07/06/2022
The 2022 4th of July KOB was a great success; 10 players in all competed through some great weather. As the dust settled after the initial pool play, four players made it to the final pool: Denis Belov, Derek Nipps, Joe Ward and Jay Taylor.
The final pool was very competitive with two really close matches, but in the end Derek and Denis won out on differential over Jay (not bitter at all) to go to the final match.
With choice of partner riding on the roll off, Derek managed to inch out Denis and chose Noah as his partner. Denis (wisely) chose Tom Novellino as his dance partner. After a bit of a debate, it was decided to play a match, best of three, third game to 15.
Denis and Tommy won the first convincingly, 21-14 on the back of Denis' strong net play and Tommy's relentless defense.
But in the second game Derek and Noah came storming back behind a great defensive game from Derek and some timely serving, ultimately winning it, 21-18.
So the stage was set for a third game to 15. Denis and Tom took an early lead but Derek and Noah closed the gap to 11-9, with a crucial ace for the side change. But a side out and some service pressure ultimately lead to a 15-11 win for Denis and Tom.
Thanks to everyone who came out to play, and watch, including Cory and Maureen who took all of these great pictures. Also a big thanks to Stef for the amazing pizza muffins and to Venci for the salad. Also thanks to Joe Campbell for the shirts!
Already looking forward to next year!
