Kahler and Compton convincing champs at The Grand Prix The Midwestern

January 13, 2020
Cincinatti, OH

2020 The Midwestern Men's Final Results (doc),  (pdf)

The weather gods tested the patience of players and tournament officials alike at The Midwesterns on January 10-12. On Friday it rained on and off, Saturday was warm with constant and/or torrential rains, and Sunday offered up perfect paddle weather, cloudy and high 30s (a mere 30 degrees lower than the previous day).

Saturday’s weather was a tournament director’s nightmare. By the round of 16 the heavens had opened and play was halted. Eventually the round of 16 was completed on Saturday with only one upset, the unseeded team from Pittsburgh, Dan Hersh and Mike Wagner, took out Washington, DC pair, Tommy Croker and Alex Hume (7), 6-7, 7-5, 6-1.

The quarters were pushed to Sunday morning, and three of the four quarters had predictable results based on seedings. Brian Compton and Scott Kahler (1) moved past Nathan Crick and Randy Lofgren (6). Will Colmar and Adam Morgan (4) also went through in two sets over Filip Rams and Casey Watts (8). While fighting valiantly, Hersh and Wagner were not able to pull off another upset and fell in three sets to Sven Burus and Mikk Irdoja (3). The hometown crowd was thrilled when Rob Bakker and Tyler Fraser (5) upset the favored second seeds, Juan Arraya and Alex Bancila, in three sets.

In the semis, the large crowd was totally invested in Bakker/Fraser but Burus/Irdoja showed their mental toughness, grinding out a three-set win. On the next court, Compton/Kahler won easily over Colmar/Morgan. Compton/Kahler, the defending champions, cruised to victory over Burus/Irdoja, 6-2, 6-1.

Thank you to Tournament Directors Heather Prop and Mark Kebe, Tour Director Jackie Cameron, Hyde Park Golf & Country club staff and members, Jay Gohman, his team of umpires, all the great hut commanders, and to Mark Fischl and Brad Easterbrook for their 14 hours of commentating on Live Streaming.

The 2020 edition of the Midwestern’s Men’s 90+ Tournament featured some difficult weather conditions. While last year’s tournament was played in rain, sleet and then a driving snow, this year’s event was played in nearly non-stop rain.

The top seeded team of Ryan Baxter and Ed “Tuna” Burns survived a scare in the quarters while the second seeds, “Wild” Bill Buechler and rising star Tyler Fraser, and third seeds, Doug Jones and Thaddeus Reed, rolled to the semis. The best match in the quarters featured Rob Bakker and Bob Spencer taking on the always dangerous Pierce twins, Brad and David. Bakker/Spencer prevailed in two close sets in tough conditions.

In the first semi, the team of Baxter/Burns raised their game in some tough conditions to take out Bakker/Spencer in straight sets. The second semi featured Jones/Reed against Buechler/Fraser. Buechler’s strategy of calling “Yours” on most shots was not enough to rattle the veterans who won in a close 3-set match.

In the final, Baxter/Burns continued their dominant play and prevailed in a driving rain over Jones/Reed. It should be noted that the other back draw finals took place later in the evening in conditions that became significantly worse and all teams battled through to the end.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to the fans who stayed to the very end to make sure that all of the Platform Beer was finished.

Men's Open: Presenter Mark Fischl Winners Scott Kahler/Brian Compton TD Mark Kebe

Men's 90+ Finalists

Photos from Flickr album