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WTT Washington Kastles

Mashona Washington and Sacha Jones lead Kastles to thrilling comeback victory

July 16, 2008 - World TeamTennis (WTT)
Washington Kastles News Release


The Kastles notched their third straight win with an exciting 18-17 victory over division rivals, the New York Sportimes, in front of another sold-out and raucous crowd at Kastles Stadium at CityCenterDC. The team's overall record is now 5-3 and the Kastles are now half a game behind the second place New York Buzz in the Eastern Conference standings.

Trailing by four games entering the fifth set, the Kastles women's doubles team of Mashona Washington and Sacha Jones delivered a near flawless performance and won the final set 5-1 and then the Supertiebreaker 7-5 over Milagros Sequera and Hana Sromova for the victory. This marked the fifth straight Kastles match that was decided in either a Supertiebreaker or a fifth set Tiebreaker. Kastles fans are gaining a fast appreciation for the WTT scoring system in which every game counts and any team can come back from even the largest deficits.

The Kastles started off slow Tuesday night with he mixed doubles pairing of Justin Gimelstob and Mashona Washington falling 5-1, to Sequera and Brian Wilson. Mashona Washington then fell 5-1, to Sequera in the second set to leave the Kastles trailing by the large deficit of 10-2. In the third set, one of the legends of professional tennis, NY Sportime John McEnroe stepped onto the court for the men's singles contest. The Kastles sent Scott Oudsema out to face the seventeen-time grand-slam champion. Oudsema who is a little more than half the age of McEnroe, used his powerful serve and youth to win the set 5-2, in which he had aced McEnroe four times, and closed the gap to 12-7.

In the fourth set, Gimelstob and Oudsema teamed up to beat Wilson and McEnroe 5-4 in the men's doubles. The Kastles pairing had a chance put away the set in the eighth game with Gimelstob serving at 5-2 but ended up losing the game on a ball that nearly missed the baseline with the score tied at the deciding 3-all point. In the tiebreaker, the Kastles prevailed 5-3, for a 5-4 set victory.

Mashona and Sacha energized the fans in Kastles Stadium in the last set with their very aggressive play. With the Kastles leading the set 2-1, Mashona Washington and Jones outscored Sequera and Sromova, 12-2, winning the final three-games of the set. In the Supertiebreaker, the Sportimes took a 4-3 lead but Mashona and Sacha fought back. Mashona hit a slicing winner to tie the score. The next point Sacha hit a huge smash to make the score 5-4 and then extended the lead with a ferocious winner down the line on the next serve. With the score 6-5, Mashona was setup for a huge overhead which she converted for the victory. It was a great night for the Kastles and their fans.

The Kastles will look to keep the momentum going on Thursday night at 7 PM when the defending WTT Champion Sacramento Capitals come to Kastles Stadium at CityCenterDC. Get your tickets now before we sell out.



World TeamTennis Stories from July 16, 2008


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