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State Championships
2002 Massimo Conturso
2003 Massimo Conturso
2004 Miguel Marques
2005 Miguel Marques
2006 Miguel Marques
2007 Massimo Conturso
2008 Miguel Marques
2009 Massimo Conturso
2010 Massimo Conturso
2011 Andrea Gasparini
2002 Massimo Conturso
2003 Massimo Conturso
2004 Miguel Marques
2005 Miguel Marques
2006 Miguel Marques
2007 Massimo Conturso
2008 Miguel Marques
2009 Massimo Conturso
2010 Massimo Conturso
2011 Andrea Gasparini
| ASA CT Open/2011 State Championship January 22, 2012 in Wallingford |
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"Veni. Vidi. Vici."
Andrea Gasparini is the new Connecticut
State Champion, peculiarly since he lives in
Massachusetts but very deservedly.
The hours preceding the tournament were
particularly irritating since the promising
event risked a historical collapse. After a
perhaps unprecedented series of drop-outs,
not necessarily related to Saturday's
untimely snow fall, the attendance was in
fact drastically reduced by 55% from 9 to 4.
Or so it seemed.
The remaining players ended up relying on
Jim Taylor to maintain the tournament's
WASPA status. However, he allegedly
showed up at the wrong venue and, since
the invention of cell phone hasn't reached
Bloomfield yet, he couldn't communicate with
his club mates if not through email later at
night.
Andrea, in his only available weekend of the
month, drove for hours, made the
tournament possible and his commitment
was rewarded when he lifted the precious
State League trophy that, in the previous 9
editions, saw in Massimo and Miguel the only
two owners.
To keep faith to the original league format,
the three participants decided to have a final
only as tie-breaker in case of same points
situation and engaged in a classic double-leg
robin round.
Things couldn't have started better for
Miguel and Andrea. They both defeated a
rather pedestrian title holder, Massimo in
back-to-back games and set the
tournament's mood. All six matches were
characterized by a maniacal attention to
tactical details, like the low scores attest,
and the first Andrea-Miguel head-to-head
was perhaps the tightest of all, with both
contenders careful not to offer the weak side
to the other.
The scoreless draw helped Massimo staying
alive despite the 4-point gap. Hypothetically,
he still could have claimed the title by
winning both 2nd leg's matches and pulling
for another tie between the two table
leaders. However, his comeback propositions
remained theoretical as he failed to
capitalize the many chances created against
Andrea, who increased his clean sheets to 3.
Massimo then had the consolation to claim
full points and score his only goal against
Miguel, a result that put Andrea in pole
position for the championship.
The last match was an authentic final and
Miguel needed to win it in order to leap over
Andrea and claim the trophy he previously
won 4 times. Perhaps a bit anxious after a
scoreless half, the Portuguese pushed after
the break only to find himself 1-0 down on a
counterattack. The lead possibly went to
Andrea's head, who temporarily lose his hold
on the game. Miguel scored with a strike
from the middle, but he then run out of time
and Andrea, undefeated, clinched a historical
title.
Andrea Gasparini is the new Connecticut
State Champion, peculiarly since he lives in
Massachusetts but very deservedly.
The hours preceding the tournament were
particularly irritating since the promising
event risked a historical collapse. After a
perhaps unprecedented series of drop-outs,
not necessarily related to Saturday's
untimely snow fall, the attendance was in
fact drastically reduced by 55% from 9 to 4.
Or so it seemed.
The remaining players ended up relying on
Jim Taylor to maintain the tournament's
WASPA status. However, he allegedly
showed up at the wrong venue and, since
the invention of cell phone hasn't reached
Bloomfield yet, he couldn't communicate with
his club mates if not through email later at
night.
Andrea, in his only available weekend of the
month, drove for hours, made the
tournament possible and his commitment
was rewarded when he lifted the precious
State League trophy that, in the previous 9
editions, saw in Massimo and Miguel the only
two owners.
To keep faith to the original league format,
the three participants decided to have a final
only as tie-breaker in case of same points
situation and engaged in a classic double-leg
robin round.
Things couldn't have started better for
Miguel and Andrea. They both defeated a
rather pedestrian title holder, Massimo in
back-to-back games and set the
tournament's mood. All six matches were
characterized by a maniacal attention to
tactical details, like the low scores attest,
and the first Andrea-Miguel head-to-head
was perhaps the tightest of all, with both
contenders careful not to offer the weak side
to the other.
The scoreless draw helped Massimo staying
alive despite the 4-point gap. Hypothetically,
he still could have claimed the title by
winning both 2nd leg's matches and pulling
for another tie between the two table
leaders. However, his comeback propositions
remained theoretical as he failed to
capitalize the many chances created against
Andrea, who increased his clean sheets to 3.
Massimo then had the consolation to claim
full points and score his only goal against
Miguel, a result that put Andrea in pole
position for the championship.
The last match was an authentic final and
Miguel needed to win it in order to leap over
Andrea and claim the trophy he previously
won 4 times. Perhaps a bit anxious after a
scoreless half, the Portuguese pushed after
the break only to find himself 1-0 down on a
counterattack. The lead possibly went to
Andrea's head, who temporarily lose his hold
on the game. Miguel scored with a strike
from the middle, but he then run out of time
and Andrea, undefeated, clinched a historical
title.
The new State Champion.
Results
Miguel 1-0 Massimo
Massimo 0-1 Andrea
Andrea 0-0 Miguel
Andrea 0-0 Massimo
Massimo 1-0 Miguel
Miguel 1-1 Andrea
Standings
Andrea 6
Miguel 5
Massimo 4
Miguel 1-0 Massimo
Massimo 0-1 Andrea
Andrea 0-0 Miguel
Andrea 0-0 Massimo
Massimo 1-0 Miguel
Miguel 1-1 Andrea
Standings
Andrea 6
Miguel 5
Massimo 4
The championship match.
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