Down to only two rollers, Math Enthusiasts (2-2) lost a slugfest to Ball Bustas (2-2) 13-16. With Nick Cavallaro, Dionna Fry, and Ivey Wohlfeld all out on travel and Chris Stephenson and Chrissy Megariotis still on the IR due to nagging illness, the pressure was on the backs of rookie Chris Mullins and acting captain Francesca Blanco to carry the team.
As has been the case all season, Math Enthusiasts got off to a slow start and failed to score in the first three frames, allowing Ball Bustas to build a 5-0 lead. However, the Math Enthusiasts fought back to even the score. During the match, the lead changed five times until Math Enthusiasts found themselves up 13-12 going into the last three frames.
One Tom Tom busboy compared the match to the great 1923 heavy weight fight between Jack Dempsey and Luis Firpo – a furious assault of punches from the competitors as they fought their hearts out on the mat. The energy, the passion, and the drive of the competitors left the sellout crowd screaming and cheering from beginning to end.
However, without any reserves on the bench, Math Enthusiasts were unable to land the crucial knock out punch. Ball Bustas twice snatched scoring opportunities from Math Enthusiasts with clutch frame-ending rolls, taking the final three frames, 1-0, 1-0, 2-0. Exhausted, bruised, and bloody from the marathon match, the teams shook hands on congratulated each other for epic performances.
Chris Mullins was nowhere to be found following the game, heading for the showers and avoiding reporters. However, Francesca Blanco addressed the media from the podium. Part of the transcript from the post-game press conference was available for immediate release:
Reporter: Are you concerned with your team’s loss this evening?
Francesca: Playoffs are the only thing that counts in this league…until we reach the playoffs we’re just talking about practice.
Reporter: Have you had a conversation with your team about the importance of practice?
Francesca: It's easy to sum it up if you're just talking about practice. We're sitting here, and I'm supposed to be the franchise player, and we're talking about practice. I mean listen, we're sitting here talking about practice, not a game, not a game, not a game, but we're talking about practice. Not the game that I go out there and die for and play every game last it's my last but we're talking about practice man. How silly is that?
Math Enthusiasts slid all the way down to the #18 spot in the DC Bocce Power Rankings this week. The team is back in action next Tuesday at 8:00 pm on the red court against Bears, Beets, Battlestar Galactica (2-2) and looking to end its two game slide. Candy necklaces will be available for purchase with donations going to charity. And that a wrap…
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