Jamie Fagan rode a magical mystery ride to the championship of the 2006 edition of the University Club Pro-Am Doubles over the weekend of January 13-16. Magical because he and partner James Hewitt (Toronto) escaped defeat at several junctures along the way, and mysterious because no one can figure out how they did it. Starting in the first round of the 16-team draw, they went to the fifth game against Doug Lifford (Boston) and Matthew Kozol, winning at 9. A relative four-game breather was the quarterfinal matchup with Marty Stocklan and the #1 professional player Gary Waite (Toronto). Awaiting them in the semifinals were Malcolm Davidson and Chris Deratnay (Toronto), who had not been tested too much by Steve Wolfe & Ben Gould (England) and Mat Sibble & Willy Hosey (Toronto) in the previous rounds. Jamie and James fell behind after three games, went down 14-10 in the fourth before miraculously winning five points in a row on some opportune drop shots from Jamie. In the fifth, it was even to the end at 13-all, then two more miracles for the match. The final was against Tom Poor & Tyler Millard (Toronto) who had experienced their own Perils of Pauline with two narrow five-game victories over John Connolly & Pat Malloy (Boston) and Scott Poirier & Nadeem Osman (Boston). The final was even all the way with Poor hitting a frame clunker to win the fourth at 15-14, had the lead at 13-10 in the final game, only to see Jamie and friend win the next five points and the match.  

The University Club Pro Doubles Championship and its sister tournament, the University Club Pro-Am Doubles Championship have become an important mid-January fixture on the ISDA Professional Doubles Tour. With 64 patrons and 16 amateur players providing financial support for the event, the professionals competed for $25,000 in prize money. In addition, the level of play in both the pro event and the pro-am tournament bring out sizeable galleries throughout the weekend.  An addition this year was a junior doubles tournament, run on Monday and won by Kristen Rubin and Adam Vartikar. The pro final, held on Monday, featured Preston Quick and Ben Gould, the current #1 ranked team, against the #3 seeded combination of Mike Pirnak and Clive Leach. After splitting the first two games, Quick and Gould proved to be steadier and won the final two games to claim their first Boston title.

The North Draw in the Pro-Am was composed of teams that won their first match, but lost in the second round of the main draw.  Joel Kozol and Michael Pirnak (Toronto) won in five over Connolly and  Malloy who were still stunned by their one point loss to Poor and Millard when Pat’s ball down the middle at 14-all in the fifth hit John in the back. In the other semifinal, Mat Sibble and Willy Hosey defeated Waite and Stocklan in five games despite Marty’s persistent reverse corners. In the final, Mat & Willy won in four as Joel’s legs lost some of their spring (very understandable for this veteran well into his eighth decade).

In the West Draw, featuring first round losers, Dave Dali, as he has often done before, planned to win again, this time with Joe Pentland (New York). The strategy was reasonable in the first round as they won in four over Doc Grossman and Preston Quick (Denver). Things tightened in the semis as John Brazilian & Viktor Berg (Vancouver) led 2-1 in games before Dave eked out the fourth by a point and won the fifth at 11. The streak ended Sunday morning in the final against Matthew Kozol and Lifford, who had defeated Dick Whitney & Alex Pavulans (Latvia) in a long five-game semifinal. Matthew was very reliable on the right wall for the duration of their five game final victory.

The South Draw featured Jim Bildner, the only amateur who has played in all 9 Pro-Am tournaments beginning with the inaugural event in 1998. He paired with the always enthusiastic Scott Butcher (New York) to defeat Grossman and Quick in the semi-finals. Awaiting them were Jay Hirshberg and our own Chris Spahr who had slipped by Wolfe, arrayed in tattered t-shirts, & Gould in four as well. The finals of course went to the fifth where Jay finally outduelled Jim on the right wall to win at 12.

And now, for this year's awards:

    Rookie of the Year: Mat Sibble - He won the North draw with a minor assist from Willy Hosey.

    Best Tan: John Brazilian - Looked like he just arrived from Aruba.

    Unbelievable: Jamie Fagan, of course.

    Really Needs Help: Steve Wolfe - Desperate for a new wardrobe.

    A Close Second: Malcolm Davidson - A collection was taken to buy him new shorts.

    Real Winner: Scott Poirier - Lost a close one in the semis but gained a new son, Hudson.

    Most Persistent: Jim Bildner - Hasn’t missed a Pro-Am yet.

    Most Improved: Doc Grossman - Didn’t lock anyone out of a condo this year.

    Most Spirited: Dr. Dick Whitney - Returned after a year off to give everyone problems.

    Unluckiest: John Connolly - Hit by his partner’s shot at 14-all in the 5^th.

    Most Relentless: Joel Kozol - Kept hitting the reverse off the serve until it worked.

    Non-Sophomore Slump: Marty Stocklan - Played two great five-game matches.

    How Does This Guy Do It?: Dave Dali - Almost won the West draw again when no one takes him seriously.

    Most Unexpected: A big smile from Jay Hirshberg when he won the South draw.

    Keeps on Truckin’: Matthew Kozol - Played four five-game matches in less than 48 hours to win the West.

    Most Encumbered: Tom Poor - Needed a haircut to cut down the wind resistance.

    Most Downcast: Lenny Bernheimer & Sandy Tierney - Sidelined by injuries to administrative duties, missing their first Pro-Am.

As the finishing touches are put on the final draw memorializing the 2006 Pro-Am Doubles event in anticipation of its prominent display beside the University Club Doubles Court, entries are already being submitted for the 2007 Championship.