It's an all new crew - or person - taking over the 3rd Annual MIO championships!
One of the newest events on the 3.0 tour, the MIO as it's known to those in the know (which is now you!) as seen three different title winners in its short - but impressive! - history! In year one, a player played so well that immediately after his victorious win he was given a DIII scholarship to continue his tennis playing career! Year two was just slightly less impressive as a long-time 3.0 veteran was able to withstand a crowded field to take home his record-breaking 9th tournament title (which is as impressive as it is sad!). But as both players were gone it was time for a new champion!
Bracket
For the first time ever, the MIO saw two out-of-staters compete for the ultimate MIO prize, Carl from Illinois and Bradley from Michigan!
Carl, a 2.80er (according to tennisrecord.com), with over 10 career matches to his name hailed from Illinois and was no doubt - wait for it - ready to pop the CHAMPAIGN (!) if he could get on the board early. Fellow traveler Bradley, meanwhile, hailed from Michigan and looked to bring home another title to the State-up-North (as those of us in the State-down-South are prone to call it) just as his Wolverine brother Timothy did back in February! Self-rated at 2.7, Bradley did enjoy over 20 matches to his name, showing he had some veteran moxie!
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The two home-grown players, Nagaraju and Jason, brought raw rookie 3.0 freshness as well as veteran 3.0 grit, with the former entering his first ever tournament while the latter, Jason, entered his fifth tournament with a rating of 2.8, including the fact that his was his back-to-back entry in the MIO, giving him loads of 3.0 tournament experience!
Results
Michigan's Bradley jumped out to an early 2-0 lead thanks to a strong Saturday start versus Nagaraju and a spirited hold against Carl. Jason, meanwhile, enjoyed a tight 3 & 4 victory over Carl before a back-and-forth epic first setter versus Nagaraju, scoring a close 8-6 tie-break win to carry the momentum in what would be another two-set victory!
Thus, victory Sunday between Jason and Bradley would determine who would hoist the 3.0 championship!
But at the same time, the runner-up bracket took place with Carl taking on Nagaraju. Both went back and forth in the first two sets, with the hometown boy getting the early advantage but with the travelling Illinois'ite getting back in the match the second set. Thus, a THIRD SET SUPER TIE-BREAKER would commence, and boy howdy, did it commence! Back and forth these two went at it for 20 points before home-cooking prevailed and thanks to an 11-9 hold in the third, Nagaraju was able to enjoy his first ever tournament win as well as a 3rd place finish!
In the championship bracket, Jason and his gorgeous one-handed backhand, gave the Michigander all he could handle, but Bradley, thanks to numerous matches at the nigh-professional 3.5 and 4.0 level this season, was able to soak up Jason's power and give as good as he got to take home his first ever O-H-I-O trophy!
Former 3.0ers
Congrats to former 3.0er, and one-time Akron Open Doubles Champion Erik, for finishing as vice-champion at the nigh-professional 3.5 level for the second time in three years! And just like last time, the fella he lost to immediately earned a college scholarship to play - or in this case, continue - his tennis career at the college level! How's THAT for some 3.5 fun*!
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