“Puchie” Plays Tough As DC Wins WTT Championship
- WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 26: Olga Puchkova of the Washington Kastles is lifted by team mates after winning the final match and clinching the Advanta World TeamTennis Championships for the Washington Kastles over the Springfield Lasers played at Kastle Stadium, CityCenter DC in Washington, DC on July 26, 2009. (Photo by Allen Clark/www.OffWingPhoto.com)
It was an unlikely hero that helped the Washington Kastles win their first Advanta World TeamTennis Championship in dramatic fashion with a win over the Springfield Lasers.
To chants of “Olga” and “Puchie,” it was Olga Puchkova who raised her game and fought off the nerves that turned her serve from weapon to liability.
The order of play for the night had numerous tennis players holding tennis Grand Slam victories play their matches earlier in the night. Springfield played tough throughout and Washington was never able to open a large lead despite having the firepower of Scott Oudsema, and double specialists Rennae Stubbs and Leander Paes.
The Kastles went into the final match with just a two game lead and pitting Puchkova against the League’s Female MVP, Vania King, and if needed they would complete the team match in overtime play. King lived up to her billing reaching a 4-2 lead and holding three championship points.
But that is when coach Murhpy Jensen went into overdrive helping to calm Puchkova’s nerves. Kastle’s Scott Oudsema and Rennae Stubbs donned their rally caps, wearing the baseball caps inside out and the large crowd started chanting, “OLGA.”
While Kastle’s Scott Oudsema earned the MVP of the Championship game it was Puchkova’s gutsy play overcoming a worthy opponent in King and her own demons when it came to serving. Puchkova fought off three championship points to defeat King and lead Washington to a 23-20 victory over Springfield.
Puchkova credited her team and the Kastles crowd with pushing her to the victory. “It was amazing, it was awesome,” said Puchkova of the crowd chanting her name in the final games of her match with King. “The win boosted my confidence a lot. Hopefully this year I can build on this experience.”
“The team just never game up,” said Coach Jensen. “That’s what makes WTT so exciting.”
Kastles team owner Mark Ein called it the most exciting match he had ever seen. “It’s a dream come true to win this in front of our fans,” Ein said.
Breakdown of the Match – Washington (23) over Springfield (20)
- Men’s Singles – Scott Oudsema (Kastles) def. Raven Klaasen (Lasers) 5-3
- Mixed Doubles – Rennae Stubbs\Leander Paes (Kastles) def. Liezel Huber\Martin Damm (Lasers) 5-4
- Men’s Doubles – Scott Oudsema\Leander Paes (Kastles) def. Martin Damm\Raven Klaasen (Lasers) 5-4
- Women’s Doubles – Liezel Huber\Vania King (Lasers) def. Rennae Stubbs\Olga Puchkova (Kastles) 5-3
- Women’s Singles – Olga Puchkova (Kastles) def. Vania King (Lasers) 5-4
Enjoy the following slideshow of pictures from the final.
Murphy Jenson And Serena Williams Set To Lead Washington Kastles
Venus Williams will return as a member of the Washington Kastles for the 2009 season. (Photo by Allen Clark/www.OffWingPhoto.com)
World TeamTennis will be returning to Washington, DC again this summer. Last year’s inaugural season of the Washington Kastles brought tennis into the city’s business district as a tennis court magically appeared from a parking lot on the grounds of the former Washington Convention Center.
This year’s Kastle’s team will have some old and new faces on the team. A sure hit among the DC crowds will be returning headliner, Venus Williams. Coaching the team will be Murphy Jensen.
Here is the entire Washington Kastle team:
- Murphy Jenson – Coach, French Open Men’s Doubles Champion and winner of three more tour doubles titles. He also played ten seasons of World TeamTennis during his career before turning his attention to television. Murphy hosts “Murphy’s Guide” and “Open Access” for the Tennis Channel and has been featured in Sports Illustrated and Rolling Stone.
- Serena Williams, ten-time Grand Slam singles champion plus many other assorted tour singles and doubles titles.
- Leander Paes, the world’s fifth-ranked doubles player and an eight-time Grand Slam champion
- Angela Haynes, the 2006 WTT women’s MVP who is currently ranked 137th in singles and 112th in doubles in the world
- Coco Vandeweghe, winner of the 2008 U.S. Open Girl’s title
- Scott “Boom Boom” Oudsema, a member of the 2008 Kastles who finished with the fifth-best singles record among WTT roster players last season.
