2/26 Results.

2/26/17:

"6 play (2 new) at Albion, 9 play at The Bubble!":

This Sunday was the first official day of the 2017 Season of GTA Tennis.  The weather was much worse than a week ago (while matters were still being kept unofficial despite full sunshine and near 70 degree temperatures) as this week the temps dropped into the 40 degree range with the wind chill making it feel more like we were in the upper 30 degree range!  But, as the session progressed, the day did end up being very sunny and it actually felt quite reasonable and seasonable despite the only minor downside was that it was quite windy at times.

But before we get to that, let's backtrack just a bit before the session got started at Albion Park in Clifton as "Hollywood" Frank Samara first made a pit stop at the Dunkin' Donuts on the corner of Valley and Fenner.

As he finished his hot coffee, Frank headed toward the door...right behind someone who was wearing a hooded sweatshirt that featured two crossed racquets and the words "Mingo Tennis" emblazoned above them.  Since this gentleman was nice enough to hold the door open for Samara, Frank decided to take a chance and bring up the subject of tennis.

The man mentioned that he was out this way to meet a friend of his down the road to the courts on Maplewood Ave. to play some tennis.  He also stated they would be meeting another guy...a guy who represents the GTA.  Samara then introduced himself as that very guy.

And this other gentleman turns out to be Steve Mingo.  He is a recruit of "Big George" Jorge Solano and has been on our mailing list for a couple of seasons now.  He comes to us from the Bronx, NY as that is where he lives.  But he met Jorge playing at the Eastside Courts in Paterson where he has also met Former GTA Champion: "The Eastside Legend" Ruddy Pena and others.

His organization, Mingo Tennis, has provided tennis lessons to youth in Paterson as well as in the Bronx and around the upper Manhattan area.  In fact, Steve has also met with GTA alumnus "Broadway Dre" Andre Sayegh to discuss what else (tennis-wise) can be done for the youth of Paterson.  It is quite an honor to have him now get involved in the GTA as well. 

Samara and Mingo then arrived separately at Albion Park at 10:45.  Soon, they started hitting with one another on the North Court.  Steve told Frank that Jorge was also on the way.

Solano arrived at 11:10 and from there it was Frank and Steve hitting to Jorge.  Just as the three were starting to worry if they would ever get a fourth to join them for some Doubles, "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes walked onto the courts at 11:25.

After a ten minute hitting session, the first Doubles One-Setter of the day was underway.

Let's get to the scores!

The Albion Park Results:

Nathan Fernandes/Frank Samara over Jorge Solano/Steve Mingo, 6-4!  No Aces.  It was the official GTA Debut of Steve Mingo.  It went like this: Jorge was broken (the opening rally may have been the best point of the match and it resulted in Love-15 and then it was straight to Love as Frank hit a winning volley along the way), Nathan was broken (Love-30, 15-30, Double Break Point, Double Fault), Steve was broken (Frank hit a winner for Love-30, an un-returned serve for 15-30, Frank hit a winning return to set up Double Break Point and then came the break), but Frank was the first to hold serve (Nate hit a winning volley to make it 30-Love and then an un-returned serve on Triple Game Point made it a Love hold) to go up 3-1.  Solano held (Steve hit a winning Backhand Volley and then he hit another winning volley to set up 30-Love only to then blow a volley for 30-15, but then an un-returned serve set up Double Game Point which was where Nate hit a drop shot winner to cut the lead to Game Point, but then came the hold) to pull to 2-3, but Fernandes also held (a winner from Frank and then an un-returned serve set up 30-Love, but then it shifted to 30-All after Steve hit a wicked volley, but then came Game Point and another un-returned serve for the hold) to go up 4-2.  Mingo was broken again (started with a Double Fault, then Love-30 only to then have it shift to Game Point as Jorge hit a winning Backhand Volley and there was also an un-returned serve along the way, it then went to Deuce, Game Point, 2nd Deuce, Break Point and then the break) to fall to 2-5.  Samara was also broken (Love-30 where Nate hit a winning volley for 15-30, but then came Double Break Point and the break) and then Big George held again (15-Love where Nate hit a winning drop shot volley for 15-All, then a Double Fault for 15-30 where Nate then blew a volley to make it 30-All and then came Game Point and the hold) to pull to 4-5.  But Nate the Great also held again (an un-returned serve started things at 15-Love, it was then 15-All before heading straight to Double Game/Match Point...and it must be said that the point that led to DG/MP was likely the second best rally of the match...and then came the hold) to get the win!  We played this one on the North Court from 11:35 to 12:10.

The Skinny: Mingo is quite obviously an experienced tennis player who displays both proper form and solid pace.  His biggest weapon is his whipping forehand which features just the right amount of topspin.

With it still being just the four of us, we decided to play a rematch One-Setter.  Jorge and Steve decided to switch their return of service sides for this one.  It seemed to make a difference.

Nathan Fernandes/Frank Samara over Jorge Solano/Steve Mingo, 7-5!  No Aces.  Here's how it went down: Steve held (Jorge hit a winning volley to make it 30-Love, it then shifted to 30-All where Jorge hit another winning volley to set up Game Point and then came the hold) and Frank was broken (un-returned serve for 15-Love, it shifted to 15-30 after Jorge hit another winning volley, then another un-returned serve made it 30-All, but then came Break Point and the break) to get off to a 0-2 start.  Jorge was broken (back-to-back un-returned serves made it 30-Love, but then it shifted straight to Break Point as Steve blew an overhead, Nate hit a winner and a winning drop shot return and then Jorge blew an overhead for the break) to allow the opposition onto the scoreboard, but then Nathan was broken at Love as Jorge hit a winning volley followed by a winning Overhead Smash and then Nate blew an overhead to break himself and fall to 1-3!  Mingo was broken (Nate hit a winning volley for Love-15 and then it went point for point until 30-All where Jorge hit a winning volley to set up Game Point, then Deuce and it was all Break Points through 3rd Deuce and one last Break Point for the break...I failed to remember who hit what winners where and when once it went beyond Deuce) and Samara held at Love as Nate started things with a winning volley, there was an un-returned serve and then the game ended on a strange note as Frank hit a defensive shot that ended up sailing high as a short, but soaring lob that just landed on the opposite side of the net and then bounced upward with a combination of backspin and wind as it started to make its way back over the net to the side from which the shot originally came.  Steve warned his partner Jorge that the shot was dropping.  Solano got close to the shot, but then backed off when he saw it drop back on the other side.  He then exclaimed "haha" and thought it was his team's point only to be informed by the other three that it was in fact the point for the opposition as he had failed to play the ball...and it was thus a most peculiar winner for Frank to secure his own Love hold.  For future reference, he was told he could have broken the plane of the net to play the ball (only in this type of circumstance and provided the racquet does not hit the net on the follow-through).  He then understood his folly as the score was now 3-3!  Solano was broken again and this time at Love as Nate started things off with a winning volley, but Fernandes was also broken again (Love-15 shifted to 30-15, it was then 30-All where Jorge blew an overhead to set up Game Point, but then Nate blew a volley for Deuce, then came Break Point and the break) to knot the score once more at 4-4!  The Bronx Bomber held (Love-30 shifted straight through Game Point and the hold...and there were likely some winners in this game that I forgot due to the fact that another player arrived midway through and we took a moment to allow him onto the courts as he headed toward the South Court with a basket of balls to practice his shots...we would later find out he came to play in the GTA) to reclaim the lead for his team at 5-4, but Hollywood held yet again (an un-returned serve, a winner from Nate and an impressive get/drop shot winner combo from Frank set up Triple Game Point which was where Jorge hit a drop shot winner of his own to make it Double Game Point, but then came the hold) to tie things again, this time at 5-5!  Big George was broken (30-Love shifted to 30-All, Game Point, Deuce, Break Point where the rally of the match ended with an incredible short drop shot volley winner by Jorge to make it 2nd Deuce, then came Game Point, 3rd Deuce, Break Point and the break), but Nate the Great held (an un-returned serve, a winner from Nate and another un-returned serve set up Triple Game/Match Point, it was then on Double Game/Match Point where the hold came) to earn a hard-fought victory!  This one also took place on the North Court and lasted from 12:15 to 1:10.

The Skinny: It was not only the change of return of service sides that made this a closer contest as Jorge may have been the biggest difference maker as his volley game at the net was very effective.  Nate, in particular, was very impressed.  In fact, all four competitors seemed to take it up a notch as "the winter rust" continued to be shook off throughout the contest.

And the mystery man who arrived midway through the match was yet another off-season recruit of Samara's.  He is Ricky Albano he is a self-professed "born again rookie" as he has spent many years away from the sport.  He just got back to hitting against a wall and he is looking for others to practice with to try to return to form.

In fact, he was hesitant to get involved in any official action...but Samara insisted in getting Albano involved in at least One-Setter in order to officially add him to the ranks.  Frank said he would team him with Nate (aka "The Insurance Policy" as he offers his partners great coverage on the court).

Frank Samara/Jorge Solano over Nathan Fernandes/Ricky Albano, 6-1!  Jorge: 1 Ace on Ricky; and Frank: 1 Ace on Ricky.  It was the official GTA Debut of Ricky Albano.  The lowdown: Frank held (Jorge hit a stunning winning volley for 30-Love, it was then 30-15 where Jorge hit another winning volley to set up Double Game Point where an un-returned serve secured the hold), Nathan held (Love-30 where Nate hit a winning Backhand Volley for 15-30, it was then Double Break Point until it shifted to Deuce and then Nate hit a vicious volley winner that inadvertently hit Jorge square in the chest...though the big man defiantly stuck his chest out to absorb the hit...and now it was Game Point and then came the hold), Jorge held (15-Love shifted to 15-30 right after Nate hit a drop shot winner, but then it shifted again to Game Point after Jorge hit a winner and then there was a Double Fault for Deuce, Break point, 2nd Deuce where Jorge scored with a corner Ace against Ricky to set up Game Point where Frank wielded his first winning Windmill Overhead Smash of the season to secure the hold), but then Ricky was the first to be broken (Triple Break Point got cut down to Break Point, but then a Double Fault ended it) to fall to 1-3.  Samara held again (a short second serve Ace on Ricky for 15-Love and then it was on the way to Triple Game Point which was then cut down to Game Point, but then came the hold), Fernandes was broken (Love-30, 15-30, Double Break Point shifted to Deuce, but then another Break Point and the break) and Solano held (30-Love shifted to 30-All, then came Game/Match Point and the hold) for the win!  We played this one on the North Court as well and it lasted from 1:25 (after a five minute hitting session) to 1:55.

Midway through the above match, Andrew Truong arrived at 1:35.  Heading down from his usual place to play tennis (Cedar Grove), he mistakenly first went to Robin Hood Park where he ended up talking to "Kenny Kool" Ken Barilari.  He finally found his way to Albion Park despite Google Earth not showing any courts as the given address for GPS.

Albano said he was done and happy to just play one with us.  Samara had hoped to leave the session by 2pm (or 2:15 at the latest), but decided to stick around for one more to enable Truong to get involved in some Doubles as well.

Nathan Fernandes/Jorge Solano over Frank Samara/Andrew Truong, 6-4!  No Aces.  Here's the breakdown: Andrew held (Triple Game Point, Double Fault for Double Game Point, Game Point and the hold), Nathan held (Triple Game Point where Andrew hit a winning volley for Double Game Point where an un-returned serve secured the hold), but Frank was the first to be broken (Jorge hit a winning volley for Love-30, it then shifted to Game Point, then Deuce and all Game Points until 3rd Deuce where Jorge hit another winning volley to set up Break Point and then came the break...I likely forgot some other winners in the midst of all the Deuces) to fall to 1-2.  Jorge had a Love hold after hitting yet another winning volley for 30-Love and then Truong was broken (an un-returned serve for 15-Love, but then it shifted to Double Break Point where Frank hit a winning Overhead Smash for Break Point, but then came the break) to fall to 1-4.  Fernandes was then broken at Love as Andrew went on a tear with a winning Overhead Smash followed by a winning volley and then he hit another winning Overhead Smash to earn the break) and Samara held (Andrew hit an awesome winning volley for 30-Love and then came what was likely to be the best rally of the match which made it 30-15 where perhaps the second best rally of the match ended with a winner from Frank to set up Double Game Point where an un-returned serve secured the hold) to pull to 3-4.  Solano was broken (got off to a Love-30 start, 15-30, Double Break Point, Break Point and then the break) to level the score at 4-4.  But then Honest Andrew (so named when earlier he admitted chipping the ball when nobody else had noticed) was broken at Love after starting off with a Double Fault and then Jorge hit a winning volley and Frank blew a volley along the way and then Nate the Great held at Love after Jorge hit a winning volley to set up Triple Game/Match Point and then Nate hit a painful roller over the net that Andrew could not quite get his racquet under to return over the net...and that was how this one ended!  We played this on the North Court from 2pm to 2:28.

Samara and Solano both had to leave.  Truong was hoping to play Singles as that is the style of tennis that he prefers and Fernandes was happy to oblige.  Nate sent in the following scores to Frank via text.  I thank him for his timely reporting.

Nathan Fernandes over Andrew Truong, 6-0!  No Aces.

Nathan Fernandes over Andrew Truong, 6-3!  Andrew: 1 Ace.  Truong jumped out to a 3-0 lead before Fernandes went on a six game streak to rally for the win!

There were also the two usual afternoon sessions for the Night Owl groups up at The Wayne Bubble.  "Kevlar" Kevin Doyle sent the scores from the earlier session while both GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro and "The Riz" John Rizzo sent in the results of the later session.  I thank all three for their contributions to this report.

The Wayne Bubble Results:

2 out of 3 Sets:
Kevin Doyle/Robin Wilson over Jeanette Pegg/Marie Easton, 6-2, 6-4!  No Aces.  It took two hours to complete this match.

Lou La Forgia/Joe Rodrigues over Chris Chiaro/John Rizzo, 6-3!  No Aces.

The Riz Report: I felt pain so I left after this one.  Having a hard time walking after it now!

Chris Chiaro/Nick Inciong over Lou La Forgia/Joe Rodrigues, 6-4!  No Aces.

Chris Chiaro/Nick Inciong over Lou La Forgia/Joe Rodrigues, 6-1!  Chris: 1 Ace on Lou.

Samara's Notes: This weekend was such a great way to get the 2017 Season started and I truly hope we can build off of this unprecedented momentum. 

All the best,
Frank Samara

2/25 Results.

2/25/17:

"Mole-Capan B.O.T.S. at Albion!":

There was a session of GTA Saturday Tennis as "Holy Moly" Mike Mole and "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan got together at Albion Park in Clifton for some tennis.

Gen said they started hitting around 3pm and the session lasted an hour before they decided to make things official.  During the action, "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes made a cameo appearance.

The AP Result:

2 out of 3 Sets "Battle of the Sexes":
Mike Mole over Genalin Capan, 6-1, 6-1!  Gen: 1 Ace.  This match lasted from 4:15 to 5pm.

Samara's Notes: I thank Gen for sending in this result mere minutes after the match had ended.

All the best,
Frank Samara

2/24 Results.

2/24/17:

"46 players (9 new, 7 returning) compete at GTA Bubblepalooza 4!":

There was a very special session of GTA Friday Night Tennis to honor the kickoff of the 2017 GTA Season.  The "Bubblepalooza" moniker was coined by "Hollywood" Frank Samara two seasons ago when two of these events were held at The Wayne Bubble that inaugural year of the idea.  But the concept and execution of this event, once again, was the result of the efforts of "The Riz" John Rizzo. 

While Rizzo's focus was primarily the invitations and then the accommodations (food, beverages, etc.), Samara's role was making sure that all those that attended had their fair share of court time at The Bubble.

Last year's event set a new record in terms of the number of official competitors in a singular session with 37 players.  This year, Rizzo and Samara set a goal of at least 40 competitors.  They cleared that hurdle quite easily when they ended up with 46 actual players plus one extended cameo appearance made by Minnie Cabanatan (wife of Dennis "The Menace" Cabanatan).  She plans on playing with us in the near future, but was feeling a bit under the weather on this particular night.

And we could have hit an even more amazing total of 50 competitors in one session had it not been for last-minute no-shows...the most infamous of which was made by "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli (who had some unforeseen intestinal issues).  His absence was the most heinous when considering the fact he took the opportunity to chastise others on the invitation list that had yet to confirm their pending participation at that particular time.

Nonetheless, the event was a tremendous success.  It was record-breaking in a few ways as not only did we have 46 competitors, but we had nine making their official GTA Debut (a new record for a singular session), seven others were making their official return to the league (another record) and one of them was making their first appearance on GTA courts in twenty years (yet another record)!

Unlike the three previous Bubblepalooza events where through the course of his work managing The Night Owl Sessions up at The Wayne Bubble, Rizzo had earned some free court time for himself along the way...and then instead of keeping that time for his own purposes, he decided to be quite generous with it...this time around he had to pay for the court time.  So for the first time, there was a $10 admission fee.

I doubt that covered his expenses (even though the rate of attendance was strong) as he also purchased eight pizza pies, a 3 foot long sub sandwich, a platter of mozzarella sticks and a custom-made two-tiered cake.

Two years ago, his idea was to create a special session soon after the 2015 Season officially got underway that would include some of his friends from those RTA Night Owl Indoor Sessions along with many more of his friends from the GTA.  This would also enable some of those RTA players to then make their official GTA Debut.

Given the fact that there are four courts at The Bubble, Rizzo thought it best to invite a certain amount of players that he had already established relationships with rather than open it up to the entire league as that could have led to a situation that would grow out of hand.  Furthermore, he relied on RSVPs in order to plan on how much food he should have in advance.

Before I go further with the details of how the session unfolded, I just want to once again thank The Riz for offering up his time, services and funds to host this event for the benefit of the GTA.  And I acted as the host of the session in the traditional sense of how we use the term "hosting", i.e. I collected the scores of all the action along the way.

Usually in my results write-ups, I detail the order of entry and/or appearance as the session progresses...but not this time around!  There were just too many people to note...and they came in waves!  All I will say is that it became our most epic session to date.  It also served as an introduction (or reintroduction) for many players.  It was an amazing way to kick off the 2017 Season.  And the goal for next year's Bubblepalooza 5 will be 50 competitors (at the very least)!

Let's get to the action!

The Wayne Bubble Results:

Jeff Angello/Jeff Angello Jr. over Tom La/Jonathan La, 6-1!  No Aces.  It was the official GTA Returns of Jeff Angello, Jeff Angello Jr. and Jonathan La!  After a hitting session that began a little bit after 8pm, this one got underway on Court One and lasted until 8:35.  It was father and son versus father and son.  I believe that Jeff Junior represents PCTI (Passaic County Technical Institute) while Jonathan represents NHS (Nutley High School).  Both bring big game for 15 year old players and can more than hold their own against the adults.

Mike Mole/Bo Folchi over Dennis Cabanatan/Ryan Sherry, 6-1!  No Aces.  It was the official GTA Return of Bo Folchi.  Much like the above One-Setter, hitting began a bit after 8pm and this one (contested on Court Three, aka "Show Court" as it is in front of the lobby/seating area and naturally draws an audience) also finished at 8:35.  Folchi is a Former 7-Time GTA Champion who has opted to play most of his tennis at The Nutley Tennis Club in recent years as the red clay courts there are far more forgiving on the knees.

Gary Puntasecca/Nihar Panda over Francisco Mantilla/Rana Purupati, 6-1!  Nihar: 3 Aces on Rana!  It was the official GTA Debuts of Gary Puntasecca, Nihar Panda and Rana Purupati and the official GTA Return of Francisco Mantilla!  Similar to the two scores above, hitting began shortly after 8pm...but this one did not get finished on Court Four until 8:45.  Panda and Purupati are friends (and now recruits) of "Lucky" Leo Victor.  Puntasecca is a recruit of Mantilla, who made his return to the league after 20 years!  Francisco was originally brought into the GTA by "Broadway Dre" Andre Sayegh (a City Councilman for the City of Paterson and hopefully that city's next Mayor).  Now we just hope it won't be another 20 years until we see Power FM again!

Denise Savino/Marie Salamon over Kathy Sheldon/Laurie Boughton, 7-5!  No Aces.  It was the official GTA Return of Marie Salamon and the official GTA Debut of Laurie Boughton.  Like the other three results, hitting for this one also got underway shortly after 8pm.  But the ladies did not finish this one until 9pm!  When initial news reports (via e-mail and Facebook) went out about this session the next day (Saturday morning), it was mistakenly reported that six players had returned to the league.  It actually turned out to be seven as Salamon had fallen off the ranks for inactivity just prior to the end of the 2016 Season.  Boughton is a new member of the Night Owls group and it was at the suggestion of "Drill Instructor" Don Moya that she become involved with the GTA as well.

Syed Rashid/Mike Sindler over Levy Lorenzo/Dain VanDeventer, 6-1!  Mike: 2 Aces on Dain!  It was the official GTA Debut of Dain Van Deventer.  This match took place on Court Three and lasted from 8:40 to 9:10.  VanDeventer (aka DVD) used to be a member of Nutley Tennis Club.  We had been trying to bring him into the GTA for quite some time.  One of "Sadistic" Syed's signature "swing for the fences" forehands almost connected to the cranium of Dain (who was positioned at the net) and this drew "the death stare" from DVD.  Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed and it was a case of all's well that end's well.

William Bobila/Fred Suba over Raj Boddu/Mark LaSalle, 6-2!  Mark: 1 Ace on Fred.  It was the official GTA Debuts of William Bobila, Fred Suba and Mark LaSalle!  This one was contested on Court One from 8:40 to 9:20.  All three new players are friends and recruits of Tom La.  It was a very impressive night for the man known as "The Hitman" who was responsible for five of the attendees (including himself).

Pranav Sinha/Brian Barbera over Mike Kazlauskas/Fernanda Toker, 6-4!  Mike: 3 Aces (2 on Brian and 1 on Pranav) all in the same game; and Brian: 1 Ace on Fernanda!  It was the official GTA Return of Brian Barbera.  This foursome faced off on Court Four from 8:50 to 9:30.  Pranav and Brian jumped out to a 4-0 lead before Mike and Fernanda fought back to make things interesting.  Barbera hopes to be more involved in GTA action this season than he had been in the past couple of years.

Don Moya/Janice Wang over Dino Celis/Natalie Guzman, 6-3!  No Aces.  It was the official GTA Debut of Janice Wang.  Court Two hosted this contest from 9:05 to 9:40.  Janice is the very good friend (and now recruit) of Don and she proved to be (as Moya promised she would be) a very steady player.  Hopefully, she (and Don) will play more GTA Tennis in the coming months and years.

Alfred Chen/Dan Hwang over Kris Srinivasan/Nick Inciong, 6-4!  Alfred: 3 Aces (2 on Nick and 1 on Kris)!  This took place on Court Three from 9:15 to 9:50.

Senthil Kumar/Ryan Sherry over Jose Gonzales/Gary Puntasecca, 6-2!  Jose: 2 Aces on Senthil!  Court One hosted this one from 9:25 to 9:55.

Jeff Angello/Jeff Angello Jr. over Nihar Panda/Rana Purupati, 6-0!  No Aces.  These four faced off on Court Four from 9:35 to 10pm.  The father/son combo was even more impressive against the fairly experienced tandem of Panda and Purupati.

Bo Folchi/Denise Savino over Mike Mole/Marie Salamon, 6-4!  Mike: 1 Ace on Denise.  This Mixed Doubles action took place on Court Two and lasted from 9:45 to 10:15.

Dennis Cabanatan/Jonathan La over Anish Mehta/Dain VanDeventer, 6-1!  No Aces.  This was contested on Court Three from 9:55 to 10:25.

Mike Kazlauskas/Mike Sindler over Syed Rashid/Ryan Sherry, 6-3!  Mike: 2 Aces (one on each) in the same game; Ryan: 1 Ace on Mike in the very first serve of the match!  They got this one done on Court One with it lasting from 10pm to 10:40.

Ryan Pienciak/Janice Wang over Fernanda Toker/Laurie Boughton, 6-1!  Ryan: 1 Ace on Fernanda.  This one took place on Court Four from 10:05 to 10:30.  Ryan was the lone, lucky man with the three ladies, but some said the true story was the ever-steady game possessed by Janice.

Dino Celis/Raj Boddu over William Bobila/Fred Suba, 7-5!  Dino: 1 Ace on William.  This was conducted on Court Two from 10:20 to 11:05.  Dino and Raj got off to a slow start (not sure how far they were down) before they rallied back to overcome the crafty and wily duo that is Bobila/Suba.

Tom La/Mark LaSalle over Dan Hwang/Pranav Sinha, 7-6 (7-5)!  No Aces.  Despite the Tiebreak score, this one got underway on Court Three at 10:30 and was over by 11:15.  The buddy tandem of La/La Salle just got by Hwang/Sinha in what proved to be the closest contest of the entire evening. 

Nick Inciong/Levy Lorenzo over Jose Gonzales/Brian Barbera, 6-2!  No Aces.  Court Four contained this battle from 10:35 to 11:15.  While sitting on the sidelines in the lobby area, Nick and Levy expressed their desire to team together as they felt they each belonged in the thus far nonexistent "Senior Division." Soon, someone coined them (perhaps it was Rizzo) as "The Legends of The Court" and then they went out and lived up to that moniker with an impressive win over the tough pairing of Gonzales and Barbera.

Marijus Kuzavas/Sally Pillay over Bo Folchi/Marie Salamon, 6-1!  No Aces.  Court One hosted this Mixed Doubles contest from 10:45 to 11:05.  On paper, it seemed like it had the potential to be an even battle...but afterwards, Salamon joked to Samara that he "fed them to the wolves!"  Folchi also remarked what a fine tandem that Kuzavas/Pillay were...and he was especially impressed by the talents of "Spicy" Sally.

Senthil Kumar/Ryan Pienciak over Anish Mehta/Alfred Chen, 6-1!  Anish: 1 Ace on Senthil.  This one took place on Court One from 11:10 to 11:35 and fell short (by one point) of being fully completed.  Up 5-1 and with Triple Game Point in favor of Kumar/Pienciak, Chen suffered an injury and it was thought best to just forfeit that point away to allow this one to be recorded as a completed contest.

John Rizzo/Fernanda Toker over Frank Samara/Laurie Boughton, 6-4!  John: 3 Aces (2 on Frank and 1 on Laurie)!  Here's the basic breakdown: Frank was broken on Double Break Point, John was broken (Triple Break Point then shifted to Deuce, Game Point, 2nd Deuce, Break Point, sideline Ace on Frank for 3rd Deuce, Double Fault for Break Point, 4th Deuce and then all Game Points until 7th Deuce, Break Point and the break), Laurie was broken on Break Point, but Fernanda was the first to hold serve and she did it quite impressively at Love for a 3-1 lead.  Samara held at Double Game Point to pull to 2-3, but then Rizzo also held (Double Fault for 30-All, Game Point, Deuce, an Ace up the T against Laurie for Game Point and then came the hold) to go up 4-2.  Boughton was broken again (Double Break Point, Break Point, then the break) to fall to 2-5, but then Toker was broken (30-15 shifted to Break Point, Deuce, Break Point and the break) to have her team's lead cut to 5-3.  Hollywood held again (15-30 shifted straight through Game Point to the hold) to pull to 4-5, but The Riz also held again (30-15, another sideline Ace against Frank to go up Double Game/Match Point, the hold came on Game/Match Point) for an impressive win.  This Mixed Doubles contest took place on Court Two from 11:15 to 12:10 (likely the longest battle of the night, though the lone Women's Doubles One-Setter earlier in the night came close).  Rizzo and Boughton both came into this battle somewhat buzzed (perhaps drunk, even) and it seemed to favor John more than it did Laurie.  Still, it was fairly evenly matched and a lot of fun.  The most noteworthy improvement for John as of late is his service game as he is starting to rack up quite the Ace count.

Don Moya/Janice Wang over Dennis Cabanatan/Jonathan La, 6-1!  No Aces.  These four met on Court Four and the contest lasted from 11:20 to 11:45.

Kris Srinivasan/Raj Boddu over Nihar Panda/Rana Purupati, 6-2!  Raj: 1 Ace on Nihar; and Nihar: 1 Ace on Kris!  They got this one underway on Court Three at 11:20 and it ended just around midnight.

Ryan Sherry/Brian Barbera over Mike Mole/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-2!  No Aces.  Court One hosted this one from 11:40 to 12:05.  Doinks was a late arrival, but quite a welcome one as she enabled us to set the new record of 46 competitors in one evening. 

Dino Celis/Levy Lorenzo over Marijus Kuzavas/Sally Pillay, 6-4!  No Aces.  Court Four featured this foursome from 11:50 to 12:20.

Dennis Cabanatan/Pranav Sinha over Tom La/Jonathan La, 6-3!  No Aces.  This one had begun on Court One at 12:10 and it ended at 12:40.

Anish Mehta/Ryan Pienciak over Raj Boddu/Brian Barbera, 6-1!  No Aces.  This was conducted on Court Two from 12:15 to 12:35.

Mike Mole/Janice Wang over Senthil Kumar/Marie Salamon, 6-2!  Mike: 1 Ace on Senthil.  Court Three was the place to be for this final Mixed Doubles One-Setter of the evening and it lasted from 12:15 to 12:45.  One of the stories of the night was the quite obvious steady improvement of one Mr. Mole.  Holy Moly, indeed!

Marijus Kuzavas/Dino Celis over Dan Hwang/Ryan Sherry, 6-2!  No Aces.  The last official One-Setter of the evening was held on Court Four from 12:25 to 12:45.

All in all, it is simply amazing how many players and how much action we had over the course of a session that lasted about four hours and forty-five minutes!  Thanks to all those who participated and helped us make GTA history.

Sincerely,
Frank Samara

2/23 Results.

2/23/17:         

"Gen/Kris host 6 at C.G., John/Chris host 8 at The Bubble!":                                          

GTA Thursday Tennis first took place at The Cedar Grove Courts (with both "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan and "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan acting as hosts) and then later in the evening it was The Night Owl session at The Wayne Bubble with both "The Riz" John Rizzo and GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro assuming hosting duties.

We will first go to the recap from Kris of the Cedar Grove results (with notes from Gen along the way) and then get the additional scores from The Bubble.

It is great to be back in action and the new season kicked off nicely in Cedar Grove, thanks to Gen. I got a message from Gen that that she was planning to play here at 3pm with Moka Pathan, Mike Mole and possibly "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli to join her. 

As I had to pick up my son Jay and his friends from school, it was a delayed start for me. I did see Moka waiting in his car when I set off to pick up Jay after 3 and upon my return, there was Canadian Doubles going on between Gen, Moka and Mole. Spin was a no-show. 

The Cedar Grove Results:

Kris Srinivasan/Mike Mole over Moka Pathan/Genalin Capan, 7-5!  No Aces.

Gen's Notes: The three of us started hitting at 3:30 and then Kris joined us at 4:15.  We began this One-Setter at 4:30 and it ended at 5:10. 

The K has his say: It was a close set right through its entirety. Gen seemed to be in good form as she got going right off the bat. She took with ease some of Mike's aggressive topspin shots and her net volleys were solid. Moka did pretty good himself. Even though he didn't assert himself, Moka had some amazing shots. Mole was probably the best of the lot, serving well and his ground-strokes were clean and meaty. He also showed a lot of variety with soft touches and drop shots, mixing up the pace beautifully. I feel this season looks very promising for Mike the way he played. It was a mixed bag for me and I have yet to get the pace in my shots.

Brenda Jordan arrived in the early part of our match and she was soon joined by Dawn Peterson. Somebody had placed a dead duck in the adjacent court close to the net. After removing the carcass, Brenda and Dawn got into a hitting session. It was a good warm-up session for them as they got into action in the next and final One-Setter.

Kris Srinivasan/Dawn Peterson over Mike Mole/Brenda Jordan, 7-5!  No Aces.

Moka was done for the day and Gen wanted to take it easy. So the remaining players got into a Mixed Doubles One-Setter with Dawn taking a chance on me...:-).

It turned out to be another close set after Mole and Brenda started off well. They peeled off 3 games from us to a solitary game in our favor before we showed up. Brenda was exceptionally good with her reflex shots and so was Dawn for us in packing the ball back. Mike was good, but some exaggerated serves and overly aggressive shots gave us some free points.  I had some streaky shots (good ones though) going for myself. We had the momentum and were sitting on 2 Match Points to clinch it at 6-4! But silly errors from me (a poor overhead and a net volley) cost us the game. We were in familiar territory again tied at 5-All. Like in the previous set, we managed to pull off the last two games to finish the match and the day at 6pm.

All in all, it was a good start and both the sets were intense with fighting points.  Cheers!

Samara's Notes: I thank both Gen and Kris for their very timely reporting.  It is good to know that The K Man is ready to go as our usual host up at Cedar Grove.  Once the lights come on (March 1^st, thanks to Kris) and my schedule allows it, I will be happy to assist him in those efforts whenever I can.

We now head up to Wayne for the dual report from John and Chris.  We go to Mr. Rizzo (hmm, I think I  remember that name…LOL!) first.

The Wayne Bubble Results:

Sean McHugh/Ryan Sherry over John Rizzo/Kevin Doyle, 6-3!  No Aces. 

John Rizzo over Ryan Sherry, 6-2!  No Aces.  Despite the score, the set was close and the rallies were long. 

Ryan Sherry leading John Rizzo, 3-0 (Incomplete)!  We played it as a Best of 5 games half-set as we were running out of time. 

Chris Chiaro/Senthil Kumar over Lou La Forgia/Ryan Pienciak, 6-4!  No Aces.

Lou La Forgia/Ryan Pienciak over Chris Chiaro/Senthil Kumar, 6-4!  Chris: 1 Ace on Lou.

Chris Chiaro/Senthil Kumar tied with Lou La Forgia/Ryan Pienciak, 5-5 (Incomplete, ran out of time)!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: As always, I thank both John and Chris for reporting the results from these Bubble sessions for the benefit of the league.

Best wishes,

Frank Samara