Lewis, Lima Clinch
Career-Best Finish in Dallas
(April 20, 2007) – Fifth places are hard to come by on the AVP tour, especially in this 2007 season of ultimate parity. It’s almost better for you if you are the underdog.
Just ask Angela Lewis and Priscilla Lima.
The two followed up a ninth place in Miami, tying them for their best finish ever, with no worse than a fifth place in Dallas awaiting them after sending Holly McPeak and Logan Tom to the contender’s bracket Friday with a 21-18, 21-19 victory in the quarterfinals. Prior to that, they dispatched heralded veterans Jenny Johnson Jordan and Annett Davis in three.
Lima, a Brazilian by birth, invited Lewis – who’s from Hermosa Beach by way of Sacramento, Calif., – back to her adopted home in Lafayette, La., following Miami to train a few days before driving six-and-a-half hours to Arlington. They trained with a couple of locals at the small town’s four-court beach facility. It wasn’t Hermosa Beach or Ipanema, but the quality time together worked wonders.
“It was good bonding time,” said Angela as she headed to dinner Friday night before catching some shut-eye in prep of her big day ahead. “We hadn’t played together in a while and hadn’t seen each other since October.”
After partnering together since halfway through the 2005 season, Priscilla decided to go in another direction last July after she and Angela finished 17th in Atlanta. She wanted to partner with fellow countrywoman Paula Roca in anticipation of competing together on the Brazilian domestic tour. But that never materialized.
After catching up on their drive across Texas, Priscilla and Angela were “cruising” as they down the barrel of a match-up against last Elaine Youngs and Nicole Branagh, the women’s champs in Miami. Angela and Pri ended up losing, but they set a tone for the rest of the season.
“They’re coming off a big win, but it can be anybody’s game out there on any given day,” Angela added. “We played them last week but played them really well. It wasn’t like they walked all over us. We weren’t freaking out.”
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