Home Opener:
BCRC Slammers at Frosty Hollow Freeze: May 21st
It was the 2016 Home Opener for the Frosty Hollow Freeze as they welcomed the first place BCRC Slammers to town. It was a damp and soggy day with a drizzle to start the game at noon. The Freeze players were in their white uniforms for this affair. The Freeze had a 'white out' where white was the featured color for this Home Opener. With a good crowd on hand, the cheering was thunderous and it made for a fine atmosphere. When everything was finished on this Home Opener, the Freeze were soaked in their white uniforms and fell to the Slammers by a tight score of 3-2, which could have went either way. Both these teams put on a good show for the fans.
The Home Opener lineup that was in place was featured by Ian Blackman and Mike Bell for Singles. The Doubles Positions were filled by, Bill Burger and John Sisti, Bob Hawley and Ashish Patel, and Lance Shaffer and Mark Shaffer.
Ian Blackman and Mike Bell pushed hard for the team with heavy hitting forehands. Ian got the Freeze on the board by winning his court by knocking out his opponent. Ian has been very consistent this year, and has really relished in that Singles Position. He was once again very dominant and is almost as close to an automatic Singles court win you could get, which is key for any team to have.
On a Doubles court, Lance Shaffer and Mark Shaffer were dictating points in front of the net. Lance and Mark won their court and scored for the Freeze. Lance was sliding sideline to sideline on the court to get to any ball. It was an intense match with loud cheers coming from the home crowd. Mark served great and Lance put the balls away in good fashion. They were steady all afternoon. After the match, Lance said, "We played with alot of speed and were physical."
Bill Burger and John Sisti had a back and forth quest on their court. Both lefties, Burger and Sisti make it tricky for their opponents. A ton of net play gave the home crowd some enthusiasm. After the match, Sisti, who loves to cook, was sharing recipes that had everyone's mouth watering as they watched great tennis action.
An animated match to watch was Ashish Patel and Bob Hawley versus their opponents. Words were exchanged between teams after a hogwash call that went against the Freeze. The home fans in white and Freeze players were in anger. High paced action took over the court with Bob and Ashish's powerful and booming shots. After the match, Hawley commented, "I never feel like I play well enough, but I don't know if I'm not playing well enough or I'm not giving our opponents enough credit.” A fired up Ashish talked after the match about the ridiculousness of the call that was made. The Freeze crowd was looking forward to a brawl.
To recap the Home Opener, the crowd was loud but the Freeze fell to the Slammers. It was a physical game with big hitting. Both teams had loud cheering crowds, which pumped up the players. This crowd had a little bit of everything, including a fan that was trying to become a banker but then lost interest; which was similar to Ian's opponent today after Ian got done with him. Carlos Araujo: Frosty Hollow Freeze player and part time comedian. Araujo kept the Freeze crowd entertained.
On another note, a man from France, Flavien Montange, went fearlessly deep into the woods to go after the game balls that went out of play during the match. He did a great job getting the game balls back to the players and the Freeze team appreciated his efforts in doing so.
The Freeze are now 0-3 and are heading back to the practice courts to gear up for their first win. They have to take it one game at a time and one swing at a time. There were some Freeze players that talked about the need to play with a ton of passion while not stepping down to anyone. There was a ton of energy for the Home Opener on the courts and the Freeze are going to need more of that with everyone on board and sticking up for each other. There is plenty of tennis to be played and the Freeze are focused.