Owens Owns 2005 Buckeye Open
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Eric Owens, anything but fresh off his win over John Tannehill in the Open Hardbat event. |
Columbus, OH - Eric Owens took home first place finishes in both the Open Singles and the Open Hardbat at the 2005 Buckeye Open in Columbus, Ohio on April 23 and 24.
Owens, a consistent performer at the Buckeye Open, displayed aggressive power and prowess in defeating Ludovic Gombos 4-1. In the semi-finals, Owens prevailed over Xavier Therrien in a full seven games, while Gombos dominated Sasa Drinic.
In Open Hardbat, Owens showed off his versatility with the no-sponge pips bat and beat local Columbus legend John Tannehill 2-1. While Tannehill was missing his shots, Owens displayed excellent defensive prowess from the backcourt when forced off the table, and a dominating backhand off of backspin for easy put-a-ways.
In U-1900 Hardbat, Bill McLaughlin swept the competition on his way to a first place finish, beating Mark Shapiro of Columbus.
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Berndt Mann hardbatting with Corey Orescanin |
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| Corey showing off his premier Sportcraft hardbat |
Mark Shapiro and Roger Dickson square off |
A hardbat grudge match |
KA- |
POW! |
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| That can only be Petra |
Double-checking |
Yep, it's confirmed |
A Biba sighting |
She's Bibbarific |
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| Meanwhile, back at hardbat, tournament director Steve Slaback vs. Corey |
Steve attempting a Grubba-esque backhand hardbat loop |
Serves up! |
"This is my hardbat. It is my friend." |
Lobs up! |
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| Choked away game 2 against Corey |
Putting matters right |
Back in sponge-land, DTTC Scott Harris vs. foe |
Drop this! |
Fellow DTTC Ron Joseph and opponent |
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| Ron firing away |
DTTC Dan Draper with a devastating loop push |
CTTC "Grumpy" Joe Masminster operating |
The "Doctor" is on |
Back at hardbat central, Berndt Mann penholds away |
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| Berndt either painting a "bd" graphic, or serving a ball |
Stellar defense, Joo See Hyuk style ... kinda |
But not enough to overcome Bill - "Hiiii YAA!" |
U-1900 Hardbat finals - Bill overtakes Mark |
And the crowd goes wild. Actually Biba is dreaming about the new U1900 hardbat champ, obviously |
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| A DTTCer taking on a Tannehill - a portent of things to come |
CTTC Nick Snider and big shot Barney "King Pong" Reed Jr. |
Barney with a flip |
Oh those 2500 rated serves ... |
... and loop drives |
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| Backhand to backhand |
Now for some 2200 rated serves ... |
... and loop drives |
Crossed-up footwork and a pre-backhand loop drive |
A little kid kickin' ass |
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| One more Petra sighting, and all is good again |
John Tannehill and Courtney Roberts having both beat Bill |
Though weary and uncertain due to their respective Bill matches ... |
... they give it their hardbat "all" |
John stretching for a shot |
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| Another down the liner |
Putting the match away, and Owens awaits |
Eric Owens at the helm of another 1st place finish attempt |
Isn't that technically the wrong lead foot? |
Opponent Ludovic Gombos with a scrambling off-the-table sidespin loop drive |
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| Incoming gut shot ... and the match |
Congratulations Eric for 1st Place Open Singles |
John after the finals match, still ready to take on opponents |
Eric basking in the glare of a good day |
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