by Ivan Ronaldson
Tom Brownlie & John Motz
In the first semifinal Prince’s Court’s #1 seed Danny McBride dominated Tom Brownlie from Philadelphia 6/0 in the first set. Playing a similar game of control, both players battled hard till midway through the second set when Tom’s ironman fitness started to show. Brownlie took the second and third sets 6/4 6/4.
John Motz had an easier time handling Kenny Soffer in the bottom half of the draw. The new court and John’s devastating cut volley proved too much, and Motz won 6/2 6/1.
The final looked set to be a battle of Motz’s aggression versus Brownlie’s control and fitness, and it did not disappoint. In the first set, Tom stood a little too far up the court at the service end and watched a dozen or so main-wall dedans go flying by. With his force and cut-volley on fire, John took a reasonably comfortable first set 6/3. Halfway through the second set, Tom’s steadiness in the corners and fitness was really showing. Staying back to cover the dedans and get into longer rallies was paying dividends. A third set was going to be dangerous for John, but he clinched the second set 6/5 to win the singles tournament.
In the doubles, #1 seeds Danny McBride and Rich Moroscak beat Ryan Carey and Steve Hufford while #2 seeds Kenny Soffer and Tom Brownlie defeated John and Kris Motz 6/2 6/4. In the Philly VS DC final Brownlie and Soffer lost the first set 3/6 before coming back with strong volleying and aggressive target hitting to take the doubles title 3/6 6/4 6/1.
