8th George Armstrong Classic – Recap
November 11th, 2008 Mithun Mukherjee Posted in General, Tournaments | Comments »
By Jack Fitzpatrick
The 8th annual GA Classic had great matchups, the most participation ever, exciting moments and, the best sportsmanship of all. Every player respected their opponents by playing hard, calling their own balls down or accepting requested lets without arguing. In a one-on-one sport, where athletes compete in a small court for a tiny piece of real estate (the Tee), at a furious pace, and are armed with clubs made of space-age materials, their self control was truly commendable. This, to me, is the essence of Squash. Everything else, such as skill and speed, is a bonus!
Jonathan and Brendon
5.0 Draw: The final had an Ivy League flavor. The championship match featured recent Princeton grad Brendon Bascom winning 3-0 over Dartmouth grad (but not so recent) Jonathan Hager. It was a test of wills. Both players were determined to play errorless squash at a fast pace and win by attrition. This lead to terrific exchanges that mixed depth, change of pace, and corner to corner coverage, multiple times per rally. Brendon tried some ‘shooting’ early on, but Jonathon’s quick adjustment stifled that tactic. In the end, the difference between these equally skilled and focused players was Brendon’s endurance.
An interesting “then and now” matchup featured “then” Alex Tilton who won the GVC championship and went on to play for Yale, against “now” Alec Greaves-Tunnell who won the same title and will soon play for Williams. Both went through the juniors program at GVC, have similar styles, and are very skilled and quick. They executed the same game plan as Bascom/Hager, with Alex winning on fewer mistakes. Later Brendon won over him to make the finals.
In the other semi final, Eric Hernady, one of the best players in Rochester, played a solid match but lost to a completely focused Hager.
In the consolation round, Alec Greaves-Tunnel never lost a game, decisioning 3 good players: Kevin Goodwine, Mithun Mukherjee, and GVC teammate Mark Mijangos.
Robert and Nick
4.0 Draw: The final featured the very rapidly improving sophomores Robert Hurlbut and Nick Greaves-Tunnell. Both showed the skills, quickness, and patience that will put them in the 5.0 next year. They had long rallies, corner to corner coverage and great focus. Nick’s ability to apply a little more pressure than Robert decided the title. Both players made it to the finals similarly. Nick had to get by Dave Sullivan and Scott Fitzpatrick who are great retrievers, but lack his racquet skills, and Robin Gardy who has very good court and racquet skills, but not his endurance. Robert, after winning over veteran Fred Hagen, had to get past the skilled Eliza Calihan with better quickness and the very strong and quick Mark Thrall, using better racquet skills.
Troy and Mary Jo
In the consolations, Rudy Small took a winding road to the win. He took a 2-0 lead against Dave Sullivan, who then stepped up the pressure, causing Rudy to lose his focus and the next game. However, Rudy regained his composure and just played squash, eventually winning. He then won against veterans Herb Barbehann and Fred Hagan for his first Armstrong Trophy.
3.0 Draw:
It was good to have a 3.0 draw again, having been missed for 3 years. 7 players entered, including of course another Greaves-Tunnell, Will. Sam Selonick prevailed in the end, winning over the Zarcone Family (Troy & Nick), and Eileen Schneider, the winner of the consolations over Mary Jo Gabel.
Doubles
The 4 team A doubles featured another win by last year’s champs Mike Bittner and Mark Mijangos. They were undefeated in the round-robin draw, but were given a scare by 5.0 rivals-turned-teammates Alec Greaves-Tunnell and Alex Tilton. A&A’s quick racquets, retrieving ability and power led them a win in the first game and a very strong showing in the second. In the 3rd and final, age, wisdom (and 150 MPH crosscourts by Bittner) prevailed over youth and exuberance. The Ilya Voloshin/Thomson Chew and Jonathan Hager/Eric Hernady teams had good showings.
The B level had 7 teams, by far the most ever. Most players practiced at the GVC over the summer and had gotten the feel of the ‘choreography’, positioning and most effective shot selection. Unlike softball singles, the hardball doubles game frequently rewards high-risk shots and hitting the ball hard at unfamiliar angles. Most of the players took advantage of this feature and whaled away, sometimes leading to spectacular winners, and sometimes to a lethal threat to teammate and opponents.
Jack Fitzpatrick and Bob Tarbox won their first matches, but when Bob got hurt, Scott Fitzpatrick was allowed, by tournament director and father, to replace him?. They made it to the finals against Mark Thrall and Dave Sullivan who had devised an I-formation strategy that had proved very effective because of their terrific athleticism. Jack and Scott’s strategy of keeping the ball deep and retrieving every shot possible eventually proved to be the small, but winning margin.
See you next year.
Jack Fitzpatrick
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