Opening Night  2016:  

Frosty Hollow Freeze at Bucks Pirates: May 6th 

       It was opening night in the 2016 USTA Season for the Frosty Hollow Freeze.  They headed to Washington Crossing to take on the Bucks Pirates on a soggy and rainy night.  The weather was miserable so this game was perfect to have the roof closed and played indoors.  You could almost hear the rain crackling off the roof while inside the stadium, which at some moments sounded like fireworks for an Opening Night affair.  This game was slated for a 7:30 p.m. start.   

       It was now pre-game and the Freeze were stretching and warming up in the hallways to get loose.  The Freeze players stood out in their brand-new gray uniforms.  The players were about to go warm up on the courts for pre-game practice.  However, as some of the Freeze players were heading onto the courts, the lights were turned off by management so they could hold the courts for the Pirate players.  Management were not being nice buckos.  It was a home court advantage that was set for an entertaining night with the dislike between teams already fueling.  Instead of an official 'on court warm up' the Freeze used that time to talk over strategy and details for the game. The Freeze were then given Sustain Sport Performance Hydration Drinks by Ian Blackman, which helped some of the Freeze players have a boost for the match. 

       It was now almost game time and the Opening Lineups were being submitted.  The Frosty Hollow Freeze Opening Night Lineup was filled by Ian Blackman and Mike Bell for the Singles Positions.  On Doubles, it was Bob Hawley and John Sisti, Ashish Patel and Eric Ulzinow, and Lance Shaffer and Mark Shaffer. 

Ian Blackman put the team on the board first by winning his court decisively against that lad.  His forehand was sensational and was firing on all cylinders.  He gave a strong Opening Night performance.  Ian must have had a ton of his Sustain performance drinks. 

The team seemed like they were going to roll from here but the home crowd punched back to pump up their Pirates.  There was a clear glass 

window  behind the baseline on the courts and that was where the crowd was positioned to watch the action.  The action on the courts were 

extremely high paced and it seemed like it was thundering inside the stadium.  If a tennis ball could talk, it would say, "whose making all that 

racquet." 

Mike Bell played a Singles Match against a powerful opponent and pushed for his team and did not quit.  The velocity of the shots on this court 

was scorching with pace.    

Bob Hawley and John Sisti had a hard-hitting match on their court.  After the match, Hawley commented, "I got my racquet restrung and he 

said first three games will be tough.  We got killed.  That big guy is good." This was a powerful match with a ton of emotion.   

Another Doubles court featured Ashish Patel and Eric Ulzinow.  Ulzinow was making his Frosty Hollow Freeze debut and his serve could possibly be heard through the walls of the indoor stadium.  Ulzinow was signed as a Free Agent in the offseason and is a great addition to the Freeze.  After the match, Patel stated, "Started first and I got broke.  Almost caught up but then got broke again."  There was intense action being played on this court. 

It was a long match with D pair, Lance Shaffer and Mark Shaffer. The players were working hard for each point.  This court was action-packed and featured powerful net play.  There were tons of lobs hit to set up shots.  On the final play on this court, Lance was unable to get to a drop shot and a big home crowd cheer from Pirate fans echoed through the stadium.  The game and match was finished. After the match, Lance stated, "We didn't get the job done tonight and it's unacceptable.  I need to be more physical." This was an entertaining court to watch all night. 

Opening Night  2016 was finished for the Freeze.  The ship was captured by the Pirates.  The Freeze were defeated by a score of 4-1.  The 

party was getting started for the Pirates and their fans after the game. Outside the courts in the hallways, alcohol and laughter took over the 

stadium and some of the Freeze had to walk through it to exit the stadium.  It's not fun when your team doesn't come out on top. 

Overall, the Freeze gave it a great effort with no quit and the cheering was loud.  The Freeze now head back to the practice courts and prepare for their next matchup.  

The Freeze are now 0-1.  They are going to take a business approach to their next game.  They know they must prepare and come ready with a game plan to be successful.  It is not going to be a breeze by any stretch so they are going to have to scrape and claw for a win and be that tough physical hard team to play against.