Anderson & Dana Win Men's Draw at the Greater Boston Open

ROB COSTER, REGION II PRESIDENT
JANUARY 14, 2008

2008 kicked off with a bang with three men's events running simultaneously in the Region on January 5th including another successful tournament in Boston! This time pulled together by Jim Greenho & Rob Pierce. Not only do we have the World Champion Red Sox, the dominating Celtics and the undefeated Patriots, the newly formed Region 2 team of Bill Anderson and Matt Dana conquered the field of 24 teams at the Boston Open! With the home court advantage being a major factor, all 3 of the top-seeded teams fell in the quarter-finals, which provided for an "All Region 2 Semi-Finals". In the final match of the day, the Power brothers (Bill & Leo) were outmatched by the relentless team of Bill Anderson and Matt Dana by the score of 6-1, 6-2. Great food, tournament favors and weather added to the success. But best of all, solid players made the trip to Boston from everywhere (Cincinnati, New Jersey and Toronto) to get a taste of Region 2 paddle. Down in Essex, CT, Jamey Burns ran a great inaugural Men's "B" event for a draw limited to 16 teams. In the end, Dave Clark & Gary MacElhiney wore down Don Clark & Gordon Teglas, a team from Region 1, to take the victory. Due to limited court availability, Jamey was forced to hold the line at 16 teams but had 7 additional teams on the waiting list. What a great turn out for Essex who now plans to expand to 24 team event next season. Hopefully some of those guys on the waiting list in Essex headed to the Shootout in Dorset, VT. No word from the north country yet, but my bet is they had a great event too.

January is not over yet! Two more weekends packed full of events for both the women & men. This coming weekend, Dan McCormick is hosting back to back tournaments at Myopia Hunt Club in South Hamilton, MA. On Saturday, the women take to the courts for the New England Women's PCQ. And on Sunday, the men have their time on the courts at the New England Men's "B" Tournament. Contact Dan today at myopiaracquet@aol.com to sign up. Let's fill the draw.

The following weekend, Connecticut has it's time to shine. The Hartford Golf Club is hosting the the Greater Hartford Men's "B" event on Saturday, January 26th. Tournament Director Gil Keegan is planning on a full draw and if the Essex "B" event is any indicator, you better sign up now. Gil will also be running a Men's PCQ on March 1st. The Greater Hartford events are historically some of the best tournaments in the Region. Mr. Keegan can be reached at KeeganGE@aetna.com. On that same day down on the shore, Kitty Palmer will be hosting the Madison Women's PCQ. I've heard Kitty has already received applications from a few new teams and she too is expecting a large draw. Get in touch with Kitty now at KPalm821@aol.com and jump into what is always a really fun event.

February kicks off with a new format. Rick Meffert calls it the "older than dirt" tournament, but I think we'll leave that moniker to the 125+ teams. Essex, CT will be hosting "The Not Quite Older Than Dirt" Men's 115+ Tournament on Saturday, February 2nd. Gary MacElhiney & I are running the event and we already have 7 teams signed up. We'll need to limit the draw so please contact me soon if you plan to play.