Hot Hot Hot

HOT, HOT, HOT…It was a hot day for the Jammers indeed.  The temperature reached 100 degree, by the time the Jammers play, it got cool down a little bit, yeah, to about 98 degree.  Holy fish, it was hot.  The heat didn’t seem to stop the Jammers; they were once again victorious this week against the Slice Girls.

Super KUDOS went out to our singles players.  They played tough and hard in the heat.  Teresa Emerson fought hard but come up short; she lost to Leigh Lewis in straight sets 5-7, 5-7.  Kayla Ratliff met up against Carol Goldstein second time in a row this season, and was victorious once again with the scores of 6-1, 6-3.

Our doubles team of Beth Wilson and Suzanne Lennard won their match against the Slice Girls’ toughest doubles team, Susy Barr and Peggy Lindsey, with the scores of 7-5, 7-6 (7-5).  Kelly Kramer and Nancy Winters hung in there and won their match against Erin McAninch and Julie Warren in a tie-break with the scores for the match of 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-5).  Also victorious were Karen Griffin and Lisa Powell with a win against Ann Vogel and Yvonne Bussmann in straight sets 6-2, 6-4.  Lisa admitted that she even played nice this week, no yelling, screaming, or being hateful to her opponents. J

YES, the Jammers are still undefeated 7-0 for the season so far.   WOO HOO!!!

The Jammers have a little over two weeks before District playoffs.  Even though they will be short with some players, I still think if they all work together, they can pull a victory that District weekend.  There’s no ‘I’ in ‘Team’.  They’re Jammers, they can do anything!

Until next time, stay cool!

On The Road Again

This week the Jammers are on the road again, to Joplin, to play against the High Strung.  I wasn’t going to go with them, because I was kind of disappointed in the team, but more on that later.  Come Sunday evening, I’ve decided I should go with them to Joplin, since I haven’t seen Kelly play singles nor Kayla and Heidi play doubles.  So I went along with the team.

For the third time in a row, the Jammers won all 5 courts in their match.  I think it’s because we brought ‘Tia” with us.  I guess I forgot to mention Tia before.  Hee-Sun brings Tia on road trips with the Jammers.  I guess Tia is kind of the team’s mascot.  Plus she seems to bring us luck. 

This is Tia - Jammers' Mascot

Teresa Emerson won her singles match against Stacey Iorio 6-2, 6-0.  Kelly Kramer played her first singles for the season, also won with the scores of 6-4, 6-1 against Tammy Hunter.

We haven’t seen Suzanne Lennard much this season, but she teamed up with Beth Wilson and won their match 6-2, 6-3 against Beth Sellers and Terra Baugh.  Our doctors team of Hee-Sun Kim and Margaret Taylor, once again proved they have that Asian Caucasian Persuasion going on, for they dominate their opponents Karen Talbott and Kristine Bhend with the scores of 6-1, 6-1.

Kayla Ratliff and Heidi Smith seem to have a little bit of a rougher time with their match.  They played against the mother and daughter team of Kimberly Higdon and Christina Higdon.  In the first set, Kayla and Heidi won with the score of 6-4.  They lost in the second set in a tie-break 6-7 (8-10).  In the third set tie-break, the Jammers were cheering Kayla and Heidi on.  I've heard TE saying something like ‘TIME TO DIG IN! RUB SOME DIRT IN IT!  Now what in the world does that mean?  I’m not quite sure.  Kayla and Heidi just hung in there and won the tie-break 10-4.  

So with the win this week, the Jammers are still undefeated 6-0.

Some of the Jammers in Joplin - Teresa, Heidi, Kelly, Beth, Margaret, Suzanne, Kayla, and Hee-Sun (with Tia)

Jammers with their Captain - Huong Doan

Late last week, I’ve found out that the Jammers might not even play in the District playoffs the weekend of July 14-15.  Due to scheduling conflict, some of the Jammers won’t be in town to play.  If we don’t have the minimum of 8 players present, we are not qualified to play.  Talk about disappointment!  I wasn’t sure how I feel, mad in a way, disappointed, angry, not quite sure.  I was not a happy camper.  We talked about going to Sectionals all the time.  Well, if we’re not going to Districts, there isn’t going to be a Sectionals.  Then I thought, maybe these girls don’t even want to go to Sectionals, maybe it’s me that wants to go.  We worked so hard to give up that chance, and I just hate for them not to go, that’s all.  I believe in all the girls, I know they can go far this season, and if they believe that, I know they wanted to go to Sectionals as bad as I do.   We have a great team and if we all work together, we are unstoppable. 

The Jammers didn’t let me down.  Early this week, the Jammers all talked and we have enough players to go to Districts.  We have three matches left, we just need to make sure we kick butts in those matches and be ready to play at Districts.  We won’t have all the Jammers for Districts but I hope all the girls will still continue to work hard together and come up with a win and get us to the Sectional Championship.   

I send these quotes out to the team, something for them to think about and to motivate them.  All these quotes are from Pat Summitt.

"When you choose to be a competitor, you choose to be a survivor.  When you choose to compete, you make the conscious decision to find out what your real limits are, not just what you think they are.  Competition trains you to accept risks and endure setbacks.  By embracing it you can enhance your life.  But it will also pull you through those painful, frightening, everyday battles that we all have to face at one time or another.  Ask yourself, 'Are you a competitor?”

 

      “Individual success is a myth.  No one succeeds all by herself”     

      “Put the Team Before Yourself”

      “Success is about having the right person, in the right place, at the right  time.”

      “Teamwork allows common people to obtain uncommon results.”

      “In group success there is individual success.”

      “Make Winning an Attitude.”

      “No one ever got anywhere by being negative.”

      “Confidence is what happens when you’ve done the hard work that entitles  you to succeed.”

      “Competition isn’t social.  It separates achievers from the average.”

     “Value those ‘teammates’ who tell you the truth, not just what you want to hear.”

It Keeps Getting Better

Our Jammer girls did it again this week; they won all 5 courts against the TopSpin team.  Kayla Ratliff won her singles match against Maggie Smith 6-2, 6-4.  Theresa Lor made her debut and won her match 6-1, 1-6, 1-0 against Michelle Rust. 

After an interesting argument over bad line calls, our doubles team of Karen Griffin and Lisa Powell won their match against their opponents Tijuana Julian and Lisa Acosta 6-3, 6-4.  The team of Carol Rollins and Nancy Winters also brought in a win after trailing at 2-5 in the second set to come out on top with the scores for the match of 6-2, 7-5 against Candise Kroutil and Judy Daugherty.   And our doctors’ team of Hee-Sun Kim and Margaret Taylor had an easy time with their match.  They won their match within an hour against Leah Clark and Lori Robinson 6-0, 6-0.

Five matches under their belt the Jammers are undefeated.  Way to go Jammers!

Team Standings

Team Name	Wins	Losses	Indiv. Wins	Indiv. Losses	Sets Lost	Games Lost
Jammers	5	0	21	4	11	149
Slice Girls	3	2	16	9	20	209
TopSpin	1	4	8	17	36	255
High Strung	1	4	5	20	41	271

Next week, the Jammers are back on the road to Joplin to play against the High Strung.  Good Luck Jammers!  May the aces be with you!!!

Cooper Summer Fever

Last weekend, June 8 – 10 was the Cooper Summer Fever Tennis Tournament.  Our own Kayla Ratliff did really well.  She was the Women’s 3.5 Champion when she defeated Lisa Acosta in the Final 2-6; 6-2; 10-4.  Way to go Kayla!





Kayla Ratliff and Lisa Acosta after the Championship match



Kayla Ratliff - 3.5 Women's Champion

After that, she team up with her partner, Andrew Pohlman, and also won the 4.0 Mixed Doubles Championship. Yes, she beat out no other than, her own, Jammers’ captain, yes, that would be me, for that first place medal. The student becomes the teacher. I taught her well. Okay, maybe she didn’t learn from me, Kayla and her partner just played better than me and my partner that day. My congrats goes out to her and her partner.  KUDOS to both of you!!!

Kayla Ratliff & Andrew Pohlman



Kayla Ratliff & Andrew Pohlman - 4.0 Mixed Champions



Robert 'Bob' Craig & Huong Doan - 4.0 Mixed Finalist

And YES, we are advertising the CLIF bars!!!



On A Roll

June 4th Match:

Even though it was a long and tough weekend for some of the Jammers, they still have a match to play when Monday came.  Teresa Emerson and Kelly Kramer didn’t get home from their match until around 1:00 AM Monday morning, but they were ready for their match against the Slice Girls, for they know this would be one of the most important matches for us. 

All the girls did well; we won all 5 courts against the Slice Girls.  Hee-Sun Kim won her singles against Leigh Lewis 6-4, 6-2.  Kayla Ratliff also did well in her singles match over her opponent Carol Goldstein with the scores of 6-3, 6-2.

Our doubles team of Teresa Emerson and Nancy Winters won their match with the scores of 6-1, 6-3.  The team of Karen Griffin and Lisa Powell brought in a win for the team with their scores of 7-5, 6-3.  And our third doubles team of Beth Wilson and Kelly Kramer were also victorious with the scores of 6-1, 6-0.

Way to go Jammers!!!

Spam Slam

Some of the Jammers traveled to Bentonville AR on June 1 – June 3 to play in the Spam Slam Tournament.  I believe it is called the Spam Slam because Spam is the major sponsor for the tournament.  Kelly Kramer and Teresa Emerson have been to this tournament for the last few years and think it is the best tennis tournament ever.  We took their words for it and decided to join them this year. 

Our Goody Bag

Inside Our Goody Bag



Friday June 1:  We all left for Bentonville on Friday afternoon, none of us have to play on Friday evening except for Hee-Sun Kim.  When we arrived in Bentonville, Teresa Emerson, Kelly Kramer, Nancy Winters, Debbie O’Reilly and I decided to go to Buffalo Wild Wings to have some wings and beers before heading out to the court to see Hee-Sun play her 8:00 PM match. 

It was a perfect night to play tennis.  It must have rain earlier since they had a delay on Hee-Sun’s match and instead of playing best out of 3 sets; they had to do the 8-game pro set.  Hee-Sun had no problem at all against her opponent; she beats Paula Kaufmann with the score of 8-4.

Hee-Sun Kim

Saturday Morning, June 2:  It was a busy day for all of us.  Nancy has an early singles match at 8:00 AM.  Teresa/Kelly, Hee-Sun/Margaret Taylor, and Karen Griffin/Julie Warren all have their doubles matches at 9:00 AM.  Debbie and I didn’t have to play until that afternoon at 4:30 PM. 

It was a tough first match for everyone.  Nancy fought hard but come up short; she lost in two sets to Emily Espinosa 6-3, 6-4. 

Nancy Winters

Our doubles team of Teresa/Kelly, in the Round of 16, it was a dog fight in the first set for sure, and they managed to beat their opponent Paige Doyle and Julie Fackler 7-5.  And then they breeze through the second set with the score of 6-2, which earned them a spot in the Quarter Finals.

Teresa Emerson and Kelly Kramer after their win in the Round of 16, with their opponents - Paige Doyle and Julie Fackler.

The team doctors of Hee-Sun Kim and Margaret Taylor had a tough match in the Round of 16.  They played the mother and daughter team.  Hee-Sun and Margaret played hard but lost in the first set 6-4.  They fought back and won the second set 7-5.  The mother and daughter team, Kathryn Kalinowski and Patricia Moberley hold their ground and come back to beat our team in third set tie-break.

Margaret Taylor and Hee-Sun Kim

Our third doubles team of Julie Warren and Karen Griffin had an even tougher time in their Round of 16.  They were playing the #2 seed team of Jennifer Goodson and Gabriela Hendricks.  They lost in two sets with the scores of 6-1, 6-4.

Saturday Afternoon, June 2:  In the Quarter Finals, Teresa and Kelly had to face the mother and daughter team, Kathryn Kalinowski and Patricia Moberley.  It was an unbelievable match.  Teresa and Kelly lost in the first set 5-7.  At this point Teresa was a little upset with the way the mother been calling some of the line calls.  So with some words of encouragement from one of her teammate, Nancy, Teresa was able to remain calm and win the next set in a tie-break 7-6.  They have nothing to lose, and was way behind in the third set tie-break, both Teresa and Kelly fought hard.  With a lot of determination to win, and a little ticked off at their opponent, they pulled it together and come back to win the match.  They earned a spot in the Semifinals.

That afternoon, Hee-Sun and Maggie played the team that Teresa and Kelly had played in the morning, the team of Paige Doyle and Julie Fackler.   It was a great match between the two teams.  The odds were in our favor that day, Hee-Sun and Maggie come out victorious with the scores of 6-4, 7-5.  They are in the Semifinals of the consolation bracket.

After winning her doubles match, Hee-Sun had to go over and played her singles match against Emily Espinosa.  It was a long match for Hee-Sun, but that’s what we expect from all of Hee-Sun’s matches.  She likes to keep her opponent on the court as long as she can.  After what it seems like forever, Hee-Sun won her match with the scores of 6-2, 6-7, 1-0, which earn her a spot in the Finals.

The Jammers were on a roll that afternoon.  Nancy also played her singles match in the consolation bracket that afternoon.  She dominate over her opponent, Paula Kaufmann, with the scores of 6-0, 6-0 to earn a spot in the finals in the consolation bracket.

Debbie and I are still waiting for our match to begin

Everyone had played two matches and was done for the day.  Debbie and I finally get around playing our first match.  We must have been sitting around too long all day because our match didn’t go quite as well as we expected.  We both felt like it was the weirdest match we have ever played.  We lost to our opponent, Barbara Johnson and Sandy Stursma, 6-2, 6-0. 

Sunday, June 3:  It rain the night before and into the morning, so there was more rain delay this morning.  This is it, the final day of the Spam Slam tournament.  Our morning match starts out with Hee-Sun singles match in the Finals.  It doesn’t seem like Hee-Sun had any trouble at all with her match.  She blasted her opponent, Rebecca Darding, and won the 3.5 singles title with the scores of 6-0, 6-3.

Hee-Sun Kim - 1st Place Women's 3.5 Singles
(Hee-Sun didn't keep her winning towel, she gave it to me.  She said i have inspired her to win that final match.  Awww, isn't that nice of her?)

While Hee-Sun was playing her match, Nancy, Debbie and I went and play our next match.  Nancy played the #1 seed, Monica Weigle, though she played hard, Nancy couldn’t come up with a win, she lost with the score of 8-5.

Debbie and I played our Quarterfinals match in the consolation bracket against Billie Hendren and Bev Unis.  We felt better about this match then the one we played on Saturday.  We won with the score of 8-2 and a spot in the Semifinals of the consolation bracket.

After Hee-Sun won her singles match, she team up with Maggie again to play their doubles match against Amy Anderson and Jacqueline Shearman.  It was a very close match, but they came through one more time with a win of 9-7 and a spot in the Finals of the consolation bracket.

Once Debbie and I won our match against Billie and Bev, we went on to play our next match against a sister’s team of Kelli Wineman and Mary Wolf.  I think it was one of the best matches we played that weekend.  We lost 8-5, but I think we played well, no regrets of any kind.

Back at the Walton Life Fitness Center, Kelly and Teresa were battling it out in their Semifinals match against their opponents, Ann Lindsey and Melanie Whitehead.  It was an even match, no one made any mistakes, and it could have gone either way.  But our Jammer girls pull it through one more time with a win of 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 and a spot in the Finals. 

 After watching Kelly and Teresa won their Semifinals match, we went back to the Memorial Park to see Hee-Sun and Maggie played their final match of the day.  It was also another great match, but the Jammers couldn’t win every bracket, we fail short on this one.  Hee-Sun and Maggie lost to Amanda Madrid and Tabitha Watkins with the score of 8-6.

 All of us left after Hee-Sun and Maggie’s match.  We didn’t know when Kelly and Teresa were going to play their Finals match.  Good thing we didn’t waited around, because they didn’t get to play until about 9:00 PM that night and they didn’t get done with their match until a little after 11:00 PM.  They were okay with it since they beat their opponents, Penny Holland and Tammy Waddell, 6-2, 7-5 to be the 3.5 Women’s Doubles winners.  How cool is that?

Teresa Emerson and Kelly Kramer - 1st Place Women's 3.5 Doubles

Long day and long weekend for all the Jammers, but happy endings for the team.  We came, we played, and we conquered.  What more can we ask for?

This is definitely the best tournament we've been to.  They feed us all day long, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, plus all kinds of snacks.  We all will be back next year!

Debbie O'Reilly and Kelly Kramer watching Hee-Sun & Maggie's match

Karen Griffin & Teresa Emerson - just hanging out

Huong Doan & Debbie O'Reilly

Kelly Kramer, Margaret Taylor, Hee-Sun Kim, Teresa Emerson,  Julie Warren
(I think Hee-Sun is in love with the Spam Man)

Debbie won this blanket in the door prize drawing...and no, she didn't give it to me, she kept it for herself.

I did made it home with this banner, and NO, I did not steal it!

RECAP OF THE SPAM SLAM:

NTRP Women’s 3.5 Doubles:

Finals:  Teresa Emerson/Kelly Kramer d. Penny Holland/Tammy Waddell   6-2; 7-5

Semifinals:  Teresa Emerson/Kelly Kramer d. Ann Lindsey/Melanie Whitehead  6-4; 4-6; 1-0     

Quarterfinals:  Teresa Emerson/Kelly Kramer d. Kathryn Kalinowski/Patricia Moberley  5-7; 7-6; 1-0

Round of 16:  Teresa Emerson/Kelly Kramer d. Paige Doyle/Julie Fackler 7 -5; 6-2

                        Kathryn Kalinowski/Patricia Moberley d. Hee-Sun Kim/ Margaret Taylor  6-4; 5-7; 1-0

                        Jennifer Goodson/Gabriela Hendricks d.  Julie Warren/Karen Griffin 6-1; 6-4

Consolation:

Finals:  Amanda Madrid/Tabitha Watkins d. Hee-Sun Kim/Margaret Taylor  8-6

Semifinals:  Hee-Sun Kim/Margaret Taylor d  Amy Anderson/Jacqueline Shearman  9-7

Quarterfinals:  Hee-Sun Kim/Margaret Taylor d. Paige Doyle/Julie Fackler  6-4; 7-5

NTRP Women’s 3.5 Singles:

Finals:  Hee-Sun Kim d. Rebecca Darding  6-0; 6-3

Semifinals:  Hee-Sun Kim d.  Emily Espinosa  6-2; 6-7; 1-0

Quarterfinals:  Hee-Sun Kim d.  Paula Kaufmann  8-4

                           Emily Espinosa d. Nancy Winters  6-3; 6-4

Consolation:

Finals:  Monica Weigle (1) d. Nancy Winters  8-5

Quarterfinals:  Nancy Winters d. Paula Kaufmann  6-0; 6-0

NTRP Women’s 4.0 Doubles:

Quarterfinals:  Barbara Johnson/Sandy Stursma d. Huong Doan/Debbie O’Reilly  6-2; 6-0

           

Consolation:

Semifinals:  Kelli Wineman/Mary Wolf d. Huong Doan/ Debbie O’Reilly  8-5

Quarterfinals:  Huong Doan/Debbie O’Reilly d. Billie Hendren/Bev Unis  8-2