The 3.0er of the Year - Warren McGovern
(Bowling Green CTA)
Singles Player of the Year - Emanuel Papp
(North Olmsted Rec)
Doubles Player of the Year - Dave Jerina & Michael Toth
(CVAC)
Doubles Team of the Year - Dave Jerina & Michael Toth
(CVAC)
Captain of the Year - Chris Banning
(CVAC)
Special 3.0ers of the Year - Greg Starc & Jim Wable
(LaTuchie)
For the first time in D.F.O. heretofore history, four nominees were tied with the most wins in Ohio (13), meaning the D.F.O. Voting Committee had their work cut out for them!
Working backwards, CVAC's Captain Chris was named Captain of the Year for steering his club to an Ohio State Championship while his dynamite doubles tandem Dave & Michael, thanks to their exact same winning record, were named both Doubles Team and Players of the Year!
In singles, North Olmsted's Emanual, thanks to winning in league, tournament, and playoff play, took home N.O. Rec's first ever D.F.O. award, the Singles Player of the Year award!
With so many tied with wins, though, the final award was up in the air until the Voting Committee decided to keep BG CTA's Warren and his Ohio and Florida wins (13 + 11) in the mix, giving the duel-state player the coveted 3.0er of the Year award!
Speaking of Warren, enjoying an all-around fine year that included a personal tournament championship and a deep playoff run, Warren beat out an extraordinary field of 3.0ers to earn the most unknown 3.0 award of all, The 3.0 Player of the Year for 2008! Enjoying promotion to 3.5 two years later and then 4.0 soon after that and then reaching the heights that few 3.0ers have ever even dreamt of let alone can count to (4.5!), Warren continued to play - and excel - until taking his talents to South Beach, no doubt paving the path for another, lesser known, local athlete who later also took his talents to South Beach as well! Congratulations Warren on a fine year and an even finer 3.0 tennis career!
CVAC's Captain Chris not only led his team to a Flight title, but through the harrowing Qualifying Round as well! Then, like a tennis steamroller, Chris captained his crew to District and State success as well!
Jim and Greg, one of the dominant 3.0 doubles times of the late 2000s, earned Special 3.0ers of the Year thanks to becoming the first 3.0ers ever to repeat and defend a tournament title - the granddaddy of them all, the Akron Open!
2008 DFO 3.0 Player of the Year Nominees
* = Years at 3.0; Nomination Criteria
Tournament Qualifiers
Singles
Gary Allen Adams*5
Tournament: Matta US Open Finalist (1-1)
League: 4-2 Singles, 2-4 Doubles
William Baxter*3
Tournament: Paramount Winter Consolation Title (1-1), Akron Open Semi-Finalist (2-1)
League: 4-0 Singles, 2-1 Doubles; Playoffs: 1-0 Doubles
Chuck Bishop*3
Tournament: Paramount Winter Championship (2-0), Forest City Open Quarter-Finalist (0-1)
Karl Fleischer*2
Tournament: Forest City Open Champion (3-0)
Thomas Green*5
Tournament: Paramount Winter Finalist (1-1), Akron Open Quarter-Finalist (1-1)
League: 2-3 Singles, 1-2 Doubles
Steve Malinski*3
Tournament: Paramount Spring Classic Champion (3-0)
Warren McGovern*2
Tournament: Matta US Open Champion (3-0)
League: 2-0 Singles, 5-0 Doubles; Playoffs: 3-1 Doubles
Emanuel Papp*2
Tournament: Springside Adult Champion (2-0), Paramount Spring Classic Consolation Title (2-1)
League: 4-1 Singles, 3-1 Doubles; Playoffs: 1-1 Singles, 1-0 Doubles
Steven Saksa*3
Tournament: Paramount Fall Champion (3-0), Paramount Spring Quarter Finalist (0-2)
League: 0-3 Singles, 3-3 Doubles
Roderick Yamat*12
Tournament: Paramount Spring Consolation Finalist (1-2), Paramount Fall Consolation Title (2-1)
League: 3-2 Doubles
Scott Smith*9 (CVAC)
League: 4-2 Singles; Playoffs: 0-1 Singles
Doubles Team of the Year Nominees
Tournament Qualifiers
Greg Starc*2/Jim Wable*3
Tournament: Akron Open Doubles Champions (3-0)
League: 7-1 Doubles, Flight Champion; Playoffs: 0-1 Doubles
Anthony Crisalli*3/Robert McGriff*7
Tournament: Akron Open Consolation Title (2-1)
Dave Jerina*4/Michael Toth*4 (CVAC)
League: 5-0 Doubles; Playoffs: 6-3 Doubles
Voting Notes
The Voting Panel had their work cut out for them when it came to the 2008 Player of the Year class in one of the most crowded fields to date! The Voting Panel gave much praise to last year's nominee Chuck, as he became the first 3.0 to ever complete the career 3.0 "Grand Triple" (patent pending on that name, by the way) by winning the PWC, making him the first ever 3.0 player to win all three Major* tournaments in a 3.0 career (PWC, Akron Open, and PFC), a record that still stands TO THIS DAY! Emanuel, too, received much attention, as he enjoyed success in all three phases - league, playoff, and tournament play - which was incredibly impressive and ultimately helped earn him recognition. In the end, joining him, Warren, who split his 3.0 season between Ohio and Florida wowed the Voting Panel and turned in the most impressive 3.0 season. Moreover, Warren's all-around fine season in all three phases of the game won over the Voting Panel even more as he earned what is no doubt one of the highest honors a 3.0 tennis player can ever earn. Ever.
In leadership roles, CVAC's Chris competed against Terry Netterfield, who would end up a two-time runner-up for this most prestigious award. And while Terry enjoyed a fine 15 win team season, Chris' 16 win, mid-table Midwest finish was enough to sway over the fickle minds of the fickle D.F.O. voters!
Sadly, Greg passed away in 2010, but his legacy goes far beyond this silly award. Indeed, his passion for tennis, his students, and his family, live on, showing he was truly a fantastic teammate not only on the courts, but also in life.
Ineligible Nominees
Yong-Cheol Kang*
Tournament: Akron Open Champion (4-0)
Notes: If you're going to be one-and-done, what a way to do it, with winning the most historic 3.0 event in all of O-H-I-O!
Stephen Ong*
Tournament: Paramount Spring Classic Finalist (2-1)
Notes: A great initial tournament run in his first ever effort, Stephen earns the respect of the DFO!
Edward Raffel*
Tournament: Akron Open Finalist (3-1)
League: 8-2 Doubles; Playoffs: 3-1 Doubles
Notes: Success in all three phases - league, playoffs, and tournament play - make Edward one of the best of 2008!
Mike Woods*
Tournament: Akron Open Consolation Title (2-1)
League: 1-1 Singles, 4-2 Doubles; Playoffs: 3-1 Doubles
Notes: Titles on both the tournament courts and the playoff courts show that Mike had a year to remember!
Anthony Crisalli*3/Mike Woods* (Towpath)
League: 3-2 Doubles; Playoffs: 3-1 Doubles
Notes: Mike again?! Is there anything Mike can't do?!
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