Subflight 2 Preview - The Akron Area
(Note: The following records are taken from TennisRecord.com and include statistics from 2014-2020; first up is TennisRecord's unofficial NTRP rating, then overall, singles, and doubles records)
Paramount Medina - Captain Phil Towne (2.51, 9-24o, 0-2s, 9-22d), Jonathan Glazer (2.72, 5-5o, 3-4s, 2-1d), Matt Hutchison (2.97, 10-10o, 9-9s, 1-1d), Denny Huff (2.69, 40-42o, 2-10s, 38-22d), Michael Sapp (2.51, 26-34o/d)
La Tuchie Tennis Center - Ronald Thomas (2.87, 46-20o, 2-2s, 44-18d), Alan Eng (x.xx, 0-3o/d), Todd Hofer (2.47, 9-12o, 1-0s, 8-12d), Jeff Sirak (2.63, 33-30o/d), Jeff Sterling (3.0, 81-42o/d), Timothy Adkins (2.83, 39-33o/d), Kevin Thomas, Chris Thompson (2.84, 7-4o/d), Okey Ekechi (2.65, 44-23o, 0-2s, 44-21d)
Fairlawn Country Club - Michael Hardman (2.54, 8-29o/d), Mickey Remen (2.59, 2-20o, 0-1s, 2-19d), Douglas Leohr (2.70, 7-14o, 1-3s, 6-11d), Donald Albainy (2.22, 2-17o, 0-1s, 2-16d), John Chlebina (2.67, 13-39o, 9-28s, 4-11d), Timothy Sheahan (2.70, 3-10o/d), Mike Kelley (x.xx, 1-0o/d), Tom Giltner, Dustin Fox, Richard Patterson (2.51, 1-14o, 0-1s, 1-13d)
Towpath Tennis Center - Captain Frank Licari (3.0, 100-110o, 17-23s, 83-87d), Bryan Dudiwka (2.51, 14-30o, 0-2s, 14-28d), John Consilio (2.79, 47-31o, 4-2s, 44-29d), Joseph George (2.07, 3-29o, 0-1s, 3-28d), Curt Binder (2.83, 57-55o/d), Jason Dzik (2.93, 14-13o, 7-1s, 7-12d), Tim Trombetta (2.62, 0-8o, 0-1s, 0-7d), Craig Warner (2.84, 73-33o, 4-1s, 69-32d)
Green Tennis Club - Captain Chip Bond (2.33, 2-11o, 0-6s, 2-5d), David Ginnetti (2.42, 5-22o, 1-11s, 4-11d), Rob Gonsor, T Bortz (2.75, 8-30o, 1-1s, 7-29d), Elbert Enrique (2.51, 3-6o, 0-1s, 3-5d)
North Canton Racquet Club - Captain Benjamin Young (2.80, 18-42o, 5-30s, 13-12d), Dave Shimko (2.51, 27-26o/d), Chester McClain (2.85, 32-47o/d), Timothy Booher (x.xx 1-0o/d), Munir Ahmad (2.93, 42-44o, 7-5s, 35-39d), Edward Steigerwald (2.71, 16-37o/d), Leon Crumpler (2.51, 13-20o, 0-2s, 13-18d)
Flight Breakdown
The deeper of the two Northeast Ohio flights, this group not only has a plethora of quality teams, but some historic teams as well!
The 3.0 powerhouse that is Towpath Tennis Center looks to be the odds-on favorite to take this Flight, with veteran players in both the singles and the doubles areas. Indeed, Captain Frank Licari has a virtual cornucopia of 3.0 stars to choose from, including himself, the only player in the area to record over 200 matches (!), let alone over 100 total wins! Add in doubles specialists John Consilio, Curt Binder, and Craig Warner, who have well over 150 combined doubles wins, and it's easy to see why Towpath is predicted to do so well in 2020. Add in John Chlebina, who has but one defeat in his singles career, and it looks like Towpath will be hoisting the Flight trophy at the end of the season (although, we aren't really sure if there even is a trophy).
That being said, La Tuchie and North Canton aren't going down without a proverbial 3.0 tennis fight (which, to be honest, would probably not be that impressive of a fight ... probably like a slap fight or something...). La Tuchie's Captain Ronald Thomas has a number of skilled doubles specialists to choose from, including Jeff Sterling who has a - wait for it - sterling record of wins at over 80 (see what we did there??). Add in Okey Ekechi who has over 40 wins himself, and there are some obviously talented doubles players La Tuchie has to choose from. North Canton, though, enjoys a similar advantage as Captain Benjamin Young has several fine players to pick from. Chester McClain, a renowned doubles player, and Munir Ahmad, solid at singles, look to anchor the squad while Captain Benjamin can play either spot with equal aplomb. The only weak link for both teams, though, is a relatively small roster that will force both captains to maximize their line-ups each and every week.
Rounding out the top five teams are Paramount Medina and Fairlawn Country Club, both of which have some very, very intriguing players. Paramount Medina has a player in Matt Hutchison who looks to be the Singles Player of the Year while Fairlawn enjoys the largest and deepest roster in all of Northeast Ohio 3.0 tennis. Add in a number of new players, like former NFL player Dustin Fox, and Fairlawn enjoys what is known as the "Sanjay Beach Advantage," an advantage that simply cannot be ignored!
Just outside of the top five, Captain Chip Bond's Green team consists of several 3.0 stalwarts, like himself and David Ginnetti, who add flexibility to his roster. Add in some newer players, and Green looks to make some noise as the season progresses!
Player Breakdown - Singles
While this Flight is rich in doubles players, that doesn't mean there aren't singles players of note ... and a note we shall take!
As noted before, Paramount Medina's Matt Hutchison is the preseason favorite to take home the Singles Player of the Year award. A renowned tournament player, Matt also enjoyed a fantastic rookie league season in 2019, and looks to continue his run in 2020. About 37' tall and built like an NFL linebacker, a match between himself and Subflight #1's John Prince would be a made-for-tv moment (probably quite literally as there is nothing on tv anymore)!
Where Matt has power, Towpath's Frank Licari enjoys both experience and knowledge, making him a dangerous opponent when doing tennis battle on the concrete jungle that is the hard courts of the 3.0 world, as his 17 singles wins lead the entire Flight. Ironically, though, he could be challenged for singles supremacy by teammate Jason Dzik, a player who has been beaten but once in all singles matches!
Rounding out the top five, and hailing from the courts of North Canton, are teammates Munir Ahmad and Benjamin Young. Though they could steal singles wins from one another, both players have a history of singles success, especially Benjamin, who spent most of his career playing up at 3.5, thus showing he's got valuable experience to draw from that could set him apart from the competition this season!
Player Breakdown - Doubles
This is where Subflight #2 is actually #1, as they have an amazing array of doubles players littered throughout their Flight!
Perhaps top among them is the Towpath captain, Frank Licari. Not only a renowned singles player, he's also an amazing doubles player, and is one of the few 3.0 players in the area to enjoy over 80 doubles wins!
That being said, Frank won't waltz his way to the Doubles Player of the Year award, as La Tuchie's Jeff Sterling is right there with him, also with over 80 doubles wins. Truly, a doubles match between these two 3.0 doubles greats would be a bucket list item like none other.
But Jeff will have to match doubles wits with more Towpath players, as Frank's teammates Curt Binder and Craig Warner are not just another reason why their team is favored to take this Flight, but are another reason why both players may challenge for Doubles Player of the Year awards! Not only do both players have rich doubles experience, but both players have countless wins at their name as well, showing that they are a force to be reckoned with when it comes to the tag-team 3.0 approach.
However, North Canton Captain Benjamin Young, may throw his hat in the proverbial tennis ring as well, as he enjoyed a fantastic 2019 season at doubles, even taking a doubles playoff win, and with his vast 3.5 experience, could surprise the Flight with his stellar doubles play!
Wow! What a preview! What a Flight! What a potential 2020 season!!
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