"Tan drops out! Kumar-Shiao in Wayne, the I-M Final!":
Before any official session could occur, perhaps the biggest news of the day came via text message from "Excellent" Evonne Tan to "Hollywood" Frank Samara as she informed him that she would have to drop out of the GTA Women's Championship Tournament and the GTA Women's Division altogether.
The reason: She is now pregnant with her second child. So first, we offer her hearty congratulations on the good news! She said she is already experiencing morning sickness and the like…which is why she cannot continue further. And as she will not be able to play for the balance of this season, it just makes sense to remove her from the ranks now.
She said she enjoyed being back in the league again even though her stay was brief. If we are lucky, maybe we will be graced with her presence again sometime next season.
As a result, "The Amazing" Mindy Zhang advances to the Semifinals via a bye. She will face "Spicy" Sally Pillay in that round. On the other side of the draw, Laura "The Aura" Gawley is still waiting for the winner of the Quarterfinal Match between "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan and "C.A.T." Christine Toth. Gen is hopeful that match will be played by the end of this coming weekend.
"Big Jake" Rich Jachens sent out a group-wide e-mail to the league stating he went up to Cedar Grove at 6:30 and saw no one there. He likely went there too early. But Tuesday night is also the evening for The Pickle Ballers…so maybe they dominated the courts once they got there.
Nobody reported any results from Cedar Grove, so I will assume nothing GTA-related happened there (and the same holds true for Robin Hood Park in Clifton).
But a very important result was reported from The Nellis Drive Courts in Wayne as the GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament Final was finally played between "The Webmaster" Senthil Kumar and Tony "Sure Shot" Shiao. The score was sent in by Tony and commentary was delivered by both players.
The Nellis Drive Result:
GTA Intermediate Invitational Final Match:
Tony Shiao over Senthil Kumar, 6-4, 6-3, to become both the New # 10 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division and the New # 2 Ranked Player in the Intermediate Division while winning the 2016 GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament! Tony: 1 Ace in the 1st Set.
The Sure Shot from Shiao: Senthil and I played our GTA Intermediate Invitational Final Match in the evening in Wayne. Knowing that Wayne would be Senthil's home court advantage, I suggested playing at Mountainside Park in Montclair or at Cedar Grove. He mentioned that the courts in Wayne were freshly paved and painted and I wanted to check them out, so we decided to meet at 6:30pm at the courts across from The Bubble.
We warmed up for about 15 minutes and started our match. In the 1st Set, we were trading games until I was able to break and hold. I took it at 6-4 with an Ace down the line. The 2nd Set was equally as grueling and we were both moving the ball well. I was able to also take the set at 6-3 with the Match Point being a lob winner. Senthil was very consistent, quick, and he mixed up his shots. I was running side to side and to the net and back. I had to adjust my game to suit his style and luckily it worked out in my favor. The lights never turned on, but we finished before it got too dark to see the ball.
The Untangled Web from Senthil: Tony and I know each other's game very well as he was my hitting partner last summer. His game plan this time around came with new strategy which caught me by surprise and he chased down many of my would-be winning shots and kept them in play.
His strength and young legs kept me off balance throughout the match. Unable to hold my serve during critical moments cost me the match. In the 2nd Set, while serving for the match, he pushed me to the net and made three perfect lobs to win the match. Most points in the match were rallies of five shots and above. There were hardly any easy points.
Samara's Notes: Congratulations to Tony as I know he's been trying to win this tourney for a few years now. Each season, he did better than the last. Kudos also to Senthil who had a very good run in this event...I think better than most expected.
The Consequences: Next, Shiao will challenge GTA Intermediate Champ: "The Legendary" Chazz Weldon for that Title.
Sincerely,
Frank Samara
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