Off The Screen: Championship Tuesday beckons (03/10 update)
Six months of paddle tennis decided on one night
This post has been updated with final matchups for Tuesday
I should be writing about Chicago sports or doing 100 other things right now.
But I’m going out of town for a family trip for my wife’s birthday* Saturday — as she dryly noted, one of her friends just went to Tulum and I’m taking her to Bloomington, Ind. — so I figured I should get this playoff update done because Tuesday will be here before we know it.
And I have plans Tuesday night.
My Winnetka Series 36 team advanced with a 10-5 win over our friendly rivals at Winter Club on Wednesday. While my partner Matt and me choked away another 5-2 lead in a must-win set — resulting in a 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 loss — at least we contributed to the cause with a point.
I don’t love where my game is right now, but from a team perspective, it’s long way from last season when I captained a last-place team that couldn’t even muster up enough guys for our one-and-one playoffs (we were in an eight-team league).
We’ll be playing for the series championship against No. 1 seed Evanston Golf Club, which has been dominant all season (we gave them their only loss, 7-6).
This will be one of 27 championship matches of 1 vs. 2 seeds in a series … out of 51 series. And 15 championships will be 1 vs. 3.
The top seed has made it to the finals so far in all but seven series: 5 (5-7), 7 (2-4), 13 SW (5-6), 14 (2-5), 20 (3-4), 22 (2-8), 35 (3-5).
Not a lot of upsets, but that’s how it goes. Last season, 23 series saw the No. 1 seed win the playoffs too.
Back in the summer, I ran the numbers for the 2023-24 season and noted that Tennaqua won the most playoff championships with five. It won’t be able to match that number as the Deerfield club only has a max of three teams in the finals. (Series 13 still has to finish its local grudge match with Briarwood on Sunday. This match should be sponsored by Italian Kitchen. )
My club Winnetka has the most teams in the finals with 12. Prairie Club is second with eight, followed by Wilmette PD, Hinsdale PC and Skokie Country Club with six.
Check out the chart of championship matches (with updates to come Monday morning) below and through this link.
Good luck Tuesday to everyone playing. The season-ending parties will be Tuesday night at the Glen View Club and the Bill O'Brien Platform Tennis Center in Hinsdale, though you might also catch Series 36 at Stormy’s Tavern.
* Her actual birthday is Wednesday, which is my usual night to play. So when I told her the good news that all series championships will be played on Tuesday, she said, “You weren’t going to play on my birthday, were you?” Well, of course, I would play, I told her. Don’t you want a Series 36 championship as a present?”
