Force, Wembley, Towpath, & NCRC Lead the Way!
On the second night of the 2020 USTA NEOTA 3.0 league season, experience reigned supreme as pre-season favorites Wembley and Force moved to the top of Flight 1 while Towpath and North Canton did the same in Flight 2! Read about all the excitement our reporters - who covered almost none of the action in any of the matches! - reported ... here!
Flight #1 Recap
Force v. Avon Oaks/Bay, 2-1
After an impressive home win last week versus CVAC, Avon Oaks/Bay travelled to pre-season Flight #1 favorite Force to take on a team that not only looks to win the Flight but also looks to make a deep run in the 3.0 playoffs (which, to be honest, is really just one trip this season as most the playoffs have been cancelled, but still...it's kind of along trip, so there's that). Captain Jeremy's Force, who enjoyed a bye week last week, no doubt used that time to scout the deep, deep nine man Avon Oaks/Bay roster, which led Avon Oaks/Bay's captain, Captain Dave, to counter said scouting by changing up his roster multiple times (partly because of tactics and possibly partly because of injury to a third of his roster and because a starter forgot it was his wife's birthday and had to shockingly* remove himself from the lineup). Like a chess master, Captain Dave moved multiple pieces around the proverbial tennis chess board to either keep Force on their toes or ... well ... or just simply find five live and available bodies. MIND GAMES!
In singles, two Flight #1 preseason Singles Player of the Year candidates (an award that is only slightly made up) faced off, the Force's Roger Godin and Avon Oaks/Bay's Travis Haselswerdt. Making this match all the more intriguing is that both Roger and Travis faced off at the end of the 2019 season - on these very courts! - with Roger coming out on top in tight, tight three setter, 3-6, 7-6, 1-0, that saw Roger's all-court play win the day versus Travis' attacking serve and “because I have no groundstrokes I may as well try to" volley strategy.
The match started off as most 3.0 matches do, with both players losing serve four straight times, showing that the 3.0 serve is often more of a hinderance than a weapon, before Travis actually did the unthinkable - held serve! - to go up 4-2 and eventually take the set. Just like last time out, though, Roger was just warming up, and once the second set began, so did he, and he quickly rolled off three straight games to take a commanding second set lead. But then, after trying to stretch for one of Travis' unintentionally wide but barely-in shots, Roger's foot went one way while his body went another and, well, one of his feet basically fell off. Like the tennis peg-legged pirates of lore, though, he didn't quit, and instead changed up his all-court strategy, amping up his serve and his ground strokes to quite literally blister Travis off the court to take the second set ("quite literally" in part because he was hitting lasers and quite literally in part Travis' clearance priced tennis shoes were proving exactly why they were clearance priced).
Thus, it was tie-break time! AGAIN! Back and forth it went, Travis up 4-2 then 4-3. 6-3 then 6-5. 8-5 then 8-7 (on his serve, mind you, #clutch). You get the point. OR DO YOU?! Travis' lucky stab volleys versus Roger's laser-like ground strokes. Who would prevail?! NO ONE KNEW!! (Partly because there are no score cards due to C-19 provisions so no one literally knew what, if anything, was going on). But at 9-7 Travis managed to block one of Roger's blistering serves just deep enough to force an error, and this the tie-break, and the match, were thankfully over. Travis somehow emerged on top 6-2, 3-6, 1-0 (8) ... and all it took was Roger hurting his foot so bad that he could barely walk and once he did, he had to leave the facility on ice and schedule a doctor's appointment the very next day. Sigh....
In 1st Doubles, Captain Dave and Rookie Ben, riding high after their team sealing doubles win last week, tag teamed once again, but this time they faced off against the combined doubles buzzsaw that is Scott "I'm Over It" Mellino and John "The Racquet" Prince, two players favored for multiple postseason individual awards in both singles and doubles (the award, by the way, is most likely either a hearty handshake or a hug, though with social distancing in place, perhaps the award will just be an awkward stare). Dave and Ben put up a valiant effort, but the combined experience and skill of Scott and John were just too much as the Force tandem took the match 1 and 0.
In 2nd Doubles, Tony Slabicki enjoyed his first 3.0 match of the season and was teamed with Bria ... wait, no ... Char ... wait, no ... um ... Donn! That's right! Donn, the Bay 3.0 all-time record holder for most 3.0 appearances, extended his own record as he stepped up for the team to sub in for several injured players. Not surprisingly, Tony and Donn struggled to get going early in the match, especially as they were facing off against rookie Andrew Payerl and his hockey playing experience (which clearly translates to good tennis playing, especially when it comes to the full-contact aspects of tennis that we all know all too well) and versatile veteran all-around player Adnan Kazazic. To Tony and Donn's credit, they warmed up as the match went on, but the Tag Team Double A's (as we shall now call Andrew and Adnan from this point forward) were too much as they - wait for it - powered through (huh? huh??) to win 0 and 2 and thus the team match 2-1.
Thus, Force opened their season with a solid 2-1 win, showing they‘ll be (we apologize) a force to be reckoned with this season JUST AS WE PREDICTED. Not only that, but John enjoyed his 20th career win while rookie Andrew took his fist career 3.0 win ever! And if Roger's foot heals up, they'll be incredibly strong at the singles spot as well, showing that Captain Jeremy‘s team looks to be the head of the 3.0 class. As for Avon Oaks/Bay, though on the losing end, they could take solace in the fact that they had showed flexibility in beating an injured guy and not defaulting any courts. Huzzah!
Note - Honestly, hopefully Roger is okay, that looked pretty brutal and definitely impacted his game. Get well, Roger!
Next Up - Force @ Wembley, Avon Oaks/Bay Bye
Chagrin Valley Athletic Club v. Wembley, 2-1
Singles - Mike Carroll 2-6, 1-6 v Kiyotaka Fukamachi
1st Doubles - Carl Parker/Orlando Dangond 1-6, 2-6 v. JP Ayyappan/David Ries
2nd Doubles - Jimmy Heiman/Jeffrey Spencer 6-2, 6-0 v. Brian Greene/Dino Rizza
Notes - Wembley's Kiyotaka moved from last week's doubles to singles and is now 2-0 on the season and a career 2-1 overall in 3.0 singles! In 1st Doubles, the crowd(s) finally got to see what they paid (figuratively) to see as the Wembley tandem of JP and David, two of the most illustrious doubles players in all of NEOhio, joined forces! In clinching the win for their team, JP earned his 40th overall win - wow! - while David entered rarified 3.0 air with his 80th overall victory - double wow! In 2nd Doubles, CVAC's Jimmy kept his winning ways going, enjoying his second straight win in doubles to start the season an impressive 2-0!
Next Up - Wembley v. Force, CVAC @ MVRC
Bye: MVRC
Flight #1 Standings/Records
Wembley 2-0
Avon/Oaks Bay 1-1
Force 1-0
CVAC 0-2
MVRC 0-1
Flight #2 Recap
La Tuchie v. Towpath, 1-2
Singles - Kevin Thomas 0-6, 5-7 v. Jason Dzik
1st Doubles - Jeff Sterling/Chris Thompson 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 v. John Consilio/Frank Licari
2nd Doubles - Alan Eng/Patrick DeMarco 1-6, 3-6 v. Bryan Dudiwka/Curt Binder
Notes - In a match of undefeated early season 3.0 powers, only one game separated these two, showing how tight this Flight may well end up being when all is said and done! In singles, Jason starts the season 2-0 with another stellar performance, though Kevin made a valiant comeback in his first singles match of the season. Meanwhile, in doubles, the assembled crowd (we are assuming there was an assembled crowd, I mean, come on, this was the marquee match of Flight #2!), was in for a treat, as 1st Doubles was not just an epic match, but was also between several famous 3.0 names in the 3.0 world as Towpath sent John, with over 40 doubles wins, to team up with Captain Frank, with over 100 total wins! Over 140 wins ... on the same court! Not to be outdown, La Tuchie was led by Jeff, who has over 80 wins of his own! HOLY MOLY! In a see-saw tennis battle in which but one game made the difference, La Tuchie came out on top, but really, the real winners were the fans (or fan ... we're not sure), as not only did they get to view a fantastically close match, but one between local 3.0 legends as well! Tied at 1-1, the team match came down to 2nd Doubles, but Towpath Captain Frank had a card up his sleeve (an ace if you will ... hmmm?) and that ace was none other than veteran doubles stalwart Curt Binder. With over 50 wins and 100 matches to his name, you had to know Towpath was in good hands, much like Curt's hands at the net (we assume ... I mean, he's a super good doubles player, so it kinda makes sense, doesn't it?). Despite spirited play from Alan and Patrick, Curt's veteran experience won the day, and as such, also the match, moving Towpath to a Flight #2 leading 2-0!
Next Up - Towpath @ Paramount Medina, La Tuchie @ North Canton
Green v. North Canton, 0-3
Singles - Elbert Enrique 3-6, 0-6 v. Munir Ahmad
1st Doubles - T Bortz/David Ginnetti 2-6, 3-6 v. Benjamin Young/Chester McClain
2nd Doubles - Rob Gonsor/Chip Bond 2-6, 4-6 v. Timothy Booher/Leon Crumpler
Notes - Munir set the stage for the NCRC team as he won his second match for the team to go 2-0 on the season, and with this singles victory he is now 8-5 all time in singles! In doubles, Captain Benjamin earned his first 2020 win for the team (and his next win will be number 20 overall!) as he worked with doubles stalwart Chester, who completed his 80th career match! In winning their match, both Benjamin and Chester clinched the win for the team, but that didn't stop both Timothy and Leon from earning their second doubles wins in as many tries as both thwarted a solid comeback from Captain Bond's team to both go 2-0 on the season! In the end, Captain Benjamin's team enjoyed the first 3-0 3.0 sweep in NEOhio, showing they are no doubt a 3.0 team to be reckoned with!
Next Up - North Canton v. La Tuchie, Green @ Fairlawn
Paramount Medina v. Fairlawn Country Club, 1-2
Singles - Matt Hutchison 6-4, 6-1 v. Mickey Remen
1st Doubles - Jonathan Glazer/Phil Towne 4-6, 6-1, 0-1 v. Dustin Fox/Tom Giltner
2nd Doubles - Roderick Yamat/Denny Huff 6-0, 6-1 v. Donald Albainy/Mike Kelley
Notes - In another close one, two teams came in looking for their first team win of the season, and yet again, but one game separated both tennis combatants! In singles, pre-season DFO Singles Player of the Year candidate Matt enjoyed his first match, and first win, of the season, against seasoned 3.0 vet Mickey to set the stage for his Paramount Medina team. In 1st Doubles, however, Fairlawn's Captain Mike may have sent out two 3.0 Rookies in Dustin and Tom, but with their athleticism he (probably) hoped to counter the skilled experience of their opponents, led by veteran 3.0er, Captain Phil, who, with over 50 matches to his name and almost 20 wins in doubles, would be a difficult out. And difficult it was! Despite an early lead by the young rookie whippersnappers (to use a word that the kids of today no doubt still use), veteran Phil and his tag-team partner Jonathan nearly swept the second set, showing they indeed had the veteran moxy necessary! In the tie-break, however, Dustin and Tom won the day, and no doubt the respect of those around them, by evening
up the team match at 1-1. However, Captain Phil had one more ace up his sleeve (we've already used the "ace" joke so we'll let this one slide), and that ace was none other than veteran 3.0er Roderick Yamat, who, with over 12 seasons and a Ohio 3.0 record 60 - SIXTY! - 3.0 victories, isn't just one of the best 3.0 players on Paramount Medina, but is one of the best 3.0 players of all-time! No wonder Roderick is up for the inaugural DFO Hall of 3.0 Fame class, a class that I'm sure he's either waiting with amazing anticipation to find out if he enters OR he ... well ... has no idea even exists. EITHER WAY, with Roderick on the court, things looked good for Paramount Medina, and when you added veteran 3.0 player Denny Huff, with his over 50 doubles matches and nearly 30 doubles wins, well, that's what we in the 3.0 world call "a really, really good team" (you can quote us on that). And though Fairlawn's Donald and Mike fought valiantly, the combined experience and skill of Roderick and Denny proved to be the difference not only in the match, but for both team's as well. Congrats to Roderick, who recorded and extended his all-time 3.0 win count to an incredible 61! WOWSERS!
Next Up - Paramount Medina v. Towpath, Fairlawn v. Green
Flight #2 Standings/Records
North Canton 2-0
Towpath 2-0
P. Medina 1-1
La Tuchie 1-1
Fairlawn 0-2
Green 0-2
Conclusion
After two weeks and two matches, some realities are becoming ... well ... reality! Congrats to pre-season favs Wembley and Force for taking the lead in Flight #1 and North Canton and Towpath for doing the same in Flight #2! Moreover, in Flight #1, congrats to Donn "Cal Ripken" McLeroy for his Bay appearance records as well as CVAC's Jimmy and Wembley's Kiyotaka for starting the season a perfect 2-0 while Wembley's Captain JP earned his 40th career victory! Congrats, too, in Flight #2, to Towpath's Jason and NCRC's Timothy and Leon for starting 2-0 on the season as well! And let's not forget rookies Dustin and Tom getting their first ever 3.0 wins while at the same time at the same facility Roderick once again made history with yet another win! WOW! No wonder this is the best (and possibly only) 3.0 league in all of Ohio (or at least the north eastern part of it). Good luck to all next week!
Agreed with Austin.. I live in NorCal, and I come to DFO to get all my 3.0 tennis info not televised or recapped on ESPN. Thank you DFO for having such a forum to live and breathe the greatest 3.0 in the Midwest!