2023
The 3.0er of the Year - Travis Haselswerdt
(Force)
Singles Player of the Year - Nathan Chavez
(Force)
Doubles Player of the Year - Robert Haught
(MVRC)
Doubles Team of the Year - Brandon Carrus & Robert Haught
(MVRC)
Captain of the Year - Jeremy Benjamin (Force) &
Robert Haught (MVRC)
Special 3.0er of the Year - Dennis Zaharija
(Force & MVRC)
You can't spell "3.0" without NEO!
Click the links below for information on the awards, the nomination, and the awarding criteria!
2023 D.F.O. Players of the Year!
With the historic seasons that both Rocky River Force and Mayfield Village Racquet Club enjoyed, it's no surprise that players from both clubs almost swept the 2023 D.F.O. awards!
With the most wins on the season and the third most all-3.0-time (40), Travis racked up his fourth 3.0er of the Year Award in the last half-decade, showing he may be the ultimate in 3.0 technology. Teammate Nathan, meanwhile, finished tied with the most singles wins (21) but became only the second 3.0er ever to accrue double-digit playoff wins (10), thus illustrating his clutch play all season long! Helping lead both of them, and their entire team, would be Captain of the Year, Captain Jeremy, who not only became the only 18+ Captain to ever lead two 18+ clubs to Nationals ('21 and '23), but also set the all-3.0-time playoff wins record as a Captain along the way to earning his second Captain of the Year award in the last three 3.0 seasons!
Meanwhile, MVRC's Captain Robert led his club to Nationals as well, notching the most regular season wins along the way to his first ever Captain of the Year award. But he didn't just lead off the court, he led on it as well, earning the Doubles Player of the Year award as he became only the third 3.0er ever - ever! - to attain 30 doubles wins in a single season! But he didn't do that alone (which would be impressive considering it's doubles), and he and long-time tag-team member Brandon, thanks to winning in league, tournament, and playoff play, combined with their double-digit victories as a tandem, earned the coveted Doubles Team of the Year award!
NEO racked up one more award, the Special 3.0er of the Year award, as Denis was recognized for his key roles playing for both the 18+ and 40+ teams, the only 3.0er to ever have accomplished a Nationals run on two different clubs in the same season!
Voting Notes
With so many qualified nominees for the most prestigious awards this website dishes out, the Voting Panel called in, like it usually does, the three facets of 3.0 voting - the fans, the Twelve Apostles, and finally ... themselves. Thus, with the Triangle of Voting taking place, the candidates were narrowed down to an elite few!
For 3.0er of the Year, it came down to Travis and Robert, though Nathan and Scott scored votes as well. In the end, Travis' wins in all three phases of 3.0 play, third most 3.0 wins all-3.0-time, and possible friendship with some of the voters paid off. That's not to be said Robert went back to MVRC empty handed, for nay - nay! - he took home, thanks to a record 30 doubles wins, the near-unanimous vote for the Doubles Player and Team of the Year award alone with tag-team partner Brandon! Moreover, thanks to leading two MVRC teams to Flight titles, he also won a share of the Captain of the Year award!
Back on westside, Force's Captain Jeremy, the all-3.0-time leading playoff winner, also earned a share of the award thanks to earning the most playoff victories of the 2023 season. And helping him along the way was singles stalwart Nathan, who became only the second 3.0er ever to achieve double-digit playoff wins!
Meanwhile, Towpath and long-time 3.0er William Fox and Travis almost another award, the Special 3.0er of the Year award, as William led his Akron club to the first ever 65+ title in O-H-I-O history ... showing he is indeed ... special! Travis, though, led his One-Doubles team to a first ever title ... showing he is indeed ... special, too! But no one is as special as ... Denis!
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