MVRC Wins Big; Force & Towpath Clinch Flight Titles!
Flight #1 Recap
Wembley v. Avon Oaks/Bay, 1-2
Singles - Dino Rizza 0-6, 0-4 (retired) v. Travis Haselswerdt
1st Doubles - JP Ayyappan/David Ries 6-0, 6-1 v. David Karam/Erik Overberger
2nd Doubles - Brian Greene/Kiyotaka Fukamachi 3-6, 6-7 (1) v. Brian Chambers/Tony Slabicki
Notes - 3rd place Wembley hosted 4th place Avon Oaks/Bay in a match that would determine which team had what it takes to maybe make the 3.0 playoffs. Possibly. If things went right. As the DFO analytics team discovered, if Wembley won, Wembley had a playoff chance and Avon Oaks/Bay was in trouble. However, if Avon Oaks/Bay won, Avon Oaks/Bay was ... well ... still in trouble. Now that's DATA ANALYTICS!
In singles, Captain Dave of Avon Oaks/Bay put singles specialist (i.e., prima donna who pouts if he has to ever share a court with someone else) Travis in while Captain JP countered with 3.0 rookie Dino, playing his first ever singles match. Unfortunately for Dino, despite some fine returns and some equally fine drop shots, injuries held him back early in the match and while he gave incredible effort despite the obvious discomfort, he was forced to retire midway through the second set, meaning Travis has won at least three matches this season versus people who have been injured. TO THE RECORD BOOKS!
Up 1-0 in the team standings, Captain Dave teamed up with 3.0 veteran Erik to take on one of the best doubles tandems in all of O-H-I-O, Wembley's Captain JP and David. Indeed, Captain JP and David, teamed up for the sixth time this season, put on a show to the assembled crowd (the kid who was buying a smoothie and had to walk by the courts en route to the dining room). With an array of defensive and offensive play, JP and David ended their season with a win, bringing their tandem record to an impressive 4-2 in the 2020 league season, meaning in all play, league, playoff, and tournament, these two 3.0 doubles stars are now 11-4 all-time in all 3.0 matches ... all-time! Indeed, David, with his flight tying 6th win, is but one 3.0 win away from an amazing career bucket-list achieving 30th career 3.0 win ... in his career!
Thus, just like the previous time these two teams matched up, the entire fate of their respective seasons came down to SECOND DOUBLES! WHOA! And just like the previous time these two teams matched up, Brian and Tony represented Avon Oaks/Bay while Brian and Kiyotaka represented Wembley. WHOA! GROUNDHOG DAY! And just like the previous time these two doubles teams matched up, this match, too, was a doozy! Brian and Tony jumped out to an early first set lead as Tony's serve was on point while Brian's net play was putting away said points. But, with everyone looking on from the grandstands (which are actually pretty cool, to be honest), Brian and Kiyotaka, two experienced veterans of the 3.0 courts, harnessed their home court advantage and marched right back to lead the second set at 6-5.
But at this point, a pivotal moment occurred that not only impacted the match but showed two completely different styles of leadership. That is, due to the heat, a water break was asked for and granted, and Captain JP retrieved some much needed liquid aqua for his players, Brian and Kiyotaka. Captain Dave and Co-Captain Travis, though, tried a different approach, and refused to give their players any water, any praise, or any assistance of any kind. No doubt inspired by their Captain's complete lack of caring and consideration, Brian and Tony tough-loved their way to take the set to a tiebreaker. In the tiebreaker, Brian and Tony, recharged by their complete lack of hydration and complete dislike of their Captains and hoping to end the match as soon as humanly possible, charged
out to an early lead with inspired net play and held on to win the tiebreaker, their match, and the team match for their beloved* Captains, Dave and Travis.
Huzzah! And with that, Avon Oaks/Bay went to 4-3 on the season with a (slight) chance at a playoff bound 2nd place finish to wrap up the season as next week they host 2nd place MVRC. Meanwhile, Wembley completed another fine season under Captain JP's stewardship, complete with individual record-breaking play, fantastic teamwork, and lots and lots of adult hydration.
SPECIAL NOTES:
Congratulations to the following Avon Oaks/Bay players for setting some individual Bay team records!
Brian ... with his 3rd doubles win of the season, Brian is now tied for 3rd all-time on the team record board for all-time doubles wins with 12!
Brian and Tony ... 3-1 on the season together, both Brian and Tony are now tied for 5th all-time in 2nd Doubles wins with three a piece!
Travis ... with his 5th win on the year, Travis entered rarified 3.0 air as he notched his 60th career 3.0 victory, with only about 40% of those coming against injured opponents!
Captain Dave ... with his 4th team win of the season, Captain Dave is now the 3rd most winningest captain in Bay 3.0 team history ... with 4 managerial wins! FOUR! Also, Captain Dave is currently, with a 57% winning percentage, the #1 all-time best captain in Bay history in terms of ... WINNING PERCENTAGE! WHOA!
Next up - Wembley Bye, Avon Oaks/Bay v. MVRC
MVRC v. Force, 2-1
Singles - Christian King 1-6, 2-6 v. Andrew Payerl
1st Doubles - Phil King/John King 5-7, 6-0, 1-0 (8) v. Adnan Kazazic/Anthony Kulka
2nd Doubles - Rick King/Brian King 6-2, 6-3 v. John Prince/Jeremy Benjamin
Notes - The two top teams in Flight #1 faced off in a match that would go a long way in determining playoff positioning as the season, with only two match days left to go, was quickly winding down to an incredibly exciting and nail-biting conclusion (which, honestly, is probably true, as there isn't much else to watch when it comes to athletics, which is just another reason why we need DFOtv!). Like Roy Hobbs in The Natural, MVRC seemingly emerged from nowhere to take the league by storm, and like Roy Hobb's supernatural bat Wonderboy, Mayfield was hitting the tennis version of homeruns over and over again (not sure exactly what that would actually be... a winner? An ace? Hitting the ball out of the court?) as they were riding a two match winning streak that had launched them to 2nd place status in the Flight #1 standings. That being said, The Seven Kings of Mayfield, faced the daunting task of taking on an undefeated Force team that was so good they had already clinched a playoff spot and looked to be the #1 seed going into the playoffs (we think ... we're not exactly sure how that whole "playoff" thing works) and are just generally awesome in pretty much every way possible (#BrownNosing). So with a match THIS IMPORTANT we at DFO knew we had to come up with a DFO first - A SIDELINE REPORTER!
Sorta.
That's right! WE covered a match! And by "we" we mean "someone else." But here's the report!
"The first match to complete was the singles match, slugging away at baseline. High quality tennis. The Force singles player [Andrew] overcame [Christian] with his with powerful forehand.
Second match to complete was 2nd Doubles, Rick the Elder played and it was a great match and much closer than the score shows.
Third and final match to finish was 1st Doubles that went to super tiebreak. The King side took an early lead in the tiebreak 4-1 but then Force rallied and the King squad went behind 5-7 after Phil may of been gotten injured; then somehow the score got tied up at 8-8 with the King side winning the next two points to close the match."
WHOA! A comeback! An injury! The words "somehow" to indicate the supernatural aspect!
(Also, if anyone is interested in applying for a DFO sideline reporter position, we at DFO have several openings available and the recompense is pretty impressive ... let's just say that there are A LOT of zeros in the compensation package). What a team win (though if you've been reading DFO - and we know you have - you know we picked MVRC to be dark horses this season, once again proving once and for all that we here at DFO are your rec league low-level 3.0 rated tennis EXPERTS)!
So, in summation, while DFO Rookie of the Year candidate Andrew got Force off to a fast start with his 4th singles win of the season - and a Flight #1 tying 6th overall win, by the by - versus heretofore undefeated fellow rookie Christian, Rick the Elder (finally figured out the Rick the Elder versus Rick the Younger versus Rick the Captain dilemma ... and it all it took was Rick the Sideline Reporter to let us know who is who!) and Brian both moved to 3-2 on the season with a fantastic match versus one of the best doubles players in all of O-H-I-O in John and one of the best Captains in all of O-H-I-O in Captain Jeremy. Perhaps the most impressive victory, however, was Phil and John coming from behind not once BUT TWICE to get the win versus previously undefeated Anthony and fellow previously undefeated and potential Flight #1 MVP Adnan, who, at 6-1, is having one of the greatest 3.0 seasons in recent memory (and our memory is amazing ... ly recent). WOW! What an individual win. What a doubles win. WHAT A TEAM WIN!
With that, MVRC is in the tennis drivers seat for playoff action while Force, even with the loss, nailed down not just a playoff spot, but due to holding every tie-breaker known to man, also nailed down the Flight #1 championship! Congratulations to Force and Captain Jeremy and all the Force players on a great regular season, a run that will no doubt be celebrated next week in their final home match of the season!
Next up - MVRC @ Avon Oaks/Bay, Force v. CVAC
Flight #1 Standings/Records
Club Record IW IL
Force 6-1 16 5
MVRC 5-2 12 9
Avon Oaks/Bay 4-3 11 10
Wembley 3-4 11 13
CVAC 0-7 4 17
(Note - we had to add standings tiebreakers BECAUSE IT'S MIND BOGGLING CLOSE!)
Flight #2 Recap
NCRC v. Towpath
Singles - Munir Ahmad 6-4, 0-6, 0-1 v. Jason Dzik
1st Doubles - Benjamin Young/Chester McClain 2-6, 6-7 v. Frank Licari/Curt Binder
2nd Doubles - Leon Crumpler/William Woodard 5-7, 1-6 v. Bryan Dudiwka/Mike Devine
Notes - Results were posted too late for an in-depth* analysis, but with this team win, Towpath clinched the Flight #2 championship!
Next up - NCRC v. Paramount Medina, Towpath v. Fairlawn
Fairlawn v. LaTuchie, 3-0
Singles - John Chlebina 6-0, 6-1 v. Kevin Thomas
1st Doubles - Dustin Fox/Tom Giltner 7-5, 2-6, 1-0 v. Jeff Sirak/Chris Thompson
2nd Doubles - Timothy Sheahan/Mickey Remen 6-3, 6-2 v. Todd Hofer/Nicolas Savelieff
Notes - Fairlawn, riding a two match winning streak, looked to continue their late season charge while LaTuchie, coming off a big win at home versus top o' the table rival NCRC, looked to continue to push for a top spot in Flight #2. Fairlawn led off with one of the top singles players around, John, who was enjoying an undefeated singles season while LaTuchie gave heralded 3.0 rookie Kevin a team-leading third singles appearance. John's experience proved to be the difference, and en route to an impressive fourth singles victory of the season, John is even closer to an even more impressive mark as, with 19 career 3.0 wins, he is but one win away from a super impressive 20th career 3.0 win! In 1st Doubles, Fairlawn rookies Dustin and Tom joined tennis forces once again while playoff experienced doubles veterans Jeff and Chris looked to get LaTuchie on the board. The rookies came out on top first, though, as their teamwork and communication in their fourth doubles match together, was on point, but in the second, undefeated Chris and career double digit wins holder Jeff stormed back to even up the match. Thus, it was time for the SUPER TIE-BREAK! In the SUPER TIE-BREAK, the rookie's mojo was enfuego and they emerged victorious, clinching an impressive team win for their side. Perhaps even more impressive, though, is that as only rookies, the two have emerged as one of the most impressive doubles teams around as they are now 3-1 when pair together! IMPRESSIVE! In 2nd Doubles, DFO Most Improved Players of the Year candidates Timothy and Mickey took the courts for Fairlawn versus Todd, who was entering the courts for the first time all season, and Nicolas, who was enjoying an undefeated rookie campaign. Todd, 3-3 on his career, and Nicolas, 2-0, were having impressive seasons of their own (the word of the day is obviously "impressive"), but Timothy and Mickey were having just as impressive seasons (there it is again!), and simply would not be denied. Thus, not only did Timothy and Mickey complete the sweep for their team, but they also improved upon their win total from the 2019 season, showing exactly what hard 3.0 work can get you! Not only that, but they also helped throw the Flight #2 standings into chaos!
Next up - Fairlawn @ Towpath, LaTuchie @ Green
Paramount Medina v. Green
Singles - Matt Hutchison 6-2, 6-3 v. Timothy Griffith
1st Doubles - Roderick Yamat/Bogdan Nicolae 3-6, 7-5, 1-0 v. Chip Bond/Elbert Enrique
2nd Doubles - Michael Sapp/Denny Huff 6-4, 6-4 v. Rob Gonsor/T Bortz
Notes - Looking to rebound from last week's tough loss to Flight leader Towpath, Paramount Medina sent singles standout Matt to the courts to defend all of Paramount's honor (probably both Medina and Westlake Paramount's). Green countered with recently acquired tournament tested Timothy. Playing only his third league match ever, Timothy played well against one of the best singles players all of northeast Ohio has to offer, but in the end, Matt's torrid winning streak continued as he's won three straight singles matches and four straight matches overall, definitely putting him in the conversation for DFO Singles Player of the Year consideration! In 2nd Doubles, Paramount Medina's Captain Phil put in relative 3.0 newbie Bogdan with one of the most experienced - and illustrious - 3.0 players of all-time, Roderick, no doubt in hopes of helping guide young Bogdan through the travails of 3.0 doubles tennis. Indeed, with 149 career 3.0 matches to his resume, few players can offer the on court lessons as Roderick, and in a back-and-forth, come-from-behind match versus veteran Captain Chip and all-court player Elbert, Roderick did just that, helping guide young Bogdan to his first ever 3.0 league victory! In doing so, not only did Roderick help an aspiring teammate, but he also notched one of the most impressive winning marks in the entire area, earning an amazing 64th 3.0 win! With the team match sealed, Captain Phil went for the tennis jugular (which is probably just like a regular jugular), sending in two veterans of the 3.0 courts, Michael and Denny, both of home have over 30 career 3.0 wins between them! Opposing them were Green veterans Rob and T, both of whom have shown amazing team-first attitudes as they've represented their club in every single match this season! Representing their side well, Rob and T gave their all, but on this day, the home cooking of Paramount Medina was just good enough to give Michael and Denny the doubles victory! Congratulations to Michael on his 37th career doubles 3.0 win and Denny on his 37th career 3.0 win and congratulations to the entire squad for putting Paramount Medina back in the Flight #2 playoff picture!
Next up - Paramount Medina @ NCRC, Green v. LaTuchie
Flight #2 Standings/Records
Club Record IW IL
Towpath 7-2 19 8
LaTuchie 5-4 16 11
P. Medina 5-4 14 13
NCRC 5-4 13 14
Fairlawn 4-5 13 14
Green 1-8 6 21
Conclusion
HOLY MOLY! What another fantastically great matchday! With but one week left, everything is up for grabs! Well, not really. We mean, in Flight #1, Force is set at the #1 spot while MVRC is in amazing shape while Avon Oaks/Bay's chances are hanging by a thread. So really, only one thing is up for grabs. But in Flight #2, wowsers! Towpath has taken the top spot while LaTuchie has the odds-on chances BUT Paramount Medina is RIGHT THERE!
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