Grand Prix Chicago Charities Women's and Men's Recap

November 12, 2019
Golf, IL

2019 Chicago Charities Women's Open Final Results (doc) , (pdf)

2019 Chicago Charities Men's Open Final Results (doc), (pdf)

2019 Chicago Charities Men's 90+ Final Results (doc) ,  (pdf)

The Grand Prix Chicago Charities Women’s NRT/Viking PCQ at the Glen View Club featured 60 women’s teams from all over the country vying for the best results.

The round of 16 outcomes were fascinating. New pairing Alison Morgan and Charlotte Sikora took out the seventh seeds, Hallie Bodman and Liz Hayward, in three sets, and another new team, Macie Elliott and Marcela Rodezno, worked over Jessica Guyaux and Florentina Hanisch in three sets. Their rolls continued as Morgan/Sikora fought off top seeds Laura Berendt and Roxy Enica in another three-set battle, and Elliott/Rodezno played three good sets to oust sixth seeds Amy Heil and Alice Tunaru.

In the other quarterfinals, Martina Ondrejkova and Ana Zubori had their hands full with local favorites Chelsea Nusslock and Alexis Prousis, winning in three. Heather Prop and Wendy Shpiz also had some fans in the crowd who helped push them past second seeds Amy Shay and Cynthia Dardis in two sets.

Court one featured Morgan/Sikora versus Elliott/Rodezno—both teams were energized, talented, and blessed with good communication. Morgan’s groundstrokes and Sikora’s reach worked well against the quick hands of Elliott and Rodezno, who couldn’t hang on, at 6-1, 2-6, 6-1. On court two, Ondrejkova/Zubori out played Prop/Shpiz, 6-4, 6-1.

The final was a seesaw battle with little to separate the two teams. Ondrejkova/Zubori grabbed set one, Morgan/Sikora eked out set two to set up a third-set dog fight. At 4-4 in the third set, Morgan/Sikora had a few game points before faulting away the game and failed to hold on in the last game. Ondrejkova/Zubori had a few more solid drives and tricky volleys throughout the third set that led to a good win, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.

L to R: Winners Martina Ondrejkova/Ana Zubori Finalists Charlotte Sikora/Alison Morgan.

The Grand Prix Chicago Charities Men’s NRT/Viking PCQ took place over three days of unseasonably cold weather, with sun warming the crowd during the day, and the beer and wine warming the fans in the evenings.

The Men’s 90+ 32-team draw played around Chicago’s North Shore on a beautiful sunny day. Three of the four seeds made it to the semifinals, with only top seeds Juan Arraya and Mark Fischl getting eliminated—by Paget Neave and Jay Woldenberg in two sets. Neave/Woldenberg made it to the finals against third seeds Mike Marino and Greg Wotring. Results are pending.

While the women were finishing up, the men were just getting started. Short one team of a full 64 draw, all was well until the round of 16. Home advantage worked for the two winning teams. Will Colmar and Adam Morgan upset the fifth seeds, Blake Anderson and Martin Bostrom, in a blink of an eye, 6-1, 6-1. Jeronie Barnes and Dane Schmidgall removed the sixth seeds, Max LePivert and Sebastian Bredberg, from the main draw at 7-5, 7-5.

In the quarterfinals, new team seventh seeds Sven Burus and Mikk Irdoja won in three competitive sets against fourth seeds Peter Rose and Paul Rose, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4. Second seeds Brian Compton and Scott Kahler made the right adjustments in the second set against Barnes/Schmidgall, to win 7-6, 6-0. One of the most interesting matches of the tournament was the quarterfinal between the slash and spin eighth seeds Alex Bancila and Tyler Fraser, and a new team of current National Champion Juan Arraya and four-time National Champion Drew Broderick. Arraya and Broderick won in three entertaining sets, 2-6, 6-2, 6-1. Third seeds Marek Czerwinski and Graham McNerney found the necessary tools against Colmar/Morgan, winning 6-4, 1-6, 6-4.

The lower seeds won the semifinals. Czerwinski/McNerney were grooving, winning 6-2, 6-2 versus Arraya/ Broderick. The dynamic Burus/Irdoja took three sets to outplay the calm and cool Compton/Kahler duo, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2. A little after 1PM, the finals took place on a cloudy, cold Sunday afternoon. The hut was crowded, the seats were taken, and the four players put on quite a show. McNerney hurt his ankle on an aggressive rundown of a dropshot early in the first set that seemed to set Burus/Irdoja up for an easy win, but Czerwinski took over when he could and McNerney toughed it out, winning their second Grand Prix event in a row, 6-3, 6-4.

Thank yous are in order for Tournament Director John Noble, uber volunteers Stephanie and Craig Koppmann and Ann and Walter Fyk, all the volunteers around the area, Tour Director Jackie Cameron, the Live Streaming crew, and the staff at the Glen View Club for exceptional service.

L to R Finalists Mikk Irdoja/Sven Burus Winners Marek Czerwinski/Graham McNerney

Congratulations to Mark Holtschneider and Peter Lauer for their great run at Chicago Charities Men’s 110+s.