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Mudge and Berg win in Cleveland
By Rob Dinerman, Feb 12, 2008    
Squashtalk Independent News; © 2008 SquashTalk LLC

Cleveland ISDA Report: Mudge And Berg Triumph Again   By Rob Dinerman

Still riding the wave of their recent triumph in the North American Open and the undefeated January they thereby concluded (having begun the year by winning in Boston as well), Damien Mudge and Viktor Berg rolled to their fourth ISDA tournament win in the last five events by rising superior to a strong 11-team field in Cleveland, which rejoined the ISDA schedule after a one-year hiatus. In so doing, Mudge and Berg solidified their recent ascent to the No. 1 team standing, which they attained two weeks ago in Greenwich, where they simultaneously dethroned defending North American Open champs Paul Price and Ben Gould in a four-game final and thereby displaced them from the top slot in the rankings.

Price and Gould were deprived an opportunity to reclaim that position this weekend when Price had to withdraw with the flu. He was pinch-hit for by Joe Pentland, who assisted Gould ably in a four-game quarterfinal victory over Willie Hosey and Jeff Mulligan, after which, however, they were out-played by Mudge and Berg, quarterfinal winners over Steve Scharff and Ayman Karim. The presence in the draw’s bottom half of Gould, Mudge and Berg, coupled with the absence up top of Preston Quick’s regular partner, John Russell (who was visiting his native England for his father’s 60th birthday), seemed to spell opportunity for Clive Leach and Chris Walker to regain the top form that had brought them victory in both season-opening October events (in St. Louis and Baltimore) and a temporary hold on the No. 1 position.

But Leach and Walker, after a 3-0 quarterfinal over Canadians James Hewitt and Tyler Millard, fell in surprisingly convincing straight-set fashion to Quick and his first-time partner Matt Jensen, whose inspired shot-making keyed the victory and with it his first-ever career appearance in an ISDA final. There Quick and Jensen fell victim to what has become a Mudge/Berg juggernaut, one which has now gone 10-0 in calendar 2008 after failing to record a single tournament victory prior to Thanksgiving. The tour resumes in two weeks’ time at the Height Casino club in Brooklyn, where Mudge will attempt to extend the six-year skein that he and Gary Waite have compiled beginning with their narrow victory in the 2002 final against Michael Pirnak and Dave Kay.

Tournament Recap:
Round of 16:
James Hewitt/Tyler Millard d Alex Langerhorst/Raj Nanda, 3-0; Michael Pirnak/Mark Chaloner d James Sly/Ben Howell, 3-0; Ayman Karim/Steve Scharff d Nat Dugan/Tony James, 3-1.

Qtrs:
Chris Walker/Clive Leach d Hewitt/Millard, 3-0; Matt Jenson/Preston Quick d Pirnak/Chaloner, 3-1; Joe Pentland/Ben Gould d Willie Hosey/Jeff Mulligan, 3-1; Damien Mudge/Viktor Berg d Karim/Scharff, 3-1.

Semis:
Jenson/Quick s Walker/Leach, 3-0;
Mudge/Berg d Pentland/Gould, 3-0.

Final: Mudge/Berg d Jenson/Quick, 3-0.

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