For the first time ever, NEO put forth a spring league ... that was played during the winter. WOW! Congratulations to Paramount Westlake who enjoyed a fantastic regular season capped off by an even more amazing playoff run! How'd they do it? Let's find out!
The Regular Season
Split into two flights the season was a classic east vs west side tennis battle! Historic clubs like Towpath out east and rising clubs like Medical Mutual out west all had one-3.0-thing in common - to be the first ever club to achieve 3.0 Spring Season greatness!
In Flight One, Captain John's Paramount Westlake, a club that knows Flight championships well of late, ran off to a quick start with Captain Ado's Medical Mutual close behind. Captain John's PW started off the season with eight straight team wins to all but clinch the Flight title by early April, thus the battle for playoff positioning was between Medical Mutual and Medical Mutual.
Wait. WHAT?!
That's right, MM1 and MM2 were all but tied going down the stretch and thus the ninth and penultimate matchday in which they faced off head-to-head would determine who would receive the second seed and enter the post-season! With everything on the line, Captain Ado and Captain Kishore put out their top lineups and in a 3.0 shocker, MM's wily veterans Steve and Ben (he of over 40 career 3.0 wins!) took down two-time tournament champion Kishore and Ram in a THIRD SET SUPER TIEBREAKER nailbiter to secure the team win and ultimately, the vice-championship spot in their flight!
In Flight Two, the story was somewhat similar, with the historic club Towpath, led by one of the winningest captains in 3.0 history, Captain Frank, running off to a hot start that never stopped, with the club winning the Flight in undefeated 10-0 fashion! Along the way, Captain Frank all but sealed his 2024 Hall of 3.0 Fame nomination, securing career 3.0 captain win 100 while also securing career 3.0 win to become the only 3.0er in 3.0 history to have recorded 100 wins on the sidelines and on the court! Huzzah for history!
But Flight Two wasn't a story just about one of the most historic clubs in 3.0 history for, nay, LaTuchie, a club with their own rich history, and Western Reserve, another historic club back on the rise, were working for their own trips to regular-season experience. Western Reserve's Captain Tony put on a strong push, defeating veteran Captain Alan and his LaTuchie squad week seven to pressure the latter late in the season. Captain Alan, no stranger to pressure, retooled his group and thanks to a late season win, were able to hold on to a playoff birth thanks to their second place, runner-up finish!
The Playoffs
The post-season, taking place in May, would see #1 Towpath host #4 Medical Mutual while #2 Paramount Westlake would host #3 Medical Mutual (sidebar: wonder if the Medical Mutual teams were confused as to where to go?!).
In a "Miracle on Ice" display, Captain Ado's Medical Mutual mildly shocked the 3.0 world with a hard-fought opening playoff round victory. Said victory was "mildly shocking" if those in attendance (who we imagine were in the THOUSANDS) didn't know of Captain Ado's background, a background that includes over 70 wins on the court, including not one but two trips to Nationals! With all this veteran leadership and experience, Ado led off with another veteran, and Abhijit didn't disappoint, enjoying a come-from-behind THREE SET SUPER TIEBREAK victory to get MM off to a great opening start. Captain Licari though, put in a top doubles team to face off versus Captain Ado, and in another THREE SET SUPER TIEBBREAK, Force evened the score! But the duo who had helped Medical Mutual even make the playoffs, Steve and Ben, once again carried their club to victory, earning a solid doubles victory to punch MM's ticket to the Spring Finals!
In the other semifinal, Captain Alan's led off singles with one of the hardest hitting 3.0ers around, and Max didn't disappoint, starting LaTuchie off with a big win versus the always crafty Mark. But in doubles, Paramount Westlake's playoff veteran Captain John, teamed with one of the craftiest 3.0ers around, John (confused yet?!) and evened the score before Ken and Luke sealed the deal to make the Spring Final a west side battle!
The Playoff Finals
In the finals it was a three-peat rematch between Medical Mutual and Paramount Westlake and unfortunately for MM, they were 0-2 during the season, losing both matches 0-3. Captain Ado, despite the odds, shook up the Final by going with veteran Abhijit instead of usual singles player Tyler and while Abhi fell in three, putting Tyler in at second doubles - alongside the veteran experience that is Captain Ado - evened up the team score after another THREE SET SUPER TIEBREAKER!
Thus the first ever Spring Final came down to the veteran moxie of MM's Steve and Ben versus the undefeated Ken and one-loss David. The veterans of MM got off to a fast start, but no doubt were unfortunately running on 3.0 fumes after so many high-profile, high stress matches, and after an early first set lead, the duo fell to the home team in three hard fought sets! That being said, there was no shame for MM for making the finals in the first ever Spring Season was history making by itself ... for all the Medical Mutual teams of the world!
But congratulations to Paramount Westlake for an historic season that saw their beloved club win their first ever 3.0 club playoff championship title! Congrats to Captain John and the entire PW crew!
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