Arraya/LePivert and Berendt/Enica Take Top Honors at Charities

November 2-4, 2018
Chicago, IL

2018 Chicago Charities Men's Open Final Results (doc)

2018 Chicago Charities Men's 90+ Final Results (doc)

2018 Chicago Charities Women's Open Final Results (doc) 

Women
With the 58-team draw filled with a combination of top teams from the Northeast and Midwest, the stage was set for two days of exciting matches in Chicago. The seeded players dominated the early rounds, as all eight of the seeded teams in the women’s draw reached the quarterfinals, with only Martina Ondrejkova and Ana Zubori (5) losing a set (to Heather Prop and Wendy Shpiz) on the way there.

Intense Quarterfinals
The quarterfinals were a different story, however, as three of the four matches went the distance. The second seeds and defending champions, Cynthia Dardis and Amy Shay, survived a long, arduous battle with one of Chicago’s top teams, Hallie Bodman and Liz Hayward (8).  Dardis/Shay won a close 7-5 first set, but Bodman/Hayward successfully imposed their hard-hitting, attacking style of play in the second set, winning it 6-2. The third set was close and tense all the way through, but as they have demonstrated countless times before, Dardis/Shay have an uncanny ability to close out the toughest matches, and they won the third set, 7-5. The other quarterfinal in the top half of the draw pitted Liz Cruz and Mirian Warner (3), against Jade Curtis and Liz Jaffe (7). Cruz/Warner were the steadier pair in this match, and moved on with a 6-4, 6-1 win.

In the bottom half of the draw, Suzanne Lemery and Kelly Rohrbach (4) won a quick 6-1 first set against Ondrejkova/Zubori and when they built a quick lead in the second set, it looked like they would cruise into the semis with an easy win. That was not to be, though, as Ondrejkova/Zubori found their form just in time, coming back to win the second set, 7-5, and putting up a good fight in the third before succumbing, 6-4. The fourth quarterfinal match, between Florentina Hanisch and Annica van Starrenburg (1) and Laura Berendt and Roxy Enica (6), featured four of the best shotmakers and athletes in the women’s game, and they put on an incredible show. The spins, drives, incredible gets, and great hands were of the highest quality, and very little separated the two teams. Ultimately, Berendt/Enica scored the upset, winning 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Sunny Semis
On Saturday morning the players had to contend with bright sun, but still produced well-played semifinal matches. Dardis/Shay neutralized the powerful drives of Cruz/Warner, and kept them on the defensive as they notched the 7-5, 6-4 win.  Lemery/Rohrbach started slowly against Berendt/Enica, but although they kept it close in the second set, they fell 6-1, 7-5.

New Champions
In the finals, Berendt/Enica used their powerful rollers and Enica’s severe spins to keep Dardis/Shay off-balance. Dardis/Shay looked like they might make one of their patented comebacks after losing the first set 6-1, but Berendt/Enica kept their power game under control and closed out the match and the championship in only their second tournament together.

Thank you to tournament director John Noble, the tournament committee and Glen View Club and the other participating North Shore clubs for running a first-rate tournament as always.

Women’s Results:
Main Draw: Laura Berendt/Roxy Enica def. Cynthia Dardis/Amy Shay, 6-1, 6-4
Quarterfinal Reprieve: Jade Curtis/Liz Jaffe def. Florentina Hanisch/Annica van Starrenburg, 6-2, 6-4
Reprieve: Jane McNitt/Alison Morgan def. Sandy Cvetkovic/Marina Ohlmuller, 6-2, 6-3
2nd Round Consolation: Gillian Climo/Cathy MacKinnon def. Chizzie Brown/Carina Kealy, 1-6, 7-5, 6-1
Last Chance 2nd Round: Carole Gatsch/Svetlana Schroeder def. Sydney Berens/Sean Potter, 6-1, 7-5
Consolation 1st Round: Alice Waverley/Shawna Zsinko def. Amy Heil/Alice Tunaru, 6-4, 6-3
Last Chance 1st Round: Stephanie Foster/Laura Noble def. Mary Griffin/Vicki Lee

Men
On a sunny Saturday, the 67 men’s teams in the Chicago Charities draw began their quest for a Grand Prix title. The draw was loaded with talent, including the top two teams in the country, reigning APTA National Champions John Hughes and Marc Powers (1) and three-time APTA Nationals Champions Drew Broderick and Jared Palmer.

Top Seeds Fall
Although Hughes has been battling a shoulder injury, Hughes and Powers were the tournament favorites after dominating the APTA circuit last season. After beating the unseeded Brad Smith and Ben Williams in the Round of 16 (Smith/Williams took out Mark Innes/Michael Montalbano (15)), Hughes/Powers were poised to continue their march to the finals. The Rose brothers, Paul and Pete, had other ideas, though, and took advantage of uncharacteristic inconsistency by the top seeds. Hitting flat, hard drives and capitalizing on the advantage they gained from Paul Rose’s short and deep-cutting overheads, Rose/Rose were able to close out the huge upset, 7-6, 6-2.

Philly Open Winners Continue to Roll
The second section of the draw showcased the Philly Open Grand Prix winners, Marek Czerwinski and Graham McNerney (3) against Scott Kahler and Ben McKnight (10). Both teams survived three-setters in the Round of 16, with Kahler/McKnight coming back to squeak out a 2-6, 7-6, 6-4 win over Tyler Fraser/Paulo Gonzalez (8), and Czerwinski/McNerney dropping the second set against David Bukowski and Brian Compton. Czerwinski/McNerney kept up their excellent play in the quarters, beating Kahler/McKnight in a close 6-3, 7-6 match.

Unfortunate Injury
The third quarter of the draw featured an intriguing quarterfinal between last year’s Chicago Charities winner, Juan Arraya (with Alex Bancila) and Max Le Pivert (5) and Mikk Irdoja and Jeff Morneau (4). Arraya/Le Pivert closed out Chris Gambino and Marco Grangeiro in straight sets in the Round of 16, but Irdoja/Morneau played a marathon match against Ryan Baxter and Zachary Held (14), winning 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. Unfortunately, Morneau pulled a calf muscle in the first set of the quarterfinal, and had to withdraw while leading 4-3 in the first set.

Second Seeds Roll
In the bottom quarter, Broderick/Palmer beat unseeded Jeronie Barnes and Eric Fey in the Round of 16. Barnes/Fey upset Rob Bakker and Eric Miller (13) to earn their fourth round spot. New team Martin Bostrom/Randy Lofgren (9) notched a minor upset to earn their chance to play Broderick/Palmer in the quarters by beating William Colmar and Adam Morgan (6). Their run ended as Broderick/Palmer continued their straight-set march through the draw, beating Bostrom/Lofgren, 6-3, 6-2.

Rainy Semifinals
Rain greeted the players at the start of the semifinals on Sunday. Falling persistently throughout the first set and then intermittently thereafter, it made for tough conditions. Broderick/Palmer seemed in control of the first set against Arraya/Le Pivert, but were unable to convert six set points. Whenever they looked like they might get the lead in the second set, Arraya/Le Pivert tightened up their game and kept it close, and took the second set in another tiebreaker to reach the final. Rose/Rose also won the first set against Czerwinski/McNerney in a tiebreaker, and after going down 4-1 in the second set, they were able to come back and close out the set 7-5 to gain their first Grand Prix final at their home club.

Comeback Final
After being the underdogs in their semifinal match, Arraya/Le Pivert were definitely the favorites to win the final. The Rose brothers, having already knocked out the tournament’s first and third seeds, were not about to concede the match, though, and gave their fellow Glen View Club members plenty to cheer for when they drove and slashed their way to a 6-2 first set victory. Arraya/Le Pivert changed strategy at the end of the first set, switching after the return of serve so that Arraya played the ad side, and after a long, close game at 2-2 in the second set, the third seeds began to impose their game and quickly pulled away to win the set, 6-2. Both teams battled hard in the third set, but Arraya/Le Pivert got a big break of serve at 4-3 and held on for a 6-4 win.

Thank you to tournament director John Noble, the tournament committee and Glen View and the other participating North Shore clubs for running a first-rate tournament as always.

Men’s Results:
Main Draw: Juan Arraya/Max LePivert def. Paul Rose/Pete Rose, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4
Quarterfinal Reprieve: Scott Kahler/Ben McKnight def. Martin Bostrom/Randy Lofgren, 7-6, 4-6, 10-7
Round of 32 and 16 Consolation: Tyler Fraser/Paulo Gonzalez def. William Colmar/Adam Morgan
Consolation: David Held/George Higgins def. Kevin Howard/Rudinei Kalil, 7-6, 6-2
Last Chance: Conor Breen/Gene Tioutine def. Ben Ashford/Anthony McPherson, default injury

Men’s 90+ Results:
Main Draw: Juan Arraya/Scott Mansager def. Scott Bondurant/Matt Warner, 4-6, 6-2, 6-0
Reprieve: Scott Pecor/Erik Zipp def. Ryan Baxter/Edward Burns, default
Consolation: Randy Ford/Matthew Pursley def. Casey Conaghan/Kenny Harvey, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6
Last Chance: Eric Arvold/Brett Smith def. Michael Rosenbaum/Dan Washburne, 6-0, 6-1

Men’s 110+ Results:
Main Draw Winners: Miles Harris/Jay Woldenberg