The 3.0er of the Year - Derek Kohanski
(Western Reserve)
Singles Player of the Year - Derek Kohanski
(Western Reserve)
Doubles Player of the Year - Stephen Nicolai & William S. Graessle
(Western Reserve)
Doubles Team of the Year - Stephen Nicolai & William S. Graessle
(Western Reserve)
Captain of the Year - Stephen Sferra
(Western Reserve)
For the first time in D.F.O. history, it was a clean sweep for one club, and that one club was none other than Western Reserve! Leading the way, Captain Stephen was able to have his team qualify to Nationals all the way from the Qualifying round as stalwart doubles tandem Stephen - himself! - and William led the way with an impressive 12-3 overall mark. On the singles courts, Derek lead all players in singles wins (10) and overall wins (16), leading him to proudly hoist not one but two end of season D.F.O. awards!
As to The 3.0er of the Year, Derek's amazing seventh season at the vaunted 3.0 level proved to be not only one of his best, but one of his team's best as well, as he played a major role in leading the Western Reserve side to the Midwest Ohio Championship Championships! Enjoying an amazing 16 win season, Derek ended his 3.0 career in style, with a trip to Nationals!
Now living the tennis high-life at the near professional 3.5 level, Derek ended his 3.0 career with well over 30 wins, which not only earned him promotion to director of all of tennis in all of Northeast Ohio (!) but earned him something even far greater - the 2012 3.0er of the Year award! Congratulations Derek!
Like their singles counterpart, Stephen and William joined forces to lead their Western Reserve squad to enormous team success, taking home the Midwest Ohio Championships Champion title with their impressive doubles acumen! Stephen, promoted the next year, and William, retiring from 3.0 tennis, went out one top, not just as one of the best doubles teams on the entire planet (i.e., Ohio), but one of the best doubles teams in the entire D.F.O, as they retired as the D.F.O. 3.0 Doubles Team of the Year!
2012 DFO 3.0 Player of the Year Nominees
* = Years at 3.0; Nomination Criteria
Tournament Qualifiers
Kent Blacksher*6
Tournament: Akron Open Consolation Title (3-1)
Scott Bodnar*5
Tournament: Akron Open Finalist (4-1)
League: 2-3 Singles, 1-0 Doubles
Kuo-Ping Fon*2
Tournament: Akron Open Champion (4-0), Paramount Winter Consolation Title (2-1)
William Fox*2
Tournament: Washington Court Consolation Title (1-1), Paramount Winter Quarter-Finalist (0-2), Akron Open Round of 16 (0-2),
League: 5-0 Singles, 2-0 Doubles
Ron Novak*7
Tournament: Paramount Winter Finalist (2-1), Washington Court Finalist (1-1)
League: 1-2 Singles, 1-1 Doubles
Derek Kohanski*7 (Western Reserve)
League: 2-0 Singles, 6-0 Doubles; Playoffs: 8-1 Singles, 0-1 Doubles
Doubles Team of the Year Nominees
Tournament Qualifiers
Lawrence Bach*13/Matt Birkbeck*8
Tournament: Akron Open Doubles Consolation Finalists (0-2)
Timothy Benedict*11/John Stein*4
Tournament: Akron Open Doubles Finalists (1-1)
Timothy DeWeese*3/William Fox*2
Tournament: Akron Open Doubles Champions (2-0), Paramount Winter Doubles Finalists (1-1)
Stephen Nicolai*3/William S. Graessle*7 (Western Reserve)
League: 6-0 Doubles; Playoffs: 6-3 Doubles
John Szabo*5/Zachary Robertson*2 (Western Reserve)
League: None; Playoffs: 7-1 Doubles
Voting Notes
In a DFO voting first, a player was penalized due to their play during the season. That is, Michael, an amazing player who enjoyed an amazing tournament run in 2012, was penalized by the Voting Panel due to his 3.5 success (as he won the Paramount Fall Championships ... at the 3.5 level!). While this is usually applauded, and rightfully so, such success also violates the rules of the voting process, and as such, the Voting Panel was forced, reluctantly, to remove Michael from consideration. In fact, Kuo-Ping, who lost to Michael in three sets at the Paramount Winter Championships was also penalized as well due to the fact he played so well versus a player who that same year went on to win at the 3.5 level. WHAT A TWISTED WEB THE D.F.O. IS! Yet, such is D.F.O. democracy* at work! Truly, the D.F.O.'s rules are ... impressive. Thus, the Voting Panel turned to Derek, who not only led the list of nominees in singles and total wins but also played a major role in leading his team to a Midwest Ohio Championships Champion finish! A more than worthy nominee, Derek also turned out to be a more than worthy winner of the most illustrious award the D.F.O. offers!
Thus, when all was said and done, everyone could rest easy knowing the system works.*
Speaking of impressive, unlike in 2011, the 2012 season saw TWO doubles tournaments take place rather than the seemingly traditional ... one. As such, the Voting Panel had a tough decision. Timothy and William were the only pair to play multiple tournaments, winning the biggest of them all, while Kuo-Ping added to 3.0 history by becoming the second 3.0er to win both a singles AND a doubles championship in the same season! But ultimately the Voting Panel was won over by the tag-team success of the Western Reserve tandem Stephen and William, who together, formed the greatest doubles in existence in 2012! Helping to lead their team to a Midwest Ohio Championships Champion finish, Stephen and William helped complete the Western Reserve sweep of D.F.O. 2012 Player of the Year awards!
Another Stephen also claimed another D.F.O. award, and no wonder after leading his team to a Nationals finish and the second most team wins in Ohio 3.0 history! Not only that, but with Stephen's award, Western Reserve could claim another first - being the first every club to sweep all three postseason awards! EVEN IF THEY DIDN'T KNOW IT!
Ineligible Nominees
Michael Furino*
Tournament: Paramount Winter Champion (3-0), Washington Court Champion (2-0)
Notes: An undefeated two tournament run means Michael's trophy case is filled with shiny, shiny 3.0 trophies!
Kuo-Ping Fon*2/Thomas Lin*
Tournament: Paramount Winter Doubles Champions (2-0)
Notes: Kuo-Ping goes down in rarified 3.0 history as one of the few 3.0ers to hoist tournament championships in both singles and doubles!
Richard Charles Buoncore* (Western Reserve)
League: 0-2 Singles; Playoffs: 4-5 Singles, 0-1 Doubles
Notes: Turning it on when it mattered the most, Richard helped lead his Western Reserve team to Midwest Ohio Championships Championship glory!
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