Spring Break in Puerto Rico

For spring break this year, after much deliberation and thinking we decided to go to Puerto Rico for a triple whammy--a vacation, a tennis tournament and a dental conference. 

We were able to stay for free with free night certificates at a Marriott property within walking distance from the beach, but over 20 min away from the tennis tournament site and even further away from the dental conference. We rented a car but then I had to take an Uber around when Robert was at the conference. I know Puerto Rico is the US but driving there is pretty intense! In fact, we avoided driving much after dark (and it did get dark really early!) and utilized Doordash quite a bit. 

For a couple of days we could just relax and chill on the beach with Mark. The beach was not super busy although we were super close to the city and this was a public beach. 

I walked in both directions while Mark hung out on the beach. And we played in the water too as it was really nice and warm! 

On one of the days we drove to the temple, it was in a different part of the city but we enjoyed exploring. 

It’s a cool feeling to drive to the temples wherever we visit, just feels familiar and safe even in the middle of a busy and noisy city. 

Robert enjoyed his dental conference and learned a lot from other experts. He joined us at the tennis site whenever he could. 

Mark was playing an L4, which is a pretty high level tournament. Kids from the mainland come to Puerto Rico to experience a different group of players for a variety. This is considered a Caribbean section (includes Puerto Rico and USVI) so a lot of players here have super high ranking but not the skill rating because it is easier to get points here. Nothing against them as this is simply location’s fault, but in big national competitions, everyone wants to play a kid from this section;). 

Mark had to play four matches before he got to the finals! And in the finals he faced another kid from NC, how ironic. Unfortunately, it didn’t go his way and he lost, noticing that he was definitely not prepared for the heat yet. It was a good thing, kind of, because it prompted us to quickly figure out a better hydration plan before the summer tournaments. At this location, a lot of kids were dropping like flies...even Mark’s doubles partner collapsed in the singles match because of a heat stroke, but thankfully was ok, although had to go to the hospital. So Mark could not play doubles, sadly. 

We had to quickly take these award pictures because we had a flight to catch very soon! Congratulations, Mark! It’s hard to be in a second place position but he learned a lot of lessons.

                      

I am happy we took this opportunity and combined leisure and business and competition! 

Lyana.

Winter Southerns B16-Mobile, AL

Someday this all will be history but for now this is our family’s everyday stuff. 

This year again Winter Southern’s for Boys 16s was hosted by Mobile Tennis Center. So we flew to Pensacola, as always with Southwest, on points, then drove an hour to Mobile. We kind of know our way around there now, which is funny.

As usual, on the first day, the boys check in for the tournament and have a hit. Mark was playing doubles with Connor once again. 

It’s quite a large draw for doubles so Mark and Connor frequently get a bye. This time, they were number ONE seed which was a little surprising but well deserved. That means that their ranking combined was the highest in the whole draw of 64 pairs. 

Mark and Connor had a bye in the round of 64, won the first match 8:3 and then had a super tough evening match against William Claus and Ross Johnson to get to top 16. They won 9:8 (8:6 tiebreaker). It was quite a match with so many nail biting moments! 

Kelly and I were FREEZING but man...this was exciting. 

In the meantime, Mark was doing pretty well in singles too.  He won his first two matches and got to the Round of 32. 

And then he had to play against Griffin Goode again. Mark can beat him, I know it! But it’s been a long time since he’s done that. So he lost... And then in the consolation draw, the next day, he had to play a very strong opponent, Hrday, and lost in a close match 6:4, 6:4. He actually played really well in that match though! How do I know and remember all this you might ask? Well....the draws are still online-haha. 

Mark reading a book in the hotel to prove he is not always on his phone. 

So Doubles were continuing.. in the Quarterfinals, Connor and Mark played Simon Hayal and Taichi Shimizu. It was a bit of a crazy match as Simon was not being a good sport during the match, but the boys won decisively 8:5. Simon just walked away after the match not even talking to his partner. I have to say that Connor and Mark did not have an easy draw looking at who they had to beat. 

Next, in the semis, they faced five seeds--Artem Dmytrenko (a Ukrainian kid who is here because of the war) and Lenzen Decker, Artem being by far the better player. Frankly, we did not know what to expect from this match and know the boys were nervous. At first they were down 5:2, the whole time Artem talking trash to them and making very questionable calls. He was not even acting like himself, loudly yelling and saying weird stuff like “your backhand is so bad” to Mark and Connor. It was so strange that at some point I stood up and said in Ukrainian to his mom a few feet away “This is horrible behavior”. She didn’t look at me. But Artem definitely knew what I was talking about, and noticed I was appalled. Whatever happened afterwards is even stranger...after a ref stopped by, Artem and his partner stopped yelling crazily and talking trash. And suddenly...slowly...our boys starting picking up more points. Absolutely unbelievably, they won 8:5! Perhaps it was a coincidence, but as soon as the opponents stopped acting like jerks, they started losing. Needless to say, the parents of the opponents were really upset even at us, and said that “Kelly was crazy” which is the farthest from the truth. And the Ukrainian mom, who I had been chatting with for like a year and thought was friendly, just told me “I don’t have to talk to you”. It was the most dramatic and strange match experience we’ve had in doubles. Too bad..

The next morning, Mark and Connor had to play Griffin Goode and Johnny Wolfe. Sadly, they didn’t play as well as they hoped and lost 8:5. Still! Getting to the finals was huge! 

Here they are receiving their awards. 

Congratulations, boys! 

And the moms deserve a medal too! We are so proud of Connor and Mark!

One of the few pictures with Mark! 

I think this part of the hallway near the Southwest luggage carousel feels like home now as we so frequently end our journeys there, usually at 11 pm or so... Southwest companion pass for the win! 

And just for fun, I am including some of Mark’s action shots from his training here in Cary. 

He was wearing his hat backwards there for a bit. 

And so this tennis journey continues! So much fun! So much work and dedication! 

Lyana

 

Chasing BYU Tennis Team in Pennsylvania

If you were to ask me a few years ago if I ever would do what we did, I would say absolutely not-- it’s just crazy. 

But it doesn’t seem so crazy anymore-haha! 

Middle of February, we were waiting for find out if Mark was going to get into an L2 tournament. Only four L2s are happening in the country at the same time so the competition to get in is stiff. He was one of the top alternates for Arizona, so we were holding on to last piece of hope he would get in and I finally cancelled the ticket on Thursday evening. 

So instead, since we had a free Friday, we decided to fly to Philadelphia and drive to Lehigh University where BYU was playing against Vilanova on their “East Coast trip”.  It wasn’t a spur of the moment trip--I did book the tickets a few weeks earlier “just in case”.

We left early in the morning, got to Philly, got our rental car and made it to the site shortly after doubles was finished. We were the only BYU fans besides the parents of two of the Owen boys who are on the team. The reason we could just fly to Philly if we wanted to is MILES! It was a direct flight from Raleigh for only about 6K points per person and $6 for taxes each way. Great redemption, if you ask me! 

And what an experience! Mark couldn’t stop beaming just being there, next to all these amazing players! We got to talk to the parents of Redd and Hardy Owen who followed the team from UT. And chatted with all the players. They all couldn’t believe that Mark is just 16 and is so tall. 

After the matches, which BYU won 7:0 even without the number 1 and number 2 player playing, we all went to grab some lunch. 

We chatted with the coaches and just had a good time. I was still feeling pretty nervous, probably because they are college coaches. They weren’t obviously talking about recruiting in any shape or form yet because the date they are allowed to do that is Jun 15th before Mark’s junior year. How awesome it is to have this picture! 

And I love that they made the group to squish together and to get Mark in with everyone. 

So funny! 

A few of these guys are non-LDS and some are returned missionaries. It’s interesting because the ones that served in Brazil, Benin and Thailand couldn’t play tennis at all for two years. But Hardy was lucky and while serving in Slovenia was able to play tennis almost every day in the morning while being able to also teach and make connections with people. Now one tennis player Tennyson Whiting is serving in the same mission after a couple of years at BYU and then trying to make it on the pro tour. Amazing stuff! 

And after this fun lunch, we were back in the car, grabbing some treats for our drive back to the airport and catching our flight home. It was a crazy whirlwind trip, just a day trip, but such a memory for me and Mark!

Lyana. 

 

Our December Happenings

 Every December we have a scheduling problem--Robert's practice tries to hold their annual Christmas party on the same weekend as I have to drive to Florence with Mark to a tournament. Thankfully, this year we planned ahead and managed to schedule it on a midday Saturday so I could make it to both--Florence tournament and the party.

Mark played doubles with Connor again. They had a great run! And they won the whole tournament, beating David and Walker in the final. 

The fun part about this Florence L5 tournament is that they also have mixed doubles. Mark played mixed doubles with a girl from GA that he didn't know. She was half his size, no exaggeration. Yet, somehow she and Mark beat Connor and McKenzie in the finals! So Mark got TWO doubles wins. 

Before showing you the final awards pictures, here is the annual picture of Mark and the reindeer. We usually stay at the Hyatt in downtown Florence so we can walk around through all the festive displays, and this is one of them. Mark usually is hesitant to get a picture here thinking it's just too silly, but because we do it every time, it's actually hilarious now. 

Okay, so here are the final awards pictures! Dubs specialists today. 

And Mark got fourth place in Singles! Romir beat him in the battle for 3rd place. 

And back to Christmas.... Mark had the privilege of putting the star up this time again! No stool needed...this kid is still growing. I remember when the kids were little and how festive and cute it was to pick up one of them so they could put the star on the top of the tree. Miss those days for sure...

Oh yes, and my mom was able to be here with us in December! She arrived from Ukraine after a 15 day Transatlantic cruise from Barcelona to Florida. It was fun! Such a cool experience and I am glad she was healthy and energetic enough to do it. 

Here are our stockings this year--five of the ones I got back in 2005 or so, when we lived in Minnesota. Plus one generic one for my mom. 

And so back to the Christmas party. Robert was in charge of organizing it this year, so we he booked an Italian place in Cary, Lugano. It was just fancy enough, with good food and delicious desserts.  

This year I taught Sunday School to Mark and a few other kids of his age. It was awesome! Although many times we missed church and so my partner, Grace, had to teach... I snapped this picture randomly after church one Sunday. Helena, Tess, Ellie, Caroline, Annabelle, Dallan, Mark, Jarnum, and Nate. Come to think of it, a couple of the kids are not from my class, but they are just friends with this group. 

In early December, when my mom was already here, we got to go to the magical evening presented by MG for the Ukrainian refugees and American families who have been involved in the cause of helping refugees. We got to enjoy all the beautiful lit up decorations once again, have a very long presentation by MG and all the people involved (I had to give a little speech too, on behalf of Lyena as well), and had a dinner at the very end when we were pretty frozen. 

Here is another beautiful picture! We are pretty lucky we got to see the light display for free and without waiting in line. This is such a popular place in Apex and until just last year it was free to attend. I think MG is trying to make it a more exclusive experience nowadays so people have to buy tickets or win them as a lottery. In any case, we are grateful we could see these lights twice already! 

The famous lights tunnel is pretty cool! 

Grateful for what MG has done to help Ukrainians. It's an enormous undertaking so I am impressed he's been able to help so many Ukrainian families. 

We were leaving for Hawaii on Dec 29, the day after Mark's birthday and the day after the church stake dance. So here is Mark, right before going to the dance, wearing Alex's jacket. We'd promised him we'd make sure we are home for the dance and for his birthday... He loves church dances! And I am glad he likes to go when he is in town and meet new people. In fact that's how he met his girlfriend, Sarah! But more on that later... 

Tennis Thanksgiving in Tampa

 IMG Academy International Tennis Championships, formerly known as Eddie Herr, is a huge tournament, hosted by IMG Tennis Academy each year in Florida. Because of eligibility, Mark pretty much only has a chance to play tournaments like Eddie Herr (most people will keep calling it that) and Orange Bowl once in each category. So this year, a month before he was turning 16, we decided to spend Thanksgiving Day in Florida and let Mark play qualifying rounds for this big competition.

The main draw is 64 kids (from all over the world but a lot of American kids come). The qualifying draw is 128 kids and only 8 of these kids get into the main draw (they keep 8 spots available for them).

Mark and I flew direct to Tampa on Tuesday before Thanksgiving as the check in for QF draw was that afternoon. 

The first opponent Mark played the next day was a boy from Mexico. His level on paper was kind of low, but he actually played quite well. Nevertheless, Mark beat him easily.  Later in the afternoon, we picked Robert up from the airport as he had to work on Wednesday still. 

We had only one match per day so the following day, late in the afternoon, Mark played another match against a boy from France. Qualifying draw is pretty brutal--one loss and you are out--just like in the professional circuit. It was not an easy match, but Mark did really well and beat the opponent as well!

That was on Thursday, the day we are supposed to be all eating turkey and gather as families:)). We had reservations at a local place for a Thanksgiving dinner and because of the match delays, we had to reschedule it and barely made it before their closing time. We had a fantastic dinner--Mark and I had fish with our Thanksgiving trimmings and Robert had traditional turkey. We all had delicious pie...although key lime pie was sold out. 

This is where you eat a Thanksgiving Dinner when you are in Florida--at a seafood place. 

On Friday, Mark played his hardest match so far against a seeded player from Trinidad and Tobago.

 In fact, the kid was number one player of his country. Mark played on clay, played so well, and managed to pull off a win! 

Stretching in the hotel...Sometimes he uses extra towels, sometimes the bed. When we drive, we bring our yoga mat with us. 

On Saturday, Mark had another tough match against a kids from Florida. He played a game similar to Mark, so it was a battle. Lots of deuce points, lots of momentum changes, but Mark lost. It was still a good match! The thing is you have to win all 4 matches to get into the main draw but IF you lose in the last round, like Mark did, you get a chance to be a "lucky loser" (yes, it's a thing). A lucky loser gets a chance to be put in the main draw if someone pulls out, depending on the number they drew after the last match. 

Miraculously, Mark got to be the lucky loser, one of the three, and on Sunday, when the draws came out, we learned that he would be playing on Monday morning. 

After Mark's match, we enjoyed some together time in Bradenton. We drove to the beach, walked around there, walked around the cute town had a lobster roll (I did, that is) and just enjoyed the festive feel of this Florida corner. This place was hit pretty badly by the hurricane that had destroyed so much of the beach just two months prior. We could see the clean up was actively happening and many buildings were still completely destroyed. 

We also found a park nearby to go disc golfing (and I went walking). Robert was leaving that Saturday evening to beat the holiday rush and prices.  

Oh wait, he didn't leave that evening actually. I dropped him off at the airport, he got through security and by the time I almost got back to the hotel, he said that the flight is so delayed that he would not make his connection in Charlotte so that they would postpone his flight till early morning out of Charlotte. Instead, I told him to get on chat with American Airlines and ask them to just change his flight to next morning out of Tampa so that he doesn't get stuck in Charlotte for the night. So basically, then I drove back to the airport (25 min) and picked him up so he could stay with us and then fly out on Sunday morning-haha. 

Mark played one more match at Eddie Herr against a great player from Spain. He was number 3 seed in the whole tournament, who had participated in the Davis Cup tournament representing Spain (that's a team event made up of the best players of each country). It was extremely windy too! Mark managed to win only one game, so he lost 6:0, 6:1. It was quite an experience though--it was definitely playing someone with a different level. 

This is Mark and his friend from Arizona Adnrej. In case they are famous someday.

And so our magical run at this international tournament came to an end... It was a great experience, learned a lot about the tennis atmosphere in Florida and the level to aspire to be. It was definitely a very unique way to spend the holiday! 

Lyana.