President's Cup brings home gold
Contributed by: Walter Patterson
February 16, 2021 - This weekend saw many of our teams playing in the A5-sponsored President's Cup tournament. Although most teams were from the Southeast, a few teams made the tournament from as far away as California, due to the cancellation of the Triple Crown tournament in Kansas City.
In the 18-Open division, A5 18-Scott won the championship, while A5 17-Jing managed 3rd place, despite having to play 18-Scott in pool play and in bracket play. The 16-Open division was won by A5 16-Gabe, while A5 South 16-Haylea took first in 15/16 Club. Our A5 15-Bob team avenged a pool play loss to a talented Orlando Tampa 15-Randy team by beating that same team in 3 sets in the championship match to win the gold.
In 14-Open, A5 14-Helen lost only a single set on their championship journey, that in the final match to Tribe from Florida, then winning the gold in a confident 15-7 3rd set. A5 14-Allison finished 4th. In 13-Open, A5 13-Karen finished 2nd, narrowly losing the finals in 3 sets to Top Select from Orlando, while A5 13-Earl finished 4th. In the 14-Club division, A5 13-Betty won the championship while A5 14-Tina finished 3rd - 14-Tina's only loss all weekend was to 13-Betty. A5 12-Jake didn't drop a set on their road to the 12-Club championship. 11-Walter had to settle for 2nd, losing to 12-Jake in the finals. 12-Erin finished in a close 3rd place, avenging an earlier loss to 11-Ada. Our A5 10-Jon team won the 11-Club division going 10-0 in sets played, while 11-Basimah and 11-Miranda finished 3rd and 4th, respectively, after 11-Basimah's beat 11-Miranda in a tough 3-set playoff match.
A few teams played this past weekend at the Mount Spikemore tournament at Lake Point. A5 13-Casey went 3-0 on Saturday before falling in the semifinals on Sunday. They rallied to win their consolation match, locking up 3rd place. Our A5 12-Michelle team also made it to the gold bracket on Sunday, finishing 5th overall.
Next weekend will find our top teams playing in the A5 Elite invitational tournament, while our 18's teams will play in another early national qualifier. Stay tuned!