The Chicago Metropolitan Sports Association ( CMSA ) men's double tennis league is in its biggest season ever, with eight divisions of 12 teams each.
'The popularity in gay tennis over the past couple of years really seems to have picked up,' said league commissioner Mike Plei, 47, who lives in suburban Des Plaines. 'The competition has been very tough this season, very competitive.'
Plei and tennis partner Jay Mitchell are battling it out in the top-tiered Open Division, against duos as Adrian Paul and Javier Lopez, Todd Livergood and Chan Boriboun, and JP Anderson and Gregg Cook, among others. In addition to the 12 teams, each division has about 10 or 20 substitutes.
About 250 registered for the league this winter, including three females. Players range from their early-20s to late-50s. There are doctors, lawyers, non-profit employees, construction workers and finance executives, among other professionals.
Tennis play has steadily increased over the past few seasons, though Plei said the 2006 Gay Games certainly helped the 2006-07 league.
'Picking highlights of the season so far is tough,' said Plei. 'I think one of the season highlights has to be a new team that has never played together in the past and yet is doing really well. In fact, the team went undefeated for a portion of the season, including a win over top team.'
There are new divisions this winter, created to make each division more competitive and, consequently, 'there isn't as big of a gap between the top team and the bottom team,' of each division, Plei said.
Matches are held at the Mid-Town Tennis Club and the Lakeshore Athletic Club, and the league playoffs will be held in May.
'We're very happy with the season, the play. Overall, things have gone pretty smooth,' Plei said.