New York Buzz rallies to defeat Philadelphia Freedoms 20-19 to win WTT Eastern Conference title and advance to WTT Finals
ROSEVILLE, CALIF. – (July 28, 2007) – There will be a new WTT Champion this year after the New York Buzz ousted the defending champion Philadelphia Freedoms 20-19 to win the WTT Eastern Conference Championship and earn a place in the WTT Finals on Sunday, July 29. The Buzz will play the Sacramento Capitals at 7:30 p.m. (pacific) for the WTT Championship at Allstate Stadium at the Westfield Galleria in Roseville, Calif.
Rik de Voest rallied the Buzz with a 5-2 singles win over Frederic Niemeyer in the final set. De Voest broke Niemeyer’s serve in the fourth game to go up 3-1 and bring the Buzz even at 18-18. Niemeyer held off one match point to hold serve at 4-2 but it wasn’t enough as De Voest served out the set 5-2 to send the Buzz to the WTT Finals.
“I knew from the start that I was playing the last set and I was excited that it would come down to me to hopefully win the match,” said De Voest. “I’ve had a lot of close matches with Freddy (Niemeyer) and I just wanted it to be close when we got to the last set as I usually play well against him. The key to the match was staying upbeat and having positive energy, even when we were down.”
The Freedoms jumped out to a 10-6 lead after two sets with wins in both mixed doubles and women’s doubles. The Freedoms’ Daniel Nestor and Lisa Raymond teamed up for a 5-3 win in mixed doubles over De Voest and Greta Arn of New York. Raymond and Olga Savchuk were too much for Arn and Gabriela Navratilova in women’s doubles, taking the second set 5-3.
The Buzz came back in men’s doubles with a convincing 5-2 victory. The League’s top-ranked doubles team of Fisher and Rik de Voest won two critical 3-all points to top Nestor and Frederic Niemeyer of Philadelphia and bring the Buzz within one point at halftime, 12-11.
Women’s singles was decided in a tiebreaker when Greta Arn double-faulted to give Savchuk a 5-4 (3) win and the Freedoms a two-point lead going into the final set of men’s singles.
The Buzz can expect to face a boisterous hometown Capitals crowd on Sunday evening. Sacramento won the Western Conference title on Friday evening with a 23-17 win over the Springfield Lasers. The Caps will be shooting for their sixth Championship while the Buzz will be looking to win their first King Trophy.
EASTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP:
NEW YORK BUZZ def. Philadelphia Freedoms 20-19
Mixed Doubles - Lisa Raymond\Daniel Nestor (Freedoms) def. Greta Arn\Rik de Voest (Buzz) 5-3
Women's Doubles - Lisa Raymond\Olga Savchuk (Freedoms) def. Greta Arn\Gabriela Navratilova (Buzz) 5-3
Men's Doubles - Rik de Voest\Ashley Fisher (Buzz) def. Frederic Niemeyer\Daniel Nestor (Freedoms) 5-2
Women's Singles - Olga Savchuk (Freedoms) def. Greta Arn (Buzz) 5-4 (3)
Men's Singles - Rik de Voest (Buzz) def. Frederic Niemeyer (Freedoms) 5-2
WTT FINALS – Sunday, July 29 @ 7:30 p.m. (pacific)
New York Buzz vs. SACRAMENTO CAPITALS