Last place College Park was not a team anyone would have thought would make it to the Finals and win 3 weeks ago. It would take bringing out their best players and getting a bit of default luck to push past River Trails. They were on a mission and knew they had the players to get the job done. First they had to get past Glenbrook who they had played a week before. This time Glenbrook came prepared with a full team but came up short by 2 sets. CPAC-E won 3-3 and won in sets 8-6. Then came North Shore who ousted the defending Champions Midtown-Chicago and ending MTC’s 3 year reign as Men’s Open Champions. North Shore also came up short against CPAC but only by 1 set. College Park East won 3(8) – 3(7) giving CPAC’s 35th Anniversary Celebration an added bonus. In front, l-r: Sean Moran, Brian Wu, Alex Lambropoulos and Uno Lapimaa. Standing, l-r: Mike Hill, Ofir Weintraub, Aaron Rusnak, Ashwin Kumar, Luke Helm, Andy Rice, Ryan Fleming and Mikheil Chudanelli

The Women’s 4.5 Red league has the most teams in the league and teams that are closely competitively to one another. It was anyone’s guess who would be in the playoffs as several teams were within a point or 2 from one another. Northbrook eeked out a win against North Shore 2 in the playoffs and went on to edge out the #1 regular season team Midtown-Bannockburn in the Finals. Every match was close with 4 of the matches going to a 3rd set. Kneeling L-R: Mary Ann Simpson, Linda Redstone, Olga Ovnanyan, Nicki Kott & Liesel Jankelowitz; Back Row L-R: Sharon Yagoda, Jan Gaines, Jim Doessel, Barb Lafasto, Penny Naal, Tammy Levin, Michele Lustig, Steve Heaviland & Ania Snape.

Midtown-Bannockburn hosted the NC Women’s 3.0 Thursday Doubles Finals on 5/10. While The Racquet Club of Lake bluff and Glenbrook were in the finals, they, along with the rest of the teams in this league, have been slowly nurturing their players’ level of play and teaching them the fine art of doubles. Rules had to be learned and explained and a lot was done by everyone to ensure their players were ready when they stepped out on the court. The RC of Lake Bluff was more than ready as they swept all 4 matches. From left to right: Georgene Loos, Susan Moorman, Mihaela Polander, Andrea McCardl, Lisa Hunt, Coach Leslie McPeek, Anna Rogewicz, Donna Mazur, Kelli Ventling, Anne Carlins.

The Women’s 4.0-4.5+ Singles matches were different from the 3.0-4.0 singles matches in that there were no split sets. No one strayed from their mission of taking it in two sets. So when it came down to deciding who the winner was, a bit of addition was needed. The hosts, Northbrook Racquet Club, had to start counting games since the matches were tied and the sets were tied. North Shore, unfortunately, had to default a court which made the difference in how close the game count was, less of an issue. Midtown-Bannockburn came out ahead 50-39 in games.

Not only is singles a physically challenging game but it is a mentally challenging game. You’re up a break, then down a set, then down a break and up a set and now it’s up to the 10-point match tie-breaker to decide the outcome. The singles matches were hosted by The Racquet Club of Lake Bluff who also had a team in the Finals. Of the 4 matches played, three of the matches went to a match breaker. The match on court 1 was a 2 set win for Midtown-Bannockburn. But then it was crunch time. If Midtown-Bannockburn won one of those match tie-breakers, the matches would have been tied and they would have won in sets. But the players from RCLB, gathered their focus and won all of the match tie-breakers which allowed them to be the Champions once again. Kneeling: left to right – Paige Clifford, Holly Field; Standing: left to right – Sharon Deram, Kate Amaral, Fauzia Alsifiki

Midtown-Bannockburn were the hosts of the NC Women’s 4.0 Wednesday League Finals on May 9th and also had a team in the finals. While the MTB 2 team strong-armed their opponents (North Shore)6-0 it was not without a fight. Three of the matches split sets and everyone out on the courts gave it their all. In the end, the players from both clubs came together to socialize after the matches which was a pleasant way to end the competition. From left to right: captain Jeff Bernales, Deb Kunz, Kris Blaser, Jaime Sylvan, Diane Egan, Christy Greeley, Andrea Brown, Julie Walsh,

The NC Men’s 4.0-4.5+ Singles matches were played on May 6th at The Lincolnshire Club with Libertyville pitted against Midtown-Palatine. All but one match went to a tie-breaker. Midtown-Palatine and Libertyville were tied in matches, but Mike Joung was able to pull out a straight set win which put Midtown-Palatine’s team ahead of Libertyville’s team by 1 set. From left to right: Peter Johnson, Mike Joung, and Trevor DeSilva

It was Libertyville’s first year participating in the Girls High School League and they came out on top as Champions of the league. The Finals of the Girls High School league took place at College Park Athletic Club East on May 5th. Their opponents were Midtown-Palatine who came into the playoffs as the team to beat. Libertyville won Court 1; Midtown-Palatine won Court 2. Court 3 would determine who would be crowned champions. The first set went to Midtown-Palatine 6-2; the second set went to Libertyville 6-0; it all came down to the 3rd set with 6-4 win by Libertyville. From left to right: Coach Alex Donkor, Mel Solheim, Amy Dolan, Fenia Kaporos, Paige Merritt, Michelle Kannenberg and Megan Merritt. Congratulations to all.

The Midtown-Palatine team finished first with an undefeated record in regular season play in the CITA Girls’ High School League but came up short against Libertyville’s team in the Finals. Libertyville won 2-1. The players from left to right are Suffia Alvi, Sanaa Walia, Callie Schmit, Cassidy Seo, Lucia Stumbras and Christina Rao. Not pictured are Analise Donaghue, Erin, Guarnieri, Carly Kasicki, Stephanie Roatis, Mel Wilson and Sam Wilson.

The Boys High School League FINALS will take place at College Park Athletic Club East on Saturday, January 28th, from 6pm to completion.