Baxter/Murphy repeat as 6th Annual Mudhole Champions

Elysium Tennis
Columbus, Ohio
July 6, 2019
By Brian Heil

Sixteen teams filled the draw and battled the heat in Columbus for the 6th annual Battle at the Mudhole Tournament. Temperatures were well into the 90’s off the court and the conditions on the court were brutal. The rain held off, save for a heavy storm for about 30 minutes before the final, and most stayed to enjoy the athleticism and shot making of the players in the finals. Players from Chicago, Pittsburgh and Indianapolis traveled in to compete in the fun and highly competitive one-day summer tourney.

The quarterfinal matches pitted top seeds Ryan Baxter/Tommy Murphy against Ben Ashford/Noah Seidenberg, Jeff Higgins/Michael Valinetz against Denny English/Klint McEnery, William Colmar/Brian Heil against John Mah/Tom Weise, and the second seeds, Trevor Heck/Scott Kahler, against Amos Allison/Aaron Bauer. The top two seeds came through easily, while English/McEnery survived 6-4 in the third against Higgins/Valinetz, and Colmar/Heil held off Mah/Weise. Baxter and Murphy continued to storm through the draw (only losing more than 2 games in a set one time) into the semis where the defending champions made quick work of English and McEnery. In the other semifinal, Colmar/Heil fought hard but came up short in their match against Heck/Kahler 6-3,7-6 (7-5) In the final, Baxter/Murphy came out hot and stayed strong to take out Heck/Kahler, 6-1,6-3.

Thank you to all that participated and help make the only summer paddle tourney in the Midwest a continued success. Thank you to Total Platform Tennis and Shadetree for sponsoring the tournament and to Rich as always for providing the beers! Hope to see you all back next summer.

Results:
Main Draw: Ryan Baxter/Tommy Murphy def. Trevor Heck/Scott Kahler
Semifinalists: Denny English/Klint McEnery and William Colmar/Brian Heil
Quarterfinal Reprieve Winners: Mah-Weise
Consolation Winners: Eric Heil/Rob Schmidt
Last Chance Winners: Brian Maseck/Robert Napier

L-R Scott Kahler, Trevor Heck,Tommy Murphy, Ryan Baxter