The Best Friends in the World!

Pictured above from left to right is: Philip, Tom (Whipping Boy), Monte, Coach Tim, E.Shrew, Brian and Greg.

Never underestimate your friends. I was just pouting this morning that no one was going to watch me play in the Finals. To my surprise, I had some of my best friends suddenly show up to cheer me on. It's almost like they all read me bitching about them on my blog just an hour earlier! Having a cheering section is way better than a damned Trophy! I was emotional and very happy seeing some support out there for me.

In the match, I won a hard fought first set 7-6. It was a long battle in the tie-breaker game before I could finally win by two (11-9). We were both huffing and puffing. I think my opponent and I matched up very well in our style of play. In the next two sets, I made some mental mistakes when I chose to go to the net. I shouldn't have done that when I have an opponent that hits as well as Brooke. He had great serves and awesome ground strokes.

He constantly picked on my backhand. I can hit a great backhand sometimes, but it's not a real weapon. I sometimes tense up and hit the ball as if I have T-Rex arms scooping the ball up and returning it. I'll still get the backhands across the net, but it is not going to be as impressive as my forehand. The match ended after three hours of slugging it out under some pretty intense rallies. I lost the match 6-7 (9), 6-1, 6-2. Ugh.


But I did win a trophy! Pictured here is the Tournament Director presenting the Champion trophy to Brooke and Finalist trophy to me. This is my second Finalist Trophy of 2008. Yeah, I am the "runner up" again... but I got some critical points added to my tournament record. That'll ensure I'll be one of the top seeds in future tournaments. One more successful run through a tournament is going to push me into a higher division. But I look forward to that challenge.

Thanks to all of my friends that supported me this weekend. You made this crazy Cajun beam with pride that so many of you showed up to cheer me on. Thanks to Heath for watching me struggle, but ultimately win in the second round. I certainly appreciate it! And special thanks to many tennis players who watched me play this weekend. (Chip, Doug, Steve, Kevin, Jorge, Jerry, Randy, etc.) There were many matches you could have watched, but you chose to watch me play at various times. I appreciate it. You guys ROCK! :)