Recap

Brewers Storm Back to Take Match from Rollers in Four

Rollers Women’s Doubles Beat Brewers Again

In a near repeat of these two women’s doubles teams meeting at the Eastern Split, the Rollers pair of Emma Li and Jessica Kawamoto again triumphed against the Brewers duo of Christina Chin and Susan Pound. And, it was by the identical score, 15-14.

The Brewers held the upper hand for much of the match, jumping out to a 3-1 lead, only to see it evaporate due to unforced errors. Chin and Pound, however, regained their touch taking a 5-3 lead on a spectacular serve that Li couldn’t return.  The two squads didn’t have many extended rallies, and the Brewers held the lead until the Rollers put on a display of dinking to tie the score at 9-9.

Chin got her team back up by one with a sneaky set-up shot that the Rollers put side out, but after the Brewers scored another point, she gave one back sending a return long to make the score 11-10 Brewers. After another Brewers both teams exchanged stifling defensive displays to push the score to 13-11 Brewers, which was then followed by a Li forehand that cut it to 13-12.

When Li found the Selkirk net on a return, putting the game at 14-12 freeze, the Rollers remained resilient and tied it up at 14-14. The freeze held for two plays and was won by the Rollers when Chin went side out.

Brewers Men Shut Down Late Rollers Charge in Slim Victory

In need of a win to get their squad into the match, the Brewers men’s doubles team of Jeff Elwood and eventual Player of the Match Mark Cleminson delivered. But the Rollers pair of Corey Osborne and Jonas Dahler didn’t hand it to them, staging an admirable comeback that just fell short in a 15-13 loss.

Elwood and Cleminson came out firing on all cylinders, both making key scoring shots and dinking well in sync to jump ahead 6-1 and force the Rollers into an early time out. The break did work a bit for the Rollers, as Dahler found the range on an overhand Smash and then he and Osborne defended well to get the score to 7-4. Somehow, they lost momentum and allowed Elwood and Cleminson to score four of the next five points on some excellent defense and dinking and force a Rollers timeout up 11-5.

That last rest seemed to be just what the Rollers needed. They did surrender another point to go down 12-5 but reversed the script with outstanding defense and dinking of their own to get within five. Yet, the Brewers Cleminson asserted his dominance with an overhand smash and a flick to freeze at 14-7. Improbably, the Rollers did not go down, scoring six straight for a double freeze at 14-13. That held for a few plays, with Cleminson finishing things off with another drive the Rollers put side out.

Brewers Break Open Close Mixed Doubles Game in Pivotal Win over Rollers

The score may not have reflected it – 15-10 Brewers – but this key game was closer than that. It took all of Mark Cleminson and Christina Chin’s effort to overcome repeated challenges from Jessica Kawamoto and Jonas Dahler of the Rollers. It was a tight affair, with both teams making great shots and as many unforced errors.

It started auspiciously enough, with Kawamoto handing the Brewers a point with a serve into the Selkirk net. The teams then traded side outs and long returns, with the Brewers breaking the slump with some nice dinking to tie it 3-3. Three points later, Chin returned a snapping flick to put the Brewers up 5-4, only to have the Rollers set her up for two unforced errors and a lead change to 6-5. A timeout at 6-6 seemed to work in the Brewers favor, with Cleminson asserting his match dominance with a wicked forehand for a point to put the Brewers ahead for good at 8-7.

Dahler then made two unforced errors to extend the Brewers lead to 10-7 but redeemed himself with a hard forehand flick to cut the lead to two. The teams swapped unforced errors for points and then Cleminson gave the Brewers a 12-9 cushion with another scintillating forehand flick. The Rollers gave it one last kick with some excellent defensive play to force a Brewers side out, but that was all she wrote. Cleminson, the eventual Player of the Match, put a lock on that title with three straight great shots for winners.

Brewers Clinch Match with Exciting Triumph over Rollers

While the game ended with a flourish, it must be said that if the Rollers – who were 0-7 at the Eastern Split – didn’t have bad luck, they’d have no luck at all. This game was a thriller, punctuated by two net cord shots by the Brewers that just eluded the Rollers, or hit one of them inadvertently – more on that later.

From the beginning, Corey Osborne and Emma Li of the Rollers gave hard-hitting rivals Susan Pound and Jeff Elwood everything they had. The spirit of the game was epitomized by the dinking display the two squads put on with the Rollers ahead 4-3 and eventually won by the Brewers to tie it. The Rollers took control from that point, with both Li and Osborne sending vicious shots the Brewers way to eventually take a 9-7 lead.

At 10-9 in favor of the Rollers, the Brewers took a timeout. However, the rest did the Rollers well, as they continued their offensive onslaught, punctuated by a blazing Osborne overhand, leading to a commanding 13-10 cushion. That’s where things went off the rails, when Pound hit a forehand into the net cord that changed direction and hit Li for a point.

The teams then exchanged points until the Rollers took it to 14-12 freeze. They battled back and forth and then the bad luck fairy reared its ugly head again for the Rollers when another Brewers’ net cord shot dropped straight down and couldn’t be returned. As if by fate, the Rollers game and match was ended when Elwood crushed a laser-like backhand that hit the sideline for the winner.