Recap of the 2012 Pacific Coast Doubles Championships, Hosted by the Multnomah Athletic Club in Portland, Oregon
by Gary Johnson, special to DailySquashReport.com
February 7, 2012 - Eric von der Heyden (with co-chair Katherine Rowan) stepped up to the plate this year and hit a home run in his first appearance running a sanctioned squash tournament. Those that know Eric are not surprised by his success in marketing and organizational skills. Because of his commitment to serve each and every individual entry the best venue possible this 100-player tournament entry was treated to a wonderful three day weekend experience. The great food and refreshment along with the best competition (with nine divisions) that the West coast has to offer its patrons made this year’s PCDC one of the most memorable for years to follow, due in no small part to the level of play exhibited by some high-end talent.
Even before the Friday night players started to pack the squash lobby with the tell tale large travel duffels Viktor Berg was dazzling groups of anxious squash students with newly found skills. Yes, this weekend had something to offer everyone. As usual, one of Portland’s local micro-breweries provided complimentary refreshments for the weekend long tourney. Utilizing MAC’s two courts and Reed College’s refurbished doubles court, scheduled play was miraculously smooth. Each player was guaranteed two matches and most played at least three with consolation play offered in all divisions.
A recap of the tournament featured a finals match in all three open divisions which packed solid the larger gallery court area. The Women’s team of Vancouver team of Tessa Bruekels and Cathy Covernton pushed this year’s champions Katherine Johnson Rowan (MAC), former intercollegiate champion from Princeton, and Phoebe Trubowitz (MAC), former Yale captain, to a crowd lifting extra-point 5th game. The match appeared to be over with Bruekels and Covernton serving at 14-13 in the 5th, when, after an extended rally in which Trubowitz appealed whether or not their opponents ball bounced twice but play ensued for another 20 to 30 hits signaling that the referee saw all balls good, Bruekels and Covernton won the point and raised their arms in victory.
After the crowd finished what it thought was its post-match ovation, Trubowitz recalled her mid-point appeal, and both appeal judges agreed with her, making the score 14-14. Rowan and Johnson, having already rallied from 10-14, had too much momentum on their side to be stopped after the momentous reversal of fortune, and they rode their wave of momentum and closed out the game, and match, 17-14. The quality of the women’s match was top notch, and it is quite likely that these women would be contenders on the Women’s Doubles Squash Association tour if there were any events on the west coast.
The Mixed team of Sarah West and Eric Pearson (both of San Francisco) challenged the eventual team winners of Katherine Rowan and Mike Leckie (Vancouver, BC) to a five-game showdown as well. Once again, the match was full of momentum swings and exceptional quality of play. West and Pearson roared out to an 8-1 lead in the 5th game before Rowan and Leckie stormed back on a match ending 14-5 run to win 15-13, a feat made all the more impressive by the fact that Rowan was approaching 3 consecutive hours logged on the doubles court following the women’s final. Rowan showed remarkable stamina chasing down Sarah West’s threatening short game, and chased down enough balls to force a few critical errors from West during several of the matches critical stages.
The finale of matches was the Men’s championship. Peter Karlen and Eric Pearson (both of San Francisco) were seeded number two in the draw and were facing Viktor and Jason Del Vicario (both of Vancouver, BC), the number one seed. Pearson and Del Vicario faced each other in last year’s finals but with different partners. Pearson and Alex Dean triumphed 3-1 in last year’s final over Del Vicario and Kevin Jernigan. Jernigan teamed up with Tony Catalan (MAC) this year, with whom he has won this event multiple times, lost 3-0 in the semifinals to Karlen and Pearson.
In the other semifinals, Del Vicario and Berg won 2 overtime games during their 3-0 victory over Mike Leckie and Kevin Orphan, in a match that displayed Berg’s phenomenal court coverage and attacking ability. While the finals match was clearly entertaining with more than a few cross-over shots by the left-wall Viktor Berg, the dominance of Viktor was not as apparent as in the semi’s. Playing his second of consecutive matches left-wall player Eric Pearson sustained his energy enough to more than match shots with the everywhere presence of Viktor Berg.
While lobs and slow- and-steady strategy kept the poaching Berg at bay it was Eric’s firm left corner roll-out that was his most effective point maker. Peter Karlen was equally effective with volleying of deep tight lobs followed by precision reverse corner point making. His fronting, vertical posture was more than a distraction for Jason, his right wall opponent. After dropping the first game from an 11-8 lead, during which Del Vicario proved dangerous with several winners and steady play, Karlen and Pearson doubled down on their core strategy of pressuring Del Vicario with wall-hugging lobs to generate loose balls, and then attacking the entirety of the court to finish rallies, which proved effective due to solid exeuction in the 15-7, 15-12 second and third games.
Berg and Del Vicario attempted to change the course of the match by unconventionally switching walls heading into the 4th game, but Karlen and Pearson quickly adapted. While Berg and Del Vicario had some momentum serving at 10-11 in the 4th, and several in the crowd wondering whether Pearson’s legs would hold up should the match head to a decisive 5th game, Karlen and Pearson noticeably picked up the pace in a final strategic adjustment and powered their way to a 4-1 match-ending run.
Rounding out Sunday’s final matches were the age group divisions and division 1 and 2 teams. Bart McGuire (Tucson, AZ) carried a heavy load into his Sunday morning with wins in both the 70’s and the 60’s. Playing with a local MAC player Jim Archer in the senior division, Bart and Jim prevailed 3-1 against the visiting team of David O’Neal (SF) and Richard Silbar (Los Alamos).
In the 60’s, the wiley John Osburn (Vancouver B.C. and former national champion in the 60’s with Bart) joined Bart to stand off a challenge by the notably talented team of Richard Rice (NY) and James Gibbons (San Francisco), 3-1.
The 50’s veterans of Vancouver B.C, Brian Covernton and Glen McNeil handcuffed the local favorite, and winner of the Wrightson Cup final (also with Brian in the finals), Gary Johnson and Habib Rahman 3-0. I guess the series tie will have to be settled in the BC Doubles championships in March. The return of the winners of the Division 1 proved consistent with the 2010 finals. Only this time the winners split their team up for one last showdown. The result was a prevailing Benjamin Andrew with partner Jonathon Philpot against his previous partner Scott Matagrano and his partner Jeff Young. This match was a classic, all San Francisco marathon. Final score 3-2.
Probably the most exciting Mixed Div 1 division we have ever had at a MAC PCDC is Sunday’s all MAC finals with Andrea Bowen and Habib Rahman successfully facing off against Kate Slott and Derrick Cameron. Kate and Derrick would just not go away easily. Score 3-2. The finals match of Div 2 pitted the ex-MAC team of William Delacy and Jared Kennedy against the MAC team of Ann Witsil and Wendy Comstock. Score: Delacy and Kennedy 3 love. Congratulations William and Jared on your progression to your next assignment in Division 1.
Many thanks are due to Brian Covernton, a former winner of this event, who did an excellent job refereeing two Sunday finals matches in succession, a feat nearly on par with the back to back displays of fortitude by both Katherine Rowan, Eric Pearson and Bart McGuire. In the end the real winners were the Portland spectators who may have to wait a while to duplicate the visual morsel of the triple-header treat of the women’s, mixed and men’s finals.
The tournament will be hosted in San Francisco next year, and hopes to build on the momentum of this year’s event. The quality of the squash this weekend was top notch, and more than a few who watched throughout the weekend were wondering how these top west coast teams would stack up against the east coast teams in the mid-Atlantic and New England regions. Perhaps we will find out at this year’s nationals, or at next year’s Pacific Coast Championships, if any of the top east coast teams venture out to San Francisco to take a respite from the cold, Northeast winter. One can only hope…
Back To Main
