He and his date looked great. They had fun. And we took photos at an impressively huge home. Pete was home by around 2 am, as he had to work the next morning at 10.
recent posts
about
-
We didn’t think the Methacton tennis team would be particularly good this year—they lost a lot of talented seniors after last year, and Pete’s the only senior with appreciable varsity experience returning from last year. But things have gone OK, and the Warriors are in position to win the Pac-10 Conference for the fourth straight year. But to do so, they need to beat Phoenixville today. If there was a Vegas betting line, it would favor Phoenixville. And Pete’s opponent (he plays first doubles) is the best doubles team in the conference.
So when Pete and his partner Chris lost the first set, 6-0, we were … nervous. The second set, though, was much better. Peter and Chris raced to a 5-1 lead, they looked great, and then they went flat. Eventually P’ville tied it at 5-5, both held serve to get to 6-6, and we had a tiebreaker, as a persistent drizzle settled in. It was feeling like a bad way to end your year.
Instead, Pete and Chris won the tiebreaker, 7-3, and never started the decisive third set due to the weather. They return to the court Thursday for a one-set, winner-wins contest. I was really proud to see him pick up Chris, keep his composure, and close out the second set.
The other matches were split enough that it’s uncertain who will be conference champs. It would be a nice conclusion to Pete’s year to win another conference title (his hoops team won the conference title this winter in a very dramatic championship game).
(UPDATE: Pete and his partner Chris Lawly won the third set and the match, but alas, the fourth doubles team lost a tiebreaker in the third set to give Phoenixville a 4-3 win and the conference title.)
I was hoping to see Kelly and his partner Ryan play in the JV portion of the match, but the drizzles washed that away. Hopefully they get to play Thursday.
Friday, Pete is going to play in the conference singles tournament, even though he’s only played in one singles match all year. Apparently their third singles player didn’t want to play. Don’t bet against him, even though he doesn’t have a) a serve and b) a forehand.
-
Virginia and Kevin went to our denominational conference the weekend of April 14-15, in Arlington, Va. It was great to see a lot of friends, and Virginia made progress on her two duties—a districtwide nominating committee for board positions and a Pennsylvania state legislative activist network. She is a very talented networker, for sure.
Whiel we spent much of the weekend in a hotel conference center, we got out Saturday night for dinner with a couple ministers and a new acquaintance, at Cafe Asia, which was pretty darn good. Afterward we caught up with our friends Carla and Maryann.
Sunday morning we got up and got outside. Kevin ran along the Potomoc till he could see the Washington Monument line up the right of the Lincoln Memorial. Virginia went for a walk on Theodore Roosevelt Island (photos of Teddy in the photo gallery).
We got back, washed up, and caught UUA president Rev. Peter Morales, who spoke about the challenges for American religious movements in the 21st century. Very interesting. I like that afterward he listened very intently to a young guy wearing a pirate hat. Marginalize a pirate? Not Peter!
-
We took advantage of the boys’ Spring Break for a family-only getaway, to Gettysburg, where only Virginia had visited previously (though she likes to tell Kevin he’s been there every time we re-visit the subject.
The boys were, honestly, not very excited about the trip, but we won them over by signing up for a Segway tour of the battlefield, which was a very cool way to travel 9 miles in an afternoon without ever breaking a sweat (except, of course, when Virginia ran the Stop sign at the bottom of a hill onto a car road).
(Regarding the Segway tour, we went with an outfit you can find at segtours.com. Some of the photos above were taken and shared by them.)
Afterward, we went to the local pub with a huge menu and big portions, and everyone was very happy. Then we retired to the Wyndham, which had an indoor pool. You would think that 17- and 15-year-olds would have outgrown the charms of an indoor pool—but you’d be wrong. It’s kinda amazing. All the fresh air paid off that night, too, as we were all able to go to sleep pretty close to 11 pm.
Next morning Virginia and I left early to get in a tour of the Gettysburg battlefield on our own terms, and after rejoining boys fo rbreakfast, we visited the Eisenhower farm that abuts the national park. Then we headed home before the Kirks arrived for an “Easter Saturday.” Photos from Friday in the next post.
-
Our drive along the battle lines (Confederate first, then past Little Roundtop and the Union position across from Pickett’s Charge) … the boys sharing a laugh in the hotel .. Eisenhower’s place.
-
Methacton Hoops Season in Review 2011-12 from Kevin Donahue on Vimeo.
The Pac-10 conference champs.
We made this for the season-closing team banquet, held today.
-
It had gotten pretty frayed and rotten. Way better now, especially for playing hoops. All in the service of our June 2 graduation party for Pete (you ARE coming, right?!?), I am told.
-
Kelly’s high school rec team won the Worcester Rec Association championship Saturday, with a pair of wins (they were in the losers bracket, so had to beat the winners bracket team, then beat them again). Neither game was particularly close, Kelly threw in several “threes” and provided some spirited (maybe too spirited, at times) defense, and everyone had a good time.
Pete has two WRA titles, and Kelly now has one—but three years to catch up and maybe even surpass his big brother.
-
Well, it doesn’t always go great. Methacton did indeed play the defending state champs and fifth-ranked nationally Chester High School Clippers, in Chester, on Tuesday night and came away with a 58-31 loss.
All in all, it wasn’t that bad. The Warriors played hard, struggled against the Chester pressure defense in the mid-second and third quarters, and made too many mistakes to keep it close. But it didn’t turn into a dunkathon, and playing in Chester’s gym is something I think the boys will remember.
One good thing: Pete was in late in the game, and drove to the basket. Defender thought he was dish, and was surprised when Pete (a lefty) scooped it around the guy and into the basket. The last photo shows Pete headed down the court after the hoop.
The season isn’t over yet: they are in the play-in tournament to earn a spot in States. First game is friday, vs. Pennsbury. It looks winnable. If they do win, they’ll need to win two more games for a chance to play a No. 1 seed in the state tournament.
In other basketball news, Kelly’s WRA team won by 20 points tonight in his postseason tournament, and they play again Thursday for a spot in the league title game Saturday.
-
After winning its conference championship Tuesday, the team won its opening game in the district playoff tournament, 43-35, over Springfield (Delaware County) Friday night.
Here are a couple articles:
Dinan ignites Methacton rally (Pac-10sports.net)
Methacton rallies again (Potstown Mercury)
-
ErrorThis video doesn’t exist
Brendan Casper from the foul line …
-
ErrorThis video doesn’t exist
“Jeffrey Derstine!”
kevdonahue 