It was a battle of the Midtowns in the finals of the Women’s Thursday 4.0-4.5 Singles CITA league – Palatine 1 vs. Bannockburn. After tying 2-2 in matches and 4-4 in sets, Palatine came out on top 36-31 in games. Congrats to both teams for battling to the end!

Pictured from left: Renee Buxton, Shahnaz Kelleher, Ki Kellen, Linda Zucco

The Fullerton Classic was a dynamite NC 4.5 finals. This is the reference we use in the city when LSSF plays MTC.

The finals at 5 seasons was everything and more you want in a match to end the season. To put it into perspective, the last match finished around 2:30pm, there were multiple 3 setters and a match that had a tie-breaker going to 14-12.

With many moments of opportunity for both teams LSSF was able to grab a few more and swing the match to a 4-2 victory.

Congratulations to both teams for a great 2018-19 season!

This year’s Libertyville HS Girl’s team is the most balanced they’ve ever had. Both of their two teams made it to the the finals.In the end, It was Lifesport Libertyville and Racquet club of Lake Bluff in the finals, a rematch for the third straight year. . Line 1 was the most highly contested with all four players giving it their best. It came down to the third set with Libertyville prevailing. Line 3 went to a strong RCLB team, so it came down to the final match. Everyone was cheering for their respective team. The Libertyville team took the first set. The second set was neck and neck as RCLB showed they never give up, saving 10 match points! But in the end, at 5-4 the LIB girls closed out the win at 6-4. Kudos to both teams, and congratulations to the the High School Programming led by team captain and Director Gian.

2018 runner up CPAC came out victorious after a tough battle with MTB in the 4.5 division. After splitting 3 total matches to 3, CPAC had two straight set wins and MTB had only one. Thus, CPAC walked away with the title winning 8 combined sets to 7.

Just like the 4.5 division, men’s open division was a nail biter between NSRC and 2018 runner up CPAC. Exact same scenario as the 4.5 division, NSRC and CPAC split 2 total matches to 2. The match was decided by the only straight set win out of 4 matches on court 2 by Frank Chen and Tony Larson of CPAC. The division title would have gone the other way if NSRC were to forced a third set on court 2 as NSRC had more overall games than CPAC.

In a great 3.0 final LSSF bested CPAC (E) 4-0. This score is far from what took place out on the courts at host club CPAC (W). The matches were as tight and even as they could be. Due to this dynamic it really came down to a few crucial points at the right moments that put the momentum in LSSF’s hands to take the title.
Congratulations to both teams as they left it all out on the court in the final.

LSSF bested RTTC in the 3.5 NC finals 5-1. The final score does not reflect the hard fought efforts by both teams. There were many moments of back and forth that had the team supporters bitting their nails up until the end.

It was a final that represents what the CITA is all about- fun competition and respectable, fair play. A wonderful match to watch! Thanks go out to GRC for being an outstanding host site for the 3.5 finals as well. Congratulations to both squads for a having a great 2018-19 CITA season!

Left to right: Peter Krizman, Ryan Jump, Michael Raymond, Vic Iyer and Peter Morawieki.

The 4.5 Men’s singles finals was held at LifeSport Lincolnshire on Sunday, May 5th. Racquet Club of Lake Bluff and Lifesport Libertyville came ready to play. In the end, Lake Bluff was victorious winning the contest 3-1. Both teams were excited to participate in the finals and are looking forward to the next CITA season.

Players from left to right are Peter Smith, Dimitri Hadjiizanov, Joe McCartney and John Friedman

 

On April 21, 2018, the NWW Multi-Level league played their mini-playoffs. For the championship and the trophy, the 1st and 2nd place teams, Libertyville and Midtown-Palatine, were ready to put into play all they learned throughout the season. Both teams had won 2 of the 4 matches they played against each other during the regular season. Midtown-Palatine slipped past Libertyille for the top spot by winning two additional sets and winning 7-5. This is the 2nd year in a row Midtown-Palatine has won the Multi-Level Mini-Playoffs. Congratulations! Glenbrook and Midtown-Bannockburn vied for 3rd and 4th place. There was a slight eligibility problem, but the matches played on. All in all, it was close. Both teams won 6 sets each. And the game scores came out to 55-54 with GRC winning. But because of the ineligible player, all points went to GRC.
Pictured from left: Martha Davis, Tomoko Sekigami, Jen Grady, Eileen Felicelli, Jenn Zientarski, Ki Kellen, Wendy Rowden, Jessica Wagner, Saree Peltin, Maureen Ahern, Erica Donofrio, Michelle Kondrat
Not pictured: Allison Biergans, Renee Buxton, Erica Eisner, Anne Feely, Pierina Ferruzza, Nicole Koviak, Debbie Lancaster, Karen Majerczak, Allyn Selesky, Joanna White, Alpna Yousfi

Front: Rosy Hugener, Juliana Schafer, Maura Starshak, Vina Maniquis, Kathleen Katz
Back: Coach Joey Salerno, Cheryl Cutinho, Erin Alvarez, Julia Stellar, Christine Rosenkrantz, Christine Kupfer, Cindy Yule, Mandy Shaw, Jean Sawin, Coach Mo Modesto
Far Back: Lead Coach Andy Mabadi
College Park West started the season well against Midtown-Chicago winning 11.5-6.5 but Midtown-Chicago turned the tables on them at the end of the season winning 11.5-6.5. Midtown-Chicago wins the trophy and the 2018 Champions medallions capping a solid season in this league. College Park East brought their “A” game against Five Seasons winning 15-3 and Libertyville had a decisive win against Lakeshore winning 13-5.

Pictured from left to right: Captain Dayna Imhoff, Sharon Henahan, Wendy Rowden, Allison Biergans, Rosy Hugener, Madelon Queenan, Donna Beechick, Kristen Bouchard, Becky Vallorano, Linda Zucco

Not pictured: Maureen Ahern, Rose Alberts, Renee Buxton, Eileen Felicelli, Liz Freeman, Keeley Hart, Donna Johnson, Shahnaz, Kelleher, Ki Kellen, Van Ann Kim, Davida Kozlowski, Karen Majerczak, Cassie Miller, Leslie Modelski, Suzanne Rich

Midtown-Palatine took the top spot away from River Trails winning 12-6. River Trails had dominated the league throughout the season but Midtown-Palatine had a decisive win against RTTC back in February so they knew they had a chance to give a repeat performance and they did! Congratulations to Midtown-Palatine’s NWW 4.5 Red team.

The NW Women’s 3.5 Mini-Playoffs took place on April 25, 2018 with Midtown-Chicago 1 and Midtown-Palatine taking each other on for the trophy. For three years in a row Midtown-Palatine has taken the top spot in the league, but Midtown-Chicago 1 said not so fast, we want to disrupt your winning streak and put our names on the trophy. MTC 1 won 7-5 over MTP. In the other matchups, MTC 2 squeezed by LIB 2 6.5-5.5, LIB 1 overtook FSSC 9.5-2.5, NSRC kept their 7th place finish over CPAC-E 10-2, RTTC tied with RCLB in sets but came out ahead in games 52-46, and CPAC-West 2 battled it out with their sister team CPAC-West 1 with CPAC-West 2 winning 9-3.

On April 20, 2018, the Northwest Open Championship took place. North Shore 2 was competing against College Park East for the trophy. Both teams have solid lineups and looking at the match scores the matches were competitive. North Shore has pretty much locked in on this trophy except in 2014 and 2015 when College Park East won. Congratulations to North Shore 2 for their 3-peat! Midtown-Palatine edged out North Shore 1 for 3rd place. Their sets were tied but MTP won 72 to NSRC 1’s 61 games. Northbrook edged out Midtown-Chicago and took the 5th place spot. And Libertyville remained in 7th place against FSSC. Great playing everyone and see you on the courts!

NW Women’s 3.5 Mini-Playoffs
The Northwest Women’s 3.5 season came to an end on April 26th with mini-playoffs played by all teams in the league. After 13 weeks of matches, the top 2 teams vie for the trophy with the rest of the teams trying for one last win. For the 3rd year in a row, Midtown-Palatine won the NWW3.5 mini-playoffs with a decisive win over College Park. This is the 2nd year in a row that Midtown-Palatine and College Park East faced off against each other in the mini-playoffs. Last year, Midtown-Palatine was in 2nd place going into the mini-playoffs and took the top spot from CPAC-E. This year, from the end of October on, Midtown-Palatine held on to the #1 spot for the rest of the season. The other matchups were as follows: Midtown-Chicago kept their #3 spot against Libertyville 2. Libertyville 1 moved ahead of Glenbrook taking the #5 spot. Lincolnshire won against North Shore for #7 and #8 respectively and Five Seasons and RC Lake Bluff finished off the pairings with FSSC over RCLB.

On April 22, 2017, the Northwest Women’s Multi-Level league will play mini-playoffs to cap the season. There are 4 teams in this league. For the third year in a row #1 Midtown-Palatine and #2 Glenbrook will be playing for the trophy. Two years ago MTP won by 3 games and last year GRC won 8.5-3.5. The other matchup is #3 Libertyville vs. #4 Midtown-Bannockburn.

On April 21, 2017, the Northwest Women’s Open will play mini-playoffs to cap the season. There are 11 teams in this league. For the third year in a row #1 North Shore 2 and #2 College Park East will be playing for the trophy. Two years ago CPAC-E won and last year NSRC 2 won (by 7 games no less). The other matchups are as follows: Midtown-Palatine vs. Glenbrook; North Shore 1 vs. Midtown-Chicago; Libertyville vs Five Seasons; Northbrook vs. River Trails; and RC Lake Bluff (Bye).

The season started with College Park in 1st place after the 1st match and Midtown-Palatine in 3rd place. As the season went on there came to be a 3-way tie between CPAC-East, GRC and MTP. As it happened, on that date, CPAC-East and MTP played against each other and MTP won that matchup 7.5-4.5 which gave them the points needed for the tie. Fast forward to the end of the season – College Park East was in 1st place and Midtown-Palatine in 2nd place except this time they were playing for the trophy. Last year Midtown-Palatine wrested the #1 spot from North Shore. And this year they did the same against College Park East winning 8.5-3.5. On court 1 CPAC’s Nikki Krakowski/Tiffany Simanek bested MTP’s Davida Kozlowski/Beth Zawilenski 6-1, 6-2, 6-3. On court 2, MTP’s Erica Donofrio/Allyn Selesky squeaked out a 1st set tie-breaker win over CPAC’s Stephanie Cohen/Heather Curtis then burst out with a 6-2, 1-0 win. On court 3 MTP’s Bev Vacval/Sally Fessenden won against CPAC’s Karen Borgerding/Susan Chaplik 7-5, 6-1, 6-4 and on court 4 MTP’s Elizabeth Jiminez/Alicia Tisbo won gainst CPAC’s Angelee Boyd, Anne Douglas.

Last year, Midtown-Palatine came away with the trophy against Glenbrook. This year it was Glenbrook’s turn. Glenbrook won courts 1, 2 and 3 and Midtown-Palatine took court 4. This league has a variety of levels so on match day one team may have a decisive win over the other and the next time they play it’s the other team’s turn to win. Nice playing everyone!