The Champions are Crowned
The Champions are Crowned
The 1st Annual Media Breakaway Tennis Tournament came to an incredible finish on Thursday, as our men’s and women’s championship matches were played before a standing room only crowd. The fans came out in droves, many decked out in t-shirts and costumes to support their favorites players. Security was fairly tight, but some lucky spectators got the chance to meet a few of their tennis idols.
While there was bedlam in the stands, the action on the court was even more dramatic. In the men’s consolation match, Jon “Ringo” Ringhofer took on “Where there’s a” Will “there’s a way” Charland in a battle of the nicknames. These two titans didn’t treat their match as if it was just a consolation round. Each player raised his game to new heights and put on a fantastic show for the fans. After what had to be a three-hour match, Ringo was able to raise his arms in victory and claim 3rd place. A clearly exhausted, but elated Ringhofer addressed the crowd as he received his trophy. “I would like to thank the academy for this incredible honor, my family for their unwavering support, and the inventor of IcyHot for helping me get through the incredible past few weeks of the tournament.”
In the women’s championship Remijia “Re” Santopietro faced off against Kacy Manning in a hotly anticipated match. The fans really got into the spirit of things with one overly excited group of Santopietro supporters belting out wildly original cheers including “let’s go Re, let’s go Re, let’s go Re” and “we like Re, we like Re, we like Re”. Re seemed to be energized by her fan base and came from behind to take a hotly contested second set and win the match.
The men’s championship was a classic matchup, with the seasoned vet, Steve Richter going up against the up-and-comer, Doug Davis. This was the match that the fans had been hoping for since the tournament began, with the two top-seeded players advancing to meet in the finals. The match started off with an intense 15 minute first game, as each player attempted to make an immediate statement. Doug displayed an aggressive offensive game, while Steve remained poised and ready to take advantage of any openings. Steve finally took the first game after an intense final point and set the tone for the rest of the match. Each game was hard fought, with each player making shot after shot. But when the smoke cleared (literally, the smoke from the BBQ next door which wafted across the court) Steve emerged victorious to take the championship.
“While I am disappointed that we weren’t able to finish the tournament in time to use it as a launching pad for the US Open, I am truly honored to have won the first Media Breakaway Men’s Tennis Championship,” Steve said amidst a cheering and exuberant crowd. “My opponent gave it his all, but this does show that experience and guile can indeed overcome youth and enthusiasm.”
We are told that travel and scheduling difficulties kept ESPN from being able to televise the finals, but fortunately, we were able to capture some video of the matches. Stay tuned as we edit the hours of footage and post some of the highlights over the next week.
