The 2018-2019 season will be kicked off at the CITA League Meeting Wednesday, June 27th at 10:00 in the Five Seasons Board Room.

Libertyville has two teams in the Girls High School league. The Libertyville 1 team made it to the finals against RC Lake Bluff. Both teams have a solid group of players who have had some good wins during the season. With only 3 matches, every match counts. Libertville won on courts 1 and 3 and RC Lake Bluff won on court 2. Libertyville 1 won the League Championship. Nice playing everyone.

Once the Men’s 4.5 matches were done, some of the players from the 4.5 teams moved over to their Open teams. RC Lake Bluff and College Park were going to see who had more fire power and finesse. Would the players who just played in the 4.5s still have enough energy to play up to the level demanded of them? On court 4, clearly Peter Krizman and Steve Paulson (RCLB), still had enough in the tank because they were the 1st to come off the court, after playing court 3 in their 4.5 match. They played agains Trevor Desilva and John Metzger, who also played in the 4.5s with different partners. Court 2 came off next with Josh Leighton and Josh Graves (CPAC) pulling out a close win against Jordan Verbauwhedeand Peter Morawiecki. Matches tied 1-1. Court 1 came off next 6-4, 7-5 to RCLB which left court 3, which RCLB won in 3 sets in a tie-breaker. This is RC Lake Bluffs 2nd win in a row. Congratulations to both team for stellar play, nerves of steel and a competitive spirit.

This year the Men’s 4.5 and Men’s Open teams were from the same clubs. The Racquet Club of Lake Bluff (RCLB) and College Park East (CPAC-E) both had players playing in both finals. Would those players have enough in the tank to play a 2nd match, both physically and mentally? One could only hope. RCLB didn’t have it easy on court 1. They won in 3. But on courts 3, 5 and 6, RCLB won in 2 sets. CPAC-E secured a win on court 2 and because RCLB had already secured a 4-1 win, court 4 was called with CPAC leading 4-2 in the 3rd set. College Park made a valient effort, coming close…but it’s some of those deuce games that can make a difference in the outcome. RC Lake Bluff won, taking the trophy back from the defending champions, College Park.

As soon as the Men’s 3.5 matches came off the courts, the Men’s 4.0 teams from Libertyville (LIB) and Midtown-Palatine (MTP) moved on to the courts. The Libertyville team, seeing their Men’s 3.5 team lose, steeled their nerves to create a different outcome. Courts 1 and 6 were done in 2 sets with LIB winning court 1 and MTP winning court 6. All the other matches were heading towards 3 sets. One by one they came off the court. The last match left was court 4. Libertyville was ahead 3-2 in matches, but if Midtown-Palatine won this match, that would mean matches tied, sets tied, time to count games. No one was quite sure that the set scores were for court 4. Everyone knew it was close. All they knew is that with all the other match games counted, LIB had 57 games and MTP had 55 games. Upon counting court 4’s sets 1 and 2, LIB was ahead by only one game. Everyone crowded around court 4’s viewing area. It was 4-4. Liberyville won their serve – 5-4. Midtown-Palatine’s turn. At 15-40, they had match points against them. They squeaked out another point to make it 30-40, but a missed shot gave Libertyville the win and the Championship! Way to give it your all!!!

All of the Men’s Playoff matches were played out of College Park’s West location inside the Marriott Lincolnshire. The Men’s 3.5 matches started at 10 AM with Libertyville and Midtown-Bannockburn ready to play. In 2016, Midtown-Bannockburn (MTB) came close to making it to the finals, only to be defeated by River Trails by 2 games. This year it was all MTB…but not without some concern (yes, Todd Seltzer, I heard you were pacing the floor). MTB won court 2 in 2 sets, then court 4 in 3 sets, so they were feeling pretty good about their chances. Court 1 was a close match with MTB winning 6-4, 6-4 securing the Championship. And court 4 decided their match with a 3rd set match tie-breaker which MTB won 12-10. Congratulations to Midtown-Bannockburn for their first time win in the Men’s 3.5s!

Northbrook’s NC Women’s Open team took home the trophy for the 2nd year in a row! While the match scores reflect a 6-0 win over North Shore 2 (Jerry’s team), scores don’t always reflect the full story. I know everyone played their hearts out and win or lose, we came off the courts respecting our opponents game.

Lakeshore and Glenbrook faced off against each other at Glenbrook Racquet Club. Both teams have a fairly strong group of players who know what it takes to win. Lakeshore took home wins on courts 2, 3, 4 and 6 with three of the four matches won in 3 sets. Glenbrook won on courts 1 and 5 in two sets. If any of the 3 set matches had gone Glenbrook’s way, GRC would have won in sets which is why it’s important to close out in two. All the matches were close. And while Glenbrook had home court advantage, Lakeshore kept their eyes on the prize and went back home with the win. Congratulations to both teams on a good season of play.

Midtown-Chicago and North Shore played their NCW4.5 Green final at Five Seasons with MTC stepping on the courts with a one court advantage as NSRC had to default one court. Midtown-Chicago dominated this league during the regular season and while North Shore did their best counter MTC’s firepower, all 6 courts were won by MTC.

Nearly two and a half hours into the match, the players from Midtown-Palatine and Midtown-Chicago were still out on the court grinding it out. Four of the six matches went to 3 sets. If you’ve won the 1st set, all you want to do is close out the match. If you’ve lost the 1st set, all you want to do is stay in it and get to the 3rd set. What’s interesting to look at are the scores. Almost all the 3 set matches were close. One flip-flopped and ended with a 3rd set tie-breaker. One match’s 3rd set ended at 6-0. Some of it’s mental, some of it’s physical, and some of it’s just good play and a bit of luck. Great playing on both sides with proud coaches from both teams, Zane Fulton and Joe Lyden, pacing the floor watching the matches unfold.

Both captains said the matches were nail-bitters and were so proud of their ladies and how they grew as players. So looking at the scores I can definitely see why they said nail-biters. On court 1 MTB’s Bela and Leah Starkman won 7-5, 6-3 against CPAC’s Diana Bellagamba and Lori Schretzman. On court 2…seriously?…CPAC’s Tressa Hamann and Jody Schumacher lost the 1st set in a tie-breaker 13-15. First set went to MTB’s Halle Aten and Christiana Castro. Usually after a tie-breaker like that, there’s a deflation. But not with these teams! The 2nd set was also a tie-breaker 7-3, this time going to CPAC. The 3rd set and the match went to CPAC 6-3. Holy Cow! On court 3, CPAC’s Debbie Rai and Debbie Ziemke took on MTB’s Shari Pew and Rachael Ulizio and won 6-4, 6-2. And on court 4, MTB’s Andrea Barci and Jamie Bass had to pull themselves together to win against CPAC’s Catherine Hommer and Andrea Weisner 6-1, 4-6, 6-1.

With only 4 teams in this league, most of the players get to know each other’s style of play but one does’t always play the same people all the time. And the outcome can change depending on how you’re playing that day. Both teams knew they had a chance. Libertyville won on courts 1 and 2 and Northbrook won on courts 3 and 4. Sets were tied 4-4 and Northbrook won 3 more games than Libertyville winning in games 32-29. Good matches all around!

Midtown-Palatine 1 came with the same lineup they had in their playoff match against RC Lake Bluff. Midtown-Bannockburn changed up their lineup a bit from their match against Midtown-Palatine 2. On court 1, the closest scored match was between Keeley Hart and Allison Goldberg. Keeley won 7-6(5), 6-4. On court 2 Jennifer Lenahan played against Rachel Kaiser. These 2 had played before so they know each other’s games but this time Jennifer won 6-1, 6-3. Midtown-Palatine won courts 1 and 2. On court 3, Cara Waddle beat Renee Buxton 6-4, 6-2. On court 4, Farrah Zick won against Michele Young 6-2, 6-0. Midtown-Bannockburn won courts 3 and 4. Matches tied, sets tied, games close…5 games separated the two teams with Midtown-Bannockburn coming out ahead 38-33. Nice playing everyone!

Pictured standing from left: Beth Zawilenski, Michele Young, Holly Belconis, Captain Marleen Pollard, Miriam Wozniewski, Robin Mussar, Jen McKenna, Erica Donofrio, Lori Rowe, Sally Fessenden, Karen Johnstone, Coach Zane Fulton. Sitting from left: Stacey Tomczak, Lori Bowling, Meredith Canali
Not pictured: Shelly Cohen, Wendy Farley, Kim Gallo, Karen Griebel, Sarah Ives, Liz Jimenez, Amanda McWhorter, Alaina Murawski, Tomoko Sekigami, Allyn Selesky, Alicia Tisbo
College Park had high hopes to win the league this year. They finished the regular season in 1st place and they beat the defending champions Midtown-Chicago 5-1 in the playoffs. Midtown-Palatine barely squeaked by Glenbrook’s team in the playoffs (MTP had 4 more games than GRC). In the Finals, nerves can play a part in the outcome. People are watching your match, clapping, and cheering their team on. The matches on courts 4-6 were 2 set affairs with CPAC-E winning on courts 4 and 5 and MTP winning on court 6. College Park had the edge 2-1 but courts 1-3 all went to 3 sets. As the points turned into games, the tide started turning in MTP’s favor as they won all 3 courts in 3 sets. Congratulations to all who played. Hard fought battles on the court.

Midtown-Chicago Team 1 and Midtown-Palatine had some epic matches in the finals with 3 of the matches going to 3 sets and one of the 3 set matches ending in a tie-breaker. I can only tell you that when I called over at the club 3 hours after the matches started, the shouts and screams and exuberance over every point could be heard over the phone. Midtown-Chicago 1 and Midtown-Palatine tied in matches 3-3 but MTC(1) was declared the winner after the sets were counted. They won 8 sets to 7 sets. Congratulations!

Pictured: Coach Krisztina Anderko, Shari Glickman, Stephanie Platt, Captain Bindoo Rizzo, Kim Lee, Maureen Ahern
Not pictured: Wendy Farley, Cherrie Hahn, Liz Jimenez, Stephanie Nieszel, Nobue Otsuka
The Finalists of the NC Women’s 3.0-3.5 Singles League came from the same club, Midtown-Palatine, and have the same coach, Krisztina Anderko, who has worked with the players to develop their strengths and counter their weaknesses. But come game time, it is up to the players to let go of nerves, to see their friend across their net as an opponent and give it their all. MTP 2 won on courts 1 and 3. MTP 1 won on courts 2 and 4. Both teams won 4 sets apiece. It came down to counting the number of games won. Five games separated the two teams. While MTP 1 came out victorious, both teams brought home a win for their club. Congratulations!

Libertyville 1 and College Park East got up early on May 6th to play the Finals of the Men’s 4.0 Singles. Libertyville has two teams in this league. Both teams made it to the playoffs but Libertyville 2 succumbed to College Park and Libertyville 1 ousted North Shore’s team. In the end Libertyville 1 came away with a 3-1 win over College Park East. Libertyville 1 won courts 2,3 and 4. College Park won court 1 with some flip flopping of scores (0-6, 6-2, 1-0 (6). Congratulations to Libertyville 1’s team: Jeff Berns, David Garcia, Jon Stauffer and John Flayer as well as Dan Kiernan in the middle of the picture.

Team Lincolnshire is the new Men’s 4.5 Singles Champions. For several years, RC Lake Bluff has dominated this league winning several years in a row. But this year, Lincolnshire steadied themselves with wins on courts 1, 2 and 4. Bryan Kintanar, Isriz Balase, Scott Hildebrecht (Captain) and Yura Letuchy made up Lincolnshire’s team. Vic Iyer, Mike Raymond, Nick Andres and Johannes Tauscher filled out RC Lake Bluff’s team. Nice playing everyone. And congratulations to Lincolnshire on their big win!

The NC Women’s Open Schedule has been revised with new pairings starting on October 27.