First Time Partners Tyler Fraser and Scott Kahler Win Wet/Warm West Penn

December 1-2, 2018
Pittsburgh, PA
by Scott Kahler

2018 West Penn Men's Final Results (pdf)

2018 West Penn Men's 95+ Final Results (pdf)

The Fox Chapel Racquet Club hosted fifty-eight teams in the Open and 95+ draw of the 2018 West Penn Men’s Open. Players from Indianapolis, Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Rochester, Stamford, Charlotte, and Pittsburgh participated. Special thanks go out to the staff at the Fox Chapel Racquet Club and all of the clubs in the area that provided courts for play, and of course Sean Casey and the Church Brew Works for providing beer!

   With an afternoon of rain predicted on Saturday, the tournament did some alternative scheduling, starting matches at 7:30 AM and playing through the Round of 16 prior to lunch.  Then when the rains hit, play for the day was suspended, and the eight quarterfinal teams came back Sunday morning for another 7:30 AM start.  The seeds held to form in the early rounds, as the top eight teams reached the quarterfinals.  In the top half of the draw, the top seeds and first time partnership of  Tyler Fraser/Scott Kahler needed 3 sets to outlast the Indianapolis duo of Brian Hagman/Tom Murphy, 6-7, 6-0, 6-1.  An all-Pittsburgh affair saw Ajay Khurana/Mike Wagner defeat Trevor Heck/Matt Rogers, 6-1, 6-1.  Max LePivert/Casey Watt won a three set match over Columbus’ Mark Berry/Brian Heil 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, and in the bottom quarterfinal Charlotte’s Nathan Crick/Randy Lofgren beat Ryan Baxter/Zachary Held from Indianapolis, 7-5, 6-1.

   The semifinals continued later in the morning with one match ending prematurely.  Crick/Lofgren had to retire down 4-1 in the first set due to a back injury Lofgren sustained in the quarterfinals earlier that morning.  The other semi saw Fraser/Kahler defeat Khurana/Wagner 6-3, 6-4 in a fast paced match.

   The finals was played under blue skies and nearly 60 degree temperatures, a rarity for Pittsburgh in December.  Fraser/Kahler were able to lift the trophy in the end, defeating LePivert/Watt, 6-0, 6-4.  It was Kahler’s fifth West Penn Open win, and the first West Penn victory for Fraser.

   In the 95+ draw, the top four seeds, all from Pittsburgh, made it to the semifinals. Top seeds Ted Kintner/Ray Tarasi beat Leonard Davis/Ron Schwartz 6-0, 6-2, while the second seeded team of Taylor Abbett/Mike Katz beat Ross Kraus/Wes Smith, 6-4, 6-4. In the finals, it was Kintner/Tarasi winning in straight sets.  It was the second consecutive year that Tarasi won the 95+ draw. he won with Jeff Troutman in 2017.

Open Results:
Main Draw: Tyler Fraser/Scott Kahler d. Max LePivert/Casey Watt , 6-0, 6-4
Quarterfinal Reprieve: Mark Barry/Brian Heil d. Brian Hagman/Tom Murphy
Round of 16 Reprieve: Rashid Hassan/John Moyer d. Dan Hersh/John Nichols
Round of 32 Reprieve: Matt Burger/Filip Rams d. John Mah/Jeremy McClelland
Round of 32 Consolation Reprieve: Wayne Dollard/Geoff Kasse d. Ed Gavett/Jared Medvetz, 6-4, 7-5
Round of 64 Reprieve: Leland Morris/Steve Schneider d. Allan and Clay Quackenbush
Round of 64 Consolation Reprieve: Chris Jones/Jacob Puyana d. Kumar Amin/Cody Dolan, 6-4, 6-0

95+ Results:
Main Draw: Kintner/Tarasi d. Taylor Abbett/Mike Katz
Quarterfinal Reprieve: Mark Felix/DeWayne Tuthill d. John Adkins/Eric Haberman, 7-6, 1-6, 7-6
Consolation: Greg Green/Greg Simakas d. Vijay Gulati/John Larsen
Last Chance: Alex Hershey/Rick Veith d. Michael Lindell/Rob Martin