2025 Playoffs - BGSU take 3rd at Nationals!

The most historic run in BGSU's 3.0 history ended with one of the most historic 3.0 runs in all of O-H-I-O as the boys (and men) of BGSU finished their amazing 40+ season with an O-H-I-O best ever 3rd place finish!

After a close State title and a less-close Midwest championships, the fellas from NWO set out to somewhat-nicer-than-Toledo San Diego to go against the best of the 3.0 best! Their opening match, early 8am Friday versus Southwest, saw Captain Jason's crew get off to an early 2-0 lead thanks to D.F.O. Player of the Year candidate Ajay, who was working his way toward 20 singles wins on the season, hoping to be only the 9th 3.0er ever to achieve such 3.0 individual glory! His breadstick win combined with Wes and Arturo's breadstick win not only proved the BGSU guys knew their carbs, but knew how to playing winning 3.0 tennis! Southwest, though, took down the tandem of Alan and Roger and the tag team of Timothy and Jonathan, meaning Captain Jason and veteran Mark would have to get the 4th Doubles win ... which they did! Holding on to win in a THIRD SET SUPER TIE BREAKER, Captain Jason literally led his Ohio based club to an opening round victory!

The afternoon match would see Team Ohio take on a team from the opposite coast, this time Team New England, and perhaps the clam chowder loving northeasterners struggled with jet lag, time zones, or a differently named ocean, for Ajay jumped out to another breadstick win while Captain Jason, this time at 1st Doubles, teamed with Roger to stage another THIRD SET SUPER TIE BREAK win! Up 2-0, Wes and Arturo slammed the 3.0 door with a strong 4 & 4 win! And though the match was won, due to tiebreakers, Captain Jason made sure the other courts did their job to get wins, for there is no mercy in his 3.0 tennis dojo, and win they did, both in THIRD SET SUPER TIE BREAKERS, meaning Team Ohio enjoyed a clean 5-0 sweep to end day one an undefeated 2-0!

The next morning, the 40+ 3.0ers were back at it, this time facing off versus Team Mid-Atlantic and two things happened that surely shocked the representatives from the Buckeye state to their very core. First, Ajay was taken to three sets and while he won this was the first time this season he'd ever been taken to three sets on the courts o' singles. Clearly Team Mid-Atlantic had come to play and play they did to the count of taking 1st and 2nd Doubles! Alan and Roger, though, stopped the 3.0 metaphorical bleeding thanks to a THIRD SET SUPER TIE BREAK win at 3rd Doubles but in a closely contested 4th Doubles match, Team Ohio fell 6 & 5 to suffer their first playoff loss during their historic playoff run! And suddenly ... tennis wasn't fun anymore.

But to get the fun back and to have a chance, Captain Jason's crew would have to secure a win versus the island hopping team from Hawaii. Unfortunately for all of Ohio (and basically the world), Ajay, running on fumes, needed to rest, but veteran Arturo stepped up and while he fell 3 & 4, he gave Ajay the much needed rest that would be vital later in the team match. Thankfully for Ohio (and the world), Timothy and Jonathan evened the team score up and while 2nd Doubles went to Hawaii, Alan and Mark once again tag teamed their way to victory, meaning the fate of Ohio (and the world!) would once again come down to 4th Doubles! And on 4th Doubles, Captain Jason called on his own number, for he is a true 3.0 leader of 3.0 mean, as well as ... Ajay! Rested, thanks to Arturo, Ajay and Jason played a sublime level of 3.0 fourth court doubles and after their 2 & 3 win, Team Ohio won the day!

And thanks to a series of tiebreakers, they won more than the day ... they won the right to get to play more tennis and possibly miss their Sunday flights! Thanks to their 3-1 record and 13 individual wins - one more than Team NorCal and Team Middle States - BGSU finished fourth and thus qualified to the finals! Huzzah!

On Sunday, with flights pending, the semi-finals took place with Team Ohio vacing Team Pacific Northwest, and the 3.0ers from Washington did something that hadn't been seen since August 2nd, 2025 ... they took a win off of one of Ohio's greatest players! That's right, Ajay, going for his 20th singles win on the 3.0 season, fell to Santosh, a singles player who would later hoist the national championship for Team Pacific Northwest! And once the team from Washington won courts two and three in doubles, they quickly forfeited courts one and four, giving Arturo and Darius a great comeback story (they were down 2-5 in the second) only rivaled by Timothy and Jonathan's comeback story (they were down 2-6, 2-5)! Thus, with the 2-3 team loss, Captain Jason's dream season was all but over.

BUT IT WAS NOT OVER! Indeed, thanks to the quick forfeits by eventual nationals champion Team Pacific Northwest, Team Ohio were able to get back on the court and take on Texas for 3rd place overall in the entire nation (and by nation we mean THE WORLD!). Ajay, bouncing back from his semi-final loss, did what he's been doing 19 other times this season - getting the win at singles! And thanks to this particular win, Ajay's 20th on the season at singles, he became the 9th ever 3.0er to have a 20 win season on the solo courts! And thanks to Roger and Alan on court two, Timothy and Jonathan on court three, and Captain Jason and Jason on court four, the fellas from BGSU not only won the team match, but finished as the best 40+ team in Ohio 3.0 history (tied with the 2018 NCRC club that took 3rd as well)! AND THEY MADE THEIR FLIGHTS!

Congrats to the entire Ohio contingent for an amazing run, the greatest run in BGSU's lengthy history! Thanks to their 9-2 playoff mark, their 3rd place finish, and the outstanding season of singles player Ajay and the leadership of Captain Jason, this is a 3.0 team for the ages and one that will go down in 3.0 history! Indeed Ajay's season, one in which he earned 20 singles wins gives him the ninth best singles season in O-H-I-O 3.0 history. Moreover, with his playoff success - going 9-2 this season - he now has (tied) the most 3.0 singles AND set the most overall playoff wins in 3.0 history! Moreover moreover, he now ranks in the Top Ten for overall singles win (tied with the great Nathan Chavez!). Captain Jason, meanwhile, thanks to his is now in the Top Ten in playoff wins, showing his amazing leadership skills! Congrats to both (check out their stats status here!)

Once again, congrats to the entire team and all those who participated in 3.0 tennis this calendar year! And good luck to all the end of season award hopefuls as we'll be announcing our D.F.O. Players of the Year and D.F.O. Hall of 3.0 Famers in the next two to six weeks!

WHAT A TIME TO BE A 3.0! WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE! WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE AS A 3.0!