Piedmont 1 at Chastain
September 21, 2002
L (2-3)

Harris/Methvin - W (6-1, 6-3)
Alam/Callen -  W (6-3, 6-1)
Lofgren/Weller -  L (6-1, 6-1)
Dorrien/Knight - L (6-3, 6-1)
Graves/Schoenberg - L (6-4, 6-1)

Rain Continues for Atlanta; Drought Starts for Chastain

Atlanta, Ga (AP) --- In most cases, when it rains it pours-but for Chastain, the weekend was all dried up. Dropping 4 of 6 possible points on Saturday, Chastain came back to the rest of the pack in the ALTA A-8 division.

However, the day began like a celebration, with music belting from the loudspeakers at Horseradish Grill in support of participants in a weekend walk-a-thon. Playing on hardcourts that provided all the footing of a raging mudslide, Chastain quickly jumped out to a 2-0 lead over Piedmont Park.

At #1, Harris and Methvin cruised to a 6-1, 6-3 victory on the strength of Methvin's serve and a healthy dose of unforced errors by the opposing team. Despite a quick match, Harris still managed to exceed his quota of complaints about his old age and physical infirmity.

At #2, Alam and Callen rolled to a 6-3, 6-1 victory after staking Piedmont to an early 3-0 lead. "We couldn't settle into a rhythm until they started playing a good song. But when the deejay launched into that Hansen "MmmBop" number, you should have seen Bader's eyes light up," said Callen. The match also had historic team significance: Callen apparently set an unofficial Chastain record for most F-bombs dropped in a regulation meet.

But the remainder of the day would not treat the Chastain team so well. At #3, the duo of Lofgren and Weller dug themselves out of a 5-2 hole before yielding 6-4, 6-1 to their Piedmont counterparts. After a valiant comeback effort, Chastain finally fell to the onslaught of vicious forehands lashed at them by the Piedmont team. Afterwards, Lofgren said he was very disappointed in two things: first, that he and Weller couldn't come back to win the first set; and second, that the deejays failed to play any K.C. and the Sunshine Band during the match.

At #4, Brian Dorrien and Chris Knight posted a 6-3, 6-1 loss, enduring some visibly horrible calls from the Piedmont team before the match was over. Dorrien shrugged it off, observing: "I guess the new blue-green Chastain court color scheme must have thrown them off. Or something."

At #5, Jamie Graves and David Schoenberg made their debut as a team in a 6-1, 6-4 defeat. Despite the loss, Schoenberg displayed surprising mobility during the match, crediting the "Sweating to the Oldies" moves he did on the sideline earlier in the morning for loosening him up.

In an afternoon makeup match at Morehouse, Harris and Alam repeated their performance from last season, losing 6-4, 6-3 at #1. Despite a shower, change of clothes and a dose of Bextra, Harris put forth an effort that was definitely not fresh. "I should have had more beer in the morning. At least then I might have enjoyed myself." At last report, Alam was seen discussing with a local area attorney a possible non-support lawsuit against his partner.

The weekend represented a low point for a Chastain team considered by many to be the front-runner in this division at the start of the season. And with shakedowns on the tennis court came shake-ups at the management level. Coming back after an ill-advised weekend golf outing, Erik Mikysa and Jeff Sullivan decided to relieve Harris of his captain duties for a while. Sullivan pointed out, "Its really not a demotion--he just needs some time on the bench to sort things out. I'm sure he'll be back in no time at all."