Jan 2016 - Match report of the 14B team vs Flash 2 (by Anne Cheng)

 
It was a dark and stormy night. The blood in our veins pounded fiercely as we (separately) stepped foot onto the bottom of the mountain that led us to Cornwall Street. Insects stopped their activities (whatever insects do, gather food? in the grass to salute us as we marched by. It was a good omen. Even the building's elevator was on our side as it chose to break down to give us that extra warm up we needed. I was fashionably late (a girl's standard half an hour), but I was still the first to arrive. I scanned the room full of sweaty dudes, and there they were, FLASH 2, made up of mostly kids still in school.  

 I asked for my opponent and a balding man sauntered in. Not quite the hotness I was hoping for, but that's cool. And then we were off. I clinched the first game easily. He wasn’t overly happy. He then started pulling a Djokovic and Nadal in between points. A belly wipe on the side wall, a long stretch, a tug on his shoe lace/knee band, or a moan. He had several combos and sometimes all of the above. He did this not because he was tired, but really to add some gamesmanship to the contest. Back in Dagobah, Yoda was warning Luke not to succumb to such cheap antics. And yet, it worked. It didn't help that our referee, his teammate in cahoots, obviously escaped paying his dues at the referee course. Tied at 2-2, Fred Teng, who had just come off from a 19-17 win in his third game to win his match was still on fire and stepped up to the plate to continue his momentum and referee the final game. The walls of our court echoed with Fred's authoritative voice, and the opponent knew the tides had turned. Without much leeway to drag time, he was forced to play a normal game. Then we finally arrived at match point. I got nervous and gave away a few points before playing a low boast to seal my victory. The opponent then dropped down on one knee, which really freaked me out. If that was a proposal, I was so not having it. At least have a ring for sincerity right?

With 2 games in our belt, life was looking good. Brian Taam, fresh from his ankle recovery and China travels, was a bit nervous going into his match, especially since his opponent was much younger than him and half his height. I mean, let's be real, nobody wants to lose to a kid. But Brian's height must have really done a number on his opponent, because I saw him shaking on court. Even his shots wavered in the air. His pre-pubescent self just couldn't handle the prowess he was put up against. Low and behold, Brian delivered a quick and merciful 3-0 win that lasted all of about 10 minutes. Brian didn't break a sweat, but he still showered because he loves Cornwall street bathrooms. Hmm.
 
Raymond Fong was next. He was up against my first referee, who never called any lets because, well, he just didn't really know how to. Bless his dear soul. Now, Raymond was real dedicated. He chased down every ball like it was match ball. Fred and I watched him slam himself against the walls at least 10 times. We felt the passion. And his passion paid off with a 3-0 win.

The final match of the day was played by Paul Simons against another youngster. As many matches were played at the same time, their match was done through a different virtual channel that we could not witness. From what I do know, Paul played a lot of drops and lobs (old man style) and his opponent, a wee little 15 year old, just didn't have the experience to counter these attacks. But yes, Paul also won 3-0.

 All in all, it was a good day. Peace and love.