FLF Pro Final Inspires the Youth

WPH R48 #1 Luis Moreno faced sparring partner and former WPH R48 #1 Sean Lenning is the final of the men’s pro singles at the FLF Salute to Kids. The pair met for the second time in eight days, with Lenning upsetting Moreno and notching his first win over the #1 in four years at the Plummer Bash last weekend.

Unreal. Spectacular. Sensational. Unbelievable. Perhaps those are the only adjectives to describe the play of Moreno and Lenning on a beautiful Sunday morning in Tucson.

Moreno raced to a 7-1 lead in game one in just three minutes and 15 seconds, hitting the ball just 11 times en route to scoring seven points. Lenning answered, scoring six unanswered points in just two minutes and 30 seconds to tie the score at seven. The shots were breathtaking, with the power simply incomprehensible. Moreno surged again, scoring six consecutive points to take a 13-7 lead, but no lead was safe in this gunfight. With both players consistently hitting flat rollouts with both hands from everywhere on the court, virtually every rally ended with a mouse.

Lenning ultimately led 19-17 and appeared to be in control of game one. Moreno tied the score at 19, and after consecutive side outs, scored the 20^th point on a blistering ace down the left. Moreno followed a short serve with a second serve that bounced into the back wall and right wall to give Lenning a huge setup. Lenning ended the game anticlimactically, making just his second unforced error of the game on perhaps the easiest opportunity in the game and ceding game one, 21-19.

Moreno started hot in game two, as he had done to start the match, building a 7-1 lead. Although appearing to be winded, Lenning continued to push, dazzling the awestruck gallery with unconventional rally-ending kills and cat-like reflexes. The two would trade the lead 11 times in game two. Lenning appeared to be in control once again late in the game, leading 19-17 and just two points from forcing a tiebreaker. Moreno continued his solid and spectacular play in the closing moments, staving off Lenning’s three attempts to score the 20^th point and grabbing the title, 21-19, 21-19.

“The level of play was outstanding,” stated Hall of Famer and FLF founder Fred Lewis, “There were very few errors and the match was just great to watch.”

In fact, Moreno and Lenning combined for under 10 unforced errors in two games, while totaling over 50 rally-ending kill shots.

Both Moreno and Lenning are playing at their highest levels in several years and will be major factors at the WPH Race 4 Eight IV Stop #1 at the Simple Green U.S. Open, October 23^rd-26^th.