2020 Chicago Charities Grand Prix Recap

November 11, 2020
Golf, IL

2020 Chicago Charities GP Women's Final Result (doc), (pdf)

2020 Chicago Charities GP Men's Final Result (doc), (pdf)

The largest Grand Prix tournament of the season featured the top players in the Chicago area on a warm fall weekend. Many of the matches were on Live Streaming, and what came through loud and clear, along with firecracker talent, was the great camaraderie of all the competitors.

WOMEN

The women’s tournament started on Friday, November 6, with 32 teams competing at host Glen View Club, Lake Shore Country Club, Northmoor Country Club, Prairie Club, and Winnetka Park District. In the quarterfinals, Chelsea (Nusslock) Mittal and Alison Morgan (1) needed the match tiebreaker to defeat Kelly Rohrbach and Mirian (Cruz) Warner. Fourth seeds Hallie Bodman and Marina Ohlmuller came back from a first set deficit to move forward after a long match tiebreaker with Ania Kazakevich and Denise Murphy. The other top seeds, Spencer Caravaggio and Sandy Cvetkovic (2) and Sydney Berens and Chris Maglocci (3), won in two strong sets. In the semifinals, Caravaggio/Cvetkovic handled Bodman/Ohlmuller using more fire power and some well-timed dropshots. Mittal/Morgan only allowed Berens/Maglocci two games in each set and headed to the finals. This was Morgan’s third Grand Prix of the year, the only woman to participate in all of them. She had a head of steam from winning the Indy Invitational with Alice Tunaru, and came in playing the screens and volleying perfectly. However, the new pairing this season of Caravaggio/Cvetkovic worked well with each other. Caravaggio’s serves “won points with the depth and the kick,” Viant said. The first set seesawed to 4-4, but a few errors from Mittal/Morgan led to their first set loss. Caravaggio/Cvetkovic held the second set lead from the get-go. Mittal/Morgan couldn’t claim enough points to counterattack Caravaggio’s strong drives and Cvetkovic’s variation on screens. Caravaggio/Cvetkovic won, 6-4. 6-2.

MEN

The men’s draw of 35 teams had a few moments of heartache along the way to the nail-biter of a final. Fourth seeds Jeronie Barnes and William Colmar lost their first match of the day, leaving the center of the draw open for Mike Marino and Robert Stineman to create a little havoc. Newish-comer Stineman is officially on the “Ones to Watch” list. With support from veteran Marino, they competed well on their way to a semifinal loss to Peter and Paul Rose. (Before that, as Mark Fischl said, “The Rose brothers had an absolute war in the quarterfinal,” winning 10-8 in the match tiebreaker against Mitch Granger and Alex Lambropoulos.) The other semifinalists, Brian Compton and Graham McNerney (1) and Adam Morgan and Paget Neave (4), dominated their opponents in the quarters. In their semi match-up, Compton/McNerney controlled the game with their combination of spin and screen superiority. The final with the Rose brothers against Compton/McNerney was one of those matches that makes us all realize why we love the game so much. Not one of the four players teaches racquet sports for a living, yet all possess the skills of a professional. In the end, Compton/McNerney played faster and stronger, besting Rose/Rose, 6-4, 7-6.

WOMEN’S RESULTS

Main Draw: Spencer Caravaggio/Sandy Cvetkovic def. Chelsea Mittal/Alison Morgan, 6-4. 6-2
Quarter Reprieve: Kelly Rohrbach/Mirian Warner def. Alexis Prousis/Shawna Zsinko, 5-7, 6-4, 10-7
Reprieve: Kari Falls/Lisa Goldberg def. Sari Hirsh/Lisa Korach, 6-3, 6-3
Consolation: Stacy Brown/Jen Johnson def. Stephanie Foster/Laura Noble, 6-0, 7-6
Last Chance: Francine Byers/Nichole Humphrey def. Linda Buggy/Jennifer Perry, 6-7. 6-3, 10-4

MEN’S RESULTS

Main Draw: Brian Compton/Graham McNerney def. Peter Rose/Paul Rose, 6-2, 7-6
Quarter Reprieve: Mitch Granger/Alex Lambropoulos def. Brian Panek/Greg Wotring, 6-1, 6-3
Reprieve: Jordan Gottlieb/Tom Rowland def. Sasha Djordjevic/Brett Karzen, 6-0, 6-2
Consolation: Nick Cromydas/Jason Love def. Jeff Martin/John Silk, 6-2, 6-3
Last Chance: Bob Geldermann/Bill Lambropoulos def. Adam Barth/Andrew Buchholz, 6-0, 6-0

L to R: Winners, Sandy Cvetkovic/Spencer Caravaggio and Finalists, Alison Morgan/Chelsea Mittal

L to R: Finalists, Peter Rose/Paul Rose and Winners, Brian Compton/Graham McNerney

More pics from the Women's side

L to R: Quarter Reprieve Finalists, Shawna Zsinko/Alexis Prousis and Winners, Kelly Rohrbach/Mirian Warner

L to R: Reprieve Winners, Kari Falls/Lisa Goldberg and Finalists, Lisa Korach/Sari Hirsh

L to R: Consolation Finalists, Stephanie Foster/Laura Noble and Winners, Stacy Brown/Jen Johnson