2025 June in Review - Independence Championships & Summer Season Starts!
- D.F.O. Editorial Staff
- Jul 3
- 8 min read
June means two things - the Summer 3.0 season is well under way and the fourth event of the 3.0 tour is taking place! Check out the links below to check out info on the Midwest Independence Open as well as the opening of the USTA 3.0 Summer leagues!
Midwest Independence Open Crowns a New 3.0 Champ!
The midpoint of the 3.0 tournament season took place in the beautiful confines of Western Reserve Academy ... until rain showed up and moved much of the event to the beautiful INDOOR confines of CVAC. Either way, so much 3.0 beauty! And so much excitement, as a new champion would for sure be crowned as the previous champions were either playing tennis in college or in the pros (i.e., 3.5). So who would take home the title?! Read on!
Format
Best of three sets, making this event one of only two events that make participants GO THE DISTANCE!
Participants
Jeffrey Liu (Med Mutual) #1 Seed, Sayyad Bajee Shiek (Paramount Medina) #2 Seed, Jason Kucharski (Mayfield Village RC) #3 Seed, Jim Hester (Wembley) #4 Seed, Johannes Brandon (CVAC), Kyle Cornell (Unattached), Joe Ferrara (Avon Oaks), Jeff Gardner (Cleveland RC), Nik Kolidakis (Avon Oaks), Eric Martin (Ohio Valley), Mark Miller (Paramount Westlake), Scandy Philip (Unattached).
A who's who of 3.0 stars! Jeffrey, one of the top singles players on the west-side earned the top seed while Sayyad, 2024 We Love Doubles Champion, was right behind. Meanwhile, tournament vet and multiple bronze medal winner Jason looked to advance on the medal stand while relative newbie Jim rounded out the top four.
Round of 16 - Friday, June 27
Scandy d. Joe 6-2, 6-2
Kyle d. Johannes 6-1, 6-2
Eric d. Mark 6-4, 6-3
Nik d. Jeff 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (7)
The event started on a hot, humid Friday, but that didn't stop this 3.0 stars from plying their 3.0 trade. Highlights of the opening round included Scandy, using every bit of his 65+ experience, taking an opening win, while West Virginia's own, Eric, defeated 3.0 tournament veteran Mark in a closely contested back and forth match. Nik, meanwhile, enjoyed his first ever tournament win in comeback style, eeking out a THIRD SET SUPER TIEBREAK win to advance to the Quarterfinals!
Quarterfinals - Saturday, June 28
Scandy d. #1 Jeffrey 6-3, 7-6 (4)
Kyle d. #4 Jim 6-3, 6-0
Eric d. #3 Jason 6-1, 5-7, 1-0 (7)
Sayyad #2 d. Nik 6-2, 6-4
Due to inclement weather, many of the matches were either moved back or moved entirely, leading to logistical nightmares that wrecked havoc upon this high profile athletes who are used to a honed routine. As such, there were a number of surprising upsets that took place on day two of the event, including Scandy's huge win in a THIRD SET SUPER TIEBREAK over #1 seed Jeffrey ... DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES?! Meanwhile, West Va's very own Eric did the same versus tournament vet Jason, and in a back and forth match, Eric was able to overcome Jason's sweet one-handed backhand, also in a THIRD SET SUPER TIEBREAK! Indeed, as Sayyad was the only ranked seed to advance, thanks to his win over Avon Oaks' Nik, the tournament looked to be his for the taking. BUT WOULD HE?!
Semifinals & Finals - Sunday, June 29
Scandy d. Kyle 6-1, 6-2
Sayyad d. Eric 6-1, 6-4
Championship Sunday got off to a fast 9am start as both Scandy and Sayyad defeated game opponents in Kyle and Eric - both of whom qualified to their first ever Semifinals in their first ever tournaments! - to reach the finals. However, due to inclement weather, the championship final would take place almost immediately after the semis ... so who would be ready to go that quickly? The experience of Scandy or the championship pedigree of Sayyad?
YOU'LL HAVE TO WAIT TO FIND OUT!
Consolation Quarterfinals - Saturday
Nik d. Joe (WD)
Johannes d. Jason 3-0, RET (Inj)
Jim d. Mark (WD)
Jeffrey d. Jeff 6-2, 6-2
Despite a first match loss, these 3.0 stalwarts still had a chance at 3.0 glory - the Consolation Championship! And highlights of said championship started early as ... nearly half the field withdrew or were injured. Still, sometimes "availability is the best ability," and as such Nik, Johannes, and Jim all enjoyed 3.0 style wins while #1 seed Jeffrey defended his seeding with a victory!
Consolation Semifinals - Sunday
Johannes d. Nik 7-6 (2), 6-3
Jeffrey d. Jim 6-1, 6-1
The Consolation Semifinals saw the first seeded match take place as #1 seed Jeffrey enjoyed a victory over #4 seeded Jim!
Consolation Finals - Sunday
Jeffrey d. Johannes 6-4, 6-4
Championship Sunday didn't disappoint as Jeffrey, the top seed, and Johannes, with a cool Dutch name, went back and forth despite playing their second match in a row! In the end, the #1 seed proved his worth as Jeffrey narrowly won each set to claim his first ever 3.0 hardware in his second ever tournament event! And while it may be invisible hardware, it's mental hardware nonetheless!
Championship Finals - Sunday
Sayyad d. Scandy 4-6, 5-5 RET (Inj)
Playing immediately after their semifinal wins, both Sayyad, the #2 seed, and Scandy, unseeded yet with 65+ years of experience, needed to immediately get ready mentally and physically, despite the hot conditions, for the biggest match of their lives (and probably the biggest day and event of their lives ... EVER!). Scandy, with his veteran moxy, took charge early, using his years of seasoning to push his opposition around the 78' battleground! Indeed, when the first set was complete, Scandy was but one set away from victory! Sayyad though, wasn't about to give in, and using his championship experience from 2024, he rallied (literally) in the second, and looked on the cusp to pushing the second set to the brink!
Alas, as most 3.0 tennis warriors know, the 78' colosseum in which these gladiators perform is one that requires not just skill, but stamina, and sadly, an event that had claimed 20% of the participants due to injury (or "withdrawal," which for the purposes of this hyperbolic statement we're including as "injuries") claimed yet another - Scandy. After 20 games in the championship match and 15 games in the semifinals, Scandy fell to injury, unable to tennis any longer. Yet, like the valiant gladiators of yore, however, Scandy had left his mark, becoming the eldest finalist since Tommie Ford!
Congrats to all the participants on a great 4th Annual Midwest Independence Open event! From first time participants to veteran tournament players, to Jeffrey and Scandy earning their first ever finals appearances to Sayyad becoming the 11th 3.0er to join the singles and doubles tournament trophy club, congrats to all!
But especially Sayyad!
Summer League
The 2025 USTA Summer season is upon us ... even though it started in the spring! Be that as it may, here's the (late) low down one what's what in Ohio ... which also includes West Virginia!
18+ Leagues
NEO
Flight 1 - La Tuchie, Medical Mutual, Mayfield Village R.C., Western Reserve, Paramount Medina
Flight 2 - Medical Mutual, Mayfield Village R.C. Cleveland Skating Club, Chagrin Valley R.C., Wembley, Cleveland R.C.
Flight 3/4 - North Canton R.C., Green, Towpath, Fairlawn; Paramount Westlake, TOCA, La Tuchie, Paramount Medina
The NEO legends are back at it as Captain Eric from La Tuchie and Captain Dave from Med Mutual highlight Flight 1. Meanwhile, Captain Mike of Mayfield looks to make a second run to the playoffs after his Spring success in Flight 2 while in Flight 3/4, playoff experienced NCRC and Paramount Westlake, look for return trips to the promised land (i.e., extra tennis they have to pay for).
NWO
Flights - One
There may be only one flight with the Toledo-based leagues, but with 16 teams, they'll be playing an enormous amount of 3.0 tennis to make it to the three team playoffs! Captain Kristopher's Two's Athletic Club and Hall of 3.0 Famer Jim's Southview will no doubt be in the mix, but don't count out Perrysburg T.C., Toledo T.C., Shadow Valley, and singles stalwart Captain Adam's Fallen Timbers!
OHVA
Flights - Three (or possibly five ... we're not sure how the winter/fall leagues work ... so maybe ... eight ... but there was a Winter Flight and a Fall Flight)
One of the rising areas of Midwest tennis takes place in the diverse multi-region (and state!) area that is Ohio Valley in which three for-sure Flights exist - Dayton, Charleston, and Columbus. In Dayton, Captain Tim's Schroeder T.C. won the Winter Championship while Five Season's Captain Alan took the Fall Championship, meaning they'll meet up this August in the District playoffs (we think)! Charleston, meanwhile, Teays Valley enjoyed a 4-2 season to book their trip to Districts as well. Columbus, perhaps the fastest growing tennis center in all the OHVA, has two new trophy holders, Elysium T.C. for the Fall Championship and Scarborough East for the Winter, with both taking out last year's story of the year, Wickertree, to head to Districts!
40+ Leagues
NEO
Flight 1 - North Ridge, Paramount Westlake, Avon Oaks1, Avon Oaks2, Western Reserve, TOCA
Flight 2/3 - North Canton, Wembley, CVAC, Towpath; Mayfield Village, Paramount Medina, Springside, La Tuchie
In Flight 1, Hall of 3.0 Famer Captain Robert is looking to lead his beloved North Ridge back to playoff glory as the defending District Champion! But to do so, he'll have to get past Paramount Westlake's Captain John, last season's Flight winner! In Flight 2/3, Captain Rhonda is looking for. a repeat performance of her own as she tries to get MVRC back to playoff glory as well!
NWO
Flight 1 - BGSU, Fallen Timbers, Perrysburg TC
Captain Jason's BGSU team is looking to repeat his Flight win from last season in this three team, 3.0 race!
OHVA
Flight 1 - VHTA, Ketterington
Dayton has two big clubs vying for post-season magic as the Virginia Hollinger Tennis Association vies for it's first ever Flight title!
55+ and 65+ Leagues
Flight 1 - North Ridge, CVAC, Towpath, Paramount Westlake
Will North Ridge, last season's champs, repeat? Or will one of these young* gun challengers take the title?
Flight 1 - Teays Valley, YMCA
For the first time in a long time (or ever?), OHVA has a 55+ Flight which means ... HISTORY SHALL BE MADE!
Flight 1 - CVAC, Paramount Westlake, Towpath
Which of these veterans of the 3.0 courts will ply their 3.0 trade at Nationals? Because it's win NEO and win the entire Midwest!
Check back next month when we find out who all the winners actually turn out to be!
Spoiler alert - THEY'RE ALL WINNERS!