Force Clinches Playoffs, Towpath Holds on to 1st!
Flight #1 Recap
CVAC v. MVRC
Singles - Jimmy Heiman 7-6, 7-6 v. Rick King
1st Doubles - Greg Marthe/Paul Olson 4-6, 3-6 v. Rick King/John King
2nd Doubles - Jeffrey Spencer/Orlando Dangond 5-7, 3-6 v. Phil King/Karl King
Notes - Needing a team win to jump into second place in Flight #1, The Seven King's of Mayfield marched into CVAC looking to commandeer an important team victory for the motherland. Or fatherland. Or both. But CVAC, looking to play spoiler, wasn't going to just wave the white tennis towel and concede, and indeed, as the season has progressed, they've been known to play the best teams in the Flight tougher and tougher each and every match. With that in mind, CVAC's Captain John got the tennis ball rolling with second year player Jimmy, who is enjoying a team best season in terms of overall wins, while Captain Rick of MVRC put in ... Rick! WHOA! Whether it was the same Rick as Captain Rick, or it was Rick the Elder or Rick the Younger, it's pretty impossible to tell, though we think it was Rick the Elder (but our DFO stats team is still investigating, in concert with our DFO DNA analysis team ... but having to deal with multiple Rick's and multiple King's, that's just part of the gamesmanship one experiences when you schedule MVRC - who knows who is on the other side of the net?! Whatever the case, Jimmy and Rick the Elder (or Younger) enjoyed a back and forth match with nary a difference separating them on the court, but on this night, the home cooking of CVAC proved the difference as Jimmy was able to eek out an impressive win in two tiebreaks to give CVAC the early lead! Thus, down 0-1 in the team match, and their playoff hopes dwindling, Captain Rick had rely on one of his best players to lead 1st Doubles, and that player was obviously ... CAPTAIN RICK! WHOA! Rick the Younger (or Older) joined forces with John as they took on Greg, a perfect six for six in appearances for his team, and CVAC rookie Paul. In a close match, the confusion of which Rick was on the court no doubt proved the difference, as Captain Rick (or Non-Captain Rick) earned his third win of the campaign, but more importantly, evened the team match at 1-1! Thus, in the deciding match, 2nd Doubles, both teams went with different approaches. CVAC put in veterans Jeffrey and Orlando while MVRC countered with rookies Phil and Karl (though since almost the entire King roster are rookies, we're not sure if this was much of a plan or a happy coincidence). Once again forcing extra tennis in the first set, Greg and Paul enjoyed one of their best sets to date, pushing Phil and Karl to the brink. But the King's are tennis royalty for a reason, and when all was said and done, Phil and Karl earned their second and third, respectively, wins of the season, not only showing they're in the running for DFO 3.0 Rookie of the Year status, but giving their team the all important 2-1 team win, thus putting them somewhat firmly in second place in Flight #1!
Next up - CVAC Bye, MVRC v. Force
Force v. Wembley, 2-1
Singles - Andrew Payerl 1-6, 7-5, 0-1 v. James Pruce
1st Doubles - Scott Mellino/John Prince 6-3, 6-3 v. Kiyotaka Fukamachi/Brian Greene
2nd Doubles - Roger Godin/Adnan Kazazic 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 v. JP Ayyappan/David Ries
Notes - Force, with a win, would clinch playoff status for the second season in a row, leading to a parade similar in size to that which the 2016 NBA Champion Cleveland Cavaliers experienced. Wembley, meanwhile, needed a win to stay in second place for their own playoff push. In the marquee Flight #1 matchup of the evening, everything was on the line AS THIS WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT 3.0 TENNIS MATCH OF ALL-TIME! Hyperbole? PROBABLY!
Wembley, who had lost 0-3 on their home courts last time out against Force, came out swinging (which, in tennis, is kinda what you're supposed to do, I guess), as second year player James came out fast against a frontrunner for Flight #1 Rookie of the Year, Andrew, to take an early first set lead. Indeed, with pinpoint serves (we think) and spider-web like net play (that's a compliment, by the way), James was simply en fuego, showing why he's a big reason Wembley is making a playoff push. But Andrew is one of the best players in Flight #1, and he showed it in the second, slapping winning forehands in a super tight added-time second set that pushed the opening match of the night to a SUPER TIE-BREAKER! Or, as they say in Canada, "a SUPER TIE-BREAK"! In the SUPER TIE-BREAKER, Andrew, possibly gassed due to his perfect six for six appearance streak for Force this season and possibly
emotionally gassed by all the subtle Canada-bashing in last week's DFO article (sorry about that that, eh? Oop ... did
we do it again!?), endured his first ever 3.0 loss, but there's no shame in losing to one of the top new names in 3.0 tennis, and that name is simply, "James"! Thus, down 0-1 in the team match, Force Captain Jeremy needed to stop the proverbial tennis bleeding, and to do so, he called in what is unarguably the best 3.0 doubles team in the entire area (try to argue, WE DARE YOU!). Scott and John, a perfect 3-0 on the season together, faced off against the versatile skills of Kiyotaka and Brian, players as comfortable on the singles courts as they are on the doubles. But if anyone can make you uncomfortable, it's Scott and John (hey oh), and their combination of communication, defense, net play, and matching goatees, are simply too much for any team to handle, and as such, despite a valiant effort, Kiyotaka and Brian fell as Scott and John improved to Northeast Ohio leading 4-0 together! Thus, like it says in the Tennis Bible, the entire match - and possibly the fate of the entire season - rested upon 2ND DOUBLES! And whoa, what a pair of tandems! Both Captain's put in their best, as Captain JP put himself and David, who were 3-1 on the season together, against Force All-Star doubles specialist Adnan, who was a perfect 5-0 ... with four different doubles partners! Make that five, as Adnan teamed with all-court player, and everyone's favorite Canadian (sorry Andrew), Roger. And as they say in Canada, "WOW, EH?!" What a match! JP and David came out first, not surprising considering this was JP's 45th and David's 40th 3.0 match ever. With experience like that, despite being on the road, they were able to take the early advantage and take an early first set lead. Adnan, though, understanding his legacy and how all the little 3.0 kids in the world were looking up to him, fired up his Canadian (and goatee'd, by the way) partner as the two fought their way back to even the match in an incredibly close second set. OMG! A SUPER TIE-BREAKER to end it all! Wow, EH!! (See, we are all doing it now!) In the SUPER TIE-BREAKER, it was once again home court advantage that proved to be the difference, as Adnan and Roger, against one of the best doubles tandems in all of Northeast Ohio, won the day, and with it, the team match, for Force. And with the win, no doubt streamers, balloons, goatee matching, and all kinds of other socially distanced approved celebrations took place as Force clinched a playoff spot!
Next up - Wembley v. Avon Oaks/Bay, Force @ MVRC
Flight #1 Standings/Records
Club Record IW IL
Force 6-0 15 3
MVRC 4-2 10 8
Wembley 3-4 10 11
Avon Oaks/Bay 3-3 9 9
CVAC 0-7 4 17
(Note - we had to add standings tiebreakers BECAUSE IT'S INSANELY CLOSE!)
Flight #2 Recap
Green v. Fairlawn, 1-2
Singles - Chip Bond 0-6, 1-6 v. John Chlebina
1st Doubles - Rob Gonsor/T Bortz 1-6, 3-6 v. Timothy Sheahan/Douglas Leohr
2nd Doubles - Elbert Enrique/David Ginnetti 6-0, 6-1 v. Michael Hardman/Mike Kelley
Notes - Green and Fairlawn, two clubs looking to end the season on a high note, took the courts looking to build towards the future. And the present! And in the present, Captain Chip took the singles courts against John. John, enjoying a fantastic season, continued his undefeated singles ways to get his team off to a fast 1-0 start. Timothy and Douglas, no doubt inspired by John's third singles win of the season, played exquisitely against one of the more consistent teams in the area, Rob and T, who have played in every single match possible for their club, showing true team commitment, to give Timothy his first 3.0 win ever and at the same time clinch the match for their team, Fairlawn. Green, though, wasn't going to just go down without a fight, and Elbert and David, two players enjoying their best career 3.0 seasons to date, put on an impressive show, with Elbert earning his second win of the season while veteran all-court 3.0 star David earned an impressive fourth win of the season, making him an early candidate for DFO 3.0 Comeback Player of the Year! (Though we don't know if that award actually exists)
Next up - Green @ Paramount Medina, Fairlawn v. LaTuchie
Towpath v. Paramount Medina
Singles - Jason Dzik 4-6, 7-5, 0-1 v. Matt Hutchison
1st Doubles - Frank Licari/John Consilio 6-4, 6-4 v. Roderick Yamat/Jonathan Glazer
2nd Doubles - Tim Trombetta/Mike Devine 6-0, 6-0 v. Michael Sapp/Phil Towne
Notes - Towpath, riding high after their big win last matchday versus LaTuchie, looked to keep their top tier status as Flight #2 leaders going as the hosted the always tough Paramount Medina squad. Both sides went strength for strength in singles as Towpath led off with Jason, who is enjoying a fantastic season, while Paramount countered with Matt, who was enjoying a great season of his own. As both players traded power for power (we assume it was power, Matt's like 37' tall), shot for shot, this match went down to the wire, as only one game separated these two singles stalwarts! Matt came out on top first but Jason stormed right back, and it was fitting that these two fantastic 3.0 singles players would end their match in a SUPER TIE-BREAK! In the end, the tournament tested Matt emerged victorious (2019 Akron Open Shootout Champion, oh by the way), but really, the entire Akron area were the real winners as they were given a 3.0 show (or would have been, had stupid Covid not ruined spectator sports for everyone).
Up 1-0, Paramount's Captain Phil put in the esteemed duo Roderick, who was making his 148th 3.0 appearance (!) and Jonathan, who was 5-1 on the season in at 1st Doubles. But standing 78' away from them (more or less) stood Towpath's Captain Frank, making his 101st 3.0 appearance (!), and John, who was 4-1 on the season. WHOA! That's a lot of experience and a lot of winning! In a seesaw match, these two 3.0 titans went back and forth, with Frank's consistency playing off versus Roderick's amazing spin. In the end, Frank and John added to their career win totals as Frank earned an impressive 63rd career 3.0 win and more importantly tied up the team match at 1-1! WHOA AGAIN! With the team match all square, it came down YET AGAIN to 2ND DOUBLES! THIS IS AMAZING!! And in this amazing match, Paramount Medina's Tim and Mike, both undefeated on the year, took their home courts by storm, as both earned their third victories of the year and more significantly a clinching victory for their team to help Towpath maintain their first place status!
Next up - Towpath @ NCRC, Paramount Medina v. Green
LaTuchie v. NCRC, 3-0
Singles - Scott Hovey 6-2, 6-4 v. Munir Ahmad
1st Doubles - Ronald Thomas/Chris Thompson 6-3, 6-1 v. Benjamin Young/William Woodard
2nd Doubles - Nicolas Savelieff/Alan Eng 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 v. Leon Crumpler/Timothy Booher
Notes - In a tennis trist (fun word) between second place and third place, LaTuchie needed the team win to put themselves past friendly rivals NCRC into a top two spot with but two weeks left to play! BUT TWO WEEKS! To get things started, LaTuchie Captain Ronald put All-Star rookie sensation Scott in his familiar singles spot while NCRC Captain Benjamin countered with fellow singles stalwart Munir, undefeated in four singles matches. WOW! A combined 8-0 in singles matches this season, this was clearly the marquee matchup of the night, and neither player disappointed in a match that set the tone for the home team as Scott continued his undefeated run, taking the match with his now well known blistering serves and blistering forehands (we use the word blistering because one particular DFO writer may have played Scott this season and Scott ran him so much that blisters were EVERYWHERE) to improve his own record to 5-0 but more importantly to give his team the early 1-0 advantage. Sensing he needed a win to get his NCRC side back in the match, Captain Benjamin called his own number - for a record tying 8th time this season! - and teamed with rookie sensation William to take on LaTuchie's Captain Ronald and doubles star Chris at 1st Doubles. Captain versus captain! WHOA! Captain Ronald, enjoying the home court advantage, guided his doubles team to the victory over a very strong NCRC team and in doing so earned his 20th career 3.0 doubles league win. More importantly, Ronald and Chris, now 3-0 in doubles, settled the team affair with their win, giving LaTuchie an important win to keep them near the top of the Flight #2 standings. Captain Ronald, though, knowing how tight it is at the top and how tiebreakers will no doubt come into play, didn't rest upon the 2-0 lead, and sent in rookies Nicolas and Alan to 2nd Doubles to test them by tennis fire to see if they could earn not just a win, but some all important tiebreakers. Standing across from them, though, were two of the best NCRC players around, Leon, who was 3-2 on the year, and Timothy, an undefeated 5-0 rookie! Not surprisingly, this match was as close as could be, but in the end, the home team once again came out on top, especially impressive as Leon and Timothy are having fantastic seasons! And with that, LaTuchie edged NCRC just by the slimmest of margins - standings tiebreakers! - to take the playoff bound second place spot in Flight #2!
Next up - LaTuchie @ Fairlawn, NCRC v. Towpath
Flight #2 Standings/Records
Club Record IW IL
Towpath 6-2 16 8
LaTuchie 5-3 16 8
NCRC 5-3 13 11
P. Medina 4-4 11 13
Fairlawn 3-5 10 14
Green 1-7 6 18
Conclusion
HOLY MOLY! What another great week of 3.0 tennis! In Flight #1, Force cemented their playoff spot while MVRC is in the driver's seat for a top two spot! In Flight #2, Towpath stays at the top, but LaTuchie and NCRC - who hosts Towpath next matchday - are right on their tennis heels! With only two weeks left in the season, so much can happen, just like so much can happen with a 3.0 player has a seemingly easy put away overhead smash! WHOA!
Comentários