Kailua Night Doubles qualifying begins
| • | Kailua tennis tournament adds music to the mix |
By Leila Wai
Advertiser Staff Writer
Last year, Michael Bruggemann and Erich Chen upset Ryan Ideta's record-setting bid at the Kailua Racquet Club's Men's Night Doubles.
This year, Ideta is not entered in the tournament, but 41 other doubles teams are hoping to pull off upsets of their own over the top-seeded team of Bruggemann and Chen.
"They had a remarkable victory in last year's tournament," tournament director Bruce Nagel said. "If Ryan would have won last year, he would have been the winningest player in the history of the tournament."
It all begins today for the 34th time with the tournament's qualifying rounds at Kailua Racquet Club. Qualifying rounds end Thursday, and the main draw begins Aug. 1, for the popular local tournament.
"For me, I'm just trying to not embarrass myself, because I don't play that much anymore," said Bruggemann, who will be playing with Chen for the fourth time, and was his doubles partner at Santa Clara for three years.
"Erich wants to win, because he's going to be a pro now, so he can take the money," Bruggemann said. "We just want to play well and make like last year wasn't a fluke. That's our main goal, I think."
The purse for the tournament is $7,500. Admission is free, and up to 700 to 800 people attend the tournament during its later rounds.
WHEN: Qualifying—July 25 to July 30 (Rain night on July 31), matches at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Main Draw—Aug. 1 to 7. Round of 16: Aug. 1 and 2, matches at 6 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. Quarterfinals: Aug. 3 and 4, matches at 6 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. Semifinals: Aug. 5, matches at 6 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. Championship: Aug. 7 at 6 p.m. ADMISSION: Free PURSE: $7,500 WHERE: 629 Oneawa St. PARKING: Free at Church of Nazarene across the street DEFENDING CHAMPIONS: Michael Bruggemann and Erich Chen
"No other tournament for the year attracts this high caliber of the local talent," Nagel said. "Most of the top local players play in the tournament."
34th annual Kailua Racquet Club's Men's Night Doubles
Other seeds include No. 2 Ikaika Jobe and Bradley-Lum Tucker; No. 3 Hong Tae Kim and Wei-Yu Su; No. 4 Stefan Pampulov and Jan Tribler; No. 5 Chris Ma and Malino Oda; No. 6 Chanon Alcon and Gregg Takata; No. 7 Jay Grollman and Erik Sandblom, and No. 8 David Lam and Henry Somerville.
Kim is the only seeded player who has not played in the tournament before, and Lam and Somerville "are in their 30s, but when they were younger, each of them dominated Hawai'i tennis," Nagel said. "They represent the established player."
All eight seeded teams receive byes into the main draw.
Not entered is Ideta, a six-time champion, who is tied for the tournament record in titles.
Notes: The theme of this year's tournament is "Tennis in Concert." During the main draw, live bands will play half an hour before the matches. Sunday, Aug. 1 is smooth jazz with Vernon Sakata; Monday, Aug. 2 is bluegrass with Squirrel Hunters; Tuesday, Aug. 3 is Hawaiian with Kaipo Asing Trio; Wednesday, Aug. 4 is salsa with Conjunto Tropical; Thursday, Aug. 5 is oldies with Zanuck Lindsay and friends, and Saturday, Aug. 7 is big band with PBS Little Big Band. "What makes the tournament fun is there's something in it for the players, the fans and even the sponsors," Nagel said.
Reach Leila Wai at lwai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2457.
