The 2006 edition of the New York Buzz may not win very often, but they sure know how to celebrate. On their off day following an upset win over Venus Williams and the Philadelphia Freedoms, Buzz players attended a party that ran for four hours. Details remain sketchy, but we did learn that the festivities included a ride in a helicopter. Fortunately, the chopper landed safely. After their overachieving performance in front of a packed house on Wednesday, would the Buzz come down to earth in more ways than one?

The 3-7 Buzz may have been favorites on paper against the 2-8 Houston Wranglers, but the visiting team came in with a swagger that belied its poor record. That could be attributed to the presence of marquee player Anna-Lena Groenefeld (currently the 16th-ranked woman in the world) and even more to the presence of her entourage. Groenefeld is coached by Rafael Font de Mora, a controversial figure who was very much in attendance on Friday evening. During his long tenure coaching Meghann Shaughnessy, Font de Mora squabbled with the United States Tennis Association and was criticized for everything from overworking Shaughnessy to allegedly carrying on an improper relationship with her while she was still a minor. Whether his renegade reputation is fair or not, there's no disputing that Font de Mora's big personality is hard to ignore. The atmosphere during the sparsely attended pre-match introductions would have been dead altogether were it not for Font de Mora and a friend sitting next to him (whom I heard referred to as "George"). Rafael and George whooped it up from their courtside box seats, exaggeratedly cheering for Wranglers coach Jim Mavity and shouting things like "Torrey, you're my hero!" to Torrey Gambill, who was on hand to play doubles with better known brother Jan-Michael.

First set: mixed doubles -- Lipsky/Ditty vs. J-M Gambill/Groenefeld

Rafael Font de Mora hopped a fence after the introductions and took a seat on the Houston bench. His buddy George, meanwhile, whipped out a small device that, upon shaking, made a sound similar to a cowbell. The rattling of said device -- and a heated debate over its use -- would quickly overshadow the action on the court. At the gleeful insistence of Font de Mora, George shook his noisemaker every time Scott Lipsky or Julie Ditty attempted to serve. This earned him harsh reprimands from fans, the PA announcer, and a particularly outraged Buzz representative. The device, which featured the Wranglers' black-and-yellow color scheme, is presumably deemed acceptable when Houston plays at home. Torrey Gambill sure seemed to think it was within the bounds of good sportsmanship. He got out of his chair to berate the Buzz official, saying, "Excuse me, sir. That's absolutely legal. Get away from him right now." Wranglers coach Jim Mavity also pleaded George's case, but the bell-ringing finally subsided after five games.

Having played big time college tennis at Stanford, Scott Lipsky knows a thing or two about rowdy fan behavior. He held his nerve throughout the commotion, serving big in holds for 1-0 and 3-2. Jan-Michael Gambill -- who has eight ATP titles (3 singles, 5 doubles) to his credit -- was also in a groove on serve. His second ace of the evening made it 3-3. Ditty had an opportunity to keep the set on serve in Game 7, but missed a volley to force deuce, which is a single "deciding point" in World TeamTennis. Gambill took over from there, angling off a winning backhand volley to break for 4-3. Anna-Lena Groenefeld easily served it out from there, securing a 5-3 win for the Wranglers.

OVERALL SCORE: WRANGLERS 5, BUZZ 3

Second set: women's doubles -- Ditty/Kutuzova vs. Groenefeld/Stewart

A familiar face from her two seasons as a quietly charming member of the Buzz, Bryanne Stewart has been ranked as high as # 16 in the world in doubles. Anna-Lena Groenefeld has exceeded that, getting all the way to # 7 in the WTA doubles rankings earlier this year. Of course, as we learned from Venus Williams and Lisa Raymond in the previous Buzz match, successful doubles players don't always mesh well when they have little experience as a team. Groenefeld and Stewart, however, had their act together right from the start in this set. Volleying well and even making some use of the I-formation, they stormed out to a 4-1 lead.

Julie Ditty overcame a double fault to hold for 2-4, but the Lady Buzz found themselves staring down the barrel of multiple set points when Stewart built a 40-15 lead in Game 7. By spanking a return for a clean winner and knocking off a volley, a suddenly energized Kutuzova saved the first two set points. Groenefeld then netted a stab volley on the deciding point, surrendering a break and getting the Buzz back in business at 3-4. Kutuzova's serve got very shaky in the following game, with back-to-back double faults bringing up another critical deciding point. Ditty bailed her out, though, putting away a volley to hold and force a tiebreak...

ALG serving: Stewart places a forehand volley at Ditty's feet -- 1-0 WRANGLERS

ALG: Service winner from Groenefeld -- 2-0 WRANGLERS

JD: Groenefeld gets the mini-break with a swinging backhand volley winner -- 3-0 WRANGLERS

JD: Stewart leaps to make a (slightly mis-hit) forehand volley winner -- 4-0 WRANGLERS

BS: Groenefeld loses a volley war, pushing one long -- 4-1 WRANGLERS

BS: Ditty whips a winning forehand return down the middle -- 4-2 WRANGLERS

VK: Stewart goes for a big forehand and narrowly misses the corner -- 4-3 WRANGLERS

VK: Kutuzova's second serve is long for a set-ending double fault -- 5-3 WRANGLERS

The superior doubles prowess of Groenefeld and Stewart finally paid off, but not until after the Lady Buzz won three straight games and saved seven set points. In the WTT format where every game counts, it had the feel of a turning point. As for how they engineered the comeback, Viktoriya Kutuzova summed it up simply. "At 4-1, I just said 'let's play, let's do it, we can do it'."

OVERALL SCORE: WRANGLERS 10, BUZZ 7

Third set: women's singles -- Viktoriya Kutuzova vs. Anna-Lena Groenefeld

The WTA Tour recently announced plans to experiment with on-court coaching at select tournaments this summer. Buzz fans got something of a preview of that concept when Rafael Font de Mora grabbed his notebook, clambered back over the fence into a front row seat near the baseline, and coached the living heck out of this women's singles set. The WTA system will limit consultations to one timeout per set and the breaks between sets, but the boisterous Spaniard was under no such restrictions as he provided Anna-Lena Groenefeld with a steady stream of advice and encouragement. "Dictate!"... "Forward!"... "Good hit!"... "Great idea!"... "Get this one, bring her down mentally"... "That's your game. That is perfect!" You get the idea.

With her powerful serve, world class backhand, and greatly improved fitness, 21-year-old Groenefeld has become a force to be reckoned with. On deciding point in Game 4, she caught the baseline with a forcing return, overwhelming Viktoriya Kutuzova and breaking her for a 3-1 lead. As Groenefeld changed sides, Font de Mora and his companion George followed her, sprinting all the way to seats near the other baseline. Kutuzova, meanwhile, started to really hit out on her shots. The talented teen from Ukraine broke for 2-3, then pumped her fist after a convincing hold tied the set at 3 games apiece. Perhaps a bit superstitious, Rafael and George ran back to their original side, now supporting their charge from a further distance.

Already up 15-30 on Groenefeld's serve in Game 7, Kutuzova stepped into a wicked forehand winner. Groenefeld answered with a pair of unreturnable backhands, pumping her own fist as she got the game to a winner-take-all deciding point. A deep-hitting rally ensued, but it was the German who flinched, netting a backhand to give Kutuzova a winning lead of 4-3. The malaise that typified Kutuzova's play early in this WTT season was nowhere to be found now. Cracking some of her hardest serves yet, she raced ahead 40-15, earning set points. A forehand that was just long betrayed her on the first, keeping Groenefeld afloat at 40-30. Undaunted, Kutuzova unleashed a service winner and let out a yelp of jubilation.

Kutuzova's come-from-behind 5-3 victory marked her second consecutive singles win over a big name opponent. "I had to be confident on every point, fight for every point, and I was trying to make her play her forehand," Viktoriya explained afterward. It was an effective game plan, but Kutuzova doesn't mean to imply that Groenefeld's forehand is an outright weakness. "She's working on it. She's better right now, much better. And also, her serve is really good." Cold comfort for Anna-Lena, who looked very down and dejected during the post-set intermission.

OVERALL SCORE: WRANGLERS 13, BUZZ 12

Fourth set: men's singles -- Scott Lipsky vs. Jan-Michael Gambill

In the years between the waning of the Sampras/Agassi/Courier/Chang dynasty and emergence of the Roddick/Blake/Fish/Ginepri crowd, one of the brighter hopes for American men's tennis was Jan-Michael Gambill. With his two-fisted power game, teeth-clenched intensity, and movie star looks, Gambill appeared destined for big things. Like fellow generational 'tweeners Vince Spadea and Justin Gimelstob, however, Gambill has been forced to settle for a topsy-turvy, workmanlike career. Even that status has been thrown into doubt in recent years. Slumps, injuries, and a recent period of inactivity have seen the man once ranked among People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People fall to a mere 358 on the ATP computer. Now 29 years old, Gambill faces an uphill battle in his return to competitive tennis. But on Friday night, he left no doubt that he can still do substantial damage with his serve. Gambill and Scott Lipsky threw aces at each other throughout a set that featured few rallies and no break points. In virtually no time flat, they advanced to a tiebreak...

JMG serving: Gambill opens with a service winner -- 1-0 BUZZ

JMG: Lipsky awkwardly chips a backhand into the net -- 2-0 BUZZ

SL: Gambill puts in a one-handed return; Lipsky nets a backhand -- 3-0 BUZZ

SL: Gambill just misses the sideline with a big backhand -- 3-1 BUZZ

JMG: Untimely double fault from Gambill -- 3-2 BUZZ

JMG: Gambill recovers with an ace out wide -- 4-2 BUZZ

SL: Lipsky makes a daring net approach, but pushes a forehand volley wide -- 5-2 BUZZ

Lipsky may not be a world beater, but the 5-4 win still goes down as an encouraging feather in Gambill's cap. Early in the 2005 season, he radically attempted to ditch the two-handed forehand he'd grown so accustomed to, making an in-season transition to the traditional one-hander. That experiment appears to have been shelved, though he still takes one hand off when stretched out wide. "The one-handed forehand is a part of my game," Gambill told me after the match. "It's always a work in progress. I mean, everybody's game's gotta be. If you're not going forward, you're going backward. It's not gonna be the way I win matches, but it's gonna be a good defensive tool."

OVERALL SCORE: WRANGLERS 18, BUZZ 16

Fifth set: men's doubles -- Corkery/Lipsky vs. Gambill/Gambill

A two-game lead heading into men's doubles is usually a winning formula in World TeamTennis. That is, unless you're the Houston Wranglers, owners of the worst men's doubles record in the league. With doubles specialist Johan Landsberg out for the season and replacement Graydon Oliver only available part-time, the Wranglers have been making do with Jan-Michael Gambill's younger brother Torrey. Say this much for Torrey: he's an energetic young man with an impressive physique and commendable rhythm (which he demonstrated by boogying in his chair every time a snippet of hip hop played over the sound system). Sadly, he also happens to be an inept tennis player. Torrey's never played a tour level singles match and his career ATP doubles record speaks for itself: 0-8, with all eight losses coming in straight sets. Ouch.

Against all odds, the Gambill brothers actually mounted a charge against Scott Lipsky's intimidating serve, taking the set's opening game to a deciding point. Lipsky won it with an ace, however, prompting Rafael Font de Mora to remark "too good" from his courtside seat. Easy holds by Jan-Michael and K.C. Corkery made it 2-1 in favor of the Buzz, with Torrey next to serve. True to form, the lefty sandwiched a pair of double faults around some hideous volleys, surrendering the game at love. Without even doing much, the Buzz had broken for a 3-1 lead, tying up the overall match score and putting themselves in a great position to win.

Still fighting for all he was worth, Jan-Michael delivered a winning topspin lob to once again force a deciding point on Lipsky's serve. Lipsky rose to the occasion with a thunderous ace and an impassioned cry of "COME ON!" The elder Gambill rocketed a pair of aces in a quick hold for 2-4, but his Wranglers were still in deep trouble. With the overall tally dead even at 20 games apiece, K.C. Corkery merely needed to hold serve to wrap up a Buzz victory. Corkery got to 30-0, but committed an awfully armsy double fault for 30-15. Quickly redeeming himself, Corkery came up with a nice touch volley winner to earn match points. Torrey Gambill managed to put the next return in play, only to see Jan-Michael snatch at a forehand volley, driving it into the net. Showing why coach Jolene Watanabe trusts them as her fifth set anchor, K.C. Corkery and Scott Lipsky carried the Buzz to victory with their 5-2 win.

FINAL SCORE: BUZZ 21, WRANGLERS 20

While the men's doubles may have ultimately decided the match's outcome, the Buzz never would have gotten within striking distance without the nine key games Viktoriya Kutuzova had a hand in winning. "I find my game," the night's unofficial MVP said afterward, using one of her familiar refrains to explain how she rallied from 1-3 down to score a 5-3 victory over Groenefeld. "I was just trying to put more and more power in every shot." Rather than rest on her laurels following her surprise win over Venus Williams two nights earlier, Kutuzova managed to play even better by putting that result out of her mind. "I was trying to forget about (the Williams) match. I mean, it's already done."

During her initial go-round with the Buzz in 2004, Kutuzova announced that her family was applying for American citizenship. Two years later, those hopes remain tied up in red tape. "Oh well, it's just a problem with U.S. We'll see. I can't really talk about it." What she can talk about is her adorable 8-year-old sister Vlada, who came over to give Viktoriya a hug midway through her post-match interview. "She plays tennis. She wants to beat me," big sis said with a grin. Hey, if those citizenship papers ever go through for Viktoriya and Vlada, the future of American tennis may not be as bleak as most experts think.

Sibling issues were more pressing for the Houston Wranglers, as Jan-Michael Gambill's sterling effort had been undone in one fell swoop by brother Torrey's woeful service game. Jan-Michael was incredibly gracious and accommodating after the match, though. The man Jim Courier nicknamed "Hollywood" posed for numerous pictures with his female admirers, hit for a while with a ball boy, and granted yours truly a one-on-one interview. "I'm trying to get my brother to be a little more positive on the court and to think that he can actually go out there and play," Jan-Michael said. "He's got a good game. He gets real nervous, though, and it's real tough for him. He misses some balls, a few double faults, and then I miss a ball and all of a sudden he's broken. In Team Tennis anything can happen, so it's tough. But if you put him in a few pressure situations and he gets a few more, few more, then he starts to bloom a little bit. That's how sports work."

If he can believe there's hope for his brother, it's small wonder Jan-Michael also believes he can use Team Tennis as a springboard towards a full-fledged ATP Tour comeback. "I've been injured for seven months. It's been really hard for me, being off that long. I think I needed about a month or two, but seven was tough. Really eager to be back on the court, having a lot of fun. My mind's really clear, so I'm actually feeling I'm focused a little better out there. Absolutely it's a springboard." Even Houston's lousy 2-9 record isn't enough to blunt Gambill's sunny perspective. "Win or lose, we have fun. We have a great team, really good friends on the team, and it's been a lot of fun."

One fringe benefit of Gambill's WTT season has been bonus coaching from Rafael Font de Mora. "Rafael has always been a very good coach. He's here watching out of his own kindness, ya know, he doesn't have to do that for us. He's here for Anna-Lena. It's nice that he's out there, part of the team. He's fun to have out there. He's a great guy." Coincidentally, Meghann Shaughnessy -- the lanky workaholic Font de Mora coached for so many years and was once engaged to marry -- is scheduled to oppose the Buzz in their next home match. She'll lead the Hartford FoxForce into town on July 24th.