Callie Brauer and Tracy Ackerman Impress at Marblehead Ladies B

Dan McCormick
February 11, 2014
Marblehead, MA

The Marblehead Ladies "B" Championships, held at the Eastern Yacht Club, took place under beautiful sunny skies. Fourteen teams from four states enjoyed a full day of paddle. Once the players arrived there was no further travel needed, as the tournament was held at the Eastern Yacht Club's three courts and lunch was held at the home of Kristin Goedkoop's, within walking distance from the club.

The three last matches of the main draw were certainly the best matches of the day. In the first semi, local favorites, Callie Brauer and Tracy Ackerman rebounded after a 5-7 first set loss to win the next two sets, 6-2, 6-1, over Shana Roberts and Deb Pruitt. Similarly, in the other semi, Katie Martin and Kerry Alvino came back after losing the first set to win 3-6, 6-0, 6-3, over Norma Taylor and Deb Schmutzler.

In the main draw final, Brauer and Ackerman defeated Martin and Alvino in a two-setter, with each set going to a tie-breaker. The final tie-breaker lasted for 32 points and kept all the spectators on the edge of their seats!

Main Draw (doc)   Main Draw (pdf)

Thanks to all the players for helping to make this such a wonderful paddle tournament. A special thanks to Kristin Goedkoop for providing a spectacular lunch setting and hauling the beverages around, and thanks to members Paul Pruett for supplying Edamame Crunch candy bars and Lolli Leeson for her donation of Juice Plus gummies, both of which helped a few women get through the day. And a shout-out to superfan Chris Roberts, who impresses us all with his dedication to the hut atmosphere.

2014 Marblehead (North Shore) Ladies "B" Championship slide Show