The Flights get Tighter while Several Players Graduate to 3.5!
In this week's recap, we quickly cover the big news of the week, which includes promotions, records being broken, and a new 40+ Flight challenger ... enjoy our hastily created "we are going on vacation and don't have time to do this" edition!
18+
40+
18+ Records & Recaps
Flight 1 Standings
W. Reserve 4-1
CSC 3-2
Mayfield 3-2
CVAC 3-2
Green 2-3
Fairlawn 0-5
(click the link above for the match schedule BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE TIME TO DO ALL THE LINKS)
Western Reserve @ CVAC - 3-2
Mayfield @ Fairlawn - 5-0
CSC @ Green - 3-2
All three travelling teams tasted 3.0 victory Monday, with Western Reserve standing atop the leaderboard after a first place showdown with host CVAC! Making Western Reserve's victory all the more impressive is the fact they had to carpool with notorious Frenchman N.A. De Fault, who once again put in a very, very weak effort at #2 singles. But Steve picked up his third 3.0 singles win of the year to get Western Reserve back on the board and then Captain Christopher and veteran Steve helped seal the deal with solid victories in the leadoff doubles matches! Congrats to CVAC's Steve, though, for not only earning his third straight 3.0 doubles victory for his club, but for also almost completing the 3.0 Quintuple - playing on every court during the season for his team! If Steve can compete at #2 singles for CVAC before the season is out, he'll have done it! CAN HE DO IT?! AND can he earn the D.F.O. Quintuple Award - a hearty D.F.O. handshake?! Good luck, Steve!
In Fairlawn, last season's Cinderella team, Mayfield, stormed back into Flight contention with a solid victory on the road at young and raw Fairlawn. John T. earned his fifth 3.0 singles victory on the season while teammate (and family member) Phil earned his first 3.0 singles victory on the season! In doubles, all six remaining King's teamed up to no doubt confuse the poor folks from Fairlawn as the twinsies all did the same thing at the exact same time - win!
CSC jumped to second in the Flight with a solid performance against host Green as Harmin earned a hard fought victory versus tournament tested Brandon. Speaking of tournament tested, one of the most tournament tested players in the Flight (we told you we were going to say "tournament tested" multiple times this paragraph), Timothy, not only got on the court for the first time this season but got the win as well, evening up the team score at 1-1. In doubles, CSC's Jeff continued his hot season, earning his fourth win on the year while Dylan and Paul clinched the team match at #2 doubles versus one of the more veteran tag teams around! But special shout out to N.A. De Fault who travelled all the way from CVAC to Green to get rolled by Green veteran Chip. Say what you will, N.A. may be awful, but he never quits!
Flight 2 Standings
LaTuchie 6-0
P. Medina 3-2
Wembley 2-3
Mentor 2-3
NCRC 2-4
CRC 1-4
Wembley v. CRC - 4-1
LaTuchie @ NCRC - 4-1
P. Medina v. Mentor - 4-1
All three winning clubs showed solidarity in winning by the same team score, which were sure means ... something? Wembley bounced back from James' graduation party festivities (more on that later) to get their second team win of the year as Kyle earned his first ever 3.0 singles victory while Larry did the same on his singles court! In doubles, fan favorites J.P. & David did what they do when they share the same side of the court - chest bump their way to 3.0 doubles victories! SO MUCH CHEST BUMPING!
Two of the best players in the Flight, Scott and Ben, surrounded by someone not even in their Flight and probably not even deserving to be in the same picture)
Meanwhile, in tropical North Canton (which, because it's closer to the equator, it's much more tropical than Cleveland ... that's science), LaTuchie continued their undefeated ways, but not before NCRC Captain Benjamin pushed one of the top players in all Flights, Scott, to a third set SUPER TIEBREAK! Inspired by his teammate's ability to withstand the slimmer, trimmer, and now re-bespectacled Captain Benjamin, LaTuchie's Erik make is a singles sweep with his third 3.0 win on the year! One of the top all-around players all around, Munir, stopped the figurative bleeding as he and Matthew defended NCRC's #1 doubles honor, but LaTuchie Captain Ronald got his team back on the 3.0 track with an impressive #2 doubles win to keep his club unblemished in the loss column!
Paramount Medina worked to stay close to Flight leader LaTuchie with another impressive team performance, this time led off by team newbies Venkat and Kishore, both of whom took the singles courts with their second 3.0 singles wins on the season! In #1 doubles, Captain Phil put together approximately 37' of tennis power by teaming up Bogdan and Matt, and with their combination of height, power, and height (yes, twice the height!) they were able to withstand a valiant effort from their opponents to clinch the team victory for Medina's favorite Paramount! Shout out to Mike and Shane, however, who won their fourth doubles match as a doubles tandem, making one reporter ask, "are they the new doubles dream team?!"
Flight 3 Standings
Force 4-0
Towpath 3-1
Bay 2-2
Springside 1-3
P. Westlake 0-4
Force @ Paramount Westlake - 4-1
Towpath @ Bay - 4-1
Road tripping was the order of the day in Flight 3 as both travelling teams earned victories to stay atop the Flight 3 standings. Force, celebrated the graduation of one of the top singles players in the entire area to the nigh-professional 3.5 level, Andrew, by immediately refusing to talk, text, or communicate with the Canadian other than to call immigration to ship him back to upper and/or lower Canada (because, honestly, who knows which is which?). Force Captain Jeremy, showing the skilled leader that he is, put in free agents Adam and Travis in at singles, with the ever consistent Adam earning his second victory for his new team in a close match that belied the score and helped lead to Adam not returning home until close to midnight. Paramount Captain Ryan went at it against turncoat Travis in what would be their third 3.0 match up in three years ... SO MANY THREES! Travis annoyingly slice-and-diced Ryan, and while the Paramount captain warmed up in the second set, Travis' annoying on (and off) court style eventually won the day. In singles, one of the top doubles players in the world (or the Flight), John, teamed with one of the most winningest players in Force history over the last two seasons, Ado, to seal the deal in a hard-fought match of two doubles team titans. A D.F.O. shoutout, though, to Paramount's Peter and Doug who not only got their team on the scoreboard, but also earned their first 3.0 victories on the season!
A few short miles away, Towpath travelled (once again) to Bay and (once again) had to endure a rain delay. This time, the match would go on as Bay used everything at their disposal (mostly brooms) to keep the only outdoor courts in the entire world (or the Flight) as dry as possible. Once the match got going, Bay rookie Dietrich continued his strong inaugural campaign, earning his second three set SUPER TIEBREAK victory in a row! Bay Captain Mark called his own number to take on Towpath's Jason, but Jason, perhaps invigorated by the fact his earlier loss to Andrew was now in fact a victory (which we think is true if our reading of the rules is accurate, but we don't read so well, so ... yeah), evened up the team score with his third (or second?) 3.0 victory on the year! Towpath's John and Craig, one of the winningest doubles tandems of the last few seasons, gave their team the advantage before Captain Frank clinched the team match, earning career 3.0 victory 71!
40+ Records & Recaps
Flight Standings
LaTuchie 5-0
P. Westlake 5-1
Force 3-2
P. Medina 3-2
Wembley 2-3
CVAC 1-5
NCRC 1-4
Towpath 1-2
Bay 1-3
Graduation Information!
Congratulations to Wembley's James for earning a mid-season call up to the big 3.5 leagues! Thanks to his stellar play, James got the call that every 3.0 player loves (or dreads?) to hear - "you've been promoted!" And who doesn't love a promotion?! To show their gratitude, the Wembley team all pitched in numerous gifts for their now former teammate, including two wins! That selfless act by Captain J.P. may have meant that Wembley's team record shifted from a 3-1 to a 1-3, but it just goes to show that when it comes to gift giving, J.P. is truly the Santa Clause of 3.0 tennis!
Paramount Westlake v. LaTuchie - 3-2
NCRC v. Towpath
Wembley v. CVAC - 3-2
Force v. Bay - 5-0
In the main event of the evening, undefeated LaTuchie took on NOW undefeated Paramount Westlake. The latter, given new 3.0 life after their loss was changed to a win after the Wembley promotion, now stood toward the top of the 40+ Flight, but had to take on the best team in the area if they were going to take advantage of their new found winning streak! LaTuchie's Scott continued his fantastic singles run, earning his ninth singles 3.0 win on the year, but Paramount's Venkat evened up the score with his impressive hold-on victory over LaTuchie Captain Ronald. In #1 doubles, one of the #1 doubles teams around, Jeff and Chris, gave LaTuchie the lead once again, but Paramount Captain Robert had two of the best doubles tandems around in Debabrata and Ben, who did what they do - win! Thus, the match - and possibly the Flight! - came down to #3 doubles, and who better to lead the Paramount team than Captain Robert himself! Teaming with long-time doubles partner Robert (two Roberts?! Is this like Mayfield all of a sudden?!), Captain Robert not only earned the win that sealed the team victory and launched Paramount to a near tie for the Flight lead, but he also notched career 3.0 victory #83, tying him for third place all-time (according to our records anyway!!). Congrats Robert - and all of Paramount - on a fantastic, record-setting evening!
NCRC took on Towpath, but the match was so exciting that results weren't posted by press-time, which makes that TWO Towpath matches this season that have been so exciting that results have been delayed! Congrats to one of these teams!
Wembley bounced back from the promotion graduation party to get back on the winning side, coming from 0-2 down to earn the victory with some stellar doubles pay. Matt and Mark continued their strong showings for CVAC with two wins on the two singles courts, but Captain J.P. countered by splitting up one of the best doubles teams in all of Chagrin - all of it! - in himself and David, but the controversial strategy worked as both players helped get their team back in the match with two doubles victories. Thus, #3 doubles would decide this match, and Wembley rookie Joseph picked the right time to get his first ever individual win, helping his new club bounce back to their winnings ways!
Meanwhile, back on the west side, Force invited border rivals Bay to the finest indoor facility in all of Rocky River (true story), and Bay responded to their graciousness by playing, as veteran Bay player Tom summed up, "like my grandson treats a diaper." Now that's analysis! Force free agents Adam and Giju started the scoring with wins on the singles courts while James and Jim, one of the up-and-coming best doubles duos in the Flight, enjoyed their fifth straight doubles victory together to seal the deal (or close up the diaper, as Tom might say).
Summary
Congrats to all for another great week of 3.0 tennis! Western Reserve, LaTuchie, and Force continue to lead their respective Flights, while Paramount Westlake is making some noise in the 40+ Flight! Congrats to Captain Robert, who has not only led his club to within striking distance of the top of the Flight, but has also entered the 3.0 history book (there's only one book, sadly, and we can't find it) with his 83rd career 3.0 victory. Congratulations all, and good luck next week!
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