The 3.0er of the Year - Barry Bastian (Westowne) & Michael Wehrkamp (Ketterington)
Singles Player of the Year - Joseph Haggerty
(Rocky River Oaks)
Doubles Player of the Year - Barry Bastian
(Westowne)
Doubles Team of the Year - Barry Bastian & Richard Toth
(Westowne)
Captain of the Year - Barry Bastian
(Westowne)
The 2004 voting, the fifth year in which the D.F.O. awarded Player of the Year honors, saw many, many firsts! First, there were the first repeat winners as Barry and Richard once again took the 3.0 doubles world by storm! Second, there were the first ineligible nominees, players deemed just too good to be awarded Player of the Year status (which admittedly doesn't sound quite right)! So without further adieu, as the Germans say, congratulations to the 2004 D.F.O. Player of the Year award winners!
As mentioned above, in a D.F.O. first, doubles teammates Barry and Richard repeated as Doubles Team of the Year winners with yet another double-digit win season. Barry would earn two more awards, this time individual awards, the Doubles Player of the Year and the Captain of the Year, thanks to having excellent winning season in both categories. BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE! Indeed, tied for the most wins (17), both he and Ketterington's Michael would split The 3.0er of the Year honor, as Barry's league leadership and play were recognized as was Michael's playoff prowess.
In singles, Joseph's wins in all three phases - league, tournament, and playoff play - combined with taking home a tournament title, solidified his status as the Singles Player of the Year! Indeed, Joseph, the winner of the biggest tournament of the year, became just the second ever recipient to take home an actual 3.0 tournament championship! A distinguished USTA league player, Joseph enjoyed a fine 2004 season, finishing 7-1 in singles league play and 3-0 in the playoffs, meaning Joseph finished the '04 season with a combined singles record of 13-1! Promoted the next year to 3.5, and currently a 4.0 rated player, Joseph would play the remainder of the decade for several River Oaks teams as he continued to play fantastic tennis in both singles and doubles. Congratulations on making history, Joseph!
In doubles, Barry and Richard, the 2003 award winners, didn't rest on their past 3.0 laurels and instead won even more matches together and made an even deeper run in the 3.0 playoffs together than they had the year before! Once again showing the 3.0 world that they were one of the best doubles teams around, Barry and Richard have etched their name upon 3.0 history with their amazing doubles results!
In terms of leadership, Barry became the second ever 3.0er to be named both a Player of the Year and a Captain of the Year (Philip Wolf, '00)! Winning two Flight Championships and becoming the first ever O-H-I-O captain to ever lead his squad to Nationals (where they finished 4th, mind you) and chalking up 20 total wins over the course of two teams showed Barry had not just the court skill but the off-the-court leadership to lead his crew both on and off the court to 3.0 glory!
DFO 3.0 Player of the Year Nominees
* = Years at 3.0; Nomination Criteria
Singles
Tournament Qualifiers
Joseph Haggerty*3
Tournament: River Oaks Champion (3-0)
League: 7-1 Singles, 2-0 Doubles; Playoffs: 3-0 Singles
Bart Grunenwald*2 (Ketterington)
League: 7-1 Singles; Playoffs: 6-2 Singles
Paul Goldberg*5 (Westowne)
League: 5-0 Singles, 5-0 Doubles; Playoffs: 4-2 Doubles
Bryan LaPointe *4 (Westowne)
League: 6-0 Singles, 5-1 Doubles; Playoffs: 1-4 Singles, 2-2 Doubles
Doubles Team of the Year Nominees
Tournament Qualifiers
None Eligible
Barry Bastian*6/Richard Toth*8 (Westowne)
League: 6-3 Doubles; Playoffs: 6-3 Doubles
Brian Moser*3/Michael Wehrkamp*4 (Ketterington)
League: 1-1 Doubles; Playoffs: 7-1 Doubles
Voting Notes
In singles, Arnold's season was truly one for the record books and his overall 18-1 mark, heavy on the doubles acumen, including a perfect playoff run, is one to be respected. However, Arnold's one-and-done status, combined with his fantastic 6-5 mark at the 3.5 level the same season, actually worked against him, showing just how fickle the DFO can be when it comes to judging 3.0 success.
In doubles, Jonathan and Jeff (see below) made 3.0 history by winning the first ever 3.0 tournament doubles championship! But, as the DFO doesn't award one-and-done 3.0 players with post-season awards, unfortunately they were not eligible for Player of the Year status (although that surely doesn't take away from their HISTORY MAKING status!).
As for captains, Jim D. Coburn of Quail Run looked to take the early lead in the eyes of the Voting Panel, for his four championships (Flight, District, State, and Midwest) and 13 overall wins were certainly D.F.O. worthy. However, Barry's Nationals run, the first ever run in the history of Ohio 3.0 tennis, was enough to sway the voters to give Barry not just one but two awards!
Ineligible Nominees
Yatin Ambani*1
Tournament: River Oaks Finalist (2-1)
Notes: The one and only appearance by Yatin was a memorable one, reaching the finals of one of the biggest events of the season!
Arnold Mendoza*1
Tournament: Westowne Open Champion (5-0)
League: 10-1 Doubles; Playoffs: 3-0 Doubles
Notes: One of the best one year runs in 3.0 history, Arnold's 18-1 run, one-and-done, season
Jonathan Bradford*1/Jeff Stafford*1
Tournament: River Oaks Doubles Champions (2-0)
Notes: Winning the first ever doubles tournament event in Ohio earns Jonathan and Jeff an important place in 3.0 history!
Yatin Ambani*1/Patrick Corea*1
Tournament: River Oaks Doubles Finalists (1-1)
Notes: Yatin became the first ever 3.0er to visit the championship courts in both singles and doubles in the same tournament event!
Daniel Mueller*4/Robert Wagner*1 (Ketterington)
League: 1-0; Playoffs: 9-3
Notes: Daniel and Robert enjoyed one of the greatest 3.0 playoff runs in 3.0 playoff history!
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