LaTuchie Dominates, Towpath gets Revenge, and the Graduations Continue!
18+
40+
18+ Records & Recaps
Flight 1 Standings
W.Reserve 6-1
CSC 5-2
Mayfield 4-3
CVAC 3-4
Green 3-4
Fairlawn 0-7
CSC v. Mayfield - 3-2
Green v. CVAC - 3-2
Western Reserve v. Fairlawn - 4-1
In a battle of teams looking to keep pace with the Flight 1 leaders, CSC and Mayfield faced off with second place supremacy on the line (or, as the Germans say it, "The Vice-Championship," which is a pretty poetic way of saying "second," but then again, the Germans have always had the most romantic of all languages)! Visiting MVRC got off to the fast start as undefeated John T. continued his undefeated ways, this time at #1 singles, to go an undefeated 6-0 on the season, while teammate, bestie, and family member Captain Phil earned his third straight victory at #2 singles! But, with their 3.0 backs against the 3.0 tennis wall (one of the toughest opponents any 3.0er will face) and down 0-2 in the team match, CSC's doubles teams held strong, sweeping the doubles courts, highlighted by team Jack & Jacob's fourth victory as a tag team doubles duo! Special shout out to Rick and Karl from Mayfield, though, who enjoyed* their combined seventh three setter on the season, meaning they're getting the most out of their 3.0 tennis money!
Green hosted CVAC in a face-off of two teams looking to keep the winning ways going, and in a tight affair, the home Green team took the 3-2 team victory! In singles, Green's Neema won his third 3.0 singles match of the season to even the match, but it was in #1 doubles where the Green Dream Team (patent pending) of Mark and Jeff enjoyed their fourth straight victory! CVAC's Captain John rallied the CVAC squad, though, with a thrilling three set SUPER TIE-BREAK victory, but at the end of the long, long, long day it was Green veterans T and David who, playing tag-team for the third time this season, used their veteran communication skills to not only get the win, but to get T's first win on the season!
Flight leader Western Reserve, with CSC and Mayfield right behind, needed to keep their winning ways going to maintain their top tier status, and win they did, this time hosting the young and hungry Fairlawn squad. In singles, Western Reserve's Marathon Man John played in his seventh consecutive match of the season while Captain Christopher went 6-0 on the season as both swept the courts o' singles. In doubles, rookie Steve helped clinch the match for his club to maintain Western Reserve's first place standing in Flight 1 with his first ever 3.0 victory, but that didn't mean Fairlawn went down without a fight, and fight Captain Mike did to the tune of a #3 SUPER TIE-BREAK doubles victory, showing his young charges what pride is all about!
Flight 2 Standings
LaTuchie 8-0
P. Medina 4-3
Mentor 3-4
NCRC 3-5
Wembley 3-4
CRC 1-6
NCRC v. CRC - 5-0
LaTuchie @ Paramount Medina - 4-1
Mentor v. Wembley - 4-1
NCRC needed wins to climb the Flight 2 standings to three-peat their way to playoff play, and Captain Benjamin got his team off to the fast start it needed with his third 3.0 singles victory on the season! Following their leader's lead, teammate Robert completed the sweep of the singles courts with his second win in a row while Sebastian and Skip teamed up for their fourth win as a doubles tag team, thus helping to seal the team win and keep NCRC in the playoff hunt!
Paramount Medina, enjoying a solid win streak that saw them climb into second place, looked to chip away at LaTuchie's seemingly unchippable lead as they travelled to Herb's Place! Things got off to a fine start for Medina as rookie Venkat celebrated a huge win over one of the greatest 3.0 players of the season, Scott! But, as soon as the match was over, Venkat was able to celebrate again, this time his graduation to 3.5! CONGRATS VENKAT! And congrats to Scott, who by losing actually enjoyed his fifth singles 3.0 win for his club to go 6-1 on the season! Inspired by Scott's come-from-behind victory, LaTuchie's Ronald held on to get victory numero seven on the season! Up 2-0, LaTuchie needed one more victory to go 8-0 on the season, but they ran into the legend that is Roderick (and Patrick) at #1 doubles, and Roderick, one of the winningest players in 3.0 history, did what he's done for over a decade - win! In fact, he won 3.0 victory 67, meaning he's tied with D.F.O. Hall of 3.0 Famer's Barry and Bob for 7th all-time! ALL-TIME! After such an historic victory, it's no wonder that Paramount's minds were elsewhere, and LaTuchie's Jeff, Chris, DReddy, and Brandon were able to earn victories on their doubles courts to keep LaTuchie undefeated. What a day of tennis! Historic players and historic teams!
Host Mentor kept the home wins going as they enjoyed a solid win versus one of the most historic 3.0 clubs around! Mentor's Nick enjoyed his second 3.0 singles 18+ win on the year (after a bonus gift from Venkat!) to get the scoring going for his club, but Wembley's not-actually-from-San Francisco David evened the match with his fourth victory for his newfound club! In doubles, new kids on the block (mental note: that would be a great boy band name) Mike and Shane went 6-1 on the year after a three set nail biting SUPER TIE-BREAKER against one of the best doubles teams to ever play the 3.0 game ... EVER! Inspired, Mentor's Captain Scott clinched the team match with his second win on the season! Special D.F.O. shout out to Mentor's Hurst on his first ever 3.0 win! REMEMBER IT ALWAYS, HURST!
Flight 3 Standings
Towpath 5-1
Force 4-1
Bay 3-2
P. Westlake 1-5
Springside 1-5
Paramount Westlake @ Springside - 4-1
Towpath v. Force - 5-0
Paramount Westlake earned their first team victory on the year as they headed south to Akron! Rookie Ryan got Westlake started with a solid win at #1 singles, his third on the 3.0 season, while David earned 3.0 victory numero uno at #2 singles! Springside stopped the tennis bleeding with Kyle and Gregory's third doubles tandem win on the season, but Westlake Captain Ryan got the team's 3.0 ship back on course with an impressive three set SUPER TIE-BREAK, which shouldn't be a surprise as three of teammate Jeff's four matches have GONE THE DISTANCE!
Also in Akron, Force looked to build on their Flight 3 lead while Towpath looked to avenge their earlier 0-5 loss versus this same team earlier in the season. Getting a late start on a hot and humid day/evening/night, Force free agents Adam and Travis took the courts to face Towpath singles stalwarts David and Jason. Both matches lasted well over two hours, with David and Jason using their power versus the defense and slice and dice of their opponents. And both matches saw the home team take the early lead before the visitors, using their effective, and annoying, patent pending pushing ability, made impressive comebacks in the second. Rookie David was able to withstand Adam in the tie-break while Jason was able to hold on after an epic 11-9 second set non-super tie-break that included everything everyone loves about 3.0 tennis - never say die attitudes, wanting the other guy to please say die, wanting yourself to say die, and eventually sharing a can of gin together. Yes, a can. Because we are classier than Wimbledon!
On the doubles courts, Captain Frank clinched the match for Towpath with an impressive array of serves the kept his opponents off guard, all the more impressive as Frank earned career victory 72, which is tied for 5th all time! ALL-TIME! But knowing that the Flight 3 title may very well come down to tie-breakers, he urged his club on, as Tim and Corey enjoyed victories at #3 doubles while John and Craig avenged their earlier loss to Force's John and James with an impressive come-from-behind - then fell-from-ahead - then come-from-behind again (!) three set SUPER TIE-BREAK victory! Thus, not only did Towpath win the day, but they swept the day as well, putting themselves atop the Flight 3 standings! Meanwhile, upon exiting the spacious Towpath Tennis Center, Force players could be heard to exclaim, "well, there's nothing like playing on a Monday and not getting home until Tuesday" as they left the spacious Towpath Tennis Center approximately around midnight (thanks schedule makers!).
P. Westlake 7-0
LaTuchie 6-1
Force 5-2
P. Medina 4-3
Towpath 3-3
Wembley 3-3
NCRC 1-6
CVAC 1-7
Bay 1-6
40+ Recaps
Paramount Westlake v. Bay -3-2
LaTuchie v. CVAC - 4-1
Force v. Paramount Medina - 5-0
Home cooking was the order of the day in the 40+ Flight as all three hosts defended their home courts (as well as their 3.0 honor). In Westlake, Paramount kept their Flight status as the top 3.0 dogs in all the 3.0 land with an impressive come-from-behind finish. On the singles courts, Bay 3.0 rookie Dietrich kept his potential D.F.O. Rookie of the Year status intact with another fine performance, stretching his 3.0 record to an impressive 8-0 on the year, playing fine defense to counter Matt's aggressive offense. On the adjoining court, Bay's Travis faced off versus his immortal rival, Captain Robert, in their fourth career match (Robert, as it turns out, is actually immortal, as he has played in 18+, 40+, and 55+, meaning, if you add it all up, he is almost 113 years old! WHOA!). Robert, displaying a never give-up attitude, made Travis want to give up as the Paramount captain came back from several deficits in the first set with a combination of deft lobs, quality forehands, and all-out hustle to take the early lead with a 9-7 tie-break win. Dismayed, Travis did the only thing he could do - change into a new shirt, temporarily blinding poor Robert with a dad-bod so appalling that Robert was now on the defensive as the shirtless image of his opponent just couldn't be unseen. With the psychological advantage, Travis sliced and diced his way back into the match, forcing a third set SUPER TIE-BREAK! At this point, Robert made a vital mistake - BEING NICE and offering to grab Travis a bottle of much needed water. With this much needed hydration, Travis rallied in the SUPER TIE-BREAK, but even so, Robert took the early lead, but Travis had one more psychological trick up his sleeve, and indeed, upon a change over Travis was heard to say, "Don't make me take THIS shirt off, too..." With that the crowd could be heard to yell "GET OFF THE COURT" (which is kind of true as the match took nearly 2.5 hours and the 4.0 ladies were growing impatient with Travis and Robert's 3.0 display). Robert, not wanting to put himself or the waiting 4.0 women through another shirtless moment, decided to take one for the team and, as the true captain he is, let Travis off the hook. Up 2-0, it looked like Bay might get their second win on the season, but Captain Robert had a few tricks up his fancy new sleeves (as the team was sporting fancy new team t-shirts, showing their Paramount pride by sporting ... North Ridge shirts ...?). Michael and Kevin, teaming up together for the seventh time, earned win number four together, and with that, Paramount was on the board! Bay Captain Erik put in his best doubles tandem, Brian and Tony, to seal the win, but Captain Robert countered with Debabrata and Robert, two veterans who knew the score (which, actually, is kind of hard to remember sometimes, especially when it's as hot as it was that evening). Both played fantastic, with Robert earning career victory #58! Thus, #3 doubles would determine the team match, and Paramount's Sean and James stepped up admirably, as James earned his third 3.0 win for the 40+ team and more importantly clinching the team match to help Paramount remain #1 in the Flight! And with that, all of Westlake (or North Ridge?) cheered!
LaTuchie, trying to keep pace with Westlake's Paramount/North Ridge players, came out strong versus visiting CVAC with potential D.F.O. Player of the Year candidate Scott earning his seventh singles victory of the 40+ season, this time versus impressive CVAC rookie Matt. CVAC countered though, as rookie Bill enjoyed another singles victory, this one in three sets, meaning he is now an impressive 2-0 on the season in marathon three setters! The match may have been tied.up at 1-1 but LaTuchie's stellar doubles tandem Jeff and Chris, now 5-0 as a tag team, got LaTuchie back on the scoreboard while Jeff and Todd clinched the match with an impressive three set SUPER TIE-BREAK win! Special congrats to LaTuchie's Ernest who, in #3 doubles, earned his first career 3.0 doubles win!
The rapidly improving Force hosted Paramount Medina in a match between two teams trying to stay close to the two Flight leaders, and in this match, the home team held serve (which, by the way, is almost impossible in 3.0 tennis ... it's like a clay court match allllllll the time). Force's free agent Adam played the legendary doubles player Denny and earned singles win number six while Force doubles legend Ado played, and won, his first singles match of the year! In doubles, one of the best tandems around, John and James, won their fifth match in six attempts, sealing the deal for Rocky River's favorite tennis team and moving them up to third place in the Flight!
Special Shout Outs
- Clem ... congrats to the current D.F.O. Hall of 3.0 Famer on extending his own 3.0 record, earning win #96 last week in the 55+ group!
- Robert ... congrats to the Paramount captain on win #84, tying him for third all-time (if our numbers are correct, which they might - might! - be) on the 3.0 wins o'meter!
- Frank ... the Towpath leader earned win #72 this week, tying him for fifth all-time!
- Roderick ... one of the greatest 3.0 league players of all-time notched career 3.0 victory #67, tying him with the legendary Bob and Barry ... will Roderick be joining them in the D.F.O. Hall of 3.0 Fame soon?!
- Ron ... with win #57, this two-time D.F.O. 3.0 Player of the Year is now just one victory shy of top 10 status!
- You ... for reading this nonsense!
"AAAAAHHHHH!!!!" - Captain Ben