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Practice Makes Perfect at St. Louis Platform Tennis Invitational
FRANK SANT, TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR
FEBRUARY 18, 2009
ST. LOUIS, MO
Who said that practice makes perfect? It may have been Bob Holthaus and Art Kerckhoff who entered the final day of the 2009 St. Louis Invitational having lost 18 consecutive sets dating back to 2007. However, they found themselves in a big money match early Sunday morning against Harry Freeman and Chris Wright. With a standing room only crowd watching, including many Calcutta stakeholders, the two teams exchanged numerous leads. Spectators rattled the warming hut glass at the conclusion of each long rally. Not only did Holthaus and Kerckhoff win their first ever tournament set, they pulled out a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 upset victory
Winners Rick Meyer & Graham Bundy 
Practice nearly made perfect as the existing tournament committee made out the draw for the third consecutive year. All eight of the top seeds made the quarters. The most challenging paths were taken by Frank Childress/Chris Cochrane and John Drew/Mark Jeffrey. Childress/Cochrane edged the newly formed team of Joe Ingram/Jim O’Dowd 6-4, 7-6. Meanwhile, Drew/Jeffrey barely out-pointed Greg Piland/Bruce Sommer 6-4, 7-5. On Saturday afternoon, Matt Lemery and Greg O’Neill lived up to their number 1 seed by holding off Drew/Jeffrey in three sets. The bottom half of the draw, though, witnessed a few minor upsets in the quarters. Childress/Cochrane rode their first set tiebreaker to a straight set victory over the 2008 finalists, Tom Fluri/Bill Stude. Meanwhile, Mike Carr and Frank Sant stayed in their match long enough against the number two seeds,Mike Insko and Dan Murphy, to overcome a 5-2, 40-love third set deficit. Carr/Sant eventually prevailed 6-4, 3-6, 7-6.
Graham Bundy and Ricky Meyer may not subscribe to the theory that practice is needed. Bundy had played infrequently over the last few seasons and Meyer decided not to partake in the second half of the men’s league. Rust was clearly not an issue as they easily steamrolled the competition. Bundy/Meyer did not lose more than four games in any match, including the final where they pasted Carr/Sant 6-0, 6-4.
