The Championship match in pictures:

These photos were taken by KYLE SCHEWE -- who dedicated his time and skill to pictorially record the 2011 finals.

Many participated in the final match.  They endured rain and chill to be there.  Each making  their own  contribution to this event.  Thank you all! Hope you enjoy the movie -- Steve England

Rain plagued final helps SV to repeat!

Sopcic leads early as SV has to keep playing catchup! 

When SV comes from behind to tie the 1st-set at 5-all.  It looks like a tie-breaker was in the making!  Then Sopcic steps up his game, easily taking the next two to win the 1st-set 7-5.

In the 2nd, players mostly hold serve (aided by the puddles on the court) until they're tied at 4-all! This time SV seems to step up his game slightly, and takes two straight to level the match!

The final set was a different story!  SV scores four unanswered games before Sopcic gets on the board!  Sopcic then wins another, and now we have a match!  Leading 4-2, SV is determined not to blow his lead!  SV breaks Sopcic for a 5-2 edge, then benefits from some uncharacteristic unforced errors to win the match, and the championship!  SV tops TB 5-7,6-4,6-2.

SV would like to congratulate TB on an impressive season -- coming within 1-set of winning the championship in his 1st season of play!  Thanks go out to all who helped, and participated in the tournament, and SPECIAL THANKS to BY, BW, DR, KB + kids, KI, KS, JT, OC, and RB.  Also, I can't thank everyone enough for the kind gesture of giving me a gift certificate to 801 Chophouse... Wow, that was a surprise!

Rain almost postpones match!

"Rain, rain go away!" Were the words rumbling around court-side today. The weather certainly had an impact on today's championship match, at times even threatening to suspend the action for another day.  Players continued swinging through soggy tennis balls loaded down with water, and adjusting their strokes to compensate.

Spectators and umpire alike shivered in the damp conditions, but most remained to the end!  It certainly wasn't ideal conditions for tennis, but the rooster-tails spinning off the balls as they rocketed through the air, and the unusual bounces created unexpected difficulties which had to be compensated for.  In the end... both players were equally impacted, but the wet conditions probably took Sopcic's speed advantage away.  This surely leveled the age and fitness discrepancy, and perhaps prevented Sopcic's first Championship victory!

Championship Match Scheduled!

The final match of the 2011 TowerTennis Championship will be held Wednesday October 12 at 4pm.  Court-12 at the Waveland Tennis Complex.
4822 Observatory Rd, Des Moines, IA 50311

View Larger Map

Sopcic cleared to play!

CLEARED TO PLAY!!!  Was the consensus of the TowerTennis Ethics Committee. In a unanimous decision... Finalist Sopcic will not be prevented from competing for the title after failing to disclose childhood training.  The compelling email testimony of Sopcic's father Mark, heavily influenced the committee's decision.

Although the committee was united in that Sopcic should play for the title, there was further controversy as some committee members exceeded their purview, and went beyond the scope that they were authorized.  Although my actions as Tennis Director certainly appear to be nefariously motivated.  I alone know that my actions were justified, and am not afraid of publishing dissenting opinions.  "If a position cannot stand up to criticism, then that position should be abandoned" -- Steve England 2011.  The charges levied against me as Tennis Director/Commissioner are a result of not looking deeper into the reasons for my actions.  I personally believe that a victory is proportional to the difficulty with which is was achieved!  By eliminating my competition through disqualification -- I eliminate the glory of any potential victory.  I would further add that I have never lost in tournament play to the individuals in question.  Therefore, why would I feel a need to disqualify them, unless I felt it justified?  On the surface it only makes me look bad, and again -- minimizes any glory associated with a victory.

Below is the most outspoken opinion:

The 2011 Tower Tennis Ethics Committee was convened in order to determine the eligibility status of one, Matthew Sopcic, a 2011 Tower Tennis participant, in his first year of competition. The ethics committee  considered many details before rendering a decision. Items considered included, past practices, family member statements, as well as a complete examination of the individuals ethics and moral fortitude. The committee found that one, Matthew Sopcic, did indeed compromise the integrity of the Tower Tennis tournament, as well as himself, by failing to fully disclose his previous tennis experience and skill level. This allowed Mr. Sopcic to "ramrod" his way through the lower bracket with little to no resistance. Meanwhile, upper level players , much like himself, were forced to compete with equal competition, which resulted in many elite level players being eliminated from the tournament early. This clearly gave Mr. Sopcic a competitive advantage, as he did not have to sacrifice his body match in and match out while those in the upper bracket were slowly being worn down by similar level competition. Mr. Sopcic's "sandbagging" approach throughout the 2011 Tower Tennis Tournament is a shame and an embarrassment for those of us who hold it in such high regard. However, due to the fact that the Tournament Commissioner failed to conform to standard disclosure policies with all participants, Mr. Sopcic cannot be held accountable for the Commissioner's own failure, and should be allowed to compete in the 2011 Tower Tennis Championship Match, with no restrictions or doubt in his eligibility status.
During the process of investigating one, Matthew Sopcic, the committee was disturbed by what they found in reviewing the actions of Commissioner Steven England. The Committee found an alarming pattern of not only attempting to, but in one case the actual suspension of an elite level competitor. During the 2011 Tower Tennis Tournament, defending runner-up and contender for the 2011 Title, Jeffrey Bode, was suddenly and abruptly suspended for actions deemed inappropriate by the Commissioner. Whether or not this suspension was just or not, it clearly gave Steven England a competitive advantage going forward within this year's tournament. We believe the commissioner was/is attempting to increase his odds of a championship repeat by eliminating his greatest competitors. The fact that the commissioner holds the power of judge, jury, and prosecutor, should be addressed going forward. -- BW

The following are more moderate:

Wow.  The condemnation of the tournament director was not warranted, but I do feel that Sopcic should be allowed to continue in tournament play; to include, but not limited to, the 2011 Finals. -- Dynasty Champion JT.

I agree with JT -- Committee Member/2011 Semifinalist DR.

 After much consideration, I am left with no choice but to side with Mr. Broadway's findings.
 It is unfortunate to witness the tournament's evolution to autocracy. -- Committee Member MM.

Open letter to the TowerTennis Ethics Committee:

The following has been submitted in evidence whether Sopcic knowingly withheld information critical to his bracket placement. The committee's decision will be published once rendered.

Committee members:

As Matt's father, I would like to provide detail to his past tennis training.  First thing, it does not surprise me Matt did not remember his tennis training as he was very young and the training was short lived.  As a 6 or 7 year old, his mother Karen & I thought it would be a good experience for Matt to attend a summer tennis class at the local YWCA.  I don't remember all details but it was an introductory class taught by the local tennis instructor.   The young instructor had few tennis credentials and at best was a member of his local high school  tennis team so the term "tennis professional" does not apply.  Due to the fact that his mother and I worked during the day, Matt's grandmother was nice enough to chauffer him to and from these lessons.   I believe the introductory lesson's consisted or 4 total classes.   It became apparent that he would not continue further to an intermediate class when all he focused on was the fact that after class he had to pick up the balls that he hit during practice.   Thus started Matt's baseball career that he continued through High school.  At least with baseball you had teammates that helped pick up balls after practice. 

Regard,

Mark Sopcic

Scandal rocks TowerTennis!

Sopcic gained favorable bracket position by not disclosing professional instruction!

Less than two weeks before the climatic event of the 2011 TowerTennis Championship, scandal rocks the TowerTennis world!  The unique structure of the TowerTennis bracket seeks to initially place players within the bracket so that they play others of similar abilities.  This structure promotes participation by pairing strong players with strong players, and weak players with weak players.  Eventually, the two best will raise to the top.  However, a 3rd place player may get eliminated early.  This unique aspect of the bracket has been demonstrated when Dynasty Champion JT was eliminated after two rounds the past two years.  The best player in the lower bracket has a built-in edge making it to the semi's.  Once there, with only one big match to make the finals -- An initial placement in the lower bracket avoids the top competition until the semifinals, and gives any player an extreme advantage.

When interviewed before the tournament began.  Sopcic stated that he had little to no experience.  This assertion helped to place him in the lower bracket.  Long suspected of sandbagging, Sopcic was even given the nickname: "Sandbagger Sopcic".  As in many scandals of the past -- It's not the action, it's the coverup!  Sopcic's failure to disclose that he was given professional instruction as a child alters the balance of power within the bracket.

An adhoc committee has been convened to hear the evidence against Sopcic.  Sopcic faces possible expulsion from the tournament, which would result in a tainted victory for Defending Champion SV.  The judgement of the committee will be published as soon as it's available.

Sopcic advances to the Finals!

Sopcic stages a come from behind victory in the 3rd to defeat DR 6-3,1-6,6-4!

Dean faced quite the challenge in this semifinal showdown!  Dean's quest to force an: "Elder's Match" was thwarted by youthful brawn!  Suffering from atrial fibrillation, a coronary stint, high blood pressure, and a heart attack damaged heart -- Dean takes on 27-year old Sopcic in a semifinal quest for glory!  Having dispatched "Dynasty Champion" JT earlier in the tournament -- Dean benefited from JM's departure from competition after JM was defaulted.  He then slipped by DNR in a come from behind 3-setter to advance for this semifinal showdown with young Sopcic.


Sopcic's road to the semi's faced a serious challenge from Nate O'Connor, but Sopcic came out on top in each of their two encounters.  Sopcic's only loss was to defending champion SV in the winner's bracket semifinal.  Even there, Sopcic forced a tie-breaker in the 2nd, and came very close to defeating the aging champ!

The 1st-set begins with Sopcic breaking DR's serve with the same difficult specialty shot he later uses to win the match.  Although several names were used to describe this extraordinary maneuver -- a technical description would be: A retreating two-handed reverse overhead lob.  If it wasn't for Sopcic's perfection of the highly difficult shot -- defending champion SV would likely be facing Dean in the finals, and not young Sopcic!  Despite Dean's excellent execution of deep shots which denied Sopcic net-position.  Sopcic jumps on a DR 2nd-serve to take the 1st-set.

In the 2nd -- Sopcic's specialty shot fails him several times aiding Dean in his quest to level the match.  DR lobs over Sopcic, then as Sopcic leaps into the air.  Sopcic swings for an overhead slam, but hits into the net to lose the 2nd convincingly: 1-6.

In the 3rd -- DR comes back from a double break point down to hold a 3-2 lead, then jumps ahead 4-2 after Sopcic corrects a bad call.  It looks like an upset is in the making, when Sopcic finds a new strategy to use against DR!  Sopcic battles back to 4-all, then extends his lead to reach triple match-point!  On the final point, Sopcic executes his specialty shot -- The retreating two-handed reverse overhead lob to win after Dean puts his response into the net.

Sopcic advances to the finals by defeating Dean in three: 6-3,1-6,6-4.  SPECIAL THANKS to KYLE SCHEWE for serving as tournament photographer!  Your action shots helped to tell the story, and preserve the details of this hard fought battle! 

Play-by-play Podcast: Relive the match one point at a time!

DR vs TB 2011 Semifinal by towertennis

Sopcic returns to Semifinals!

"If the master defeats the student, then the master has failed as a teacher… yet if the student defeats the master, then the master has failed as a warrior!"  So was the dilemma faced by Nate this afternoon!  

Whenever Nate stepped his game up -- Sopcic elevated to stay in the point.  At times the action reminded one of a wrestling match. As players vie for position, each trying to get an edge on the other.  Invariably, it seemed like Sopcic was the one who would slip from Nate's grasp to establish a foothold near the net.  A short shot, or a 2nd serve, would invite Sopcic to make his approach.  Perhaps out of frustration, or maybe a calculated tactic -- at one point Nate hauls off and launches an atom smasher of a shot streaking toward his net-hogging opponent.  It's fortunate that the net-cord blocked this bullet.  Had it not... Sopcic would forever wonder what it would have been like to someday become a father!

The match was much closer than the score would indicate!  Virtually each point was a multi-shot marathon filled with drama and superb action!  It's a shame someone had to lose, but like any contest, a victor must emerge.  In a sense, this was a right of passage for the young victor.  With his accomplishment he emerges as a true contender for the championship!  Sopcic defeats his teacher: 6-1,7-5. Now only two more matches stand between him, and the trophy!

 

Final-Four Decided!