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.