The 3.0er of the Year - Mayu Si (NCRC)
Singles Player of the Year - Mayu Si (NCRC)
Doubles Player of the Year - Clayton Cundiff (NCRC)
Doubles Team of the Year - Trayton Crow & Clayton Cundiff (NCRC)
Captain of the Year - Clayton Cundiff (NCRC)
It was a clean NCRC sweep (the first time since Quail Run, '12) as Captain Clayton's club tied the all-3.0-time 40+ finish with a 3rd place Nationals result! But Clayton didn't just lead from the sidelines, he led on the court as well, and he and teammate Trayton dominated in the playoffs to earn Doubles Team of the Year status. While that was an award repeat for Clayton, he didn't stop there, and, for before his 3.0 career was done, he set the all-3.0-time record for playoff wins (19), and thus earned Doubles Player of the Year honors as well! Speaking of all-3.0-time records, Mayu became the first 3.0er ever - ever! - to not only achieve 30+ wins, but to achieve 30 singles wins! His league, tournament, and playoff wins were not just impressive, but historic, and made him the unanimous choice for Singles Player of the Year and The 3.0er of the Year awards!
Indeed, Mayu's 2018 season was one for the D.F.O. 3.0 Record Books, as he absolutely obliterated every known (and perhaps unknown!) 3.0 record known to exist! A 33 win season at the 3.0 level with 30 wins in singles is just the tip of the proverbial tennis iceberg for Mayu, who not only dominated the league courts but also saw success on the tournament courts as well. But it was in the playoffs where Mayu really shined like the glorious 3.0 tennis comet that he was, as he helped lead his team to Nationals with an amazingly impressive undefeated 11-0 mark that still stands to this day! In doing so, Mayu helped lead his NCRC team to one of the best finishes the Midwest has ever known, and since this is 3.0 and he had 33 wins, it's no surprise that when all was said and done, his team finished ... 3rd! WHOA!
In two short but incredibly successful seasons, Mayu enjoyed a 48-4 mark, a tournament title, and not one but TWO trips to Nationals, leading some to wonder when - not if - Mayu's bust will be carved upon the Mount Rushmore of 3.0 tennis stars!
Trayton and Clayton (now that has a ring to it!) took home the most coveted doubles award the D.F.O. has to offer (true statement) thanks in large part to their amazing playoff run together! The "Ton" Brothers (as we're sure they're called), enjoyed an amazing run, not just winning their Flight but also ending their season as 3.0 Nationals 3rd place finishers (or Vice-vice-Champion, as the Germans call it)! Congratulations to Clayton, one of the most decorated doubles players in 3.0 playoff history, and Trayton, one of the most decorated doubles players around, for a fantastic 3.0 season!
Clayton's play, his leadership, and his 3rd place Nationals finish - the second best ever! - made him a more than worthy D.F.O. 3.0 Captain of the Year award winner!
2018 DFO 3.0 Player of the Year Finalists
* = Years at 3.0; Nomination Criteria
Tournament Qualifiers
David Gann*4
Tournament: Paramount Winter Finalist (1-1)
League: 3-4 Singles, 2-3 Doubles
Jerry Kozik*4
Tournament: Paramount Fall Consolation Title (2-1)
League: 12-3 Doubles; Playoffs: 0-1 Doubles
Timothy Griffith*4
Tournament: Akron Open Consolation Title (2-1), Green Open Consolation Title (2-1)
Joshua Grischow*7
Tournament: Green Open Champion (2-0), Akron Open Semi-Finalist (1-1), Akron Open Shootout 4th (1-3)
Travis Haselswerdt*4
Tournament: Akron Open Champion (3-0), Paramount Winter Consolation Title (1-1), Paramount Fall Quarter-Finalist (1-1), Akron Open Shootout 5th (1-3)
League: 6-4 Singles, 3-5 Doubles
Mel Paulino*5
Tournament: Akron Open Finalist (2-1)
League: 1-0 Singles, 5-0 Doubles; Playoffs: 3-5 Doubles; Nationals 3rd
Mayu Si*2 (North Canton Racquet Club)
Tournament: Akron Open Shootout Champion (5-0)
League: 14-0 Singles, 3-0 Doubles; Playoffs: 11-0 Singles; Nationals 3rd
Ajay Padhye*2 (Rossford)
League: 6-1 Singles, 3-0 Doubles; Playoffs: 6-1 Singles
Andrew Puch*2 (North Canton Racquet Club)
League: 9-1 Singles, 3-0 Doubles; Playoffs: 5-3 Singles, 1-0 Doubles; Nationals 3rd
Omar Okdie*3 (Rossford)
League: 10-1 Singles; Playoffs: 6-1 Singles
Mayu Si*2 (North Canton Racquet Club)
Tournament: Akron Open Shootout Champion (5-0)
League: 14-0 Singles, 3-0 Doubles; Playoffs: 11-0 Singles; Nationals 3rd
Doubles
Tournament Qualifiers
Trayton Crow*2/Clayton Cundiff*3 (North Canton Racquet Club)
Tournament: Paramount Fall Doubles Consolation Title (1-1)
League: 0-0; Playoffs: 6-0, Flight and Midwest Champion, Nationals 3rd
Trayton Crow*2/Clayton Cundiff*3 (North Canton Racquet Club)
Tournament: Paramount Fall Doubles Consolation Title (1-1)
League: 0-0; Playoffs: 6-0, Flight and Midwest Champion, Nationals 3rd
James Bleyer*5/Jim Montgomery*9 (Rossford)
League: 4-0; Playoffs - 1-1
Voting Notes
In an incredibly close and technicality-filled vote, Mayu outlasted several quality nominees, which seems odd considering the amazing greatness of Mayu's season. So what happened? Well, technicalities certainly played a role, as a number of deserving players who enjoyed fantastic seasons were put aside due to the D.F.O.'s harsh, but fair*, One-and-Done rule. Meanwhile, another deserving nominee was ironically hurt by being too good as he was later DQ'd (which is actually kind of awesome as his record in 2019 at 3.5 and above was an astounding 29-12!). Thus, with the One-and-Done rule and DQ's essentially eliminating half the field, the decision came down to comparing tennis apples to tennis oranges. That is, Mel not only enjoyed a National's 3rd place team finish with his league team, but he was also a key doubles player on the team, which is simply awesome. Joshua, meanwhile, won the first ever Green Open Championship while Timothy won not one but two Consolation Titles, showing both 3.0 stars were incredibly worthy tournament players. Travis, meanwhile, won the biggest and most historically significant tournament of the season, the Akron Open. Adding to this 3.0 cluster is that during the 2018 season, Joshua at one point beat Timothy, but Travis bested Joshua, who was defeated by Mel in tourney play, who then defeated Travis in league doubles play, but then Travis enjoyed a tournament singles victory over Mel, so .... wow ... one can see why the D.F.O. Voting Panel took so long to make their decision. At the end of the day, though, someone on the Voting Panel looked at Mayu's season and said, "Um ... yeah. Moving on!" Thus, while the only nominee who wasn't One-and-Done or DQ'd and enjoyed a tournament championship and the most league singles wins and a record the most tournament singles wins was Travis, the single greatest 3.0er of the year was the astounding Mayu!
In doubles, another tough decision faced the Voting Panel. The Michigan team won the only doubles event of the season and played great together during the league season, but, unfortunately for the Michiganders, the One-and-Done rule struck again. And while lightening may not strike twice, the D.F.O. One-and-Done rule certainly does, for the runners-up of the one and only doubles event of the season were also stricken from the nominee pool for the same reason. Which meant that the award for the best doubles team of the season went to the team that seemed to be third in the line of succession, but who may have been first as they actually enjoyed a fantastic run in the playoffs that earned them National's 3rd place finish. So ... congratulations Clayton and Trayton! The system works*!
Thankfully for Clayton, the voting for captains wasn't nearly as difficult as it was for doubles! And while James Jacobs of Toledo put on a good push with his 17 win season, Clayton's 16 win, 3rd place finish was simply too much to ignore!
Ineligible Nominees
Dre Ballines* (Michigan)
Tournament: Paramount Fall Champion (3-0)
League: 5-1 Singles, 4-1 Doubles, Flight Championship x2**; Playoffs: 2-0 Singles**
Notes: One of Michigan's best, Dre pummelled the competition during his illustrious 3.0 career!
John Nelson*
Tournament: Paramount Winter Champion (2-0)
Notes: A renowned player on the 3.5 level, John earned his stripes - and first tournament title! - on the 3.0 tour!
Jeffrey Polcar*
Tournament: Paramount Fall Finalist (2-1), Akron Open Shootout 3rd (2-2)
Notes: With an amazing array of shots and skills, Jeffrey wowed the 3.0 tour during his one-and-done run!
Bernhard Tauffer*
Tournament: Akron Open Shootout Runner-up (4-1)
League: 10-0 Singles, 6-1 Doubles
Notes: One of the most successful 3.0ers ever, Bernhard enjoyed an amazing year both on the tournament and league level!
Dre Ballines*/Greg Erb*2 (Michigan)
Tournament: Paramount Fall Doubles Champions (2-0), Irish Open Doubles Champions (3-0)^
League: 3-0>
^Michigan Event
Notes: Hailing from the state up North, Dre and Greg, like viking conquerors, laid 3.0 waste to all those in their way!
Erik Jensen*4/Bernhard Tauffer*
Tournament: Paramount Fall Doubles Finalists (1-1)
League: 2-0
Notes: Playing great together both during league and tournament play, these two doubles stars enjoyed a winning percentage of nearly 75%!
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