It was a sunny beautiful day in Houston. Every age division, from 35 to 85 was in action.
There were 2 great matches in the 45s. Myke Bodisch had another great match, this time with Tiina Bougas Smith, the 7th seed. Myke started perfectly, winning the first set with blistering winners 6-1. Smith never gave up and fought hard for the 2nd set which was a lot closer than the 6-2 score would indicate..the 7th game alone lasted about 20 minutes. Bodisch regrouped and won the 3rd 6-4, hitting winners off her backhand from all over the court.
The other great match was between Mary Mottlola, playing her first tournament since 2001 and Kathy Vick (playing her first tournament since January). Mottola rallied from 1-4 in the first set to even it at 5-5 before Vick won it 7-5. The 2nd set went to a tiebreaker, and Vick led 6-4 and 7-6 but failed to close out the match. Mary saved one match point with an incredible backhand volley drop angle. Mary then led 3-1 in the third, but Kathy rallied to win the set 6-4. Mary’s comment was that there wasn’t a spot on the court she didn’t hit during the match, and onlookers would agree.
In the 55s, the top 7 seeds and Vikki Williams (who beat Jan Dennis in the first round) reached the quarters.
In the 65s, the top 8 seeds reached the semis. All the seeds in the 55 and 65 divisions won in 2 sets.
There was one upset in the 75s today, when June Dickey beat Suzanne Ryerson in 3 sets.
In doubles the only upset was in the 65s as Livings/Manthorne edged #3 seeded Roberta Sung/Belmar Gunderson in 3 sets.