The Freedoms finished the regular season with 7 wins and 7 losses and narrowly missed qualifying for the WTT playoffs. They were eliminated on a standings tiebreaker at the conclusion of the final match of the WTT regular season. The Freedoms were led by Travis Parrott, who was named 2008 WTT Male Rookie of the Year.
Season recap
Venus Williams returns, and Freedoms get a new home
At the WTT Marquee Player Draft on March 19, 2008, the Freedoms protected Venus Williams. They did not select any other marquee players.[1] The team also announced that its home matches would be played at King of Prussia mall in Upper Merion Township, Pennsylvania starting with the 2008 season, after seven years at Cabrini College. A temporary stadium with a seating capacity of approximately 2,500 was to be constructed in the parking lot of The Court, then the smaller of the two buildings that composed the mall, in front of Macy's and Bloomingdale's. There would be room to expand the seating capacity of the stadium should demand merit doing so. Freedoms general manager Jeff Harrison said, "The Freedoms couldn’t be more excited to have the opportunity to play at such recognizable location. While this new site will give us the ability to expand our product, we want to assure our fans that they will continue to view world-class tennis in an intimate, exclusive setting. We are very confident that our new home will have a positive effect on our team, supporters and the community. Our relationship with the King of Prussia Mall allows us to grow awareness of the team and introduce some new fans to our brand of tennis." Owner Billie Jean King said, "The relocation of the Freedoms to King of Prussia Mall allows us to expand our overall fan experience. While we have enjoyed a spectacular run at Cabrini College, we have seen the success of other WTT franchises that showcase their teams in nontraditional settings. The timing is right, and the Philadelphia market is another perfect opportunity for us to continue with this approach. The Freedoms have a new home, and we will be driving more traffic to the mall. It's a win-win for everyone involved."[2]
Roster Player Draft
The Freedoms were active in the trade market at the WTT Roster Player Draft on April 1, 2008. In the first round, they protected local favorite Lisa Raymond, which left Jamea Jackson unprotected. Since Jackson had substituted for Raymond in 2007, she had to be protected in the first round (Raymond's 2007 position), if the Freedoms intended to keep her. Raymond, on the other hand, could have been protected in the fourth round, if the Freedoms had protected Jackson in the first round. In the second round, the Freedoms protected Travis Parrott, who had substituted for Daniel Nestor in 2007. Parrott was still technically a WTT rookie under the rules in place at the time, even though he played for Sacramento Capitals in 2006, and for the Freedoms in 2007. The Freedoms traded their third round pick to the Delaware Smash for Alex Bogomolov Jr., whom had been selected by the Smash with the seventh pick in the first round. The trade forced the Freedoms to leave 2006 WTT Male Most Valuable Player Nestor and Frédéric Niemeyer unprotected. The Smash used the third round selection it acquired from the Freedoms to draftMadison Brengle. In the fourth round, the Freedoms selected Audra Cohen and left Olga Savchuk unprotected. The Freedoms did not select any roster-exempt players.[3]
Substitutes for Raymond
On July 3, 2008, with Lisa Raymond's availability in doubt, because she and her partner Samantha Stosur reached the semifinals of the ladies' doubles tournament at Wimbedon, the Freedoms signed Carly Gullickson and Mouna Sabri as substitute players to replace her in the first two matches of the season. On July 6, the Freedoms signed Robin Stephenson as a substitute player to fill in for Raymond, who had lost the Wimbledon ladies' doubles final the previous day, in the third match of the season. The Freedoms expected to have both Raymond and Venus Williams, who with her sister Serena defeated Raymond and Stosur in that Wimbledon doubles final, available for the fourth match of the regular season on July 8.[4] Raymond and Williams were to play women's doubles together in that match as well as the following two matches on the Freedoms' schedule.
A rough start
The Freedoms opened their season on July 4, 2008, with a home match against the expansion Washington Kastles, which was the inaugural match for Washington. After falling behind 15–9 after three sets, the Freedoms started a comeback when Audra Cohen and Carly Gullickson won a tiebreaker in the fourth set of women's doubles. Gullickson and Travis Parrott followed with a 5–3 set win in mixed doubles to send the match to overtime with the Kastles leading 22–19. Mashona Washington and Scott Oudsema clinched a 23–19 victory for the Kastles when they won the first game of overtime.[5]
The following evening, the Freedoms met the Springfield Lasers on the road and raced to a 15–8 lead after three sets. Alex Bogomolov Jr. won the opening set of men's singles and teamed with Parrott to win the third set of men's doubles. Cohen and Parrott won the second set of mixed doubles. After the Lasers won the fourth set of women's singles, the Freedoms still held and 18–13 lead. Shenay Perry and Chanelle Scheepers won a tiebreaker over Cohen and Mouna Sabri in the final set of women's doubles to send the match to overtime with the Freedoms leading, 22–18. Perry and Scheepers then won four straight overtime games and took the super tiebreaker, 7–2, to hand the Freedoms a shocking 23–22 loss.[6]
On July 7, 2008, the Freedoms visited the New York Sportimes and won three of the five sets. However, Cohen's 5–0 set loss to Bethanie Mattek in the fourth set of women's singles meant the Freedoms still trailed, 20–18, after Robin Stephenson and Parrott won a tiebreaker in the final set of mixed doubles to send the match to overtime. Mattek and Brian Wilson won the first game of overtime to give the Sportimes a 21–18 victory and drop the Freedoms' record to 0 wins and 3 losses.[7]
Williams and Raymond arrive
Venus Williams and Lisa Raymond were both available for the third and final match of the Freedoms' early-season three-match road trip, and they had an immediate impact. The Freedoms visited the Delaware Smash on July 8, 2008, in the opener of a home-and-home series. Williams teamed with Travis Parrott for a 5–3 set win in the opening set of mixed doubles. She followed with a 5–2 set win in women's singles. Parrott and Alex Bogomolov Jr. won the third set of men's doubles, 5–3. Williams and Raymond earned a 5–2 set win in the fourth set of women's doubles. After the Smash won a tiebreaker in the closing set of men's singles, the match went to overtime with the Freedoms holding a commanding 24–15 lead. Bogomolov won the first game of overtime to secure the Freedoms' first victory of the season.[8]
The Freedoms hosted the Smash the following evening in a match that was much tighter. Williams and Parrott dropped the opening set of mixed doubles, 5–2. Williams needed a tiebreaker to beat 18-year-old Madison Brengle in the second set of women's doubles. Bogomolov and Parrott gave the Freedoms a 12–11 lead with a 5–2 set win in the third set of men's doubles. The Smash surged to a 16–14 lead, when Brengle and Liezel Huber won the fourth set of women's doubles over Williams and Raymond. Bogomolov rescued the Freedoms by dominating the final set of men's singles, 5–1, to clinch a 19–17 win.[9]
Paying for the fourth consecutive day in the fourth different venue, the Freedoms visited the Boston Lobsters on July 10, 2008. Williams gave them an early lead when she won an opening-set tiebreaker in women's singles and then teamed with Raymond for a 5–2 set win in women's doubles. The Lobsters worked their way back into the match by winning the final three sets, the last two in tiebreakers, to send the match to a super tiebreaker. Bogomolov and Parrott won a match-deciding point to win the super tiebreaker, 7–6, and give the Freedoms a 22–21 triumph.[10] The victory evened the Freedoms' record at 3 wins and 3 losses.
Stretch run
The Freedoms embarked on a four-match homestand with a record of 4 wins and 4 losses, having won four of their previous five matches. However, just as quickly as they appeared to have turned their season in the right direction, the Freedoms suffered another untimely three-match losing streak. In each of the three matches, the Freedoms lost four of the five full sets played. The closest of the three matches was a five-game overtime loss to the Kansas City Explorers. With three matches remaining on their schedule, the Freedoms' record stood at 4 wins and 7 losses.
In the final match of the homestand on July 19, 2008, the Freedoms, without warning, played their best match of the season against the New York Buzz, who entered the match with 7 wins and 3 losses. Alex Bogomolov Jr. and Travis Parrott started the match with a 5–2 set win in the opening set of men's doubles. Audra Cohen won the women's singles set, 5–3. Parrott teamed with Lisa Raymond for a 5–2 set win in the third set of mixed doubles. Raymond and Cohen won a tiebreaker in the fourth set of women's doubles. Bogomolov completed the five-set sweep for the Freedoms by winning a men's singles tiebreaker in the closing set to secure a 25–15 victory.[11]
The next evening, the Freedoms visited the Washington Kastles, who had 5 wins and 6 losses and were in the thick of the race for the WTT wild card playoff berth. Bogomolov won the opening set of men's singles and teamed with Parrott to win the third set of men's doubles. Raymond paired with Cohen to win the second set of women's doubles and with Parrott to win the fourth set of mixed doubles. After Cohen lost the final set of women's singles, she clinched a 23–19 triumph by winning the first game of overtime.[12]
The Freedoms closed their regular season on July 21, 2008, with a dominant home win over the Delaware Smash. Raymond teamed with Parrott for a 5–2 set win in the third set of mixed doubles and with Cohen for a 5–1 set win in the fourth set of women's doubles. Bogomolov paired with Parrott for a 5–3 set win in the opening set of men's doubles and closed out the match by posting a dominant 5–1 margin in the closing set of men's singles.[13] The 23–12 victory evened the Freedoms' record at 7 wins and 7 losses and kept them alive in the WTT playoff race.
Elimination from playoff contention
With their schedule completed, the Freedoms became interested spectators on the final day of the WTT regular season. They were fourth in the Eastern Conference, and their record stood at 7–7, identical to that of the Boston Lobsters, who held a tiebreaker edge over them. The Washington Kastles entered the final day fifth in the Eastern Conference at 5–8 and were eliminated. The Newport Beach Breakers held third place in the Western Conference at 5–8 and were also eliminated. It would seem that the Freedoms had no hope and that the Lobsters had already clinched the wild card. However, the wild card berth was to be awarded to the team that had the highest overall seeding without finishing in the top two places in its conference. That is not necessarily identical to the third place team with the best record. In the overall seeding of the teams, it remained possible for the 7–6 Sacramento Capitals, who had already clinched second place in the Western Conference, to finish 7–7, creating a three-way tie with the Lobsters and Freedoms. The games won against common opponents tiebreaker step would apply, and the Freedoms would be first with 157, the Lobsters second with 152 and the Capitals third with 133 plus the number of games they would win in a loss to the Sportimes. The maximum number of wins against common opponents the Capitals could reach in a loss was 157. Therefore, the tiebreaker would have given the Freedoms the wild card and the #4 seed in the WTT playoffs. The Capitals, as the second-place team in the Western Conference, would have been the #5 seed. The Lobsters would be eliminated, even though they held a head-to-head tiebreaker edge over the Freedoms, and even if they finished second in the three-team tiebreaker for the #4 and #5 seeds. Therefore, the Freedoms needed a Sportimes victory, which would give the Capitals a 7–7 record and create the three-way tie.
In a tightly contested match that ended the WTT regular season, which would have given the Sportimes the Eastern Conference title had they won, the Capitals prevailed in a final-set tiebreaker, 20–19.[14] The Freedoms were eliminated from playoff contention on what was literally the season's final point played.
Event chronology
March 19, 2008: The Freedoms announced their home matches would be played at the King of Prussia mall.[2]
March 19, 2008: The Freedoms protected Venus Williams in the WTT Marquee Player Draft.[1]
July 23, 2008: With a record of 7 wins and 7 losses, the Freedoms were eliminated from playoff contention, when the Sacramento Capitals defeated the New York Sportimes, 20–19.[14]
Draft picks
Since the Freedoms had the worse regular-season record of the two 2007 WTT conference championship match losers, they selected fourth from the bottom (eighth) in each round of WTT's two drafts.
Marquee Player Draft
In the Marquee Player Draft on March 19, 2008, the Freedoms protected Venus Williams in the first round. They did not make a second-round selection.[1]
Roster Player Draft
The league conducted its 2008 Roster Player Draft on April 1, in Miami, Florida. The selections made[3] by the Freedoms are shown in the table below.
^ abPlayer appeared in fewer than three matches during the season as a substitute player and was not eligible to be protected in the following year's draft.
^Player was released by the team during the regular season after appearing in fewer than three matches as a substitute player. She was signed by the New York Sportimes on July 13, 2008. She was not eligible to be protected in the following year's draft.
Statistics
Players are listed in order of their game-winning percentage provided they played in at least 40% of the Freedoms' games in that event, which is the WTT minimum for qualification for league leaders in individual statistical categories.
