6/9

"Shiao-Praport in Montclair, Lukasz-Derek at RHP, Samara hosts 15 at C.G.!":

There were three sessions of GTA Thursday Tennis - a daytime session at Mountainside Park in Montclair featuring Tony "Sure Shot" Shiao once again putting his Advanced Division rank on the line against "The Speed Demon" Dan Praport; a late afternoon/early evening session at Robin Hood Park hosted by "Hollywood" Frank Samara and featuring a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match between Derek "Bronze" Bronisz and his stepson "Lightning" Lukasz Krzesiewicz; and a nighttime session up at The Cedar Grove Courts that was also hosted by Samara.

Let's first go to Montclair for the score that was sent in by Shiao with some additional detail from Praport.

The Mountainside Park Result:

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:
Dan Praport over Tony Shiao, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, to become the New # 19 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division!  No Aces.

The Sure Shot from Shiao:

Samara's Notes: I thank Tony for sending in that result in a very timely fashion and I congratulate Dan on a hard-fought victory.  We now go to the full recap from RHP.

Samara had notified the league earlier in the day that he would be able to host the session at Robin Hood Park for the second straight Thursday night in a row.

Frank pulled up to the park at 5:15.  At that time, he saw Sachiko "Sachi" Tokuda practicing alone on the Entrance Court.  Samara walked out onto Championship Court where he eventually ended up lounging out on his back and narrowly avoiding an impromptu sleep session.

At 5:25, the same annoying father/son duo took Center Court and now this time around the guy had his daughter in tow and on roller blades just to add to the nuisance factor.

Thankfully, when Sachiko approached Frank to hit with on Championship Court, the family trio shifted from Center Court to the Entrance Court.  And when the high winds became too much for them, they left altogether at 5:55.

Just five minutes prior to that, Lukasz and Derek arrived and took Center Court.  We had seen Bronisz arrive late on a Sunday session a few weeks ago (though he was too late to get involved in any official GTA action), but we had not seen Krzesiewicz since late last season.

They were both fortunate enough to play deep into last season, so they were still on the active list...but just barely.  When the two of them entered into a match at 5:55, Frank informed them that it would be in their best interest to report this result to the league and Lukasz agreed.

Also, about that change of moniker for Mr. Bronisz.  I had been calling him "Bruiser" (due to his rugged and manly looks), but then I realized I had also given the same nickname to Justin Berardo (another one who has been AWOL since last season and has already fallen off the ranks due to inactivity).

But when Derek removed his shirt (as he has done several times in the past) just a couple of points into the match against Lukasz, I realized that "Bronze" is a better moniker as he seems to like to work on that bronze suntan while playing (plus, I am always a fan of alliteration).

The Samara-Tokuda hitting session on Championship Court lasted until 6:25.  Sachiko is quite adept at hitting volleys at the net.  We hope to get her involved in more Doubles action as we move forward through the season.

Speaking of Doubles, Lukasz and Derek were hoping for some once their match concluded at 6:50.  Frank sent out a text to "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli, but his reply was that he was not feeling well.

Instead, it was a three-way hitting session with Frank hitting against both Derek and Lukasz on Center Court until 7:25.  From there, Samara headed up to Cedar Grove.  But before we get to all that, let's first grab that score from RHP.

The RHP Result:

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:
Derek Bronisz over Lukasz Krzesiewicz, 6-3, 6-3, to become the New # 29 Ranked Player in the Intermediate Division!  No Aces.  This was played on Center Court from 5:55 to 6:50.

When that hitting session afterward lasted until 7:25, it was perfect timing as "Coach" Dino Celis arrived at that exact same time and offered to give Samara a ride up there.

Celis and Samara arrived at Cedar Grove at 7:35.  On Court One, there was "The Ambidextrous Machine" Herb Reiner practicing by himself. 

Court Two was empty until Dino took it over for a planned drill/lesson/hitting session with "The Natural" Natalie Guzman. 

Court Three had "ME" Michel Encarnacion hitting solo against "Latino Heat" Jose Gonzales and "Dominant" Dawn Peterson.  So Samara was called over to that court to make it a foursome.

And on Court Four there was a couple that would stay there for a majority of the night (they left at 9:05).

"Papa K" Kris Srinivasan made his way over to the courts at 7:40.  He gravitated toward Court Three.  Once Michel announced he only had time for a One-Setter and then he would have to leave, Samara opted out of the official action to let the other four compete instead.

At 7:45, both "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes and Santos "Ever" Reddy arrived at the same time.  For a moment, both sat on the bench outside Court Four.  Samara then suggested they go to Court One to hit with Herb who usually enjoys a sparring partner when he doesn't have one already.  Nate accepted the invitation, but Santosh did not.

Five minutes later, Guzman arrived and was directed over to Court Two to hit with Celis. 

At 7:55, "Net Profit" Praful Nair took a seat next to Santosh on the bench.  Within ten minutes, when the players on Court One and Court Two noticed there were some waiting, they decided to consolidate the hitting sessions onto one court (it was Court One).  Dino did the coaching while Nate and Herb did the hitting against Natalie who was up to the task as she continues to display her rapid improvement.

Meanwhile, Praful and Santosh made their way over to Court Two.  First, they had a fairly lengthy hitting session as it seems both were hoping to play Doubles.  But when that failed to materialize, they played a Singles One-Setter with one another instead.

Attendance settled for about an hour until we had both The Dwights (Dwight Thomas Sr. and Dwight Thomas Jr., and I realize we should call them The Thomases...but The Dwights has a better ring to it...and Thomases makes me think of English muffins...not that having that thought is a bad thing) and The Gawleys (Rowdy Rob and Laura The Aura) all arrive at 8:55.

And at 9pm, we had two more as it was "Quick Draw" Chris Lehmann and "Kaboom" Raj Boddu making their way toward the courts as well.

We ended up with a total of fifteen actual competitors and that does not include Reiner and Guzman who never got involved in any official action.  

The Cedar Grove Results:

Kris Srinivasan/Michel Encarnacion over Jose Gonzales/Dawn Peterson, 7-5!  Jose: 1 Ace on Kris.  They were on serve until 2-3 with Kris and Michel trailing at that point until they took three straight games to go up 5-3 and then they finally dropped a game to make it 5-4.  Encarnacion then seemingly got tight while serving as he hit a Double Fault to set up Triple Break Point and was then broken at Love to allow the opposition to even the score at 5-5!  But then they regrouped, got their act together and took the last two games to seal the deal.  This was played on Court Three from 7:45 to 8:25.

Kris Srinivasan/Frank Samara over Jose Gonzales/Dawn Peterson, 6-1!  Kris: 1 Ace on Dawn.  It went like this: Frank held serve (Kris hit a winning Overhead Smash for 15-Love, but then it went straight to Double Break Point as Dawn hit a passing shot winner and Jose hit a winning return along the way, but then three consecutive un-returned serves took it all the way thru Deuce and onto Game Point where Kris hit a winning volley to secure his partner's hold), Jose held (Dawn blew a volley for Love-15, but then two un-returned serves led to Double Game Point where Kris hit a winning return for Game Point, but then came the hold), Kris held at Love with three un-returned serves, but Dawn was the first to be broken (back-to-back winners from Kris made it Love-30, but then Frank blew what would have been his Windmill Overhead Smash to make it 15-30, then came Double Break Point where Kris hit the winner for the break) to go down 1-3.  Samara held again (Dawn hit a winning Overhead Smash for Love-15, but it shifted to 30-15 as Kris hit a winning volley and then there was an un-returned serve, but then it shifted to Break Point, Deuce, Game Point, 2nd Deuce, Game Point and the hold...and I likely forgot some winners once it went beyond Deuce), but Gonzales was broken (Kris hit a winning return for Love-15, it then shifted to 30-15, then it was 30-All where Frank hit a wicked Windmill Overhead Smash for Break Point...and now the winners are definitely forgotten here forward as it went to Deuce, Break Point, 2nd Deuce, Game Point, 3rd Deuce, Game Point, 4th Deuce, Break Point, 5th Deuce, Game Point, 6th Deuce, Break Point and the break) to fall to 1-5!  And then Srinivasan held again (Frank hit a winning Overhead Smash for 30-Love and theb Kris made a great get in the next point to set up Triple Game/Match Point where he nailed Dawn with an Ace up the T for his second consecutive Love hold) to get the win!  We played this one on Court Three from 8:30 to 8:58.

The Skinny: Kris was absolutely on fire in this one as he hit the majority of winners throughout the contest.  Everyone else had some moments worthy of the highlight reel balanced by others that were less than worthy.  It was a fun One-Setter.

Praful Nair over Santosh Reddy, 6-0!  No Aces.  This one took place on Court Two from 8:35 to 8:55.

Santosh Reddy/Nathan Fernandes over Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley, 6-3!  No Aces (apparently).  This one started on Court One at 9:07.  Not sure when it ended as it went right into another one that ended up being incomplete due to lights-out...but first.

Chris Lehmann/Praful Nair over Dwight Thomas Sr./Dwight Thomas Jr., 6-1!  Junior: 1 Ace on Chris.  They played this one on Court Three from 9:07 to 9:30.  They then went into another one that would be cut short at 10pm as well...but first.

Kris Srinivasan/Jose Gonzales over Dino Celis/Raj Boddu, 6-3!  No Aces.  Kris and Jose got off to a 4-0 start which was then cut to 4-2.  They then went up 5-2, then it was 5-3 before they closed it out and earned a hard-fought victory that was closer than the score indicates.  These four battled on Court Four from 9:09 to 9:48.

Dwight Thomas Sr./Dwight Thomas Jr. leading Chris Lehmann/Praful Nair, 6-5 (Incomplete, but they actually shut this one down before the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces (apparently).  The Dwights are so impressive in their style, that some of those in attendance just observing actually thought they won that initial One-Setter.  So kudos go to Chris and Praful for winning that one in such a decisive manner.  In this second one, they decided not to change sides every two games.  That idea almost paid off, but not quite.

Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley leading Santosh Reddy/Nathan Fernandes, 5-2 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces (apparently).

All the best,
Frank Samara