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2002 Mayor's Cup
NYC Courts July 13, 14 2002
Satish Jagnandan seemed to be cruising along on his way to the Mayor's Cup tournament win. He handily defeated Cesar Sala, last year's USHA Nationals winner 25-17. He overpowered Kendall Lewis, a long time rival from their early days as teenage phenomes in the ICHA by the score of 25-13. It took the veteran player Eddie Maisonet to put Satish to his test. After being badly defeated in the first match 15-5, Maisonet came on strong with some great serves to return the favor in the second. However, the veteran was unable to maintain that level of intensity against such a determined opponent. Satish's dominant serve and strong defense propelled him to a clear tie-breaker victory 11-3.
While this year's tournament boasted a number of great matches, perhaps the most notable occurrance was the participation of so many big blue players in the small ball tournament. Years ago, these two one-wall communities were quite distinct, but then some of the better players started entering into the other group's turf. The interest of big blue players to cross over to the small ball game took a big leap forward last year when John "Rookie" Wright, big blue's top ranked player not only advanced, but went on to win the 2001 Mayor's Cup. Rookie's tremendous performance was probably a motivating factor in getting so many of big blue players to enter this year's tournament. However, this year Rookie was knocked out early by Eddie Archibal 25-24 and by the quarter finals only well seasoned small player's were left standing.
Women's competitions
Tracy Davis, winner of the 1999 tournament, regained her thrown by defeating Dori Ten 15-7, 15-8. Tracy, the current USHA National Women's Singles Champion, defeated Theresa McCourt in the semis 25-20 to enter the finals. Known to be slow at the start, Tracy fell behind early as Theresa controlled the game with a number of strong serves. However, Tracy maintained a champion's composure and was able to turn the tides midway and pull ahead for the win.
With 15 point game formats for the finals Tracy didn't have the luxury of being able to fall too far back. She played aggressively and didn't let Dori (the "volley queen") control the game's pace. With her confidence and concentration up, Tracy's youth and strength prevailed over Dori's greater experience.
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Tracy Davis, winner of the 2000 tournament regained her thrown in the Women's Open Competition.
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Men's Open Singles
Quarterfinals:
Satish Jagnandan d. Cesar Sala 25-17,
Kendell Lewis d. Eric Klarman 25-10,
Joe Kaplan d. PeeWee Castro 25-17,
Ed Maisonet d. Ed Archival 25-20
Semifinals:
Jagnandan d. Lewis 25-13,
Maisonet d. Kaplan 25-17.
Finals:
Jagnandan d. Maisonet 15-5, (15-5), 11-3
Men's Open Doubles
Quarterfinals:
Joe Kaplan/Cesar Sala d. Emmitt Fitzpatrick/Ed Perez 25-?,
Albert Apuzzi/Willie Polanco d. PeeWee Castro/Tony Roberts 25-11,
Ervin Irizarry/Kendell Lewis d. Dave Rojas/Rookie Wright 25-?,
Satish Jagnandan/Carlos Lopez d. Ed Maisonet/Paul Williams 25-?
Semifinals:
Kaplan/Sala d. Apuzzi/Polanco 25-20,
Jagnandan/Lopez d. Irizarry/Lewis 25-?
Finals:
Kaplan/Sala d. Jagnandan/Lopez 25-14
Women's Open Singles:
Quarterfinals:
Dori Ten bye,
Brenda Pares d. Sydell Smith 25-14,
Teresa McCourt d. Barbara Canton-Jackson 25-?,
Tracey Davis d. ?
Semifinals:
Ten d. Pares 25-?,
Davis d. McCourt 25-20
Finals:
Davis d. Ten 15-7, 15-8
Women's Open Doubles:
Quarterfinals:
Tracey Davis/Gladys Miranda d. ?,
Anna Calderon/Teresa McCourt d. Pares /? 25-21,
Rhonda Burchette/Sydell Smith d. Brenda Pares/Bernice ? 25-?,
Barbara Canton-Jackson/Dori Ten d. ?
Semifinals:
Davis/Miranda d. Calderon/McCourt 25-17,
Canton-Jackson/Ten d. Burchette/Smith 25-22
Finals: Davis/Miranda d. Canton-Jackson/Ten 25-14.
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