Day 3 Results

Thursday--Quarterfinal Results

 (4) Paredes def  Khan 6-3, 6-1 Quarterfinal 

 (3) Aponte def Benson 6-2, 6-3  Quarterfinal 

Friday Schedule

Semifinals 

(1) Estenger vs. (4)  Paredes  4:30 PM Center Court

(2) McFarlane vs (3) Aponte  4:00 PM Court 2

Monday June 4

Championship Match

This year's sixth edition of the GSC Tennis Tournament has had few surprises and the semifinals line up with all four seeded players moving on to see who will be playing for the championship.  In the first quarterfinal match, #3 Virgil Aponte continued his remarkable run with his third victory in this tournament overwhelming Adam Benson 6-3, 6-3.  The match featured plenty of rallies right at net but Aponte made timely lobs to push Benson deep into the back court. It is no secret on the circuit that these two players are not exactly best friends.  Before the match Aponte said that he would teach Benson a math lesson in how to count to six.  Benson responded by calling Aponte an expletive and questioned his work ethic and intelligence.

But Aponte had the last laugh and afterwards said, "I came in with a simple mission to demonstrate to Benson math in the real world."  "I also taught him that double faults against an athlete of my caliber won't cut it."  Aponte will now need all the rest he can get in the next 20 hours as he is scheduled to meet #2 seed Corey McFarlane in the semifinals Friday at the BMTC.  McFarlane is bidding to make it to his second GSC final.

In the other quarterfinal, Yousaf Khan started out with a 3-1 lead against his nemesis Segundo Paredes but after some initial nerves, Paredes proceeded to win an astounding 12 of the next 13 games and routed Khan.  It was a blistering performance based on an exceptional forehand and a Khan that seemed out of it mentally.  Spectators were shocked at the ease with which Paredes made it to his 5th Gsc semifinals in 6 tries and will try to make it into his 4th final.  But standing in his way as always will be five-time champion Max Estenger who has never lost a set let alone a match in this tournament.  Estenger has been focused all tournament on McFarlane and his lifetime record over Paredes stands at 164-2. We shall see if Paredes is poised to make history or play the role of patsy once again.

Day 2 Results

There were no surprises Wednesday in Day 2 of the GSC Tennis Tournament.  Khan and Benson easily made it to the Quarters on Thursday, while the top two seeds are thru to the semifinals on Friday.  However, while Estenger made child's play of Aguirre, #2 seed McFarlane seemed to have his hands full with Lori Goodman who has toiled on the circuit for years yet this is her first GSC appearance.  She put up a valiant effort losing in two tough sets to the cocky Corey 7-5, 6-4. McFarlane says he is merely fine tuning his game for what he says will be a legendary final against Estenger.  However, as Estenger has said, there is a lot of work left to be done before the dream match-up occurs.

      Khan def Mason 6-1, 6-1  First Round

      Benson def  Villandre 6-0, 6-1 First Round

 (1) Estenger def  Aguirre  6-0, 6-1 Quarterfinal

 (2) McFarlane def  Goodman 7-5, 6-4  Quarterfinal

Thursday Schedule

 (4) Paredes vs. Khan 4:30 PM Quarterfinal Center Court

 (3) Aponte vs. Beson  4 PM Quarterfinal Court 2

Friday Schedule

Semifinals 

(1) Estenger vs. Paredes/Khan 4:15 PM Center Court

(2) McFarlane vs Aponte/Benson 4:00 PM Court 2

Monday June 4

Championship Match

Making a rare appearance at the Bernard McIlwain Tennis Center is the legendary Bernard McIlwain 

The mamba's fairy tale ended at the hands of 5-time champion Max Estenger  6-0, 6-1. Angel "Mamba" Aguirre is proud of the history he made here Tuesday and vows to be a factor next year.

Day 1 Results, Tuesday May 28

Angel "Mamba" Aguirre made the greatest comeback in the history of tournament tennis by winning after being down a set and behind 0-5 in the second set.  Angel channeled his inner Mamba--yes, the black one in L.A. his hero--and he won the next 7 games to win the second set and then won the third and decisive set 6-3. He is a force to be reckoned with.

(3)  Aponte def Terry 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 First Round

      Aguirre def Morel 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 First Round

      Goodman def Zambrano (Ret.) First Round

(4)  Paredes def Sinclair 6-1, 6-0  First Round

Wednesday Schedule

      Mason vs. Khan  4PM First Round

      Benson vs. Villandre 3PM First Round

 (1) Estenger vs. Aguirre  4:15 PM Quarterfinal

 (2) McFarlane vs. Goodman 4:00 PM Quarterfinal

Thursday Schedule

 (4) Paredes vs. Khan/Mason 4:30 PM Quarterfinal

 (3) Aponte vs. Beson/Villandre 4 PM Quarterfinal

Friday Schedule

Semifinals 

Monday June 4

Championship Match

Once again Aponte proved to be too much for the young Vincent Terry taking him out in the first round in three hard fought sets.  Aponte's stunning weight loss and incredible fitness could make life difficult down the road for McFarlane.

It was a heart-breaking day for Vincent Terry who seemed ready to take Aponte down after his strong second set, but once again inconsistency plagued him. Afterwards, he was exhausted and upset. But he will be competing soon in the upcoming Mayor's Cup and in the 4th Huntington Invitational.

Iyanna Sinclair put up a valiant effort in her first round loss to three-time finalist Paredes. She played well enough to have beaten half the field. However, her comments after the match said it all about Iyanna:

"Even though I lost, my love for tennis doubled today."       

REVISED 2012 Tournament Schedule

BREAKING..........ZARCONE WITHDRAWS;  KHAN IN

FIRST ROUND SCHEDULE:

Friday,      May 25: Paredes def  Sinclair  6-1, 6-0 First Round

Tuesday,  May 29:  
Morel vs. Aguirre,    Court 1   4:00 PM (3) First Round

Aponte vs. Terry,     Center Court 4:00 PM (4) First Round

Goodman def  Zambrano (Ret) First Round
                               

Wednesday, May 30: 

Khan vs. Mason  4:15 PM (1) First Round
Benson vs. Villandre, Court 4  3:00 PM (5) First Round

Estenger vs. winner of Morel/Aguirre, Court 4 4:00 PM (8) Quarterfinals  

McFarlane vs. winner Goodman Court 1 4:00 PM (9) Quarterfinals    

Thursday,    May 31:
Aponte/Terry vs. Benson Center Court 4:30 PM (10) Quarterfinals
Khan/Mason winner  vs Paredes 4:30 PM (7) Quarterfinals   
Winner of match 7 vs. winner match 8  4:30 PM Semifinal

Winner of match 9 vs. winner match 10 4:30 PM Seminal

CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH  Monday, June 4  4:30 PM

McFarlane Destroys Paredes For #2 Seed

The last two times Corey McFarlane has stepped onto center court in a GSC Tennis Tournament match he has lost badly--in the 2010 finals to five-time defending champion Max Estenger and to Paredes in last year's first round.  But 2012 may signal the emergence of a new Corey McFarlane who also serves as the Lady Wolves Head Tennis coach. McFarlane thoroughly thrashed three-time GSC finalist Segundo Paredes 6-1, 6-2.  Paredes was back on his heels the entire time and was humiliated by a hungry McFarlane keen on exacting revenge for last year's loss.  The combination of McFarlane's superior athleticism and superior tennis skills overwhelmed the older, slower Paredes.


McFarlane's new association with Wilson has helped him become a solid volleyer as his Six One 90 BLX model did not let him down at the net  as he easily swatted away many of Paredes' feeble passing attempts.  Paredes looked like he was mounting a rally in the second set when he closed the gap to 2-3 but then proceeded to lose the next three games and the match.   McFarlane also showed much more emotion during this match than he usually does exhorting himself to keep focused.

Even a pro-Paredes contingent gathered along the GSC athletic field fence awaiting a Chavez Family Soccer clinic did not faze McFarlane. They began chanting, "cocinalo, cocinalo" (cook him, cook him in Spanish) but were unable to inspire Paredes. McFarlane made it clear to everyone in the tournament including Estenger that he is in it to win it in 2012. 
  
The McFarlane victory helps set the seedings for this year's GSC tournament.  Estenger is the no. 1 seed, followed by McFarlane at no. 2, Aponte at no. 3 and Paredes at no. 4.  Aponte is the big pre-tournament surprise.  Last week he defeated Paredes, and today he came from behind to defeat Vincent Terry 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 in a tough three-setter.  Aponte has raised his fitness and tennis level to new heights and he could be a factor in this year's tournament. 

In other tournament  news, John Zarcone announced that he will be participating in his 6th consecutive GSC Tournament  and newcomer Luis "Angel" Aguirre will be playing in his first tournament--though one observer said he will be playing his first tennis match ever.   The field of players is now at 14 although Monday may see more new registrants ahead of this Tuesday's Tournament draw.  The tournament begins Tuesday, May 29.

Virgil Aponte: Man on A Mission

Virgil Aponte is a determined man these days.  He has dedicated the past six months to two goals: shedding excess weight and playing tennis at a higher level. Though he has played in three of the previous five GSC tournaments, he has made this year's edition (The 6th) a top priority.  "I have lost 24 pounds of ugly fat this year!  Besides a smart, sensible diet, tennis has been an integral part of my fitness program," said the famed stair climbing guru and author of the best-selling book Ultimate Stair Exercises.  As far as tennis goes, he credits not a coach for his improvement but an object, "As funny as it sounds, the brick wall about 25 yards from my front door in Brooklyn has helped me improve my tennis!"


The tournament is three weeks away, and Aponte is already making noise by defeating 3-time finalist Segundo Paredes in a riveting seeding match last Friday, May 4, at the Bernard McIlwain Tennis Center 6-1, 7-6(5).  Aponte has fashioned a devastating backhand and forehand slice as well as a merciless offensive lob that has put all players on notice.  He is now poised to become the no. 2 seed if he can beat Corey McFarlane on Thursday in his final seeding match. That would be quite an improvement from last year when he was unseeded and was crushed by 5-time defending champion Max Estenger 6-1, 6-1 in the First Round. 

But Aponte concedes nothing to Estenger.  "He's the Michael Jordan of this tournament, but that doesn't mean that he can't be beat.  I think I can out- condition him in a three-set match and rattle him since he's never played a three-setter in this tournament.  I want to show that with proper conditioning, and intense focus you can play this sport at a high level without being totally obsessed about it.  I don't sleep with my tennis racquet or shower with it like he does." When told Estenger who was quick to comment on Aponte's dig: "I don't sleep with my racquet but I'm glad that he's finally lost all that weight.  He is a good athlete and now he can really move around the court.  Last year I felt like I was playing a handicapped player both physically and mentally.  He has really turned it around.  I'm happy for him."  


Aponte could meet Estenger in what might finally give the GSC Tennis Tournament its first competitive final.  That will be more likely than not if Aponte can secure the second spot and avoid playing Estenger until the final.

Deadline: May 17!!!