4/13/18:
"Rajan-Kyle in J.C., 7 (1 New) in Nutley, Jorge-Roger + 13 at C.G., 18 (1 New) at The Bubble!":
With the weather suddenly getting summer-like, there were four sessions of GTA Friday Night Tennis: the first took place in Washington Park in Jersey City (at the border of Union City/West New York, perhaps) as "Ragin'" Rajan Shah and "Kerosene" Kyle Eng got together for their GTA Intermediate Invitational Round of 32 Match (with both reporting).
The second was at The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley as "SWAT" Rich Liu hosted his Meet-Up Group, but the two players reporting from the scene were "The Dark Knight" Dan Knitzer and "Diver Down" Muhammad Haque.
The third began early at The Cedar Grove Courts as "Big George" Jorge Solano and "RKane" Roger Karapin met for their GTA Intermediate Invitational Round of 32 Match (with Roger reporting). And then that led to action involving "Ice Berg" Scott Bergenfeld (which he reported directly) and then that all paved the way for the rest of the session as four of the ladies got together for some Women's Doubles (with "The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan and "Killer Kat" Kathy Sheldon both reporting). Then, Doinks, Kat and Fadia "Finesse" Nicolas all had to leave and that allowed "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan to take over the session (he gave the scores to Doinks to report).
The fourth and final session of the evening was the GTA Friday Night Bubble Party at The Wayne Bubble. This time around, the format was a hybrid of the two formats they have bounced back and forth between (the early two-hour non-stop session and the extended four-hour-plus session) as this one was three hours of non-stop action for the players involved. When some of them left early, that allowed the two hosts ("The Riz" John Rizzo and "Hollywood" Frank Samara) to step in and take their places.
Before we get to all that happened at The Bubble, we need to now backtrack to Jersey City, then go to Nutley and Cedar Grove before returning to Wayne to close out the night's events.
The Washington Park Result:
GTA Intermediate Invitational Round of 32 Match:
Kyle Eng over Rajan Shah, 6-2, 2-6, 6-1, to become the New # 18 Ranked Player in the Intermediate Division while also advancing to the Round of 16 of the GTA Intermediate Invitational! No Aces.
The Kyle File: We met a little after 6:30pm. It was a good match. We were both pretty freaking nervous (this was my first full competitive match since high school!).
The Rajan Report: Yeah, great match...and he's a great competitor.
Samara's Notes: I thank both for their very timely reporting and I congratulate Kyle on an impressive victory. We now go to Nutley for the dual report from Dan and Muhammad.
The Park Ave. Courts Results:
Fausto Murg/Rich Boland over Dan Knitzer/Rich Liu, 6-0! No Aces. It was the official GTA Debut of Rich Boland.
The Dark Knight Recap: Boland only made four or five errors the entire set (all of which were forced). And "sloppy" Fausto made just one unforced error. ;-)
Dan Knitzer/Rich Liu over Arthur Fontanilla/Muhammad Haque, 6-4! No Aces.
Arthur Fontanilla/Muhammad Haque over Dan Knitzer/Rich Liu, 6-0! Muhammad: 1 Ace on Dan!
The Dark Knight Recap: Muhammad only made one unforced error over the course of the two sets. Meanwhile, SWAT and TDK ambitiously made 30-plus unforced errors combined!
Edgar Valencia over Dan Knitzer, 6-4! Edgar: 1 Ace (right up the middle)!
Samara's Notes: I thank Dan for his timely reporting along with his colorful commentary. And I also thank Muhammed who sent in the scores of the sets in which he was involved (he just wasn't sure of the name of his partner). We now head up to Cedar Grove where we first get the result from Roger before moving onto scores from Scott, Doinks and Kris.
The Cedar Grove Results:
GTA Intermediate Invitational Round of 32 Match:
Jorge Solano over Roger Karapin, 6-7 (7-5), 6-2, 10-7 (STB), to advance to the Round of 16 of the GTA Intermediate Invitational! Once they went to the Super Tiebreak, Solano's rank was no longer on the line (but advancement and/or elimination in or from the tourney still were)! In the process, Karapin entered the Intermediate Division as the New # 41 Ranked Player. No Aces (apparently).
The Roger Report: The match was already at 2-1/2 hours long when we decided to play a Super Tiebreak rather than a full 3rd Set. It was 77 degrees and balmy! All the courts were occupied at Cedar Grove.
Samara's Notes: I thank Roger for his timely and comprehensive reporting. The league is growing so fast, he is one of several players I've yet to meet in person. I also congratulate Jorge on a hard-fought victory.
As for the Super Tiebreak, it is allowed in this tournament (except for the Championship Final which must be a full 2 out of 3 Sets Match) but it would be preferred if a full 3rd Set can be played to keep rank on the line in these matches. Still, if time or health is at stake...I'd prefer to see the STB get initiated rather than have the match get scrapped or continued...or have a player need to forfeit the rest of it out due to injury.
Jordan Bachvaroff/Scott Bergenfeld over Syed Rashid/Mike Sindler, 7-5! No Aces.
Scott Bergenfeld over Mike Kazlauskas, 6-4! Scott and Mike: 1 Ace each!
Scott Bergenfeld over Mike Kazlauskas, 6-1! No Aces.
The Scoop from Scott: We played it as two One-Setters as I cannot get involved in outside Challenge Matches while I'm in the GTA Intermediate Invitational. Mike's serve is tough, but he was rusty from not playing the entire off-season. All in all, it was still solid action.
Samara's Notes: I thank Scott for his timely reporting. Mr. Bergenfeld has been turning in impressive victories (in One-Setters) over highly ranked Advanced Division players. As such, he has to be considered to be one of the favorites to go far (perhaps to the Finals) in the GTA Intermediate Invitational.
Doinks Srinivasan/Fadia Nicolas over Kathy Sheldon/Dawn Peterson, 7-5! No Aces.
The Kat's Meow: Doinks and Fadia are now a team together in a USTA Women's Doubles Tournament, so they wanted to get some time teaming together ahead of it. After this one, all but Dawn had to leave.
Samara's Notes: I thank Kat for reporting this to me as soon as she got to The Bubble (where we will be going next in this report). And later, Doinks reported the same...so I thank her as well. We now go back to Doinks for the rest of the results that she got from Kris for the balance of the Cedar Grove session.
Nathan Fernandes/Natalia Sout over Kris Srinivasan/Dawn Peterson, 6-0! No Aces.
Nathan Fernandes/Natalia Sout over Kris Srinivasan/Jose Gonzales, 7-5! Jose: 1 Ace on Natalia!
Samara's Notes: I thank Doinks for providing those additional results. And now it is up to The Bubble we go!
Per the usual, "Hollywood" Frank Samara promoted the GTA Friday Night Bubble Party while "The Riz" John Rizzo went into his usual organizer mode (for these Bubble events) as he began collecting registrations and making plans for snacks, beverages, etc.
Rizzo's usual focus was primarily collecting the paid registrations and then organizing the above accommodations. This time around, Samara made sure that all those that paid received a complimentary (i.e. included in the price of registration) raffle ticket for one of two prizes (Grand Prize was a US Open tennis bag while Runner-Up Prize was a choice of three US Open Tennis hats and/or visors).
Kathy was kind (and generous) enough to bring a cake (I think it was a coffee cake...I didn't get a chance to try it) which was more than enough for everyone in attendance.
The reduced amount of players actually made for a better session as everyone got non-stop play (i.e. not having to sit out between sets) for the course of a three hour session. Of course, per the usual, some decided to leave after just two hours...which led to Samara and Rizzo both having to come in to replace them. Usually, they are happy to do so...but this time around, John was suffering from a toe/foot injury sustained while playing at The Pulaski Park Courts the night before while Frank was under the effects of a major migraine.
Before I go further with the details of how this 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! This time around, it is fairly obvious by the way they took the courts as you will see from the opening round of play. All I will say is was yet another epic session that we plan to continue in a similar fashion one more time next week (April 20th will definitely be the last one as The Bubble will be taken down just days after that and will not be back up until it reopens for business in the fall).
We also once again thank Mark Cipollini for his flexibility (coming in to play when needed and then going back to running The Bubble and cleaning up after our group once we leave). The good news for him was that we did not need him to "work overtime" as we did not run a little long this time around as the last of the official action ended exactly at 11:11 (we began the session at 8:15).
Let's get to the action!
The Wayne Bubble Results:
Matt Fortunato/Laurie Boughton over Thiyagesh Rei/Kathryn Rei, 6-2! Thiyagesh: 1 Ace on Laurie! This Mixed Doubles action took place on Court One from 8:26 to 8:49.
Tim Nguyen/Kathy Sheldon over Detlef von Scholz/Janice Wang, 6-3! No Aces. It was the official GTA Debut of Detlef von Scholz. This Mixed Doubles One-Setter was played on Court Two from 8:30 to 9:02. Detlef is Janice's friend from work.
Elias Eid/John Crespo over Tom La/Sam Wong, 6-0! No Aces. These four faced off on Court Four from 8:31 to 8:52. This was a very impressive win for Eid/Crespo as the La/Wong tandem seemed (on paper, at least) like they should have been an even match-up for Elias and John. Maybe Tom and Sam were just a bit slow coming out of the gate.
Ralph Bernard/Don Moya over Paul Mallick/Mark Cipollini, 7-6 (7-5)! Ralph: 1 Ace on Mark; and Mark: 1 Ace on Don (in the Tiebreak)! This one got underway on Court Three (aka The Show Court) at 8:47. It was fitting that this one would be on the Show Court as all put on quite a show, indeed! There was a lot of hard hitting and smart Doubles play throughout this One-Setter. Down 5-6, Paul and Mark (I cannot remember which one was on serve) saved two Break/Match Points. In the Tiebreak, they were again down. This time it was at 3-6 and they fought off two more M.P.'s to pull to 5-6 where they ultimately went down for the count on the 5th one at 9:41 (just six minutes shy of an hour)! This one has some potential at being a Nominee for One-Set Doubles Match of The Year at season's end.
Tom La/Elias Eid over Sam Wong/John Crespo, 6-2! No Aces. Court Four hosted this action from 8:53 to 9:26. In order for an attempt at a more even match-up, they switched up the teams...and it did help a bit.
Kathy Sheldon/Laurie Boughton over Janice Wang/Kathryn Rei, 6-1! Laurie: 1 Ace on Kathryn! This Women's Doubles One-Setter took place on Court Two from 9:04 to 9:33. And even though Janice and Kathryn were the losers in this one, they would end up being winners later on (more on that in just a bit).
Tim Nguyen/Detlef von Scholz over Thiyagesh Rei/Matt Fortunato, 6-2! No Aces. Court One hosted this one from 9:07 to 9:28. Basically, we had the first two Mixed Doubles One-Setters participants on Courts One and Two then switch up for Men's Doubles and Women's Doubles in the next round of One-Setters.
Once that epic Tiebreak One-Setter finally finished on Court Three (with the other three One-Setters all ending around the same time), it was a good time to conduct the raffle. We thought it made the most sense to pull the ticket for the Grand Prize first as that would then take that winner out of the running when we pulled the next ticket for the Runner-Up Prize. Janice won the US Open tennis bag and then Kathryn won the US Open visor (she had a choice of three visors and/or hats and, initially, she was going to pick a light blue cap until she realized her hubby would end up taking that one for himself...so then she opted for the pink visor instead...a white cap was the third option).
After that, it was back out onto the courts for some more action. John and Frank were both so mentally exhausted by this time, that they just left it up to the players to determine their next round of match-ups for themselves.
Janice Wang/Kathy Sheldon over Tim Nguyen/Detlef von Scholz, 6-3! Detlef: 2 Aces (one on each)! This Mixed Doubles One-Setter was done "Battle of The Sexes" style and I believe that was the choice made by the ladies. Well, it ended up being Ladies Night, indeed...with an impressive victory here! This was played on Court Two from 9:50 to 10:25. They opted to forego the changeovers (if any previous One-Setters did the same, I must have missed it along the way).
Tom La/Sam Wong over Don Moya/Matt Fortunato, 6-1! No Aces. Court Four hosted these four from 9:50 to 10:27 as Tom and Sam finally got their act together with a solid win in this one.
2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:
Elias Eid/John Crespo over Ralph Bernard/Paul Mallick, 6-4, 6-1, to successfully defend their # 135 Rank in the Doubles Division! In the process, Bernard/Mallick entered the division as the New # 146 Ranked Team. No Aces. This one got underway on Court Three at 9:50. The 1st Set ended at 10:32. A couple of minutes later, they launched into the next one and the entire match was finished at 10:55.
Frank Samara/Laurie Boughton over Thiyagesh Rei/Kathryn Rei, 6-1! No Aces. It went like this: Thiyagesh was broken (started off with two Double Faults, then 15-30, Double Break Point, Break Point and the break), Frank held at Love, Kathryn was broken (Love-30, 15-30, Double Break Point and the break) and Laurie held serve (15-Love, 15-All then onto Double Game Point which was reduced to Deuce and then Break Point, 2nd Deuce, Game Point and the hold) to take a fairly commanding 4-0 lead. T. Rei then held (15-Love, 15-All then onto Double Game Point and the hold) to get his team onto the scoreboard only to then have Samara hold again (30-Love shifted to 30-All, but then came Game Point and the hold) and K. Rei was broken again (Love-30 went straight to Game Point, then Deuce, Game Point again, 2nd Deuce, Break/Match Point and the break) to take the loss! We played this one on Court One from 9:52 to 10:14. With all the other courts still in the midst of their action and nobody but Rizzo waiting in the lounge area, we decided to play another one but this next time around we switched up the teams.
Thiyagesh Rei/Laurie Boughton over Frank Samara/Kathryn Rei, 6-3! No Aces. Here's how it went down: Kathryn was broken at Love and Laurie held (15-Love then point for point to Game Point and then the hold) for 2-0. Frank held (Love-15 went straight to Double Game Point and the hold), but Thiyagesh also held (Love-15 and then we shifted from Court One to Court Two...more on that later...and the change must have done Tim some good as he then went straight to Double Game Point and the hold) to go up 3-1. K. Rei was broken again (Triple Break Point, Double Break Point and then the break) to fall to 1-4, but Boughton was also broken (15-Love, 15-All, a Double Fault for 15-30, 30-All, Break Point and the break) and then Samara held again (Triple Break Point and then a bounce all the way to Deuce, Break Point again and then 2nd Deuce, Game Point and the hold) to pull to 3-4! But from there, T. Rei held again (15-Love shifted to 15-30 shifted again to Game Point and then the hold) and then The Kill was broken once more (15-Love, 15-All then onto Double Game Point, Game Point, a Double Fault for Deuce, Break/Match Point, 2nd Deuce, 2nd Break/Match Point, 3rd Deuce, 3rd Break/Match Point and finally the break) in the best battle of the match! We also played this one on Court One and it lasted from 10:16 to 10:48.
Samara's Notes: I have given Kathryn the moniker "The Kill" based on her volleyball background as what we call an Overhead Smash in tennis, they call a Kill or a Spike...and these are the shots she likes to hit. For someone so new to tennis, she has no fear at the net and actually loves to be there to finish points. It is that volleyball "upbringing" that is going to allow her to be a fast learner here in tennis. She was fun to team with and I just hope she doesn't end up being too hard on herself too soon...there were moments of some frustration for her upon hitting unforced errors, but she had many winners (most of the smashes at the net, but also some nice passing shots as well) which she can build upon going forward. As long as she has some patience with her progress, she will be fine in no time.
As for the switch from Court One to Court Two at 10:27, this was done to avoid having to pay for all four courts for the entire three hours as, with some players already leaving, we only needed three courts for the final hour.
Sam Wong/Janice Wang over Don Moya/Matt Fortunato, 6-3! No Aces. They played this on Court Four from 10:30 to 10:49.
Sam Wong/Janice Wang over Thiyagesh Rei/Kathryn Rei, 6-2! No Aces. This was also played on Court Four and it lasted from 10:50 to 11:10.
John Rizzo/Don Moya over Frank Samara/Laurie Boughton, 6-0! No Aces. Also no changeovers, so I committed the flow of the games to memory...and here's how they went down: Laurie was broken (Love-30, 15-30, Double Break Point, Break Point and the break, Don held (30-Love shifted to 30-All, Game Point and the hold), Frank was broken (Triple Break Point cut down to Break Point, but then came the break), John held (15-Love, 15-All then onto Double Game Point and the hold), Boughton was broken again as Love-15 shifted to 30-15 shifted again to Break Point and then the break while Moya held again (15-Love went right down to Double Break Point, but then a bounce back to Deuce, then Game/Match Point and the hold) as we got this one done just in time! We started it on Court Two at 10:53 and finished it at 11:11.
Samara's Notes: John was even more loathe to play than I was as his foot (can't remember which one, but the pain started in his big toe and went down that side of the foot) was really bothering him and he knew it would greatly restrict his mobility. But his services were needed for Doubles, so he told Don that he would have to do the lion's share of the running...and so he did! But he was even more deadly with his shot selection than he was with his get-making (though there was a truly sweet get that Mr. Moya made to a short drop shot that most players would not have gotten to on time).
It ended up being quite the enjoyable and productive session...which is why we will continue this format for one more week (demand will determine if it will once again be three hours or a return to the four-plus-hour session). We thank all those who were a part of it.
Sincerely,
Frank Samara
gtasamara5@gmail.com
"Rajan-Kyle in J.C., 7 (1 New) in Nutley, Jorge-Roger + 13 at C.G., 18 (1 New) at The Bubble!":
With the weather suddenly getting summer-like, there were four sessions of GTA Friday Night Tennis: the first took place in Washington Park in Jersey City (at the border of Union City/West New York, perhaps) as "Ragin'" Rajan Shah and "Kerosene" Kyle Eng got together for their GTA Intermediate Invitational Round of 32 Match (with both reporting).
The second was at The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley as "SWAT" Rich Liu hosted his Meet-Up Group, but the two players reporting from the scene were "The Dark Knight" Dan Knitzer and "Diver Down" Muhammad Haque.
The third began early at The Cedar Grove Courts as "Big George" Jorge Solano and "RKane" Roger Karapin met for their GTA Intermediate Invitational Round of 32 Match (with Roger reporting). And then that led to action involving "Ice Berg" Scott Bergenfeld (which he reported directly) and then that all paved the way for the rest of the session as four of the ladies got together for some Women's Doubles (with "The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan and "Killer Kat" Kathy Sheldon both reporting). Then, Doinks, Kat and Fadia "Finesse" Nicolas all had to leave and that allowed "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan to take over the session (he gave the scores to Doinks to report).
The fourth and final session of the evening was the GTA Friday Night Bubble Party at The Wayne Bubble. This time around, the format was a hybrid of the two formats they have bounced back and forth between (the early two-hour non-stop session and the extended four-hour-plus session) as this one was three hours of non-stop action for the players involved. When some of them left early, that allowed the two hosts ("The Riz" John Rizzo and "Hollywood" Frank Samara) to step in and take their places.
Before we get to all that happened at The Bubble, we need to now backtrack to Jersey City, then go to Nutley and Cedar Grove before returning to Wayne to close out the night's events.
The Washington Park Result:
GTA Intermediate Invitational Round of 32 Match:
Kyle Eng over Rajan Shah, 6-2, 2-6, 6-1, to become the New # 18 Ranked Player in the Intermediate Division while also advancing to the Round of 16 of the GTA Intermediate Invitational! No Aces.
The Kyle File: We met a little after 6:30pm. It was a good match. We were both pretty freaking nervous (this was my first full competitive match since high school!).
The Rajan Report: Yeah, great match...and he's a great competitor.
Samara's Notes: I thank both for their very timely reporting and I congratulate Kyle on an impressive victory. We now go to Nutley for the dual report from Dan and Muhammad.
The Park Ave. Courts Results:
Fausto Murg/Rich Boland over Dan Knitzer/Rich Liu, 6-0! No Aces. It was the official GTA Debut of Rich Boland.
The Dark Knight Recap: Boland only made four or five errors the entire set (all of which were forced). And "sloppy" Fausto made just one unforced error. ;-)
Dan Knitzer/Rich Liu over Arthur Fontanilla/Muhammad Haque, 6-4! No Aces.
Arthur Fontanilla/Muhammad Haque over Dan Knitzer/Rich Liu, 6-0! Muhammad: 1 Ace on Dan!
The Dark Knight Recap: Muhammad only made one unforced error over the course of the two sets. Meanwhile, SWAT and TDK ambitiously made 30-plus unforced errors combined!
Edgar Valencia over Dan Knitzer, 6-4! Edgar: 1 Ace (right up the middle)!
Samara's Notes: I thank Dan for his timely reporting along with his colorful commentary. And I also thank Muhammed who sent in the scores of the sets in which he was involved (he just wasn't sure of the name of his partner). We now head up to Cedar Grove where we first get the result from Roger before moving onto scores from Scott, Doinks and Kris.
The Cedar Grove Results:
GTA Intermediate Invitational Round of 32 Match:
Jorge Solano over Roger Karapin, 6-7 (7-5), 6-2, 10-7 (STB), to advance to the Round of 16 of the GTA Intermediate Invitational! Once they went to the Super Tiebreak, Solano's rank was no longer on the line (but advancement and/or elimination in or from the tourney still were)! In the process, Karapin entered the Intermediate Division as the New # 41 Ranked Player. No Aces (apparently).
The Roger Report: The match was already at 2-1/2 hours long when we decided to play a Super Tiebreak rather than a full 3rd Set. It was 77 degrees and balmy! All the courts were occupied at Cedar Grove.
Samara's Notes: I thank Roger for his timely and comprehensive reporting. The league is growing so fast, he is one of several players I've yet to meet in person. I also congratulate Jorge on a hard-fought victory.
As for the Super Tiebreak, it is allowed in this tournament (except for the Championship Final which must be a full 2 out of 3 Sets Match) but it would be preferred if a full 3rd Set can be played to keep rank on the line in these matches. Still, if time or health is at stake...I'd prefer to see the STB get initiated rather than have the match get scrapped or continued...or have a player need to forfeit the rest of it out due to injury.
Jordan Bachvaroff/Scott Bergenfeld over Syed Rashid/Mike Sindler, 7-5! No Aces.
Scott Bergenfeld over Mike Kazlauskas, 6-4! Scott and Mike: 1 Ace each!
Scott Bergenfeld over Mike Kazlauskas, 6-1! No Aces.
The Scoop from Scott: We played it as two One-Setters as I cannot get involved in outside Challenge Matches while I'm in the GTA Intermediate Invitational. Mike's serve is tough, but he was rusty from not playing the entire off-season. All in all, it was still solid action.
Samara's Notes: I thank Scott for his timely reporting. Mr. Bergenfeld has been turning in impressive victories (in One-Setters) over highly ranked Advanced Division players. As such, he has to be considered to be one of the favorites to go far (perhaps to the Finals) in the GTA Intermediate Invitational.
Doinks Srinivasan/Fadia Nicolas over Kathy Sheldon/Dawn Peterson, 7-5! No Aces.
The Kat's Meow: Doinks and Fadia are now a team together in a USTA Women's Doubles Tournament, so they wanted to get some time teaming together ahead of it. After this one, all but Dawn had to leave.
Samara's Notes: I thank Kat for reporting this to me as soon as she got to The Bubble (where we will be going next in this report). And later, Doinks reported the same...so I thank her as well. We now go back to Doinks for the rest of the results that she got from Kris for the balance of the Cedar Grove session.
Nathan Fernandes/Natalia Sout over Kris Srinivasan/Dawn Peterson, 6-0! No Aces.
Nathan Fernandes/Natalia Sout over Kris Srinivasan/Jose Gonzales, 7-5! Jose: 1 Ace on Natalia!
Samara's Notes: I thank Doinks for providing those additional results. And now it is up to The Bubble we go!
Per the usual, "Hollywood" Frank Samara promoted the GTA Friday Night Bubble Party while "The Riz" John Rizzo went into his usual organizer mode (for these Bubble events) as he began collecting registrations and making plans for snacks, beverages, etc.
Rizzo's usual focus was primarily collecting the paid registrations and then organizing the above accommodations. This time around, Samara made sure that all those that paid received a complimentary (i.e. included in the price of registration) raffle ticket for one of two prizes (Grand Prize was a US Open tennis bag while Runner-Up Prize was a choice of three US Open Tennis hats and/or visors).
Kathy was kind (and generous) enough to bring a cake (I think it was a coffee cake...I didn't get a chance to try it) which was more than enough for everyone in attendance.
The reduced amount of players actually made for a better session as everyone got non-stop play (i.e. not having to sit out between sets) for the course of a three hour session. Of course, per the usual, some decided to leave after just two hours...which led to Samara and Rizzo both having to come in to replace them. Usually, they are happy to do so...but this time around, John was suffering from a toe/foot injury sustained while playing at The Pulaski Park Courts the night before while Frank was under the effects of a major migraine.
Before I go further with the details of how this 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! This time around, it is fairly obvious by the way they took the courts as you will see from the opening round of play. All I will say is was yet another epic session that we plan to continue in a similar fashion one more time next week (April 20th will definitely be the last one as The Bubble will be taken down just days after that and will not be back up until it reopens for business in the fall).
We also once again thank Mark Cipollini for his flexibility (coming in to play when needed and then going back to running The Bubble and cleaning up after our group once we leave). The good news for him was that we did not need him to "work overtime" as we did not run a little long this time around as the last of the official action ended exactly at 11:11 (we began the session at 8:15).
Let's get to the action!
The Wayne Bubble Results:
Matt Fortunato/Laurie Boughton over Thiyagesh Rei/Kathryn Rei, 6-2! Thiyagesh: 1 Ace on Laurie! This Mixed Doubles action took place on Court One from 8:26 to 8:49.
Tim Nguyen/Kathy Sheldon over Detlef von Scholz/Janice Wang, 6-3! No Aces. It was the official GTA Debut of Detlef von Scholz. This Mixed Doubles One-Setter was played on Court Two from 8:30 to 9:02. Detlef is Janice's friend from work.
Elias Eid/John Crespo over Tom La/Sam Wong, 6-0! No Aces. These four faced off on Court Four from 8:31 to 8:52. This was a very impressive win for Eid/Crespo as the La/Wong tandem seemed (on paper, at least) like they should have been an even match-up for Elias and John. Maybe Tom and Sam were just a bit slow coming out of the gate.
Ralph Bernard/Don Moya over Paul Mallick/Mark Cipollini, 7-6 (7-5)! Ralph: 1 Ace on Mark; and Mark: 1 Ace on Don (in the Tiebreak)! This one got underway on Court Three (aka The Show Court) at 8:47. It was fitting that this one would be on the Show Court as all put on quite a show, indeed! There was a lot of hard hitting and smart Doubles play throughout this One-Setter. Down 5-6, Paul and Mark (I cannot remember which one was on serve) saved two Break/Match Points. In the Tiebreak, they were again down. This time it was at 3-6 and they fought off two more M.P.'s to pull to 5-6 where they ultimately went down for the count on the 5th one at 9:41 (just six minutes shy of an hour)! This one has some potential at being a Nominee for One-Set Doubles Match of The Year at season's end.
Tom La/Elias Eid over Sam Wong/John Crespo, 6-2! No Aces. Court Four hosted this action from 8:53 to 9:26. In order for an attempt at a more even match-up, they switched up the teams...and it did help a bit.
Kathy Sheldon/Laurie Boughton over Janice Wang/Kathryn Rei, 6-1! Laurie: 1 Ace on Kathryn! This Women's Doubles One-Setter took place on Court Two from 9:04 to 9:33. And even though Janice and Kathryn were the losers in this one, they would end up being winners later on (more on that in just a bit).
Tim Nguyen/Detlef von Scholz over Thiyagesh Rei/Matt Fortunato, 6-2! No Aces. Court One hosted this one from 9:07 to 9:28. Basically, we had the first two Mixed Doubles One-Setters participants on Courts One and Two then switch up for Men's Doubles and Women's Doubles in the next round of One-Setters.
Once that epic Tiebreak One-Setter finally finished on Court Three (with the other three One-Setters all ending around the same time), it was a good time to conduct the raffle. We thought it made the most sense to pull the ticket for the Grand Prize first as that would then take that winner out of the running when we pulled the next ticket for the Runner-Up Prize. Janice won the US Open tennis bag and then Kathryn won the US Open visor (she had a choice of three visors and/or hats and, initially, she was going to pick a light blue cap until she realized her hubby would end up taking that one for himself...so then she opted for the pink visor instead...a white cap was the third option).
After that, it was back out onto the courts for some more action. John and Frank were both so mentally exhausted by this time, that they just left it up to the players to determine their next round of match-ups for themselves.
Janice Wang/Kathy Sheldon over Tim Nguyen/Detlef von Scholz, 6-3! Detlef: 2 Aces (one on each)! This Mixed Doubles One-Setter was done "Battle of The Sexes" style and I believe that was the choice made by the ladies. Well, it ended up being Ladies Night, indeed...with an impressive victory here! This was played on Court Two from 9:50 to 10:25. They opted to forego the changeovers (if any previous One-Setters did the same, I must have missed it along the way).
Tom La/Sam Wong over Don Moya/Matt Fortunato, 6-1! No Aces. Court Four hosted these four from 9:50 to 10:27 as Tom and Sam finally got their act together with a solid win in this one.
2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:
Elias Eid/John Crespo over Ralph Bernard/Paul Mallick, 6-4, 6-1, to successfully defend their # 135 Rank in the Doubles Division! In the process, Bernard/Mallick entered the division as the New # 146 Ranked Team. No Aces. This one got underway on Court Three at 9:50. The 1st Set ended at 10:32. A couple of minutes later, they launched into the next one and the entire match was finished at 10:55.
Frank Samara/Laurie Boughton over Thiyagesh Rei/Kathryn Rei, 6-1! No Aces. It went like this: Thiyagesh was broken (started off with two Double Faults, then 15-30, Double Break Point, Break Point and the break), Frank held at Love, Kathryn was broken (Love-30, 15-30, Double Break Point and the break) and Laurie held serve (15-Love, 15-All then onto Double Game Point which was reduced to Deuce and then Break Point, 2nd Deuce, Game Point and the hold) to take a fairly commanding 4-0 lead. T. Rei then held (15-Love, 15-All then onto Double Game Point and the hold) to get his team onto the scoreboard only to then have Samara hold again (30-Love shifted to 30-All, but then came Game Point and the hold) and K. Rei was broken again (Love-30 went straight to Game Point, then Deuce, Game Point again, 2nd Deuce, Break/Match Point and the break) to take the loss! We played this one on Court One from 9:52 to 10:14. With all the other courts still in the midst of their action and nobody but Rizzo waiting in the lounge area, we decided to play another one but this next time around we switched up the teams.
Thiyagesh Rei/Laurie Boughton over Frank Samara/Kathryn Rei, 6-3! No Aces. Here's how it went down: Kathryn was broken at Love and Laurie held (15-Love then point for point to Game Point and then the hold) for 2-0. Frank held (Love-15 went straight to Double Game Point and the hold), but Thiyagesh also held (Love-15 and then we shifted from Court One to Court Two...more on that later...and the change must have done Tim some good as he then went straight to Double Game Point and the hold) to go up 3-1. K. Rei was broken again (Triple Break Point, Double Break Point and then the break) to fall to 1-4, but Boughton was also broken (15-Love, 15-All, a Double Fault for 15-30, 30-All, Break Point and the break) and then Samara held again (Triple Break Point and then a bounce all the way to Deuce, Break Point again and then 2nd Deuce, Game Point and the hold) to pull to 3-4! But from there, T. Rei held again (15-Love shifted to 15-30 shifted again to Game Point and then the hold) and then The Kill was broken once more (15-Love, 15-All then onto Double Game Point, Game Point, a Double Fault for Deuce, Break/Match Point, 2nd Deuce, 2nd Break/Match Point, 3rd Deuce, 3rd Break/Match Point and finally the break) in the best battle of the match! We also played this one on Court One and it lasted from 10:16 to 10:48.
Samara's Notes: I have given Kathryn the moniker "The Kill" based on her volleyball background as what we call an Overhead Smash in tennis, they call a Kill or a Spike...and these are the shots she likes to hit. For someone so new to tennis, she has no fear at the net and actually loves to be there to finish points. It is that volleyball "upbringing" that is going to allow her to be a fast learner here in tennis. She was fun to team with and I just hope she doesn't end up being too hard on herself too soon...there were moments of some frustration for her upon hitting unforced errors, but she had many winners (most of the smashes at the net, but also some nice passing shots as well) which she can build upon going forward. As long as she has some patience with her progress, she will be fine in no time.
As for the switch from Court One to Court Two at 10:27, this was done to avoid having to pay for all four courts for the entire three hours as, with some players already leaving, we only needed three courts for the final hour.
Sam Wong/Janice Wang over Don Moya/Matt Fortunato, 6-3! No Aces. They played this on Court Four from 10:30 to 10:49.
Sam Wong/Janice Wang over Thiyagesh Rei/Kathryn Rei, 6-2! No Aces. This was also played on Court Four and it lasted from 10:50 to 11:10.
John Rizzo/Don Moya over Frank Samara/Laurie Boughton, 6-0! No Aces. Also no changeovers, so I committed the flow of the games to memory...and here's how they went down: Laurie was broken (Love-30, 15-30, Double Break Point, Break Point and the break, Don held (30-Love shifted to 30-All, Game Point and the hold), Frank was broken (Triple Break Point cut down to Break Point, but then came the break), John held (15-Love, 15-All then onto Double Game Point and the hold), Boughton was broken again as Love-15 shifted to 30-15 shifted again to Break Point and then the break while Moya held again (15-Love went right down to Double Break Point, but then a bounce back to Deuce, then Game/Match Point and the hold) as we got this one done just in time! We started it on Court Two at 10:53 and finished it at 11:11.
Samara's Notes: John was even more loathe to play than I was as his foot (can't remember which one, but the pain started in his big toe and went down that side of the foot) was really bothering him and he knew it would greatly restrict his mobility. But his services were needed for Doubles, so he told Don that he would have to do the lion's share of the running...and so he did! But he was even more deadly with his shot selection than he was with his get-making (though there was a truly sweet get that Mr. Moya made to a short drop shot that most players would not have gotten to on time).
It ended up being quite the enjoyable and productive session...which is why we will continue this format for one more week (demand will determine if it will once again be three hours or a return to the four-plus-hour session). We thank all those who were a part of it.
Sincerely,
Frank Samara
gtasamara5@gmail.com
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