Brock’s Year in Review

All,

What a great season we’ve had. In my opinion the club is in its healthiest competitive and social condition since I arrived and killed the vibe 10 years ago.  Everyone seems to be happy with the quality of matches they are getting and the hut is packed every Thursday night, can’t speak to the others.

As sad as it is, all good things must come to an end, and for what it’s worth, I fully support the decision to cut summer paddle in compliance with our conditional use permit, with consideration to several noise complaints, and a return to 15 prior years of standard practice. So be sure to come out to the Club Championship on April 12 for one last hurrah with your winter friends.

While we are a social club that happens to have paddle, we all want to win too!  So, who are the winners and losers this year?? See if you make the list below.

How good is the S.H.I.T. system?

• 10 players were 50/50 on the season
• 26 players were within 1 match of 50/50
• 43 players were within 2 matches of 50/50
• 58 players were within 3 matches of 50/50
• More points separate 3rd and 6th than 8th and 25th.  Lot of movement in the middle and separation at the top.
• I’d say that’s prettyyy, prettyyy good.
• THANK YOU SCHMEEDS!!!

The 10k point club

• Only one person starts the year with 10k
• Ending the year at 10k+: Brock, Aiken, MJ and Drew

Comeback of the Year

• Mike Aiken, started at 6, fell to 14 by week 10, finished at #2!!
• Several others had great seasons, but climbing this portion of the ladder is damn impressive for an old man.
• The Philosopher is not just a thinker and talker, he’s a doer

Cracking the Top Ten

• Nick Piotrowski – from the 12 spot to 8th. Well done! Nick finished 2023/24 at 16 on the ladder. Where does he finish 2025/26??
• Dusan Medan – from 24 to 10. Not bad for your first year, and frankly an insult to 90% of the club. He’ll be force to be reckoned with next year for sure.

Cracking the Top Twenty

• Snodgrass – from 32 to 17!! Congrats, everyone knows how bad you want it.
• Noonan – from 29 to 16. The GUNS got it done
• Klein – from 25 to 15. Nice move by a nice player.
• Kasner – from 21 to 13. Some serious skills
• Monroe – from 23 to 20. Meh.

Highest Win %

• Forrer – 88% (only played 8 matches. The IDEAL member if you ask me)
• Jean Michael 20-8, 71%  (28 matches… not ideal, does he make up for it in other ways?)
• Aiken, Haddorff, 70%
• MJ & McPhearson, 69%… NICE

Who Won most frequently?

• 33 players managed double digit wins
• John Michael stands alone at the top with 20 wins… 53 people didn’t even play 20 matches!
• Brock and Klein T2 at 17 wins, 3 back of the lead.

Biggest Point Earners

• MJ and McPhearson: +1,029 on the season
• Brock: +1,081
• Noonan: +1,094
• Snodgrass: +1,228
• Johnathan Michael: +1,551

Biggest Rankings Move UP from Week 1

• Noonan and Forrer: +13
• Dusan Medan: +14
• Snodgrass: +15
• Jon Michael: +21

At this point I’ve typed jean Michael as many times and different way as I ever cared to. I think we can say that he is the ‘Player of the Year’. The question is, can he top the charts again next year now that his competition knows the difference between the deuce and ad side of the court?  Moving up 21 spots this year and finishing at 31 will be a tough performance to match. Cracking the top 20 is the next milestone for this guy.

And begin transition from positive to negative…

Biggest Question Marks

• MJ started the season at 7 on the ladder??? FIFA and the NCAA committee wouldn’t dream of doing something this egregious. Correction forthcoming next October.
• The Bayliss return was the most discussed and feared in club history…and he barely hangs onto a single digit ranking? That’s all the proof I need to confirm that pickle is not a real sport.
• Will Dusan be the best player in the club by the end of next season? Damn serbs. I predict #5 at end of year.
• What would MJ’s record look like if he wasn’t a snow bird? Out of the top 10 only Zipp and Bayliss played less.
• What does a guy have to do to become a snowbird in their 30s???
• Speaking of Zipp, what is appropriate punishment for several last minute sub requests for clearly not last minute absences?  “Hey, need a sub in 4 hours, on spring break out of country”

Who flew too close to the sun?

• Mamalat climbed to take the 1 spot for 1 month, ending the season at 5.  Far from a fall from grace, but a fall nonetheless. He finishes 1322 points behind the top spot he once held.
• The same week Mamal was at 1, Teddy made it to 3. He then fell to 10 before settling into his natural environment, ending the year at 7, damn impressive.
• Klein snuck into the top ten to start the final schedule of the year, but in those final four weeks fell from 7 to 15. A nice problem to have for a guy who started at 25.
• Katzban, begrudgingly started at 14, climbed as high as 8 in week 15 rankings. Over the next two months he fell 15 spots to end the year at 23.
• Bob Larson, your SMACK champion status, ended the season at 28, 16 spots below his season high ranking from week 5.
• Bob achieved a victory only a few can dream of, not only winning SMACK but DOMINATING me in the finals for all to witness, and in the same season fell farther from grace than any other member.  What a rollercoaster.

Biggest Ranking Move DOWN

• Won’t put anyone on blast… just kidding, sorry Oaks
• Oaks fell more than anyone else in the club from their initial ranking…15 spots. He had this to say “I got older and the club got younger, and that’s a relief, I thought I dropped 18”
• If you’re wondering what the correct attitude is towards your ranking, this is it.

Who Lost most Frequently?

• 30 players managed to notch a double digit loss column
• Jeff Sergent, Taylor Rens and Andy Peterson tie for most losses, 15. Keep your heads up boys!

Who played too much?!?!

• Feiertag deserves a shoutout for playing 27 times, going 14-13, and his ranking never moving more than 4 spots, starting and ending the year at 69. NICE!
  — 69 — 67 — 68 — 67 — 68 — 65 — 69
• JMF, Rens and Lehman tie at 28 matches played
• Andy Peterson played 29 ranked matches
• JOST takes the top spot with 30 matches!!!
• Frequent play surcharge coming in the 2025/26 season

Did I miss anything? Have something you’re dying to get off your chest?  Email Drew.

With that I look forward to seeing you at the Club Championship on April 12, MASTERS SATURDAY. What a way to wrap the season and kick off summer!

— Dave Brock