NWWML Champions-MTP

Two. Give it a second to sink in. Two. As in 2 games. That’s what it came down to…2 games. The Northwest Women’s Saturday Multi-Level league ended the season on 4/25/15 with #1 Midtown-Palatine playing against #2 Glenbroook. This match was for the trophy. On court 1 GRC’s Christi Turdo and Suzanne Carr played against MTP’s Alpna Yousfi and Erica Eisner. GRC won 6-3, 6-3, 6-1. On court 2 GRC’s Natalie Diorio and Jen Grady played against MTP’s Renee Buxton and Martha Davis. GRC won again 7-5, 6-3, 6-0. GRC won the two matches that were played at Midtown-Palatine. Courts 3 and 4 were played at Glenbrook. On court 3, MTP’s Eileen Felicelli and Sylvia Nelson won their match against GRC’s Katie Sullivan and Judy Caruso 6-2, 6-2, 6-3. On court 4, MTP’s Wendy Rowden and Dina Skinner also won their match against GRC’s Amy Allen and Carolynn Carr 6-4,6-0, 6-1. The teams were tied in matches (2-2), in sets (6-6) so it came down to counting the games with Midtown-Palatine squeaking a win by two games 51-49 to bring home the trophy. WoW!!! Nice playing everyone!!
Pictured from left to right: Alpna Yousfi, Sylvia Nelson, Eileen Felicelli, Dina Skinner, Wendy Rowden, Renee Buxton, Erica Eisner, Martha Davis
Not pictured: Sheryl Albert, Janet Bell, Karen Griebel, Nedra Harris, Roberta Honquest, Debbie Lancaster, Janet Williams

College Park East won the Northwest Women’s Open league for the 2^nd year in a row.  Last year it was against Glenbrook and this year it was against North Shore 2.  Both of these teams have a nice group of strong players throughout their lineup as was evidenced by the matches.  On court 1, CPAC-E’s Allison Morgan and Audrey Koopsen played against Becky Moffatt and Donna Chudacoff.  It was a close competitive match with CPAC-E winning 7-6(4), 6-3, 1-3.  On court 2, NSRC’s Lisa Culp and Judy Bavlsik played against CPAC-E’s Sally Miller and Heather Borzak.  Lisa and Judy are very good at finding the right strategy to take away your strengths.  They won 6-4, 6-1, 2-2.  On court 3, CPAC-E’s Denise Murphy and Suzanne DeMirjian has a slow start against NSRC’s Kelly Chestnut and Tina Baldwin but found their rhythm after the 1^st set to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.  The top 3 courts finished their matches at 12:30 PM with each team winning 4.5 points.  A tie thus far.  Courts 4-6 started their matches at 12:30 PM.  On court 4, CPAC-E’s Katrina Busse and Debbie Fisch squeaked out a tie-breaker win in the first set winning 7-6 (5) but NSRC roared back with a 6-0 2^nd set win.  The 3^rd set was a tie 1-2.  On court 5, Debbie Clark and Nadine Woldenberg provided CPAC-E the needed 3 set win over NSRC’s Beth Robitaille and Carla Young.  NSRC won 6-2, 6-1, 6-1.  On court 6, NSRC’s Jen Fisher and Laura Ulrich and CPAC-E’s Nancy Moran and Patty Lambropoulos must have had some long points.  NSRC won the 1^st set 6-3 but the 2^nd set ended in a 6-6 tie when time ran out.  Nice playing everyone!

Three-peat!!!  Lakeshore did it again.  Two years ago Lakeshore beat River Trails 9.5-8.5.  Last year they beat Midtown-Chicago 11-7.  This year Midtown-Chicago edged a little closer in points, 8 to Lakeshore’s 10, but Lakeshore held them off to secure their rights to the trophy once again.  Out of curiosity, I looked at their regular season match played on 2/6/15.  The score at that match was 9-9.  Upon closer examination, not only were they tied in points but they were also tied in games.  So if this had been the mini-playoff match they would have had to share the trophy!  But I digress.  Lakeshore won 10-8 and this is how they did it.  On court 1, LSSF’s Sara Aldinger and Nancy Gaspadarek lost the 1^st set but won sets 2 & 3 against MTC’s Cheryl Imo and Kirste Gaudet.  On court 2 LSSF’s Gwen Pontikes and Beth Hermann won 2.5 points against MTC’s Laurie Gilman and Autumn Barrett.  On court 3 MTC’s Sophia Naiditch and LorRonda Miller lost the 1^st set to MTC’s Tina Chang and Hilary Bruce in a tie-breaker but took sets 2 & 3.  On court 4 LSSF’s Emily Emmerman and Anne Edwards won the 1^st set easily, lost some momentum and squeezed on a 2^nd set tie-breaker win against MTC’s Kathy Rain and Rebecca Bacote who won the 3^rd set 5-3.  On court 5, LSSF’s Tina Leopardo and Deirdre Jameson had a close match against MTC’s Claire Perry and Colette Kelsey but LSSF’s team won 2.5pts in that match.  On court 6 the only court to sweep all 3 points, MTC’s Sarah Rothman and Corinne Pinsof-Kaplan defeated LSSF’s Marta Bonner and Judy Paisner.  Nice playing everyone!

Libertyville 1 started the season in 1^st place and ended the season in 1^st place.  It wasn’t so easy getting there.  College Park West and Libertyville 1 were tied on 3/6.  It depended on the 3/20 match to sort out who would be in the trophy match.  LIB 1 won on 3/20 and CPAC-West lost that day giving LIB 1 a chance at the trophy against North Shore.  LIB 1’s court 1 team, Carola Nesbitt and Debbie Petz defeated NSRC’s, Leanne Larson and Liz Visiljevich giving LIB 1 3pts.  On court 2 NSRC’s Maria Ianucci and Margie Killeen squeaked out the 3^rd point before time ran out against LIB 1’s Linda Ballinger and Kathy Civik.  NSRC won court 3 by default.  On court 4, it was a tie.  LIB 1’s Molly Enselein and Nora Butrym won the 1^st set and NSRC’s Paige Hopkins and Traci Zirin won the 2^nd set and the 3^rd set was a tie at 3-3.  On court 5, LIB 1’s Demeke Carreathers and Terri Skupien secured the win for the team by winning 2.5 points against NSRC’s Allison Aron and Chris Leutz.  LIB 1 received a default on court 6.  The final score LIB 1 – 10pts to NSRC – 8pts.  Nice playing everyone!

The Northwest Women’s 4.5 Green and Red Mini-Playoffs are on April 17th.  For the NWW 4.5 Green league the trophy match is between North Shore and Libertyville 1.  For the 3rd and 4th place spots, College Park West will take on Libertyville 2.  And for the 5th and 6th place spots, Lincolnshire vies against College Park East.

The NWW 4.5 Red league trophy match is between Midtown-Chicago and Lakeshore.  Last year Lakeshore won.  For the 3rd and 4th place spots, River Trails will take on Glenbrook.  For the 5th and 6th place spots, RC Lake Bluff pits itself against North Shore.  For the 7th and 8th place spots, Northbrook will match itself up against Midtown-Palatine.  Five Seasons, in 9th place, will receive a Bye.

Good luck everyone!!

Midtown-Palatine held off North Shore to become the Northwest Women’s 3.5 Champions beating them 6.5-5.5.  North Shore won courts 1 and 3 and Midtown-Palatine won courts 2 and 4.  The only difference was on court 1 where time ran out and the 3rd set was tied 3-3.  The .5 pt made the difference.  College Park East came in 3rd against Lincolnshire.  CPAC-E won 6.5-5.5 by winning courts 1 and 4.  Lincolnshire took courts 2 and 3 but ran out of time on court 2 and was not able to complete the 3rd set thus splitting that point.  The5th place Racquet Club of Lake Bluff took all 4 courts against Glenbrook.  And the 7th place Libertyville team also took all 4 courts against Five Seasons.

The Northwest Leagues end the season with Mini-Playoffs.  Mini-playoffs are an abbreviated playoff format utilizing the same format as the regular season with split courts and 2 hour timed matches.  BUT…the 1st place and 2nd place finishers vie for the TROPHY!  Each subsequent pairing vies for the higher level standing.  For the NWW3.5 League, it is #1 North Shore vs. #2 Midtown-Palatine; #3 College Park East vs. #4 Lincolnshire; #5 RC Lake Bluff vs. Glenbrook and #7 Libertyville vs. #8 Five Seasons.  Good luck everyone!

The last time Lakeshore played against Midtown-Chicago on 1/24/14, Midtown-Chicago edged out Lakeshore 9.5-8.5. Looking at the mini-playoff scores from their match on 4/25, it seems as if every court was closely matched up. On court 1, LSSF’s Gwen Pontikes and Beth Herman played against MTC’s Cheryl Imo and Sophia Naiditu winning the first set in a tie-breaker 7-6(6), 6-3, 1-4. On court 2, LSSF’s Nanacy Gaspadarek and Hilary Bruce won against MTC’s Autumn Barrett and Laurie Gillman 6-4, 6-3, 3-3. On court 3, it was a battle. MTC’s Mary Jo Schuler and LorRonda Miller won the 1st set 7-5 against MTC’s Tina Chang and Lisa Hillstrom but lost the 2nd set 4-6. The 3rd set was a tie at 5-5. Wow! On court 4, LSSF’s Emily Emmerman and Lisa Gregg gathered steam against MTC’s Corinne Pinsof-Kaplan and Becky Bohn winning 7-5, 6-3, 5-0. On court 5, another battle took place. MTC’s Kristina Hilb and Colette Kelsey won the 1st set in a tie-breaker 7-6(3) against LSSF’s Marta Bonner and Joanne Blankstein, but lost the 2nd set 6-4. The 3rd set was a tie at 2-2. Another Wow! On court 6, MTC’s Claire Perry and Robin Segesta won against LSSF’s Audrey Stoval and Judy Piccione 6-4, 7-5, 1-1. The total points from the mini-playoff…Lakeshore 11 – Midtown-Chicago 7. Congratulations to both teams!

Midtown-Palatine NWW4.5 Green Champions Top row l-r - Van Ann Kim, Suzanne Rich, Dayna Imhoff (captain), Leslie Modelski; Bottom row -Shelley Szela, Kristen Bouchard, Allison Biergans, Linda Zucco.

Midtown-Palatine started the season in first place and ended the season in first place beating Lincolnshire 13-5. Lincolnshire who held the top spot for most of the season wasn’t able to replicate their close win against Midtown-Palatine the last time they played against each other. Lincolnshire’s court 1, Vicki Caputo and Ann Schueneman took all three sets against Midtown-Palatine’s Suzanne Rich and Dayna Imhoff, 6-4, 6-2, 6-0. On Court 2, MTP’s Kristen Bouchard and Allison Biergans beat LINC’s Cena Glaser and Leslie Isaacson 6-3, 6-3, 6-4. On court 4, Linda Zucco and Shelley Szela did not let up against LINC’s Dawn Blain and Barb Haseman. They won 6-1, 6-3, 6-1. On court 4, Eileen Felicelli and Madelon Queenan won, lost, won against LINC’s Missy Frank and Astrid Herod, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2. On court 5, MTP’s Anne Collins and Donna Johnson couldn’t finish the 3rd set against LINC’s Maggie Gutkin and Heather Downes but was ahead 6-3, 6-3, 6-6 (4-2). On court 6, MTP’s Rose Alberts and Tomoko Sekigami had a very close match against LINC’s Connie Simpson and Gloria Omohundro, 7-5, 6-4, 2-2. Midtown-Palatine comes away from this mini-playoff as the champions of the NW Women’s 4.5 Green League.

NWW3.5 RCLB Champions L-R Standing: Georgene Loos, Camille Prindle, Midge Nelson, Vanessa Okelly, Tara Martin kneeling: Gigi Warren, Susan Moorman, Sarah Boyd

The last time North Shore played The Racquet Club of Lake Bluff on 3/19/14, North Shore won 9-3. But this was the mini-playoffs and RCLB prevailed with a 7-5 win over NSRC. On court 1, RCLB’s Midge Nelson and Susan Moorman won a close match against NSRC’s Jennifer Keenan and Shari Charlton 6-3, 7-5, 4-3. On court 2, RCLB’s Tara Martin and Sarah Boyd took the first 2 sets but gave up the 3rd set to NSRC’s Linda Genty and Chris Leutz. On court 3, it was a tie. NSRC’s Kathy Lobo and Keryl Klemm won the 1st set 7-5. Then RCLB’s Camille Prindle and Vanessa O’Kelly won the 2nd set 6-4. The 3 set had NSRC leading 4-3 when time was called. On court 4, NSRC’s Heather Martin and Candice Stepan had a see-saw match against RCLB’s Gigi Warren and Georgene Loos. The scores were 6-2, 0-6, 6-4.

NWW Multi-Level Champions - Libertyville

The teams from Libertyville and Midtown-Palatine came into the Mini-Playoffs fairly closely matched with only 2.5 points separating them.   Midtown-Palatine’s court 1 team of Sheryl Albert and Janet Williams won against Libertyville’s Zita Holeczy and Mary Therese Lee 6-4, 6-2, 6-2.  On court 2, LIB’s Marjorie Gaitan and Lory Zimmerman started out slow but gained momentum against MTP’s Sandy Clarke and Donna Johnson winning 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.  On court 3, LIB’s Karla Boucek and Tina McCoppin edged out MTP’s Eileen Felicelli and Debbie Lancaster 6-3, 4-6, 4-2.  On court 4, LIB’s Pam Morton and Kasia Domenech won against MTP’s Martha Davis and Janet Bell in a very close match 7-5, 6-4, 2-0.  The end result was Libertyville winning 7-5 against Midtown-Palatine.  Libertyville’s Captain Leslie Bogner wrote:  “They [the players] all said they had great tennis and the matches were a lot of fun.  We have had a great season; our team did a great job all year and we are looking forward to next season in the fall.”

The College Park East Women’s Open team edged out Glenbrook Racquet Club’s Women’s Open team by 1 point with a 9.5-8.5 win.  On court 1 CPAC-E’s Alison Morgan and Julia Sierks won against GRC’s Christi Turdo and Beth Druffel 6-2,6-2, 6-0.  On court 2 GRC’s Martina Wodzinski and Julie Hood  won against CPAC-E’s Denise Murphy and Heather Borzak 6-3, 6-4, 6-1.  On court 3, GRC’s Lauren Gallagher and Suzanne Pfeiffer had a see-saw match against CPAC-E’s Michelle Kasbeer and Debbie Clark 6-3, 1-6, 6-1.  On court 4, CPAC-E’s Suzanne DeMirjian and Lara Solonickne also had a see-saw match against GRC’s Kristin Lamarca and Natalie Diorio 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 – a close match.  On court 5, CPAC-E’s Sally Miller and Katrina Busse tied against GRC’s Kim Rust and Jenny Park 6-3, 6-7 (7), 2-2.  On court 6, CPAC-E’s Susie Selbst and Kathy Dietz pulled out the win against GRC’s Joyce Salsburg and Katherine Glattard 6-2, 6-1, 3-5.  Ryan Fleming, captain of the CPAC-E Women’s Open team said the following about the match:  “The Glenbrook team has always been a strong team.  They have very high level players and lots of experience.  [Our team] worked hard….  They have been willing to make changes and to work together as a team.  They have been dedicated to improving and have displayed good sportsmanship, character and integrity every step of the way.  We are really enjoying tennis together and can’t wait for another challenging year.”

The Northwest League 2014 Mini-Playoffs will begin with the Northwest Women’s Open matches on April 11th.  Vying for the number 1 spot is College Park East vs. Glenbrook.  For 3rd or 4th place North Shore’s 2 teams will be playing against each other.  For 5th or 6th place Northbrook will be playing against Lincolnshire.  For 7th and 8th place, River Trails will be playing against Midtown-Palatine.  For 9th and 10th place, Five Seasons will be playing against Libertyville.  The format will be similar to the regular season matches in that it is a timed 2 hour match.  The top 3 courts will play at the current higher position, i.e. CPAC-E, NSRC, NRC, RTTC, FSSC and the bottom 3 courts will play at the current lower position, i.e GRC, NSRC, LINC, MTP, LIB.

The Northwest Multi-Level mini-playoff matches will be on April 12th.  Vying for the number 1 spot is Libertyville vs. Midtown-Palatine.  For 3rd or 4th place, Midtown-Bannockburn will be playing against Glenbrook.  For 5th and 6th place, the two River Trails team have opted to not play their final match.  The top 3 courts will play at the current higher position, i.e. LIB and MTB and the bottom 3 courts will play at the current lower position, i.e. MTP and GRC.