup gets to move forward to the semi-finals. The loser ends their play for this championship. Weather was a bit colder and almost as windy as the day before. Captain Mike put in the same set of guys for these bunch.

1 Singles – Kav Tucker – LOST in two sets

2 Singles – John Saunders – WON in two sets

1 Doubles – Terry Whitlock and Mark Crichett – WON in three sets

2 Doubles – James Livingston and Jason Novoselsky – WON in two sets

3 Doubles – Jay Posey and Robert Cornett – WON in two sets

YES, this means we’re into the semi-finals on Sunday morning. Here are some pics from today’s play.

Play began this morning. We were due to start at 10am, but we had to wait and didn’t hit the courts till 11am. What a beautiful day. Unfortunately, the wind was amazingly strong. Weather forecasts say wind gusts can be up to 50mph. It definitely felt like it. After 4 hours out there, we weren’t sun burned, we were wind burned.
Round 1, we played Mid-Atlantic, a team for North Virgina. Here’s are lineup.

1 Singles – Robert Cornett – 3-6, 6-4, 1-0, WON in three sets

2 Singles – John Saunders – 6-3, 6-3, WON in two sets

1 Doubles – Terry Whitlock and Mark Crichett – 6-4, 7-5, WON in two sets

2 Doubles – James Livingston and Jason Novoselsky – 6-3, 6-2, WON in two sets

3 Doubles – Jay Posey and Kav Tucker – 6-7, 6-4, 0-1, LOST in three sets

For Round 2, Captain Mike has put the same lineup in against Middle States from Philadelphia. They lost earlier this morning, but they were definitely a strong team.

1 Singles – Robert Cornett – WON in three sets

2 Singles – John Saunders – WON in three sets

1 Doubles – Terry Whitlock and Mark Crichett – WON in two sets

2 Doubles – James Livingston and Jason Novoselsky – WON in two sets

3 Doubles – Jay Posey and Kav Tucker – LOST in two sets

Here are some pictures from Round 1.

Here we are, just arriving to Darling Tennis Center and standing in front of their Center Court.

During the lengthy delay and to get used to the 50mph wind gusts, the guys were warming up in the lawn.

Terry and Mark in play.

James and Jason in play.

Robert Corner in play.

… on center court

John Saunders in play.

And check out the view of the mountains behind the courts.

Kav and Jay in play.

It’s Thursday, the day before play begins. I was pleasantly surprised to wake up to this view out of the hotel. We didn’t see it last night because the golf course was pitch black, and the mountain ranges were as well.

We had breakfast at the buffet here. Wow, only $7.50 for an all you can eat buffet. It was pretty darn good, and tasty. After that, we headed out to get the “feel” of tennis in Vegas. Gupton was able to secure three courts at Arbor Park, a nearby park in a planned neighborhood. As you can see, it’s pretty nice.

The weather was pretty darn good. I’m guessing around 80 degrees. There was a pretty good gust of wind that hits the court throughout play. The balls did seem to be flying a little bit, not something we can’t compensate for. We were hardly sweating at all, and the wind made it very pleasant to play. It’s so pleasant, you have to remind yourself to keep hydrated.

After a few hours of play, everyone went back to the Suncoast. I went back to the buffet to eat lunch for $8.50. Another tasty bargain.

There’s a player’s party later on tonight.

Most of us are now here in Las Vegas. Terri and I flew on the same plane here and got in late last night. Instead of a $60 cab ride to the Suncoast Hotel and Casino, we were able to have Captain Mike pick us up. It’s about a 20+ mile ride out to the hotel. It seemed like drive from downtown Atlanta to Alpharetta.

Here we are at the hotel.