1.  CITA matches will resume Wednesday, February 3rd.  We will plan on continuing the schedule set forth at the beginning of the season.  All matches not played will be deleted from the schedule.

2.  Until further notice, face masks will be REQUIRED for all CITA matches. While individually some clubs may have different rules regarding face masks, we felt that it is in the best interest of the league to provide a consistent policy for face masks.  I’m sure we are all looking forward to getting to the point where masks are no longer necessary.  If there becomes a time when the policy is not required, we will notify every one of the change.

3.  We will continue the option for playing, without penalty, 4 (or 5) courts in the 6 court leagues, and 3 courts in the 4 court leagues.  Same rules as the fall will apply:  You must notify the opposing captain a minimum of 3 days in advanceif you intend to play reduced courts for your matches.

4. We will be offering one (1) can of tennis balls for the matches.  If a player would like to play with their own set of balls for the match, the home club must offer that player additional tennis balls for that player.

5.  We plan to have playoffs at the same time as originally scheduled.  We will make a determination regarding number of courts played for the playoffs as we get closer to that time and have a better idea of the environment that we are faced in regard to COVID.

6.  We are also planning on our Annual Meeting Wednesday, May 12th at 10:00am.  Meeting place TBD.

Fellow CITA members: With the introduction the new Tier Three Mitigations, CITA regrets to announce the suspension of the league matches through the end of December. We hope to be back to playing league play as soon as it is determined safe for all involved.

From left: Pam Blumenthal, Lindy Rosenberg, Coach Sammy Tesimu, Dana Schnurman & Karyn Guttormsen.

MT-Bannockburn and Libertyville brought their best for the singles championship. This was a first time 4.5/Open singles finals matchup between these two clubs and the players were excited to play. Being familiar with each other from the season, the matches were tightly contested. One court went to a third set tie-breaker and in the end, MT-Bannockburn prevailed 3-1.

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