The final scores are in, and the standings are up to date. Here are the winners:
Division One: Jones/Pewowaruk/Hodge
Division Two: Fursa/Hettinger
I present my team's lineup not in order of importance but in accordance with the roster listed on the league website. Ours was an evenly distributed effort from start to finish. When Dave P. went down in week three, Dave Hodge stepped in to keep us afloat. Then, like clockwork, when I fell prey to a mild bout of forearm strain last week, Dave P. returned from retirement to seal our first-place status with a week-seven win. It's an inspiring reminder that cooperation and commitment form the foundation of a doubles squad's success.
What a session of memorable matches we witnessed! There were lots of three setters and countless extended points. No one enters a tennis match with the belief that losing is desirable, but I'd like to think (hoping not to sound cliche) that the most rewarding benefit we've derived over the last seven weeks is a strong sense of community with our fellow players. It's great to be able to hop on my bike on any given evening and find league participants slugging it out at Soldiers Field. Such a setting in every way mirrors the underlying purpose of a local tennis league.
I'm not fond of numbers, but I guess I'll provide a few. Division One saw a match-completion rate of 86 percent. The 14-percent deficit represents repeated forfeits by one team. In Division Two, 67 percent of all matches were played, with several forfeits spawned by injuries. Match completion is a delicate and vulnerable entity. It's also the most reliable measurement of a league's potency. If we aren't playing matches, we don't have much of a tennis league. I hope we can improve our numbers a bit next year. Thanks, however, to those of you who did everything in your power to play every week.
As you know, the structure of our first doubles session was governed by trial and error in many ways. Maksim and I have several changes in mind for next year. One involves the implementation of three-player teams rather than two-player teams with subs. Maybe three-player teams with subs would work as well. If you have thoughts on how we might improve the league in any fashion, please don't hesitate to pass them on. Just email Maksim or me at your convenience.
The potential still exists for a mid-summer or late-summer doubles tournament. We'll be in touch as details take shape. Feel free to offer input on that possibility as well.
Thanks to Maksim for taking on the herculean task of adding doubles to his already demanding management duties. Thanks also to Steven Soltis for improving the efficiency of the documents we use to calculate standings. And thanks, of course, to everyone who participated in the doubles league this session. We hope to see you again next spring.
