Puchkova's Heroics Give Kastles 23-20 Victory Over Lasers; Oudsema Named MVP
The Washington Kastles defeated the Springfield Lasers 23-20 in a World TeamTennis Championship match that was every bit as improbable as it was appropriate.
After starting 0-4, the Washington Kastles, who embodied their motto "Refuse to Lose," are the 2009 Advanta World TeamTennis Champions. The youngest member of the Kastles, Olga Puchkova, saved three match points against league MVP Vania King before ultimately triumphing in a thrilling fifth event tiebreaker before a packed Kastles Stadium crowd.
Congratulations Kastles!
Previously...
Kastles Win East By Beating Sportimes!Kastles' Paes Named 2009 WTT Male MVP
WTT Finals This Sunday!
After a controversial encounter with the Sportimes on July 16 that was memorialized as ESPN SportsCenter's top play of the week, last night's playoff match was hyped to a level that few thought it could live up to - but it did. In what was one of the most thrilling WTT matches of the season, the Kastles took an early lead, fell behind, rallied to overtake the Sportimes and held on for a narrow overtime victory.
Like the two teams' infamous last match, Friday's affair was exceptionally close and hotly-contested. An incredible 11 games, over 25 percent of the games played, were decided by three-all points and it was the Kastles' eight wins on those critical points that provided the ultimate margin of victory.
Because the Sportimes were seeded higher, they chose the order of events and decided to start with mixed doubles - the Kastles' best event. Grand Slam winners Leander Paes, who was named the WTT's 2009 Male MVP on Friday, and Rennae Stubbs have been the best mixed doubles team in the league and last night was no different. Though the Sportimes' Abigail Spears and Robert Kendrick have also been successful as a duo this year, the Kastles were too much, winning the event 5-4 in a tiebreaker.
Next up was women's singles, where the Kastles' Olga Puchkova faced off against Spears, the second-ranked women's singles player in the WTT this season. Spears won both crucial three-all points to take the set, 5-2, and give her team at 9-7 lead going into the third event.
Men's doubles was the last event before halftime, as Paes and teammate Scott Oudsema played Kendrick and Jesse Witten. With the Kastles needing a victory, they came within a point of falling behind a break in this crucial event. Down 0-3 in a critical game of the set, Oudesma and Paes fed off the incredible energy from the partisan crowd of Kastles fans to fight off four break points and win the game. More important, the comeback swung the entire momentum of the match. In the very next game, the Kastles broke Witten's serve leading to a decisive 5-3 win and putting the Kastles back into the match.
With nothing separating them 12-12 at the break, the final two events - women's doubles and men's singles - would decide the match, and the Eastern Conference champion. Stubbs and Puchkova showed the character of champions facing the Sportimes doubles team of Spears and Christina Fusano. With no room for error, the passionate Kastles crowd got behind its team for each of the three important three-all points during the event and their team responded by winning all three. It was especially gratifying for Puchkova, who came up with several key shots to lead the Kastles to victory in the set. Stubbs and Puchkova embraced after bringing the Kastles within one event of victory with a resounding 5-2 win in the fourth event.
On the verge of a conference title with a 17-14 match lead, Oudsema had the challenge of facing Kendrick, the WTT's top-ranked men's singles player and the 69th ranked player in the world, to close out the match. What was already tense due to the stakes of this match was even more emotionally charged due to Kendrick's central role in the infamous July 14 encounter. Kendrick has played the world's best players in big matches on the biggest stages in tennis, but it was Oudsema who played with a strong confidence that has grown as the season has progressed. He proved to be the more resilient and tougher competitor throughout the set. With Kendrick up 4-3 in the event, Oudsema fought off two breakpoints at 2-3 to hold serve and force a tiebreaker.
Even though Kendrick won the tiebreaker, Oudsema had the opportunity to serve for the match in overtime with the Kastles leading 21-19. On the match's final point, in a fitting end to a rivalry that has been a YouTube sensation, the Sportimes looked for a video review to save them; however, their challenge of an Oudsema second serve ace was unsuccessful. The Kastles mobbed each other on the court to celebrate the victory and the fans stayed to savor the moment and show their appreciation for what the team had just accomplished.
Paes Named Male MVP
Kastles doubles star Leander Paes was named the 2009 WTT Male MVP yesterday, the league announced. The nine-time Grand Slam winner has been an anchor on the Kastles' men's doubles and mixed doubles team the entire season, teaming with 2008 WTT Female MVP Rennae Stubbs to form the most dominant mixed doubles team in the league. Paes finished atop the mixed doubles standings, winning 56 mixed doubles games and posting a 66.7 percent winning percentage in his mixed doubles matches.
(Source: Kastles Wire)
The Washington Kastles defeated the Springfield Lasers 23-20 in a World TeamTennis Championship match that was every bit as improbable as it was appropriate.
After starting 0-4, the Washington Kastles, who embodied their motto "Refuse to Lose," are the 2009 Advanta World TeamTennis Champions. The youngest member of the Kastles, Olga Puchkova, saved three match points against league MVP Vania King before ultimately triumphing in a thrilling fifth event tiebreaker before a packed Kastles Stadium crowd.Congratulations Kastles!
Previously...
Kastles Win East By Beating Sportimes!Kastles' Paes Named 2009 WTT Male MVP
WTT Finals This Sunday!
After a controversial encounter with the Sportimes on July 16 that was memorialized as ESPN SportsCenter's top play of the week, last night's playoff match was hyped to a level that few thought it could live up to - but it did. In what was one of the most thrilling WTT matches of the season, the Kastles took an early lead, fell behind, rallied to overtake the Sportimes and held on for a narrow overtime victory.
Like the two teams' infamous last match, Friday's affair was exceptionally close and hotly-contested. An incredible 11 games, over 25 percent of the games played, were decided by three-all points and it was the Kastles' eight wins on those critical points that provided the ultimate margin of victory.
Because the Sportimes were seeded higher, they chose the order of events and decided to start with mixed doubles - the Kastles' best event. Grand Slam winners Leander Paes, who was named the WTT's 2009 Male MVP on Friday, and Rennae Stubbs have been the best mixed doubles team in the league and last night was no different. Though the Sportimes' Abigail Spears and Robert Kendrick have also been successful as a duo this year, the Kastles were too much, winning the event 5-4 in a tiebreaker.
Next up was women's singles, where the Kastles' Olga Puchkova faced off against Spears, the second-ranked women's singles player in the WTT this season. Spears won both crucial three-all points to take the set, 5-2, and give her team at 9-7 lead going into the third event.
Men's doubles was the last event before halftime, as Paes and teammate Scott Oudsema played Kendrick and Jesse Witten. With the Kastles needing a victory, they came within a point of falling behind a break in this crucial event. Down 0-3 in a critical game of the set, Oudesma and Paes fed off the incredible energy from the partisan crowd of Kastles fans to fight off four break points and win the game. More important, the comeback swung the entire momentum of the match. In the very next game, the Kastles broke Witten's serve leading to a decisive 5-3 win and putting the Kastles back into the match.
With nothing separating them 12-12 at the break, the final two events - women's doubles and men's singles - would decide the match, and the Eastern Conference champion. Stubbs and Puchkova showed the character of champions facing the Sportimes doubles team of Spears and Christina Fusano. With no room for error, the passionate Kastles crowd got behind its team for each of the three important three-all points during the event and their team responded by winning all three. It was especially gratifying for Puchkova, who came up with several key shots to lead the Kastles to victory in the set. Stubbs and Puchkova embraced after bringing the Kastles within one event of victory with a resounding 5-2 win in the fourth event.
On the verge of a conference title with a 17-14 match lead, Oudsema had the challenge of facing Kendrick, the WTT's top-ranked men's singles player and the 69th ranked player in the world, to close out the match. What was already tense due to the stakes of this match was even more emotionally charged due to Kendrick's central role in the infamous July 14 encounter. Kendrick has played the world's best players in big matches on the biggest stages in tennis, but it was Oudsema who played with a strong confidence that has grown as the season has progressed. He proved to be the more resilient and tougher competitor throughout the set. With Kendrick up 4-3 in the event, Oudsema fought off two breakpoints at 2-3 to hold serve and force a tiebreaker.
Even though Kendrick won the tiebreaker, Oudsema had the opportunity to serve for the match in overtime with the Kastles leading 21-19. On the match's final point, in a fitting end to a rivalry that has been a YouTube sensation, the Sportimes looked for a video review to save them; however, their challenge of an Oudsema second serve ace was unsuccessful. The Kastles mobbed each other on the court to celebrate the victory and the fans stayed to savor the moment and show their appreciation for what the team had just accomplished.
Paes Named Male MVP
Kastles doubles star Leander Paes was named the 2009 WTT Male MVP yesterday, the league announced. The nine-time Grand Slam winner has been an anchor on the Kastles' men's doubles and mixed doubles team the entire season, teaming with 2008 WTT Female MVP Rennae Stubbs to form the most dominant mixed doubles team in the league. Paes finished atop the mixed doubles standings, winning 56 mixed doubles games and posting a 66.7 percent winning percentage in his mixed doubles matches.
(Source: Kastles Wire)
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