USATT LEAGUE of the Month - Jan/Feb 2007

The Kingston Ping Pong League

Kingston, NY

By Brendan Denvir

The Kingston Ping Pong League hasn’t been around long yet, but it’s been very active since the beginning, with lots of excitement, rivalries, and upsets.  Here are some of the best twists and turns so far:

1.     Sean Denvir vs. Brendan Denvir – A father-son rivalry that just goes back and forth.  Brendan has lost only to his father.  Sean’s style of play was built to compete with his son, giving him the best chance of winning.  After many years of practicing by themselves, their matches consistently come down to the final points, often the most competitive matches in the Kingston Ping-Pong League.

2.     Andrew Catalano’s rivalry with Denvir – Andrew is attending boarding school so he can only participate in weekend matches.  Andrew’s tennis talent showed that he had a lot of potential.  He said that he was ready to take on Brendan in a showdown.  Andrew has improved quite a bit and put up a fight, almost taking the first and second game. But Brendan fended him off, 11-9, 11-7, and 11-5.  Andrew has gone back to school but is still improving.  We can’t wait until the next battle.

3.     Upset Specials - Ranked fourth in our league, George Demosthenes faced his lowly ranked opponent, Evan D’Auge.  George took him too easily.  Evan stayed consistent (something he has been unable to do in the past) and George made his mistakes.  After Evan dominated the first game 11-6, George realized he had to pick it up, and jumped out to an 8-2 lead – only to let Evan go on a 9-1 run and win. A smile crossed Evan’s face with the huge win.

Paul Larios (ranked fourth) took on lowest ranked Brendan McEvoy for his first match of a round robin.  Larios was so confident he considered playing lefty to show off, but changed his mind because he wanted to warm up for his upcoming match against Brendan Denvir.  McEvoy just tapped the ball back consistently, as Larios made mistakes.  After each point McEvoy won, he laughed and kept saying, “I got this.”  Larios finally realized his situation when McEvoy led 10-9 game point.  McEvoy used the same strategy (tap) and Larios, oh so tentative, knocked the ball to the bottom of the net.  The next game was deja-vu for McEvoy.  He kept tapping, laughing and smiling as Larios stayed tight.  Final Score: 11-9, 11-9.  Spectators stormed the table and Larios refused to leave the table without a rematch. He never was given one, and McEvoy took advantage of his bragging rights.  

We had been into ping-pong for a while, and when I found out I could start a league I knew it was a great idea.  It has been – and just wait and see what happens this next year!

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