Mother-Son Susan and Carter Lovejoy Joyful at New England Mixed

February 27, 2018
Weston, CT
By Max LePivert

The New England Mixed Championship took place in sunny conditions, at least for part of the day. As in previous years, the bad weather would eventually show up and from 2PM on, the tournament would take place in the rain.  
This year’s tournament was filled with upsets; all of the seeds lost in the quarterfinals or before, a testament to how many good teams were in the draw. Starting in the quarterfinals, first seeds Shawn and Ben Swett found themselves down a set and a break to Felix Yamasato and Jackie Cameron, who played a flawless match and won in two sets. Second seeds Josh and Amy Rothman lost to Gitte and Christian Toft-Nielsen in two sets.
In the first semifinal, Sharon Wessan and her talented nephew, Andrew Leibovitz, took out Yamasato/Cameron in a very entertaining two-set match. In the second semi, Susan Lovejoy and her son, Carter, dominated the Toft-Nielsens in two quick sets. The youngster’s paddle skills and Susan’s steady play were just too much for the Toft-Nielsen team to handle.
The final did not disappoint. Wessan/Leibovitz came out hot with Leibovitz hitting all the overheads and using his lefty spin in the rain while Wessan was setting him up with great lobs from the baseline. However, S Lovejoy proved that it takes a lot to win a point against her, and C Lovejoy was able to do lots of damage with his drives and well-timed blitzes. In the end, the Lovejoys won 6-4, 6-3.

Special thanks go out to everyone who helped make this event a great success:
- All of the players
- All of the local clubs for loaning courts
- Paddleplayer.com and Maurice Sanchez for the tournament support
- Fire Engine Pizza Truck for their excellent pizzas
- Our amazing hut commanders Wendy Harris and Vika Protsenko

RESULTS:
Main Draw: Susan Lovejoy/Carter Lovejoy def. Sharon Wessan/Andrew Leibovitz
Quarter Reprieve: Shawn Swett/Ben Swett def. Jolene Sutter/Francis Sutter
Reprieve: Morgan Melnikoff/Geoff Loconte def. Margie Rambusch/Jim Wong
16’s Conso Reprieve: Vicky Molchan/Roy Marchandani def. Ann Tierne/Austin Keyes
Consolation:Jennifer Bauman/John Bauman def. Candace Weiner/Gary Weiner
Consolation Reprieve:Barbara Bettigole/Donald Clarke def. Carol Guthrie/Jairo Contreras