Chris Walker & Andres Vargas Win Gold Racquet Invitational
by Mark Hinckley



photos Mark Hinckley

December 8, 2016 - I say it every year, and this year is no exception...thanks to each of you for coming out to Lawrence and participating in the Gold Racquet Invitational.  You guys put on a great, entertaining show, and that's one of the reasons our membership is so willing to underwrite the weekend.  Well done to you all.

More particularly this year, I, and I know I speak for Peter as well, was touched by the presentation of the signed tributes to Peter, the Club, and to me for our efforts over the past seventeen years to make the Gold Racquet a special weekend.  Dylan Patterson deserves special thanks for all the time and effort he put into the project.  Peter and I were completely surprised, and, as I said, we were very touched by Dylan's and Hamed's kind words.  To each of you who were able to leave your signature: thank you.
 
For those of you who couldn't stay for all or any of the action yesterday, here's a quick wrap-up of Sunday's play.

In the singles draw,  the 10 am semi-final matched Yasser El Halaby against first-time GR appearing and fellow Princeton graduate, Dave Letourneau.  Yasser was fast out of the gate and never let up, winning 11/7, 11/3, 11/9.  Dave, coming off a Saturday which included a doubles match in the middle of the day bracketed by two tough, 5-game singles matches, may have been fatigued, but, in the end, a very fit and sharp  Halaby was not to be denied.  A similar result was in evidence in the 11 am semi.  Rei Hergeth (Trinity '13), despite arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in October, also appeared very fit and sharp against the ageless Richard Chin (Cornell '91), who had pushed through to the semis with 2 gritty, 5-game matches on Saturday afternoon.  Rei prevailed, 11/3, 11/4, 11/8.  Richard said to me afterwards, "I got steamrolled.  I was tired before my body got warmed up!"

Yasser and Rei squared off in the final after lunch.  At that point, neither player had lost a game all weekend, but a very determined, fit, and powerful El Halaby appeared to be on a mission, and he very quickly and efficiently took control of the match, winning by the scores of 11/4, 11/7, 11/6, thereby securing his first Gold Racquet.

On the doubles court, the 10 am semi-final saw last year's champions, Addison West and Will Hartigan get off to a quick start, winning the first two games, 15/13 and 15/12.  However, as he had all weekend, Peter Kelly started to put together his shots, hitting any number of tight reverse corners and short cross-courts into the nick.  Josh was solid on the left wall, and the momentum shifted completely as they closed out the match with scores of 15/12, 15/9, and 15/8.  The second semi pitted last year's finalists, Carl Baglio and Jordan Greenberg, against the former world # 1 doubles player, Chris Walker and Andres Vargas.  Baglio/Greenberg struck first, winning game one, 15/9, but thereafter it was all Walker and Vargas, with Walker mixing up his lobs and tight drops while Vargas was tracking down everything in sight and finishing with his crisp, tight reverse.

In the afternoon doubles final, the two teams split two very close games, with Walker/Vargas winning the first, 15/14, and Schwartz/Kelly taking the second, 15/13.  Thereafter the momentum seemed to shift in favor of Walker/Vargas.  Peter Kelly was not quite as sharp as he'd been all weekend and neither Walker nor Vargas gave Josh very many opportunities to exploit his shot-making skills.  Again, Vargas was all over the court, and, as the match wore on, Walker seemed to get sharper.  In the end, they closed out the match 15/8 and 15/9.

In his first appearance at the Gold Racquet, Chris, despite still feeling some of the effects of his 2015 hip replacement surgery, was a strong presence on the court, and Andres's quickness, fitness and improved shot-making since his first appearance in the doubles draw two years ago, carried the day.  Andres now becomes the 16th player to have won both the Gold Racquet Singles and the Ray Chauncey Doubles, joining recent additions to that list, Chris Callis and Dylan Patterson.

Congratulations to Chris and Andres for their doubles win and to Yasser El Halaby for his first Gold Racquet singles win 
 
Thanks again for helping to make the 85th edition of the Gold Racquet Invitational so successful.  Happy Holidays and a healthy New Year to you all.