Congratulations to this year's Hall of 3.0 Fame class, Frank, L., & Ron!
Congratulations to this year's class of D.F.O. Hall of 3.0 Fame members! A class that includes the first ever 100/100 Player/Captain, the winningest player in the history of West Virginia, and a 100+ winner who has won in all three categories despite being yo-yo'd between 3.0 and the nigh-professional 3.5 level! Read all about their legendary career 3.0 exploits here, read below to find out who they are, or read even further below to find out how they achieved the greatest honor a 3.0er can achieve!
The 2024 Hall of 3.0 Fame Class
Frank Licari was the universal first-ballot choice as his decade-long career witnessed two amazing feats, possible to never be matched! One, he was the fifth 3.0er to achieve 100 wins as a player, something only - wait for it - five other 3.0ers had ever done. Two, he was the first to achieve 100 wins as a Captain, making him the first ever 100/100 Player/Captain! Add in the fact that Frank did it all at one club - the historical Towpath Tennis Center - and the fact he's managed more teams than anyone in 3.0 history (25), Frank won over the voting committee from day one!
The second nominee to join the D.F.O. Hall of 3.0 Fame's 2024 class was a nominee that doesn't even hail from O-H-I-O! Yet, despite that geographic limitation, his game knows few limitations, and the legendary Mountaineer L Cochran, the winningest player in West Virginia history, became the first ever Mountain State player to earn Hall of 3.0 Fame status! Thanks to being the winningest player and winningest Captain in the southernmost state in the Ohio Valley area, as well as being the winningest doubles tournament player in all of the Ohio area, L's nomination was clearly well-deserved. Despite not even being in Ohio!
The third and final nominee was one that had been on the doorsteps of the D.F.O. Hall of 3.0 Fame for three straight classes, but Ron's 2024 nomination shows that good things DO come to those who wait! Ron, with over 100 wins, finally earned what was rightfully his - a spot in the D.F.O. Hall of Fame!
Now go read about their personal - and detailed - 3.0 exploits here!
Congratulations to all the nominees and all the players who made it through each and every round of the voting process and good luck to all in the coming season, whether that be back in 3.0 or in the professional 3.5 level!
Hall of 3.0 Fame Voting Information
Preliminary List
Nearly 300 names were whittled down to 150+ as several outstanding 3.0ers were ineligible - through no fault of their own - because they either didn't have enough years of service at 3.0 before they retired or were promoted (three!) or they didn't have enough years of service at 3.0 while they were still active (10)! Thus, 3.0 stars like Matthew Johnston with only two years at 3.0 before retiring to 3.5 as the all-3.0-time single-season wins leader and Captain Jeremy from Force, the all-3.0-time playoff wins leader who is still active but only has nine years of service, would have to wait until next year. Or never!
Round 1
Of the 150+ to qualify to round 1, over 100 were thanked for their service but invited not to attend round 2. Some were because their tenure seemed to short despite their greatness, like Subhash Paul, the first ever tournament champion, or because despite their one-season wonders, like Towpath's Joshua Magleby, a one-time D.F.O. 3.0er of the Year candidate and Akron Open Singles Champion, that one season was but one season. But don't despair! IF you come back to 3.0 and continue to play your trade, maybe next year will be your year?! All it takes is getting worse at tennis!
Round 2
41 candidates were narrowed down to an even 22 in round 2 as longevity, historic numbers, or Top 10 status won over the Voting Committee. But outstanding players like three-time tournament winner Chuck Bishop, long-time captain Mark Jeffers, and two-time Captain of the Year Kyle Webb will always be just that ... outstanding ... and will always have a Round 2 selection to brag about!
Round 3
22 were narrowed down to 15 in the smallest departure yet, an emotional roller coaster that was as difficult to vote through as it was to wait through (see Mel's pensive look in the picture as evidence to the emotional difficulty!). In the end, while all-court players like Benjamin Young, who won in all three phases (league, tournament, and playoff play) and Adnan Kazazic, a long-time veteran with over 70+ wins and 140+ matches, didn't advance to the next round, they put everyone on notice that they'll be on the watch list come 2025!
Round 4
With 15 advancing, the Voting Committee called upon the NEOTA and former Hall of 3.0 Famers, as well as the Fan Vote, for help, and when the 3.0 dust settled, seven worthy candidates remained! And while all-3.0-time playoff wins leader Anthony Kulka (t-19) may not have made it to the final round, since he was just invited back to 3.0 after one season at 3.5, who knows ... maybe he'll add to his impressive 3.0 resume and 2025 will be his year?!
Round 5
With seven super-duper candidates remaining, the Voting Panel was left with some difficult choices. Ronald Bassak was the only Captain to win a National Championship while Clayton Cundiff broke a 12 year old playoff wins record as a player and was a four-time D.F.O. Award winner! Scott Mellino, meanwhile, won in all three-phases and was a key player on a two-time National qualifying team while James Wilkinson, despite a brief career, set the all-3.0-time record with 10 tournament titles to his West Virginian name! Edward Stevens, one of the top players of the 2000s, combined with Kenneth Spencer, one of the top NWO players ever, also enjoyed amazing seasons. But in the end, only three would make the Hall of 3.0 Fame and it would be three different names!
And if you're doing math, you'll notice that there's no way that all adds up to seven, but alas, we struggle with numbers.
So, there you go! The system ... WORKS!
Anywho, congratulations to all the nominees on a fantastic career and an even more fantastic 2024!
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