Congratulations to David Darling for his awesome performance at this years tournament. He beat out Dave Lassanske in the final. It was a very tight final, which featured Lassanke, (the 2007 chamption as well as 05 and 08 runnerup) and David Darling, the young upandcomer who upset Horia Neagos, (05,06,08 champion) in a well played semifinal. Lassanke’s lethal serve and volley game was at times mesmerizing, and he had a chance to polish it further in a tough semifinal battle with Pat McIlraith who provided an upset of his own in the quarters, when he took down Todd Dobben.
Ultimately, David Darling proved to be a bit too much using a new found all court game as well as good court coverage and the traditional “Darling consistency,” to prevail in a tight 8-5 pro set final with only one break of serve. Many congratulations go out to David who has proven over the course of his summer performance (semifinal appearance at SAU Open, finalist at the Sidmore, and MOG champion) that he is ready and armed to tackle his first season of collegiate tennis at Spring Arbor University.
All and all, it was a great final, a great tournament and we look forward to 2010 to have an even better tournament. Thanks to Meghan, Charlie, Sam and all the other wives, girlfriends and family members who made this great tournament possible!