Recap

East Toronto Smash Regroup to Beat Toronto United 3-1

United Mixed Doubles Strike First Over Smash in Game 1

This contest was close at first, but when the United Mixed Doubles team of Hannah Blatt and Matt Kawamoto got it going, their counterparts from the Smash, Dalbir Bhandal and Jordann Vigna didn’t have an answer.

United jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on some great shot placement, however, the Smash, aided by some resounding shots by Vigna, turned the score around to 4-2. Blatt answered the bell, so to speak, sending a smash of her own to square the game at 4-4.

It was all United before side change, as they reeled off four straight points, again on some very strategically placed shots to lead 8-4 going into the break.

The giant Bhandal finally made his presence known after side change, using his impressive wingspan to blast two straight shots to make the score 9-6 and give the Smash some momentum. That momentum was quickly squelched by United, with Blatt making a superb serve to up the lead to 11-6.

The Smash made a mini rally, abetted by a Kawamoto return that found the Selkirk net, to trim the lead to 11-8. Kawamoto would atone for that miscue, however, sending a scorching return that the Smash couldn’t handle to give his team a 13-8 lead. United added a point to get to the freeze at 14-9 but allowed Vigna and Bhandal to make things interesting at 14-11. That was as close as the Smash would get, as United used some good dinking to score the winner.

Smash Thump United in Second Mixed Doubles Game to Square Match

Whatever impetus United gained by beating the Smash in Game 1 was resoundingly countered by East Toronto in the Game 2.

Chris Alain and Leigh Bradwell ham-and-egged it very well, taking an early lead and never relinquishing it. This game could have been perfectly synopsized by one play, where a tricky return by Alain just trimmed the net, eluding both Daniel Gottfried and Martina Wynia of United to make the score 4-1.

Before long, some great dinking and well-placed returns by Bradwell and Alain pushed the score to 7-2. United’s Wynia may have had one of the shots of the game, an overhead bomb that made the score 7-3, however, the Smash were aided by a subsequent Wynia return that plunked the net. Thus, the Smash went into side change with a commanding 8-3 lead.

Alain boomed a great return right after the break to up the margin to 9-3, but the Smash missed on two straight returns to give United hope. The Smash didn’t allow those misses to faze them, as both Alain and Bradwell utilized superior dinking skills and a massive Bradwell crossing shot to go to Freeze at 14-7.

United didn’t allow the Smash to win on serve, right away at least, but this one was never in doubt as Alain and Bradwell were too much to handle in a 15-9 Smash triumph.

Smash Take 2-1 Lead as Women’s Pair Outlasts United Twosome

This game looked way closer than the 15-8 score in favor of the Smash.

It was a tale of two games, really, as the Smash pair of Leigh Bradwell and Jordann Vigna and their opponents, United’s Hannah Blatt and Martina Wynia staged a great battle up to side change. The Smash were up 8-7 at that point, but completely took over in the second half to win.

The tone was set at the very first point, with a lengthy dinking exchange that favored the Smash, however, United rallied to take their only lead (2-1) of the contest on some more thrilling dinking. The two teams would continue to mix some booming return shots – highlighted by two absolute missiles by Vigna and one by United’s Wynia – with lengthy dinking rallies to go into side change with the Smash up 8-7.

Immediately after the break, United scored their final point to draw even at 8-8 – but it was all downhill from there. Bradwell and Vigna remained composed the rest of the contest, scoring seven unanswered points to hand the Smash a 2-1 match lead.

Smash Men Break Open Tight Game to Down United 15-10 for Match Victory

Just like the Women’s Pairs game before, the East Toronto Smash men’s doubles team of Dalbir Bhandal and Chris Alain had to be patient through the first half of the contest to eventually run the table on the United team of Matt Kawamoto and Daniel Gottfried.

It was a spirited affair from the get-go, with Bhandal and Alain capitalizing on some short and long returns by both Kawamoto and Gottfried to go into side change up 8-6. Undaunted, Kawamoto and Gottfried staged some dinking brilliance after the break to tie it up at 8-8. A few more spirited rallies followed and United benefited from some long returns by Bhandal and Alain to see the score even up at 10-10.

And just like the women’s contest, United couldn’t find an answer, and had to take a breather down 12-10 after a masterful backhand scorcher from Bhandal. After the timeout, the Smash again asserted their dominance, with Alain contributing a blazing smash to give the Smash a commanding 14-10 lead into the freeze. It wasn’t long after that United couldn’t answer well without serve, handing the Smash the win and the match.