Spring 2011 Doubles Tourney

On Sunday, February 20th, we held the second Championship Table Tennis at the Colburn School doubles tournament.  Not only did we host a unique opportunity to see some new faces competing, but we were also treated to one of the finest matches – singles or doubles – we’ve seen to date.

Many teams showed up, but only four outlasted the field to make it to the semis.  Singles tourney champ Christopher Zack teamed up with the powerful Titus Underwood to form a deadly duo.  They took on another young gun Greg Cardiand his teammate, the always strong Yi Zhou.  Cardi/Zhou came in aggressive and ready to dish out damage, but Zack/Underwood shut them down in commanding fashion taking the 3-0 win.

The second semifinal match had “Team 944″ Jeremy Berry and Paul Macresversus Mark Teplitsky and Ilia Ulianitsky.  Berry/Macres rolled to an easy rout 3-0 to make the finals.

Before the final match, it was discussed whether we should make it out of 5 or 7 sets.  The crowd cheered for 7, and as it turned out, that decision would matter.  Zack/Underwood squared off against Berry/Macres for the right to call themselves the CTTA Spring 2011 doubles champions.  The first four sets went back and forth, all close in and of themselves, until we were tied 2-2.  Berry/Macres dug deep in a set that went all the way to a 10-10 deuce to take the set lead 3-2.  Zack/Underwood found themselves in an elimination situation.  They would have to win out to claim the first-place trophies.  But first, they had to win set 6.  As if by brute force, Zack/Underwood crushed through to a clear 11-5 set 6 victory to level the match 3-3.  This set up a pivotal and deciding set 7.  Neither team would blink as point after point went back and forth until we were once again at a 10-10 deuce.  The next two points went to Zack/Underwood, as did the match.

Christopher Zack became the second person to hold the singles and doubles title at the same time since Jeremy Berry did it last semester.  In fact, never before has the singles champ not won the doubles tourney.  An interesting precedent; we’ll have to wait until next semester to see if this tradition continues.

For now, congratulations are in order for Christopher Zack and Titus Underwood – our Spring 2011 doubles champs!

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