Monday, November 5, 2018 (Court Day #219)
I went to work. Smoke was hanging low in the morning sky. As I stepped out of my car, small bits of ash were falling. I was a bit concerned, but I figured I’d hope it was not an issue a few more miles to the south at the courts. I put in about 50 minutes preparing an order. I left for Brommer Park around 8:45 and arrived before 9. No ash or noticeable smoke. Five people were already there: Leslie, Tom S., John P., visor Tom and Wayne.
Warming up for the first game of the day. Tom Sherwood (left) and Leslie taking on visor Tom and John P. (crouching).
Midmorning, starting a game, Visor Tom said, “I get Andrew? I won the partner lottery!” High praise indeed! We did win, though I played a notch down from other games on the day.
Stuart and I played a game against Allan and Rich. After I hit a winner, Stuart said, “Too bad no one is watching, they’d be cheering that shot!” Jane had been watching earlier and commented, “Andrew. You get a lot of curve on your serves!” There are days where all you can do is get your serves in. And others where the opponent’s service court is like a football field that you can’t miss—that’s what it was feeling like today. On those good days, I take more risks to “make trouble” for my opponents as Mark Renneson would say. Stuart and I won.
I left the court around 11:15. Today, I’ve hit the 600 court hours milestone.
Another Tournament?
Tonight, I messaged Colleen Gilmartin—who plays regularly in Scotts Valley—asking if she’d be willing to play in mixed doubles on November 17. She got back to me and said it “sounds fun”.
I went to email Jennifer about getting Colleen and me registered and it occurred to me to check Colleen’s USAPA rating online. Oh. 4.0 doubles. 4.0 mixed doubles. Hmmm. This could be a problem since I’m a 3.5. I could play up, but by the book, even with an unsanctioned tournament, she shouldn’t play down. I messaged Colleen again about it. She was quite surprised that she was listed as a 4.0. She said she’d played her first senior tournament last week as a 3.5 and her 3.5 opponents were all better than her. And, she’d played a few tournaments 3 years ago, but they were all as 3.5. Quite a puzzle. Anyway, 3.5 it is. I emailed Jennifer—C.C.-ing Colleen—asking how we get registered. We’ll see how long it takes for Jennifer to get back to us.
Number of days on a court: 219
Number of total hours: 600
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