Jerry Albrikes and Steve Godiksen Peak at Pioneer Valley Men’s 95+

November 26, 2018
Longmeadow, MA
by Gary Weiner

The annual Pioneer Valley Men’s 95+ tournament took place on Saturday, November 17, 2018 at the Longmeadow Field Club and Longmeadow Country Club under great paddle conditions: temperatures in the 40s and overcast skies. Twenty-three teams participated, with the first serve taking place at 8:30 AM and the last championship point being struck around 5:00 PM. The Food Truck for lunch was a big hit along with Field Club member and brew master Joseph Stiefel providing the beverages for the day.    

The main draw witnessed a competitive round of 16 with all four seeds making it into the quarterfinals where the fourth seeds Marshall Chapin and Drew Sawyer were upset by their fellow Boston leaguemates Amin Khadduri and Red Barrett, 6-4, 6-3. The other three seeds survived the quarters which led to a semifinal showdown between the tops seeds Matt Arcerio and Alex Seiler versus the third seeds Steve Godiksen and Jerry Albrikes. Albrikes/Godiksen won in three sets, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. In the other semifinal, second seeds David Acselrod and Craig Waddington beat Barrett/Khadduri, 6-2, 7-5. In the finals, Albrikes/Godiksen emerged as the champions in a three-set match, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, over Acselrod/Waddington. 

Special thanks to those who volunteered to help out my co-chair Tom O'Brien and me, specifically David Appleman who manned the Longmeadow Country Club Hut, and Candace Weiner, Gerrit Toebes, and Ken Vincunas for governing all that was happening at the Field Club, which could not have gone any smoother. Also, I want to thank the former tournament director Rob Durfee for preparing the draw and Mike Shields for taking pictures. The tournament would not be such a success without the volunteers who helped out all day. Hope to see you all again next year. [The APTA extends its thanks to Tournament Director Gary Weiner.]

RESULTS:
Main Draw: Jerry Albrikes/Steve Godiksen def. David Acselrod/Craig Waddington, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Quarter Reprieve: Marshall Chapin/Drew Sawyer def. John Bauman/Mark Morneau, 6-1, 6-1.

Reprieve: Mike Freedman/Per Nilsson def. Rich Goldfeder/Kevin Joyce, 7-5, 6-2.

Consolation: Bill Bodde/Tim Scanlon def. Kent Griffiths/Gary Weiner, 6-4, 5-7, 6-1.

Last Chance: Don Helm/Ben Krysiak def. Bob Bagge/David Wartman, 6-0, 6-1.