Chastain at Morehouse 
September 14, 2002
L (1-4)

Harris/Alam - L (6-4, 6-3)
Sullivan/Mikysa -  W (6-4, 7-6)
Weller/Foglesong -  L (7-6, 7-6)
Knight/Schoenberg - L (???)
Breckenridge/Williamson - L (6-1, 7-6)

"Hollywood" Gets Revenge, Atlanta Gets Rain

Atlanta, Ga (AP) --- According to the ancient proverb, "Revenge is a dish best served cold." But in the case of Erik Mikysa, revenge is fine even when served wet and rainy. Providing a bright spot for Chastain under ominous skies, the man dubbed "Hollywood" by a Morehouse random rolled to a 6-4, 7-6 rainout victory at the #2 slot with Jeff Sullivan.

"It felt good to beat them to the punch," replied Mikysa. "I've been trying to decide whether I should have been flattered or offended at the nickname since last season ended. Seriously, I sometimes found myself shuffling around the Highlands in the offseason muttering 'Hollywood, Hollywood' to myself. This win finally enabled me to exorcise my demons." Partner Sullivan was unavailable for comment, but team insiders indicated that he is still sore at being passed over for the "Hollywood" nickname.

Playing in the shadow of B.T. Harvey Stadium, tough matches were the standard on this rain-soaked Sunday. Andreas Weller and Greg Foglesong continued their trail of tears campaign with a tough 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (11-9) loss at #3. When asked about the match, Foglesong replied: "It was a heartbreaker. The only good thing about this weekend is that there's been plenty of rain to keep my daffodils happy." Weller shrugged off the loss, noting "We lost, but we got some good trash-talking in and I've got lots of Warsteiner in the fridge at home."

Jeff Breckenridge and David Williamson staged a comeback in the second set before yielding 6-1, 7-6 (7-2) at the #5 slot. Breckenridge highlighted the team's frustrating outing, saying "It was a struggle all match long. I probably shouldn't have had that extra serving of pancakes at the Skillet this morning." Williamson maintained his media ban, declining comment until the UGA football team scores an offensive touchdown.

Two matches remain, with the duo of Knight/Schoenberg playing their counterparts at #4 on Thursday and Harris/Alam looking for revenge against the Morehouse #1 team on Saturday afternoon. Since both Chastain and Morehouse took 5 points in Week 1, the makeup matches should decide who takes an early division lead.

In a related story, after compiling a study of the high correlation between Atlanta rain concentration and Chastain-Morehouse matches, anonymous Chastain team members contacted Atlanta City Council officials with their findings. Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin is currently mulling the idea of appointing a committee to consider hiring a consulting firm to study the effects of alternating ad hoc Chastain-Morehouse rematches with regular cloud-seeding next summer.

-RKH

Note: see 9/21 for final notes on the Morehouse match