Force crowned as champions of the lowest level of tennis in all of O-H-I-O!
In what has truly been a historic year (at least for Force), Rocky River's most plush indoor tennis facility was represented by a collection of 3.0ers who brought much pride to the Force dojo! The 3.0 State Championships, taking place at the equally* plush Chagrin Valley Athletic Club, hosted the best of the 3.0 best from all over the state of Ohio! Teams all the way from Toledo ... to Cleveland ... to Dayton (our D.F.O. Geography Department tells us that those are, in fact, the only three cities in the entire state of Ohio), plied their 3.0 trade in an effort to make 3.0 tennis history, and in the end, all could agree that ... tennis had been played!
How did said tennis actually get played? Who were the hero's? The GOATs? The fans?! (hint: none) Find out below!
Day 1
The state championships started off with the two northern clubs going at it, teams rated #2 and #3 in the seedings by all the experts (i.e., the crack predicting team at D.F.O.). And while Force enjoyed the advantage of logistics, as they were but 30 minutes away from the championship courts, NWO's Fallen Timbers enjoyed the advantage of having a club that actually hosted fancy clay courts. Which, as it turned out, was incredibly vital as this tournament was going to be played on the fancy clay courts of CVAC! (Although the NWO team mentioned later that as they were 3.0ers, their club usually didn't let them actually play on said fancy clay courts, so maybe it wasn't quite the advantage after all ... but at least they knew what clay was!)
Early on, it was logistical proximity of Force that paid dividends, and to the surprise of no one, NEO's Captain Jeremy went with his tried and true superstar #1 doubles team to lead off the day one match. And indeed, the outstanding play of Force's outstanding #1 doubles team, one of the most outstanding doubles tandems 2021 had to offer, got the NEO club on the scoreboard first as Jim and John won their third straight 3.0 playoff match together ... with their third straight outstanding playoff win! OUTSTANDING!
Jim and John, the most outstanding doubles duo of all-3.0-time?!
NWO countered, though, with their #2 doubles team of Bradly and Brian, or "B-Team," as they liked to be called (to avoid costly litigation from a certain 1980s television program). The B's, with their special brand of northwestern Ohio tennis - which is completely different than northeastern Ohio tennis - were able to, in a SUPER TIE-BREAK, take down Force's international tandem of Roger and Adnan in an impressive come-from-behind Star Spangled Banner victory!
NWO's B-Team takes down the Force's duo of Roger and Ado, no doubt helped by the fact that Roger only speaks Canadian, one of the most difficult languages to master
Tied at 1-1, the Force dream team of Anthony and Adam, known as such because they are so dreamy to their multitude of 3.0 fans, joined once again to try and get Force back in the match. The same duo who had clinched the District Championships in dramatic third set SUPER TIE-BREAK fashion the week before, played their tried-and-true good-set/bad-set/let's-remember-how-to-play-tennis SUPER TIE-BREAK strategy, and did so to success once again! With the win, Force took what looked like a commanding 2-1 lead!
Anthony and Adam, the cover boys of NEO tennis (minus Anthony)!
Unfortunately for Team Force, results on the singles courts were looking bleak, as singles stalwarts Wael and Travis were both down a set, with Wael in particular trouble as he was playing NWO's Andrew, the top singles player in all of NWO!
Andrew, making all of NWO proud!
Wael valiantly fought back in the match (not literally, though, for Wael is, if nothing else, a gentleman of the 3.0 courts when it comes to this gentleman's game), but the power and consistency of Toledo's #1 singles player, combined with Wael playing for the first time ever on the slick clay courts of CVAC, proved to be too much, and Andrew, Toledo's favorite 3.0 son, thus evened up the match at 2-2.
Which meant it all came down (sort of, this timeline may be a tad bit off), to #2 singles, where the 6-1 Casey from NWO took on the renowned pusher Travis from NEO. Travis looked to take charge early, but on game point of the first game, his strings, with a tension at approximately 17 pounds because he has as much strength as a small child, snapped, meaning he had to use an actual adult racquet the rest of the match. Casey, realizing his opponent now had the power of a toddler, charged forward, and both players traded off not-holding-serve until Casey shrewdly decided he would hold serve, surprising his opponent, to take the first set tie-break 9-7. At this point, down a set, Travis did the only thing he could do - bring out his comically large 120" octogenarian tennis racquet, a racquet so large and so comical that Casey was unable to pass his opponent with any shot ever due to the fact his opponent's racquet quite literally took up the entire court. WHAT STRATEGY! Unable to hit the ball anywhere across the net, Casey fell in the second set, thus forcing a match - and team - deciding third set SUPER TIE-BREAK! With momentum on his side, Travis took a seemingly commanding 8-2 lead, but Casey recovered, and with a serious of pin-point shots, he not only got back into the SUPER TIE-BREAK, but down 7-8 he used a deft mini-lob right within Travis' "Smash Zone" that Travis immediately overhead smashed ... into the base of the net, thus tying the match at 8-8. Travis though, inspired by the audible groans of his Force teammates, pushed forward by quite literally just pushing everything forward, utilizing all the pusher tricks in his pusher tennis bag of tricks (trick one: don't play actual tennis) while NWO's Casey decided to actually hit adult-type shots! What a contrast in style!
With everything on the line, Casey, like the man he is, went for two big winners, but they both went juuuuuuuuuuuuust wide not once but twice (possibly after Travis begged the USTA official for help with the line calls). Luckily for NEO, the pristine clay of CVAC showed that Travis had somehow won the SUPER TIE-BREAK and, to the surprise of all involved - his teammates, himself, and most likely the line-official - the match as well the team result were in!
With form like this, it's only a matter of time before Travis is promoted* to 2.5 tennis
And with that, Force was off to a 1-0 team start in the Round Robin while NWO's reward was to be able to play once again, just a few hours later, on a day that was only about 17,000 degrees.
OHVA, the #1 rated team, travelling all the way from Dayton, looked to take advantage of NWO's no doubt exhausted squad. But that exhaustion actually turned into exhilaration as Fallen Timber's, with renewed 3.0 focus, strove to get back in the match. Indeed, NWO's Andrew, despite the heat of the day and despite playing a three set SUPER TIE-BREAK earlier, got his NWO squad on the scoreboard first with an impressive straight-set win over Michael Lee, the only man ever recorded to actually defeat - possibly EVER - the Great Scott Hovey (the "g" in "Great" must be capitalized as the word is now officially part of Scott's name) the night before in the 40+ playoffs. HUBBA-WHHAAA?! No doubt inspired, Andrew's singles compatriot helped sweep the the singles courts while NWO's Adam and Captain Scott completed a shocking upset of 3.0 proportions with an impressive three set SUPER TIE-BREAK win over one of the greatest doubles players this generation has ever seen (which is kind of true, as Jansen, though on the losing side, did have his daughter playing in the same event, meaning at least one person of the younger generation knows what's going on when it comes to the high-level 3.0 play on display this weekend!). And just like that, NEO was in the driver's seat (quite literally as they had to drive to the event) while Dayton knew they had to win - and win big! - to have a chance to be called the greatest 3.0 team in all of Ohio. OH THE PRESSURE!
Day 2
Going into the final day of the championship event, the 3.0 teams of NWO and OHVA were the opening matches of the day - no doubt because this 3.0 event was the marquee* match of the day (and not because the event organizers wanted to get them out of the way)! Due to their 1-0 record, Force's Captain Jeremy knew it was simple - win and they were State Champions. Lose and they were ... maybe still State Champions. Hmmm.... SO CLEAR! On the other hand (the backhand if you will ... ahem), OHVA's Captain Jansen knew that his Dayton squad had to win and win big to be crowned the best of the lowest level tennis in Ohio. And indeed, the day started off strong for the Dayton squad as both singles courts made quick work of their opponents. Dayton's twin's Michael and Michael, the latter usually a doubles player but adeptly changed to singles by Captain Jansen, who both looked and played exactly* the same, completely flummoxed Wael and Travis, as the NEO duo lost to the near identical tennis twins by almost identical scores. Michael's slice and dice won singles #1 while Michael's constant pressure won singles #2, meaning both Wael and Travis could take solace in the fact they had done absolutely nothing to help their team on the biggest matchday of the season. Well done, gentlemen!
But Force's Captain Jeremy had made a bold decision earlier that day, perhaps knowing that his singles players would do little more than take up space that day, and realizing that Roger's Canadian language skills were too difficult for most to comprehend, broke up the international squad of Roger and Adnan and instead teamed the Montreal'ian with renowned brain-master Adam, who would be able to communicate with his hockey-loving, maple syrup drinking lumberjack of a teammate with a series of hand-gestures, eye contacts, and, in some rare cases, actual words. The bold move immediately paid dividends as Adam was able to unleash the Canadian fury within Roger (side bar: can a Canadian actually have fury?), and the two quickly got Force on the scoreboard in straight sets!
Adam and Roger, able to harness the mighty power of all of Canada to take #3 doubles!
Down 1-2, Captain Jeremy knew it would come down to #1 and #2 doubles (because he is so good at math) to get Force back in the match, and as such it was up to the new A-Team 2.0 to do just that.
Anthony and Adnan, the new A-Team, coming soon to a court near you!
Anthony and Adnan, promoted from #3 doubles to #1 doubles, would team up to try and save Force's season while NWO countered by putting in singles specialist David in at #1 doubles, who's 6-1 record during the league season showed he knew his way around the winning courts! But Anthony and Adnan, the doubles specialists that they are, were able to harness the reverse psychology of the rest of the team calling them "sacrificial" to play their best match of the season against one of the better doubles team's of the season in the most important match of the season, and not only won said match, but do so in but two sets! WHOA! REVERSE PSYCHOLOGY WORKS! And just like that, the fate of all of Ohio - ALL OF OHIO! - came down to #2 doubles!
Fun Fact: This is exactly the way 87% of all 3.0 matches end, with a double fault.
Two of the best of the 3.0 best going at it for all the 3.0 marbles (which is actually usually the prize awarded the winning team ... marbles)!
NEO Captain Jeremy, a General Eisenhower of the tennis courts, made another bold move, putting his usual top doubles tandem in at #2, perhaps thinking that OHVA may do the same ... and that prediction proved accurate! As such, the assembled crowds (and at this point there actually was a crowd, which in 3.0 circles is kind of ... well ... uncommon) were in for an ironic treat, as two of the best doubles tandems in all of Ohio would face off! Indeed, the OHVA duo of Jansen and Chad not only had multiple matches together, but had also represented O-H-I-O in the NTRP Championships in Arizona earlier in the year together! Meanwhile, Jim and John were riding a three match unbeaten playoff streak. And to add an element of intrigue, John and Jansen knew one another. SO MUCH INTRIGUE!
The most historic moment in the history of Force 3.0 tennis. And possibly ever. And possibly ever in the history of the world!
In a back-and-forth match both sides gave it their all, with Chad's big serves and Jansen's all-court play countering the court-smarts of John and the deft doubles play of Jim. Chad and Jansen, no doubt tired from their 40+ match on Friday and their earlier 18+ match over the weekend, slipped just slightly in the first set (which, to be fair, as the event was on clay, slipping is what most the 3.0ers were doing all weekend long), giving the NEO duo the space they needed to get the vital first set. In the second, it was even closer, as both teams knew they needed the win for their team to get the most prized possession in all of the 3.0 land - a fancy banner proclaiming to everyone that they were indeed state champions. Force had a chance to close out the match, but Chad and Jansen's desire for the fancy banner pushed the set to a dramatic second set tie-break! With the title on the line, and with the crowds assembled, and with the USTA officials wanting this to end so the other matches could get on the courts, Force's Jim controlled the back court while his tag-team partner John controlled the net, and with adept play on both sides of the court, were able to run out to an early, and as it turned out, commanding lead, a lead they would soon lead to the cheers of everyone assembled (everyone from NEO, anyway)!
And with that, Force were proclaimed State Champions! OHVA, the class 3.0 gentlemen that they were, applauded their NEO neighbors, and even the USTA officials got in the act of celebrating the fantastic display of 3.0 tennis that all had been afforded to witness on this fantastic weekend (by asking them all to leave).
As NEO's finest celebrated their state championship and found out they'd be soon travelling to Indianapolis for the Midwest Championships to represent the entire state of Ohio, the Force players exalted in revelry, revelment, and, in some cases regret (as they informed their significant others to let them know they'd be playing rec league tennis for yet another weekend, only this time, a state away).
40+
In the 40+ playoffs, Dayton took on Cleveland for the title, with the impossible happening - the Great Scott Hovey not winning (we are unable to actually say the "L" word when it comes to Scott). Per D.F.O. rules, we are not usually allowed to continue to write about this event as that took place, but this one time only, we will break our own rules. That being said, OHVA's Michael Lee shocked the 3.0 universe with a straight set victory, which no doubt inspired his club while at the time deflating NEO's. It was like a double win!
That's not to say that LaTuchie, who had enjoyed a fantastic season, would throw in the tennis towel. Nay, for Jeff and Chris, one of NEO's best doubles tandems, a tandem that had only lost once on the season, were headlining #1 singles! But OHVA's Michael and Chad, two experienced and successful doubles players in their own right, were able to withstand the home team's efforts in an exciting three set SUPER TIE-BREAK win!
Which meant it would come down to #2 doubles, and in #2 doubles, LaTuchie's Captain Ronald, who had enjoyed a multi-talented season in both singles and doubles, took the 3.0 helm. Countering him, however, was Quail Run's Captain David, joined by the multi-skilled Jansen, and in a series of fantastic doubles plays (we assume, ESPN+ for some reason didn't cover this match despite our pleas), the road team was able to hold on for the match - and team - win!
Congrats to OHVA and LaTuchie, two teams with two fantastic rosters who enjoyed what all 3.0 players aspire to - TO BE ABLE TO WATCH SCOTT PLAY!
Congrats to LaTuchie on a fantastic 2021 season!
Congrats to all who participated at the state championships and good luck to both Quail Run and Force at the Midwest Championships!
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