The District Championships come and gone with some boy-howdy results, the likes of which the 3.0 landscape hasn't seen since 2022 ... or ever!!!
Click on one of the links below to fast forward to particular results or enjoy all the results but scrolling below!
NEO 18+
Paramount Westlake 2-0
La Tuchie 1-1
Western Reserve 0-2
La Tuchie opened up the team scoring Friday night with a 3-2 victory over Captain Charlie's Western Reserve with hard-hitting Max hard-hitting his way to a hard-hitting straight set victory at 1st Singles! Captain Charlie, though, got his team a 2-1 lead thanks to a 1st Doubles win but it was the all-important 2nd and 3rd dubs courts that won the day for Stow's favorite tennis club as Alan and Drew, up for Doubles Team of the Year honors, earned yet another tag-team victory to seal the opening day win for Captain Eric's La Tuchie!
On Saturday, Paramount Westlake took on Captain Eric's side, and this time Captain Ryan of PW enjoyed an opening win at 1st Singles over hard-hitting Max in an exciting THIRD SET SUPER TIEBREAKER! But Captain Eric willed his group to victory with an impressive 1st Doubles win over tournament tested Mark and rising 3.0 star Andy. But once again 2nd and 3rd dubs proved the diff as PW's co-captain James and Lazar (the most fantastically evil and devil'ish sounding name in 3.0 tennis!) defeated one of the best doubles tandems in NEO in Alan and Drew! Thus, it all came down to 3rd dubs, and potential Player of the Year candidate Kevin, switching from his usual singles court (for reasons we'll discuss later!) enjoyed a comeback THIRD SET SUPER TIEBREAKER win to give PW the victory!
Thus, it came down to SUPER SUNDAY as Paramount took on Western Reserve for all the 3.0 marbles! Captain Ryan once again took to singles and once again earned the win while former Bay standout Colin bounced back from the previous day loss to win in two to get his team to a 2-0 advantage! But Western Reserve's Captain Charles wasn't one to go down quietly, and in a 21 game match, he and partner Ashish got Western Reserve back in the game with a straight set win! PW veteran Ryan, though, he of many a 3.0 war, took matters into his own hand, and with fellow veteran Doug, the won not only their match but the first ever 3.0 District Championship for their beloved Paramount Westlake!
NEO 40+
Paramount Westlake 2-0
North Ridge 1-1
Mayfield 0-2
In the 40+ District, two rising clubs represented while a third was looking to carry forward it's 3.0 magic from the previous season. Mayfield, led by Captain Flowers, repeated a playoff run after an historic finish that saw their 2023 team make it all the way to Nationals! In their way were two rising clubs - Paramount Westlake, enjoying a back-to-back playoff run and North Ridge, one of the top clubs when it comes to 40+ and 55+ play (sidenote: just imagine how good they'd be at 95+ play?!).
Mayfield opened up with North Ridge and opened up in style as Mike earned a 1st Singles victory! But North Ridge's leader, D.F.O. Hall of 3.0 Famer himself, Captain Robert, took to 1st Doubles with the leading wins winner (sidenote: that sounds grammatically perfect), Ben. With Captain Robert's leadership and Ben's winning ways, the pairing evened up the team score at 1-1 and, more than that, inspired his crew to do the same on their courts! Thus, hard-hitting Michael, crafty Robert, and veteran newbie (sidenote: that's an odd word pairing) Steven all earned wins on their courts to give North Ridge the all-important day one victory!
Heading into Saturday, then, Mayfield needed a big win to stay in the championships, but they would run into an experienced and deep Paramount Westlake. And making Paramount's run in the 18+ championships so much more impressive is that much of the same roster was competing the same weekend in the 40+ event, much like Mayfield did in 2023 and NCRC did in 2022. And much like NCRC, Paramount enjoyed some more winning! Indeed, they enjoyed their Saturday with a 4-1 victory over MVRC, a team that must be commended for making the playoffs in back-to-back seasons! And what a great season of experience they no doubt enjoyed, led by tournament veteran Jason who, though he fell to PW's all-3.0-star Kevin, put in a valiant 3.0 effort. On the doubles courts, Paramount veteran Ryan, back from a relative break last season, helped win the day with a convincing straight set victory at 3rd dubs to set PW up for possible multi-event success!
Which meant two of the bigger programs on the west side would go at it on Sunday with title hopes on the line! North Ridge, a program that has enjoyed 40+ and 55+ success for years and years and is led by Hall of 3.0 Famers and multiple 70 and 80 game winners versus relative new kid on the 40+ block Paramount Westlake, a club that has found it's 3.0 groove the last few seasons. In singles, Michael defeated Matthew to give PW the early lead but at 1st dubs 3.0 vet Michael led his tandem to an impressive THIRD SET SUPER TIEBREAK victory over two of the best players NEO has seen this season, Kevin and John!
NWO 18+
Southview H.S. 2-0
Twos Athletic Club 1-1
Fallen Timbers 0-2
Over in the NWO Toledo area, three legendary clubs faced off for the right to head to the State Championships. Captain Adam's Fallen Timbers and the NWO Flight champions, Twos, led by Captain Kristopher, would face off to start the event while Hall of 3.0 Famer Captain James and his Southview H.S. crew would no doubt wait in anticipation!
Due to a quirk in the NWO schedule, these two never faced off, so this was the first meeting between these two titans of the 3.0 NWO courts! Captain Krisopher's team got off to a fast-opening start, showing their Flight Championship swagger as Jim and Eric swept 1st and 2nd Singles! But Co-Captain Jacob, in a hard-fought THIRD SET SUPER TIEBREAKER, got Fallen Timbers on the board, and then Gregory and Roy were able to, in first and second set overtime, take down Captain Kristopher and Mike, one of the top doubles tandems in all of O-H-I-O, and thus it came down to, as it usually does, 3rd Doubles! On this magical court Captain Adam rallied (sidenote: that's probably a good tennis skill, eh?) his team from an early first set deficit, but in the end, Two's Brent, one of the top doubles players in the area, earned the victory to keep Two's undefeated 2024 record alive!
With that emotional match over, Captain Adam had to immediately rally (there's that word again!) his crew to go up against one of the most playoff tested teams in all of Ohio, Captain James and his Southview H.S. boys (and men). With no time to rest and with Captain James able to scout, Fallen Timber's was up against it, especially since one of their only losses in 2024 was against this very club! That's not to say Captain Adam's club gave up, and instead, in two very evenly played singles matches, the team scores were tied 1-1, meaning doubles would settle the day. Initially, Fallen Timber's looked in control as they took down one of the best doubles players in NWO in Timothy in straight sets, but just when they thought they had the event won, that's where Captain James could pull out his secret weapon - one James "Jim" Montgomery. Indeed! This D.F.O. Hall of 3.0 Famer sliced and diced his way to an early first set lead and then in the THIRD SET SUPER TIE BREAK his experience won the court ... and the match to the tune of a 3-2 victory!
Which meant it all came down to the final match of the day! Captain Kristopher's Twos, the undefeated kings of NWO, who had defeated Captain James' Southview 3-2 earlier in the league season, had rest and recovery on their side while Southview had vast, vast, vast amounts of 3.0 experience on their side!
Once again Two's ran out to the early lead thanks to the play of their stellar singles players, and despite Arturo and Paul putting up solid efforts, Southview was once again down heading into the key doubles matches. Sam and Ravi though, relative newbies to the 3.0 scene, showed no fear as in a close two-setter, they earned Southview their first team win thanks to a win over Captain Kristopher and Mike, one of the top doubles pairings around! At 2nd Doubles, veteran Jim once again led the way, and after a close scare in the first, he was able to steer his team to victory, not only earning his 100th career 3.0 doubles victory (!) but evening the team score up at 2-2! 3rd Doubles would be for all the 3.0 marbles and Two's looked to have the advantage as Mark and Brent, 8-0 on the year together, took on Daniel and Darius, 5-1 on the year together! In a back-and-forth match, there wasn't much to separate these two, but in the end the experience of Captain James and the wise wisdom of Jim no doubt played a role, and with their two-set victory, Daniel and Darius gave Southview their second straight District Championship!
Ohio Valley
Columbus Wickertree 4-0
Dayton Quail Run 2-2
Dayton Schroeder 2-2
Charleston T.C. 2-2
Columbus Scarborough 0-4
Down south in Cincinnati, five teams battled it out to see who would represent the Ohio Valley area at the State Championships, with Dayton's Schroeder and Captain Tim looking to repeat their District Championship from 2023. That looked to be in the 3.0 cards as Schroeder jumped out to a 2-0 team lead thanks to 4-1 wins over Scarborough and then Quail Run.
Wickertree, though, the newbie club on the 3.0 scene, enjoyed wins of the exact same nature the very same Friday, meaning these two were no doubt on a 3.0 collision course! On Saturday, though, Schroeder ran into an unexpected roadblock in the name of Charleston, and with their momentum a bit stunted, Wickertree was able to get the big Saturday afternoon win to put them in poll position to earn their first ever District trophy!
Thus, if Charleston could sweep Quail Run, they'd have a chance and if Scarborough could defeat Wickertree, West Virginia could claim a spot for the Ohio State Championships (sidenote: which just sounds ... odd). Perhaps with the pressure mounting, or thanks to Ohio pride, Quail Run did a solid for their Ohio brethren, taking out Charleston and dashing their 3.0 hopes with a convincing 4-1 victory, thus sealing the deal - for the first time in memory! - for a Columbus-based team to represent the OHVA district at the State Championships!
What's Next?
Up next are the 18+ State Championships and the 40+ State Championships held at Mayfield Village Racquet Club!
In 18+, the veteran-laden Paramount Westlake club will lead off on Saturday against the experience of Southview, with both clubs bringing many of their key players from last year's District or State event. In the afternoon, Southview will have to go at it again, this time against the newbie Columbus crew from Wickertree. Depending on results, Sunday's morning match may be key as the hometown crew from NEO in Paramount takes on Wickertree!
Meanwhile, on Friday, Paramount Westlake will attempt the 3.0 Double in 40+ as they host NWO's undefeated BGSU!
WHAT A FUN WEEKEND FOR THE FAMILY AND KIDS?! In the meantime, check out our updated 3.0 stats that are most likely not even close to correct!
And in the 3.0 meantime, check out our updated 2024 stats - that are also probably wrong! - and the leaders in the 3.0 club house for all the post-season D.F.O. awards!
ALL OF THEM!!!
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