I knew it would be a battle and I wasn’t disappointed. My and Tyrone’s racquetball match Thursday night for the Club One championship (and bragging rights for the next several months!) was everything I thought it would be and then some. I started off strong with a 4-0 lead, putting everything away while T seemed tight and left the ball up. My lead increased to 11-6 until T stepped it up and starting making great shots and serving well. Before I knew it I was down 11-12. That’s when the crazy BS crept into the game. T made a low kill shot that skipped the floor. T walked to the back of the court as if conceding the point, but Robbie (our club pro and ref for the match) thought the shot was good and so did Sydney (the line judge). They didn’t hear the skip. Tyrone then insisted it was side out and wanted to serve because Robbie thought the ball was good. I was furious, but played on. Tyrone scored another point and shouted one of his victory yells. He then lost his serve and I scored a point, then Tyrone scored again and I was down 12-14. I told T he didn’t deserve the game if he was taking cheap points like the one he took when the ball skipped. The trash talking escalated (I won't repeat them here because I don't want my blog getting an R rating). T made a huge mistake by serving short twice and I quickly scored another point. At 13-14, I killed T’s serve in the front court and took serve again. I scored a point and tied the match at 14. I served a drive serve which T hit high. I hit the ball down the lefthand side and T left his shot high again. He gave me a perfect setup, which I drilled a down righthand side, a perfect passing shot that he wasn't able to retrieve, giving me the first game 15-14. I then gave the loudest victory yell I’ve ever screamed in racquetball. It was so satisfying winning that game.
I dove so many times my right elbow was swollen.
I started the next game strong as well, scoring 3 quick points, but then T got hot again and I was down 3-6. Then I was down 4-11. I rallied back and it was 7-11. Then 9-12 before T tore a muscle in his leg and couldn’t move. He was unable to finish and I won be default. It was an anticlimactic finish to one of the best and tightest finals matches I’ve played at Club One. I kept my perfect season intact (10-0!) and own bragging rights until our next singles league in 2011.
My right side is also as sore as my elbow, but it’s a good kind of sore. I sure love this game!
Tyrone had to be carried out of Club One. He's the greatest guy off the court, but inside the court he turns into a crazy monster. That's all right because I turn into one, too!
Richard watched the match and helped cheer me on. Afterward, we went to La Cheval and I ate everything in sight. We then drove to Walnut Creek to pick up his kids at Ann’s. I ate a large smore and half a chocolate bar. The ride back to Oakland was hilarious. The kids were telling crazy stories that were so funny.
I played racquetball again this morning with Dorian and felt surprisingly good. I’m really bummed though that Tyrone will be out of commission for the next several months. Meanwhile, I’ll be playing in as many singles events as I can in preparation for the California State Singles Tournament in the spring. I’d love to do well in the A division
No comments:
Post a Comment