“Champions take responsibility.
When the ball is coming over the net,
you can be sure I want the ball.”
—Billie Jean King

No one knew quite what to expect when the League Commissioner, perhaps running high on a few too many IPAs and Negronis, made the surprise announcement that this weeks’ challenge would be entirely composed of singles matches. But there comes a time in every league where the rubber meets the road and each player has to step onto the courts with nothing to rely upon but their own virtues and the mists of fortune. Singles, tête-à-tête, the true test of the pétanque player. With only three boules and no one to blame but oneself, every point matters, every shot is crucial. As the games got underway, one question lingered in the minds of each of our combatants: where exactly is the Ballmer Peak in pétanque? Is one beer enough to calm the nerves and elevate performance? Will three drinks lead me down the road of hubris and careless shooting? Is holding a drink in one hand really necessary for balance???

Team Won had a solid evening with a pair of 2-0 performances from Paul and Hichem. David R. got off to a rocky start but had a breakout performance going 3-0 to end the evening, including a win over former 2nd grade classmate Cale.

The coaches were holding it down for Panchito as Kasia, a singles superstar made short work of each of her opponents and cut one of our not-to-be-named league leaders down to size with a methodical 11-5 lesson. Bill was undefeated for the evening and put together a masterful performance to stymie Ernesto’s chances for a perfect night.

Carreau-No-Virus stepped up to play a little above their heads for the evening and despite the results, these soon-to-be-intermedios are impressive in their talent and determination to win. A strong showing from Chip, who went 2-0 in decisive fashion kept C-N-V’s spot in the standings secure. He has been crushing it on the courts lately and will definitely be one to watch for the future.

The real story of singles night was Boules Deep who finally got fed up with all the terrible puns being published in this very blog and decided to put them all to bed…for a nice deep sleep. Debra was a destroyer of dreams, handing devastating defeats to Sam and Jim and knocking them out of the race for Rookie of the Year. And, Lauren squeaked out two tense last minute victories and was the only undefeated player in her household this week.

Despite all of the action, our teams ended the evening even-Steven and while the standings remained relatively unchanged, many a rookie found a new confidence even as others found reason to pause. Next week, the league enters the championship round and our teams must come back together and prove their collective worth. For pétanque is truly a team sport and there is only one path to ultimate glory…TRIPLES.

See you on the courts!

Results, standings and photos below…