Sunday, March 20, 2011

Spring Break 2011

Our first day trip to St. John suggested that is the place to be on future trips to the Caribbean. St. John is far less commercialized than St. Thomas where virtually every beautiful overlook and beach is marred by a tourist attraction. Cruz Bay has some cute shops, but after that the development ends and the island is about like it looked in 1920. Not bad. It was the second and third days on St. John that really made the smaller island stand out. Snorkeling at Leinster Bay and Waterlemon Cay was awesome, but Trunk Bay is what stole the show. The beach is the best we've ever seen and the snorkeling is the best the VI has to offer.



Among the highlights we've been looking forward to this Spring Break, in addition to getting away to warm and sunny St. Thomas, is the chance to take our tennis back outdoors after a winter of trying to keep the game loose indoors at the Players Club. Since Reagan is now competitive if not already better than us adults, we will be playing daily round robins with 3 points for winning both daily matches, 1 point for winning one match and no points for losing both matches. Here's the running tally.



  • Sunday, March 20. Vince was down 1-4 to Reagan early in the first set, but came back to win 7-5. Since the winner keeps the court, Angie was the next opponent. She went down early and never came back. Vince won the second match 6-1. Reagan also beat Angie 6-4 to take the fourth point. The score is Vince 3, Reagan 1, Angie 0.
  • Monday, March 21. The girls played first today and Angie got some revenge beating Reagan 7-5. She didn't beat Vince though falling for a second day, albeit this time just 4-6. The tight match was Reagan vs. Daddy. The lead swapped a few times and it came down to a tie breaker with Rea winning 7-6. The points were split equally putting the daily tally at Vince 4, Reagan 2, Angie 1.
  • Tuesday, March 22. Today we went over to St. John for the morning, so tennis waited until late afternoon. If anything, the weather was better than in the morning. Despite 28 unforced errors and starting out 0-3, Daddy beat Reagan 7-5. Angie was a different matter however and my sloppy play earned me a 5-7 loss. Angie gave away two late games including a break, but still beat Reagan 6-2 to earn the day's 3 points. That brings the trip totals to Vince 5, Angie 4 and Reagan 2.
  • Wednesday, March 23. Reagan played tough against Daddy today, but an early break gave him the lead that led to a 6-4 win for Vince. Angie started off 0-3 but drew the second match even at four all. Vince won the last two games to take the match 6-4 and the day's three points. After the break Reagan came out swinging under the lights and won the first two games of her match with Angie. After getting the break back and squaring the match at two games each, Rea went on to win 6-3. The trip total now stands at Vince 8, Angie 4 and Reagan 3.
  • Thursday, March 24. This was warmest morning of the trip and two sets each really felt hot. Vince beat Reagan 6-1 in the first match, but the second match against Angie went to a tie breaker. Vince won the breaker 7-4 to take the three points. Angie rolled over Rea in the last match 6-1 to take the single point. The trip total now stands at Vince 11, Angie 5 and Reagan 3.
  • Sunday, March 27. We got one more match in on departure day morning. Vince beat Reagan 6-3 then Angie 6-1. Angie beat Reagan 6-1 to finish the week. The final trip points are Vince 14, Angie 6 and Reagan 3.

Saturday, March 05, 2011

Reagan Resor Plays Her First USTA Tournament

She has been playing tennis for five years. She is 9 years old. The fun tournaments have been fun. The Bernard Masters Series has been great. But this is the USTA. Seems big time to us. Reagan had the benefit of playing her first USTA tournament on her home court at the Players Club where she spends about ten hours every week. Needless to say, Mom and Dad were on the edge of our seats.

Each of the nine 12 and under girls is guaranteed at least two matches. Rea's first match was against a nice girl who played a lot like Australian Open finalist Li Na. Wild top spin, exceedingly sound all around game, works the ball like someone far beyond her years. Reagan won two games. Not bad.

She had Friday night and most of the day Saturday to think about her second match. They call it the Back Draw. It's a very encouraging term. USTA tournaments are all about acquiring points to establish and build a national ranking. You have to play three USTA tournaments to be ranked. It's a goal. Anyway, Reagan's second match was against an un-ranked girl who drew a bye the first round. Rea's game looked good during the warm up and she jumped out to an early lead that went on to become a win at 6-1, 6-1. Her first USTA victory!

Her third match was pretty deep into the back draw (the semi-finals as it were) against a 12 and a half year old with a steady serve and solid game. Reagan won two quick games and went on to win the first set 7-5. She won the first game of the second set, but lost some momentum and lost the second set 3-6. After them match she rationalized that she "was pacing herself for the tie breaker." Right. The USTA plays a 10 point tie breaker in the 12 singles division. Reagan won the first 8 points and went on to win the match 10-4 in the tie-breaker.

The finals of the back draw is Sunday morning at 8:00 am. Bright and early. Stay tuned for updates!