2016 Cleveland Masters + Men's + Women's Results

November 12, 2016
Cleveland, OH

Mother Nature certainly provided the 2016 Cleveland Masters with a great weekend to compete and have a lot of fun for the 42nd year.  Anyone who has spent time on the east side of Cleveland knows that sunny days in November are indeed a rarity.  Over the weekend, there were 196 participants including travelers from Baltimore, Charleston S.C., Charlotte, Cincinnati, Chicago, Columbus, Detroit, Greenwich CT, Pittsburgh, Rochester, Toledo, and Toronto.

Friday started off with a bang, with a record 26 teams competing in the 90+ tournament.  After a long day of paddle, local favorites and number two seeded Fayaz Bhanji and John Schloss were able to over come the fierce lefty-righty Fritz Odenbach and Andrew Thompson. 

Friday night kicked off the broader tourney with free clinics and an exhibition generously led by Casey Watt, Matt McClure, Doug Jones and Randy Lofgren at the Cleveland Racquet Club The beer was flowing, the chili was hot and it was a great start to a great weekend. 

On Saturday, the Men's and Women's Open Tournaments were played.  On Saturday night, the women played a great match under the new LED lights in front of a huge group of spectators.  In the finals, unseeded Lea Taft and Shaheen Bhanji represented the City of Champions against the legendary Pittsburgh team of Jessica Guyaux and Kelly Fischer. In typical fashion, Kelly and Jessica came out victorious, winning their third straight Cleveland Open and fifth in seven years. 

On the Men's side, Ryan Mullaney and Dave Lowe made a great run to the semi-finals, eventually succumbing to the second seeded and eventual champions, Jeronie Barnes and Dane Schmigdall.  On the other side of the bracket, there was another great Pittsburgh battle, which is often seen in Cleveland.  The number one seed team of Scott Kahler and Casey Watt were in a tight and very exciting three-setter against the three seeded Ajay Khurana and Mike Wagner when Kahler/Watt were forced to resign due to injury.  On Sunday, Barnes and Schmidgall beat Khurana and Wagner 6-2 6-2 to win the 2016 Cleveland Masters. 

It was a great weekend overall with a lots talent from near and far.  In 2015, Pittsburgh teams swept all three tourneys.  This year, they shared the wealth and Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Chicago all shared in the hardware. 

If you are interested in seeing pictures from this weekend and other CLEPDL events, check us out on Facebook, Instagram and clevelandpaddle.com.  Pictures will be coming in the next few days.

Thank you to Brent Luce and Lea Taft for running an amazing tournament!

Women’s Results:
Main Draw: Kelly Fischer/Jessica Guyaux def. Shaheen Bhanji/Lea Morris 6-2, 6-4
Quarterfinal Reprieve: Jenny Kelly/Janet Mazzola def. Anneliese Adkinson/Heather Morneau 6-4, 7-6
Consolation: Abby Hand/Amy Heil def. Sandra Odenbach/Stephanie Russell 6-2, 6-0
Consolation Reprieve: Chris Ford/Marian Lauer def. Carole Purse/Meghan Sadler Trombold

Men’s Results:
Main Draw: Jeronie Barnes/Dane Schmidgall def. Ajay Kurana/Mike Wagner 6-2, 6-2
Quarterfinal Reprieve: Mark Barry/Brian Heil def. John Mah/Filip Rams 3-6, 6-2, 6-1
Reprieve: John Moyer/Matt Riva def. Wil Lofgren/Randy Lofgren 7-6, 6-1
Consolation: Doug Bloom/Rob Edelstein def. Adam Lis/Paul Stulac 6-0, 7-6
Consolation Reprieve: Terry Babb/Noah Seidenberg def. Ben Graham/Jon Trau 6-3, 6-2