Fabian Schmahl was undefeated on his court with Mary Zimmerman, Erik Simonson and Jim Heldman. Schmahl improved his record in flight one matches to 10-9, 52.63%. Simonson, a regular summer league participant, made his league debut. On another court, Doug Jones and Dave Montgomery survived triple set point before winning 7-5 against Scott Boster and Bill Boughton. Boster and Boughton returned the favor in the "for fun" set as they saved triple set point before winning 7-6. Jones was 3-0 on the court and 5-1 for the evening. Click for complete flight one results.

The shot of the night, a severely cut backspinning drop shot by Matt Allare, was overshadowed by Scott McIntosh's retrieval attempt. Allare's shot was sliced perfectly and bounced on his opponent's side of the court first before zipping back over the net to his own side. Scott McIntosh (opponent) anticipated the shot, raced toward the ball and took flight, attempting to jump over the net and strike the ball while it was still in the air. Unfortunately, McIntosh clipped the net during his attempt and subsequently face planted on the other side. After the match, a discussion took place about whether or not McIntosh's shot would have counted if successful. I was not 100% certain, but my guess is that he would have had to end the point - most likely by hitting one of his opponents - prior to landing. I think it is legal to run to your opponent's side around the net to retrieve a shot as long as you do not set foot "in bounds" on their side of the court. I could be wrong ... not like this one comes up a lot. Personally, I would have just tagged him with the ball while he was lying there bleeding, just to make sure.

UPDATE: In an APTA column about a similar retrieval - but around the net onto the opponent's side, not over the net - the question appears to be answered. The article sites this rule - This section of Rule 18 tells you what you may not do:  “A team loses the point if…a player or anything the player wears or carries touches the post, net, net hand crank, cord, band or center strap, or the court surface on the opponents' side of the net, within the boundary lines, while the ball is in play.” I believe the key phrase here is - "While the ball is in play" - implying that if you could somehow end the point before you landed in bounds on the opponent's side, you'd win the point. For full article click Rules Guru.

Steve Rafalo evened his record at 32-32 (50.00%) by going 3-0 on a court with Kevin McClorey, David Wellinghoff and Lee Workum. Kyle Wilkins improved to 44-45 (49.44%) by playing two sessions and going 5-1. Click for full flight two results. 

Since our league's mission is to "increase participation," as well as competition and camaraderie, this year we will give an "Ironman" award to the player who participates in the most sessions. The award recipient will get the same recognition and prizes as flight winners. Reliable, regular participants willing to play with players of various skill and experience levels are critical to our league's success. This award will recognize the player who has demonstrated their commitment through participation. Kyle Wilkins is currently in the lead for the award. He played his 26th and 27th flight two sessions and has played one flight one session for a total of 28. Doug Jones has played 23, Greg Carr 21, John Fovel 20, Bret Bruder 19, Steve Rafalo 18, Scott Vaaler 18 and Anthony Palmenter 17.

Brad Pierce made a big move in the standings by playing both time slots and winning all six of his sets. Pierce, a 2x city champion (Hertzel Cup), improved to 22-14 (61.11%) for the year. Eric Toth was also undefeated for the evening, 3-0. Click for complete flight one results. 

Lawrence Gamblin upped his season win total to nine with three wins on a court with Bret Bruder, Andy Heldman and Bart Fitzpatrick. With the wins, Gamblin improved his winning percentage to 30% and is no longer at the bottom of the standings. Click for complete flight two results.

Four flight one players went 3-0 for the night. Rex Cabrera and Brett Decurtins made the biggest advances in the standings. Cabrera climbed above .500 for the season and is now 14-13 (51.85%), while Decurtins improved to 8-9 (47.06%) within the flight. Doug Jones 38-5 (88.37%) and Eric Toth 23-5 (82.14%) inched closer to the top with 3-0 nights as well. Week 15 pitted players close in the standings against each other. Click for the complete flight one results.

Dave Montgomery went 3-0 on a court featuring several of the flight two leaders. Montgomery improved to 19-12 (61.29%) and is now in second place among players who have played multiple times. He made up ground on flight leader Kevin McClorey, now 12-5 (70.59%), who went 1-2 on the court. Mike Herrel and Mary Zimmerman also went 1-2 on the court. Jim Getgey went 3-1 in his Platform Tennis league debut. Getgey took over the top spot in the standings, but is unlikely to qualify for the title as he needs to play 12 times with just 10 more weeks to play. Scott Vaaler went 4-0 and was the only other flight two player to go undefeated. The PT League also welcomed guest Neil Sterba, a Cleveland paddle tennis player. Sterba went 2-2 on his court. Click for complete flight two results.

Bill Boughton moved up to flight one with an impressive 4-0 night. His court included Rex Cabrera, Dale Dobnicker, Mike Lint and Anthony Palmenter. JR Randall was the only other undefeated flight one player. He went 3-0 on his court at Losantiville. The standings tightened as the top players all lost at least once. Rob Bakker maintained his standings lead despite dropping a set. Eric Toth and Scott Triplett both inched up in the standings. Each went 3-1 on a court with Brad Pierce, Doug Jones and Matt Allare. Click for full flight one results.

Ben Keating reached the .500 mark with an impressive 6-1 night. Keating is now 13-13 for the season. Scott Vaaler also dramatically improved his win percentage with a 5-1 night. Vaaler is now 18-31, 36.73%. Flight Two welcomed John Van Lokeren, a tennis pro at Queen City Racquet Club, to the league. He went 1-2 on a court with Doug Jones, Mary Zimmerman and Greg Carr. Click for full flight two results.