7/3

"Samara hosts 18 (2 New, 3 Return) at HP, Jachens hosts 4 at RHP!":

Both "The Vin Man" Vinnie De Benedetto and "Hollywood" Frank Samara pulled into the parking lot at Holster Park at 9:45am for the second session of GTA Sunday Tennis to be played there.  Once again, the weather was beautiful...and thankfully, a little cooler than the previous week.

Nobody else was there, so the two of them took Championship Court and entered into a hitting session with one another. 

At 10am, "Big George" Jorge Solano arrived just as two interlopers took the Entrance Court.  Jorge took Vin's side in hitting against Frank.

Another five minutes later, "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak made his way toward Championship Court and sided with Samara in hitting against Solano and De Benedetto.  This hitting session went on for a while and when Frank asked Ryan if he wanted to get into a One-Setter, Pienciak hesitated as he said both his father and brother were on their way to play as well.

When Rick "Papa" Pienciak stepped onto the courts at 10:20, Samara told him to take his place.  Then, Frank shifted over to Center Court to hold that one.  It was a good thing that he did as "Holy Moly" Mike Mole was now making his way toward the courts around 10:25.

The two started a hitting session.  Another five minutes later, "J-Vo" Jovo Bjelcevic stepped onto Samara's side of Center Court to also hit against Mole. 

And then at 10:45, "Lean" Dean Delgado was about to become the fourth player on Center Court.  But just as that foursome was starting to plan a Doubles One-Setter, Samara saw "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli driving into the parking lot.  Frank immediately ran off the court and headed down the hill to meet him in the lot.

Once again, someone had lowered the net height on Center Court and we needed The Doc's wrench to raise it back up to its proper height.  Spin once again worked his magic to restore order and justice to Center Court (much to Mike's chagrin...LOL!).

Just as it seemed it would be Samara and Mole squaring off against Delgado and Bjelcevic, "Latino Heat" Jose Gonzales stepped onto the courts at 10:55.  Frank told Jose to take his place instead so he can join his fellow Heckler (Martinelli) on the bench alongside Championship Court to watch Jorge and Vin battle The Pienciaks.

When that one soon ended, Vin told Frank to take his place for the next one.  Just minutes after that one got underway, a face from the recent past arrived at 11:15.  It was "Big Business" Ayman Elbatanony.  He would have to sit on the sidelines for a while as all the action on the courts had recently launched.

At 11:30, Tito "Touch" Castolo made a quick cameo mainly to see who in attendance on Sunday would be interested in doing the same thing on Monday morning, the July 4th holiday.  There were enough positive responses to ensure that a session would take place the following day, with or without Samara acting as host.

By 11:40, Ayman was able to successfully coax both Spin and Vin into getting involved in a hitting session on the Entrance Court provided he went solo against this dynamic duo.

But only five minutes later, we had the arrival "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes to make it a foursome.  Nate would waste no time in a hitting session and it was Spin who set the sides, youth against experience!  Thus, it would be Spin and Vin versus Nate and Ayman.

At 11:55, we had the arrival of "The Bro" Adam Pienciak along with his wife and Ryan's daughter (I think I have that right).  Adam was visiting from out of state, so I doubt we will see much of him during the season.  But Papa Rick lives in Clifton and now seems encouraged to continue to join us for more GTA action in the future.  All three Pienciaks are formidable tennis players who are always very courteous, but are certainly less cuddly when it comes to dealing within the family.  It ends up being very entertaining.

Almost an hour later, we had our late arrivals - "The Olympian" Marie Salamon at 12:50, "Coach" Dino Celis at 12:55 and "RK Fire" Rafaelo Kazakov at 1:10.  This gave us an impressive total of 16 official competitors throughout the session.

And at 1:50 (just as Samara, Martinelli and Celis were all set to leave separately), Uni and Dora Mendoza arrived.  Frank invited them to take over the Entrance Court provided they were willing to include Marie in their usual hitting session...and they were willing.

Late results were sent in via text or e-mail from both Mike, Nate and Rafaelo (much gratitude to all).  Here we go!

The HP Results:

Jorge Solano/Vinnie De Benedetto over Ryan Pienciak/Rick Pienciak, 6-2!  Rick: 1 Ace on Jorge.  It was the official GTA Debut of Rick Pienciak.  This was played on Championship Court from 10:27 to 11:09.

Samara's Notes: Papa Rick is a crafty lefty with a spin-filled serve.  He can also switch to hitting with his right hand in order to stay in the point.  He was still rusty in this first one, but he would shake it off in his next One-Setter.

Jose Gonzales/Mike Mole over Dean Delgado/Jovo Bjelcevic, 6-0!  No Aces.  This one took place on Center Court and lasted from 10:57 to 11:24.

Ryan Pienciak/Rick Pienciak over Frank Samara/Jorge Solano, 7-5!  Frank: 2 Aces on Rick!  It went like this: Ryan held serve (Rick hit a passing shot winner and then a winning Backhand Volley to go up 30-Love which was where Jorge hit a big-time winning return for 30-15, but then an un-returned serve set up Double Game Point where Frank hit a winning Overhead Smash to cut it to Game Point, then Deuce and Game Point again where Ryan hit a winning roller over the net for the hold), Jorge held (Jorge hit a winner to go up 15-Love, then it was 30-Love, 30-15 and Double Game Point where an un-returned serve secured the hold), Rick held (Love-15 shifted to 30-15 with an un-returned serve and a drop shot winner from Ryan along the way, it then was 30-All where Ryan hit a winning Overhead Smash to set up Game Point where another un-returned serve secured the hold) and Frank held (Rick hit a winner for Love-15, but then Jorge hit a winning volley for 15-All, then it was 30-15 where Frank hit a corner Ace against Rick to go up Double Game Point, but that was where Rick made a nice get/winner combo to cut it to Game Point, but then came the hold) as we were all on serve at 2-2.  Son Pienciak held again (Love-30 shifted to Game Point with two un-returned serves and a winning Backhand Volley from Rick along the way and then came the hold), Solano held again (an un-returned serve made it 30-Love where Rick hit a winning Overhead Smash to make it 30-15 and then it was Double Game Point where Ryan ripped a winning return to cut it to Game Point, but then another un-returned serve secured the hold), but Papa Pienciak was the first to be broken (Jorge hit a winning volley to make it Love-30, but then it shifted to Game Point as Ryan hit a winning Overhead Smash followed by a winning volley and then there was an un-returned serve only to have another winning volley by Jorge make it Deuce and then it was Break Point where another un-returned serve sent it back to 2nd Deuce only to have yet another winning volley by Jorge make it Break Point only to have yet another un-returned serve send it back to 3rd Deuce where Jorge managed to hit yet another winning volley to set up Break Point where Frank finally got the job done with a winning return for the break) to now make it 3-4!  But Samara was also broken (15-Love where Rick hit a winning return for 15-All, but then an un-returned serve made it 30-15 only to have Rick hit another winning return for 30-All and then Ryan made a great get/winner combo to set up Break Point where Ryan then hit a net-cord winner for the break) to knot the score once more at 4-4!  But The Lumberjack was also broken (15-Love shifted to Double Break Point as Frank hit a winner along the way, the break came on Break Point) and then so was Big George (Frank blew a volley for Love-15, it then shifted to 30-15, but then it shifted to Break Point as Ryan hit a winner along the way and then came the break) to level it again, this time at 5-5!  Big Papa then had an impressive Love hold as Ryan hit a monster Overhead Smash, there was an un-returned serve, then there was the best rally of the match and then yet another winning Overhead Smash from Ryan to secure his father's hold as The Pienciaks went up 6-5!  The pressure was on Hollywood, but he crumbled as Jorge blew a volley to get things off to a Love-15 start, it then went to 15-All where Jorge hit a winning volley for 30-15 and then Frank hit a nice sideline Ace against Rick to set up Double Game Point only to have that lead get cut down to Deuce and then it was Break/Match Point where Rick hit a clutch winner of a return to get the win!  We played this one on Championship Court from 11:11 to 12:05!

Jose Gonzales/Mike Mole over Dean Delgado/Jovo Bjelcevic, 6-3!  No Aces.  They contested this one on Center Court from 11:25 to 12:11.

Nathan Fernandes/Ayman Elbatanony over Dan Martinelli/Vinnie De Benedetto, 6-3!  No Aces.  It was the official GTA Return of Ayman Elbatanony.  Entrance Court hosted this one from 11:47 to 12:13.  After this, Vin had to leave.  It led to a three-way hitting session with the remaining players which may have evolved into a "King of The Mountain" type thing...I'm not sure.

Frank Samara/Ryan Pienciak over Rick Pienciak/Adam Pienciak, 6-3!  No Aces.  It was the official GTA Debut of Adam Pienciak.  Here's how it went down: Rick held (Frank hit a winner for Love-15, but then it shifted to Double Game Point with two un-returned serves along the way, it was then Game Point where Ryan hit a winner to make it Deuce only to have another un-returned serve set up Game Point and then came the hold), Frank held at Love as Ryan hit a winning volley, there was an un-returned serve and then another winning volley by Ryan on the way to Triple Game Point and then the hold, Adam also had a Love hold as he had two winners and an un-returned serve along the way and then Ryan also held (Ryan hit a winner for 15-Love, it shifted to 15-30, it shifted again to Game Point where an un-returned serve secured the hold) as we were all on serve at 2-2.  Papa Pienciak held again (Adam blew an overhead for Love-15, but it shifted straight to Double Game Point with an un-returned serve and a winning Overhead Smash from Adam along the way, the hold came on Game Point), Samara had another Love hold as Ryan hit three winning Overhead Smashes along the way, but Bro Pienciak was the first to be broken (Frank hit a winning volley for Love-15 and then there was a Double Fault for Love-30, it was then Triple Break Point and then that was where Adam hit back-to-back winners on the way to Break Point, but then came the break) to fall to 3-4.  O.G. Pienciak held again (Frank blew an overhead for Love-15, it was then Love-30 before it shifted to Game Point with an un-returned along the way) and then Big Papa was broken (15-Love, 15-All, 30-15, Double Fault for 30-All, Break/Match Point, Deuce, 2nd Break/Match Point which is where it ended) to take the loss.  We played this one on Championship Court from 12:10 to 12:45.

Dean Delgado/Jovo Bjelcevic over Jose Gonzales/Mike Mole, 6-3!  Jose: 1 Ace on Dean.  This third and final encounter between these two teams was once again played on Center Court and it lasted from 12:14 to 12:55.

Frank Samara/Dan Martinelli over Dino Celis/Marie Salamon, 6-4!  No Aces.  The dirty lowdown: Dino was broken (Love-15 shifted to 30-15 shifted to Break Point and there was a blown overhead by Marie and a winning return from Spin on the way to B.P. and then another winner from Spin for the break) and Frank held (30-Love, 30-15 where Frank hit a winner for Double Game Point, Double Fault for Game Point, but then came the hold) to go up 2-0.  Marie held (Dino hit a winner and there was an un-returned serve on the way to Triple Game Point, it was on Double Game Point where another un-returned serve secured the hold) to get her team on the scoreboard and then Spin was broken (two un-returned serves made it 30-Love, but then Dino hit a winning return for 30-15, it was at Double Game Point where Dino hit another winning return to cut it to Game Point, then it was Deuce, Game Point, 2nd Deuce, Break Point and the break) to level it at 2-2.  Celis was broken again and this time it was at Love as Frank hit a big-time winning return and then Spin also hit a winning return along the way, but Samara was also broken (Triple Break Point got cut down to Break Point with an un-returned serve along the way, but then Dino hit a winner for the break) to level things again, this time at 3-3.  Salamon was broken (Dino hit a winner and then Marie hit a winning volley to make it 30-Love, but that went right to Break Point as Spin hit a winning return and Frank hit a winning Overhead Smash along the way and then came the break), but Martinelli held (Spin hit a winning lob to make it 30-Love, but that was leveled at 30-All after Marie hit a winning volley, but then the hold came on Game Point) to go up 5-3.  Coach held (an un-returned serve and a winning volley by Marie made it 30-Love, it was then 30-15 where Marie hit another winning volley to set up Double Game Point where Dino secured his own hold with a winner) to pull to 4-5, but then The Wood held (Marie hit her most impressive winning volley to make it Love-30, but then it went straight to Game/Match Point as there was an un-returned serve and a drop shot winner from Frank along the way and then it was on that G.M.P. where Spin hit his best winner of the contest to shut the door) to get the win!  We played this one on the Entrance Court from 1:07 to 1:42.

Mike Mole over Jovo Bjelcevic, 6-0!  Jovo: 1 Ace!  They played this on Center Court from 1:10 to 1:24!

Nathan Fernandes/Ayman Elbatanony over Ryan Pienciak/Adam Pienciak, 7-6 (9-7)!  No Aces (apparently).  This one got underway on Championship Court at 12:49.  Not sure when it ended, but it must have been a marathon.  Nate reported that they were down 5-6 in the Tiebreak when they saved a Match Point!  This one could be a possible Nominee for One-Set Doubles Match of The Year at season's end.

Mike Mole over Rafaelo Kazakov, 6-2!  No Aces.  This one got started on Center Court at 1:30.  Not sure when it ended.  

Uni Mendoza/Dora Mendoza over Rafaelo Kazakov/Marie Salamon, 6-4!  No Aces.  It was the official GTA Return of both Uni Mendoza and Dora Mendoza.  This one was played on the Entrance Court after most others left.

As it turns out, our original home location of Robin Hood Park saw some GTA action as well as "Big Jake" Rich Jachens acted as the impromptu host of a session that also included the three members of The Jani Court Crew: "P.S." Pankaj Savaliya, "Bollywood" Hiren Ramani and "Nasty" Nilay Patel.

Let's go to the report from Big Jake.

I stopped by RHP around 11:30am and found the three Jani Court guys hanging out there.  Two of them had just played a Singles with one another and they were short a fourth.  They generously asked me if I wanted to play and we did.

We played a close One-Setter, but no one knew how to handle a Tiebreaker so we played out the games until one team won by two.

The RHP Result:

Rich Jachens/Hiren Ramani over Pankaj Savaliya/Nilay Patel, 8-6!  No Aces (apparently).  

Samara's Notes: I thank Rich for sending in that result and I am happy to see there was some GTA action at RHP.  No scores were ever reported from Cedar Grove.

All the best,
Frank Samara