The 2023 3.0 regular season is over. OR IS IT?!
Yes. It's all over, folks! The 3.0 regular season has come to an end. But as former 3.0er John Rambo once said, "NOTHING IS OVER!"
Because that means PLAYOFFS are coming up! But before we get THERE, we need to know HOW we got there!
Obviously you read our pre-season reviews here, so you know exactly who was competing in alllllllll the divisions across all of NEO, from 18+ to 65+ (!), from five courts to but one court! So who won? Who's in the playoffs? And how did our predictions go?! Let's find out!
Results
18+
Flight 1 - Rocky River Force 10-0, LaTuchie 7-3, Paramount Westlake 5-5
DFO Prediction - Rocky River Force, Paramount Westlake, Center Court
Notes - As predicted, Captain Jeremy's reloaded squad was able to withstand the east side pressure from LaTuchie thanks in large part to some fresh (Gunnar, Big Nate, Tyler) and old (Travis) and new (Nathan) blood, making Jeremy the vampire of 3.0 captains!
Player of the Flight - Nathan Chavez. 9-0 for his new club, the former Bay'ite was not only undefeated at singles, but also never lost a match. DOUBLE WHOA?!
Flight 2 - MVRC 10-0, CSC 5-5, MVRC2 5-5
DFO Prediction - MVRC, CRC, CVAC
Notes - As predicted (not that we're bragging, ahem), Captain Robert's stacked veteran group of 3.0ers dominated Flight 2, winning by a record five (!) matches. Dominant on the singles courts with Sangyoon and dominant with Captain Robert and hard-hitting Brandon on the doubles courts, this team was simply that all year long - dominant!
Player of the Flight - Sangyoon Lee. Undefeated in nine matches, all singles, gives Sangyoon the edge over teammates, captain, and mentor, Captain Robert who was also 9-0 on the year. What a team!
Flight 3 - NCRC 8-2, Towpath 8-2, Green 4-6
DFO Prediction - Towpath, NCRC, LaTuchie
Notes - As we predicted (sorta), Towpath finished in the top three (yep, we are bragging now!). With a large roster and making sure to play everyone to not only compete for the season but develop his 3.0 squad, Captain Frank may have given up a Flight title via tiebreakers, but he still got his club to the playoffs as the #5 seed! NCRC, meanwhile, with Captain Guy, did an amazing job of getting back to the playoffs despite the mass exodus of promoted 3.5ers from last year's National Championships qualifying squad!
Player of the Flight - Brian Piazza. Towpath's top singles player went 8-1 on the year, helping to lead the legendary Towpath Tennis Club to yet another playoff performance!
40+
Flight 1 - MVRC 7-0
DFO Prediction - MVRC
Notes - With most of the same squad on the roster as their 18+ group, MVRC enjoyed two Flight championship parties in the same seasons! Captain Robert's ability to balance his roster and his lineups to ensure success in both the 18+ kids' league and the 40+ adult league leaves only one question to ask - when is he taking his captaining talents to the 55+ league?!
Player of the Flight - MVRC Captain Robert. Playing in all eight matches, he went a perfect 8-0 while leading his second club to a second flight title!
Flight 2 - Paramount Westlake 7-0
DFO Prediction - North Ridge
Notes - Captain Sean, in his second year at the helm, did a great job navigating a tough group to enjoy his first 40+ Flight title after tasting glory last season in 18+. With a flexible roster of himself, John, and John - the John Bros as they like to be called (we think), he was able to go undefeated despite some spirited opposition! (And yes, we got this one wrong, but at least North Ridge, led by the legendary Captain Robert, took 2nd and made it to the playoffs, so we're still pretty close, eh?!)
Player of the Flight - Paramount Westlake's Captain Sean. 7-1 while playing in all matches for his Flight winning team, this all-court player played singles and doubles ... and sometimes triples?!
Flight 3 - LaTuchie 7-1
DFO Prediction - Towpath
Notes - LaTuchie enjoyed another playoff season thanks to Captain Geoff's balancing act between 18+ and 40+, making tough lineup calls to give his club the advantage, including a key late season 4-1 win on the road at rival Towpath! And kudos as well to Paramount Medina, for enjoying a winning season and taking runner-up, thus totally ruining our pre-season predictions!
Player of the Flight - Captain Frank. Playing in seven matches and going 6-1, Captain Frank's club may have faltered toward the end, but like the great leader he is, he led from the battle lines!
55+
Towpath - 7-1
DFO Prediction - Towpath
Notes - In what was one of the deepest 55+ divisions in, well, ever, Towpath's Captain Ronald came up with a winning move - teaming nearly professional 3.5ers with newbie rookie 2.5ers! Despite a valiant effort from Captain Robert's North Ridge, who finished but one game behind, the strategy worked to aplomb, earning Towpath not only a Flight title, but a District and State title all in the same day! Huzzah 55+!
Player of the Flight - Michael Boukzam. The owner of North Ridge played in every match, going 5-2, and helping his club - literally, his club - to a runner-up Flight finish!
65+
Towpath 4-2
DFO Prediction - None, we didn't even know this division existed!
Notes - Towpath's Captain William, one of the most decorated 3.0ers ever, enjoyed a winning record versus Paramount Westlake to take the first ever 65+ title in NEO history!
Player of the Flight - Captain William Fox. Not only did he lead his club to a Flight title, but he went an undefeated 5-0 while doing so. And did we mention he led his club to the FIRST EVER 65+ FLIGHT TITLE IN O-H-I-O history?!
One-Doubles
Elmwood Park Tennis Courts (Independence)
DFO Prediction - Center Court
Notes - The first ever One-Doubles league saw eight teams compete for one-doubles glory, and when all the glory was tabulated, it was EPTC's Gunnar and Rymwen who not only earned the title of "one-doubles champions," but also, like William above, made 3.0 history!
Player of the Flight - Captain Gunnar. Leading his club to an historic title AND going 7-0 on the season? That's the stuff of 3.0 legends!
Congratulations to all the NEO participants and champions on a great season! And congrats to our NWO brethren, Fallen Timbers, Twos Athletic Club, and Springfield High School (?) on playoff berth seasons as well as Ohio Valley teams Racquet Club of Columbus, Schroeder Tennis Center, Teays Valley Tennis Center, and some team in Charleston, West Virginia (?) on their great seasons as well! Good luck in the playoffs all!
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