Crick and Lofgren, winners of the Charlotte Men’s Open

September 28, 2019
Charlotte, NC

With Amin Khadduri

A few snags—steamy weather and one flight cancellation—affected the outcome of the Charlotte Men’s Open NRT/Viking PCQ, held at Olde Providence Racquet Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. With one less team in the draw, fifteen teams competed for the title while trying to handle unseasonable heat and humidity. The men traveled from Chicago, Cincinnati, Atlanta, Virginia, with some hometowners mixed in, knowing that the top five teams qualified for 2020 Nationals in Darien.

Nathan Crick and Randy Lofgren defeated Graham McNerney and Joe Purdue in a tight battle, 7-5, 6-4. The quarterfinal reprieve was even more dramatic, where John Morris and Michael Watson edged out Peyton Lawson and Blake Gayle at 23-21 in a third-set super tiebreaker to get their ticket punched to Nationals. Both teams had at least five match points—an entertaining nail-biter.

The heat wreaked havoc on one quarterfinal match, where K.C. Kadow and Cameron Rudd upset Will Lofgren and Robert Phillips. The match was by far the longest of the day, over two hours in the hottest part of the day, ending in a third-set tie-breaker. Lofgren/Phillips would have been heavy favorites to win a spot for Nationals, but Lofgren battled heat exhaustion after the match and had to default their quarterfinal reprieve match.

Thank you to Tournament Director Randy Lofgren and the OPRC staff and Charlotte Racquet Club North for use of their facility.