WTT 2012: Kastles win last home match of season

Treat Huey is a graduate of the University of Virginia. A doubles specialist, the 26-year-old has won seven medals at the Southeast Asian Games for the Philippines.
(photo by Kwai Chan / Meniscus Magazine)

Despite the fact that the Washington Kastles lost four players – Venus and Serena Williams, Leander Paes and Anastasia Rodionova – to the London Olympics, the team was able to rely on World Team Tennis veteran Bobby Reynolds and some new players to win their 27th straight match.

Reynolds, Edina Gallovits-Hall, Raquel Kops-Jones and Treat Huey defeated the Philadelphia Freedom, 21-16, in the last match at the Kastles Stadium at the Wharf in Washington, D.C., for 2012 before hitting the road to try and complete a second consecutive perfect regular season. Coach Murphy Jensen will have to rely on a team without his veterans to keep up the winning streak, currently the second-longest in U.S. sports history of any team or league behind the 1971-1972 Los Angeles Lakers (33).

“We do everything together,” Jensen told Meniscus in a press conference before the match in regards to how the new roster was formed. “Leander, Anastasia, [Kastles owner] Mark Ein, Bobby – it’s everyone. When we knew four players were heading to the Olympics, we were offered certain players that were available to play, and we had to figure out what players would best fit this system.”

“Bobby’s played with Treat Huey before,” Jensen added. “He’s got a massive left-handed serve and great doubles [skills]. Then there’s Raquel Kops-Jones, who just came off a win in San Diego, she’s also played mixed doubles at Wimbledon with Treat Huey. So you’ve got players on the team that have experience playing with one another.”

The Kastles have already clinched the No. 1 seed in the WTT finals scheduled from Sept. 14-16 in Charleston, S.C. They won their 28th straight match the next day against the heavily-favored New York Sportimes, whose lineup included John McEnroe and Martina Hingis. Two more matches remain against Kansas City on July 27 and Philadelphia on July 28.

Kwai Chan contributed to this report.

Photo Gallery: Washington Kastles 21, Philadelphia Freedom 16
all photos by Kwai Chan / Meniscus Magazine