7/29/16:
"2 play in Montclair, Kris/Frank host 17 at C.G.!":
"Hollywood" Frank Samara hosting any session of GTA Friday Night Tennis seemed to be in some serious doubt as the weather forecasts varied somewhat, but all agreed to some amount of precipitation in the late afternoon/early evening hours.
Samara decided to plan his day accordingly and be in the area just in case the weathermen were wrong (as they have been so many times before). He did laundry at the Laundromat in the Richfield Shopping Center in Clifton.
As that wrapped up, the skies were dark and there was a steady drizzle falling at that time. So Frank decided to eat some dinner at the nearby Boston Market.
Upon leaving, the rain had stopped and there was a huge rainbow in the sky. Furthermore, looking toward the west (the direction of Cedar Grove from Clifton), the skies were bright. It seemed encouraging for a session to be taking place there after all.
Samara left Clifton at 8pm. As three different trains interrupted his trek to C.G., he did not arrive there until 8:20. But before we get to all that, let's first go to Mountainside Park in Upper Montclair where "Big Returns" Ralph Bernard and Jay "The Rising" Pheonix faced each other in a couple of Singles One-Setters (they had intended it to be a full 2 out of 3 Sets Singles Match, but Bernard is still active in the draw of ongoing Grove Cup Men's Singles Tournament and cannot accept outside challenges).
The Mountainside Park Results:
Ralph Bernard over Jay Phoenix, 6-0! Ralph: 2 Aces.
Ralph Bernard over Jay Phoenix, 6-1! Ralph: 1 Ace.
Samara's Notes: I thank both Ralph and Jay for sending in those scores in a very timely manner. They had originally intended for this to be a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match, but since Bernard is still in the active draw of the ongoing Grove Cup Tournament…it had to be separated into two One-Setters. They got started at 3:45 and finished by 5pm.
We now detail how the session up at Cedar Grove unfolded.
Samara pulled into the parking lot at C.G. at 8:20. He was happy to see all four courts filled with GTA players. But he was somewhat disappointed to see that his buddy, "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli, was not in attendance. Frank sent him a text message and the reply made it seem like The Doc would be M.I.A. for the evening.
Around this same time, "Big George" Jorge Solano was leaving for the night...but his drenched in sweat appearance had made it obvious that he had been involved in some official action.
On Court One, there was Singles action going on between pals "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas and "Big Kaz" Mike Kazlauskas.
Court Two had some Men's Doubles as it was "Latino Heat" Jose Gonzales and "The Webmaster" Senthil Kumar squaring off against "Papa K" Kris Srinivasan and "Topspinner" Mike Sindler.
Court Three had Mixed Doubles action well underway as "The Sultan of Swing" Raj Shah teamed with "Bravo" Brenda Jordan to take on Brenda's usual partner, "Kevlar" Kevin Doyle, and the New GTA Women's Champion: Laura "The Aura" Gawley.
And on Court Four there was another Men's Doubles battle brewing as it was the father and son combo of "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak (the son) and "The West Wing" Rick Pienciak (the father) facing off against "The Secret Weapon" Sairaj Srinivasan and "Nimble" Nithin Poosala.
As soon as Samara sat his butt down on the one dry area of the benches (thanks to the previous posterior of Mr. Solano) as that same very drizzle had hit the Cedar Grove area earlier as well (the big rainbow was also in full view from there, too), the Mixed Doubles action on Court Three concluded and an invitation was extended to Frank to see if he wanted to get involved in action on that court.
Frank opted out citing the fact that he had just eaten a late dinner. This led to a rematch One-Setter taking place instead.
At 8:35, we had the surprise arrival of "Stormin" Norman Taclob. He got changed in his car so he could get ready for some action. And ten minutes later, Spin decided to show up after all...though it would only be for an extended cameo appearance.
Somewhere around 9pm, "Coach" Dino Celis also arrived solely to make an extended cameo. Along with his buddy Spin, they played the role of The Hecklers while usual "Heckler" Samara was out on Court Two involved in Men's Doubles action.
Along the way, both Kris and Nithin gave Frank the results that had concluded prior to his arrival.
We ended up with a total of seventeen official competitors for the night...very impressive when considering the unstable weather conditions earlier in the evening that may have deterred some from coming.
The Cedar Grove Results:
2 out of 3 Sets:
Kris Srinivasan/Raj Shah over Kevin Doyle/Brenda Jordan, 7-5, 6-2! Raj: 1 Ace on Kevin in the 1st Set! They had played this one on Court Three (not sure of the start and stop times).
2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:
Jose Gonzales/Jorge Solano over Sairaj Srinivasan/Nithin Poosala, 6-2, 7-5, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 40 and # 41 Ranked Teams respectively! No Aces (apparently). I believe this one was played on Court Four, though not completely sure (also don't know the beginning and end times).
Raj Shah/Brenda Jordan over Kevin Doyle/Laura Gawley, 6-3! Laura: 1 Ace on Brenda. This one got done on Court Three at 8:22.
Raj Shah/Brenda Jordan over Kevin Doyle/Laura Gawley, 6-1! Laura: 1 Ace on Brenda. This was also played on Court Three as it began at 8:25 and ended at 8:52.
Jose Gonzales/Senthil Kumar over Kris Srinivasan/Mike Sindler, 6-3! No Aces. This one concluded on Court Two at 8:45.
Mike Kazlauskas over Marijus Kuzavas, 7-5! No Aces. Not sure when they started this one on Court One, but it did not end until 9:05. After that, they had the following rematch.
Marijus Kuzavas over Mike Kazlauskas, 6-2! Marijus: 1 Ace. This one was also contested on Court One and it lasted from 9:07 to 9:35.
Sairaj Srinivasan/Nithin Poosala over Ryan Pienciak/Rick Pienciak, 7-5! Rick: 2 Aces (one on each); Ryan: 1 Ace on Nithin; and Sairaj: 1 Ace on Rick! Not sure when this one got underway, but it concluded on Court Four at 8:40. Three minutes later, they were off and running for two more sets which we decided to record as a full match.
2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:
Sairaj Srinivasan/Nithin Poosala over Ryan Pienciak/Rick Pienciak, 6-4, 6-2, to successfully defend the #41 Rank in the Doubles Division while The Pienciaks enter the division as the New #42 Ranked Team! No Aces (apparently). They got this one underway on Court Four at 8:43, but we are not sure of the finish time.
Norman Taclob/Mike Sindler over Senthil Kumar/Frank Samara, 6-2! Mike: 1 Ace on Senthil. It went like this: Senthil held at Love as Frank hit a winning volley, then a winning Overhead Smash and then a winning Backhand Volley before Senthil hit an un-returnable serve on Triple Game Point for the hold and Norman was broken (Love-30 shifted to 30-All, then it went to Break Point and the break) to get off to a 0-2 start. Frank was broken in a battle (30-Love shifted to 30-All, Break Point, Deuce, Break Point, 2nd Deuce, Game Point, 3rd Deuce, Break Point, 4th Deuce, Break Point and the break) and Mike held in a struggle (Love-15 then point for point to Break Point, Deuce, Game Point, 2nd Deuce, Game Point, 3rd Deuce, Game Point and the hold) to level it at 2-2! Kumar was broken (Frank hit a monster Overhead Smash that knocked the dampener off of Norm's racquet for 15-Love, but then it shifted to 15-30, then it was 30-All, Break Point and the break) and Taclob held (Love-15 shifted to 30-15 which shifted again to Break Point, then Deuce, Game Point and the hold) to go up 4-2. Samara was broken again (Love-15, 15-All and then straight to Double Break Point and the break) and Sindler held again (30-Love where he hit a severe sideline Ace on Senthil to set up Triple Game/Match Point where Frank hit an impressive return winner for Double Game/Match Point, then it was Game/Match Point, Deuce, 4th Game/Match Point where Senthil hit a winner for 2nd Deuce, but then Norm hit a winning volley to set up the 5th Game/Match Point where the hold finally came to end the best game of the match) to get the win! We played this one on Court Two from 8:55 to 9:30.
The Skinny: Considering he had just come off the bench and eaten not all that long before, Samara came out like a man on fire as he could seemingly do no wrong for the first couple of games. But then he came back down to Earth while Taclob really started to find his game. Sindler is an impressive player who utilizes a forehand attack that has both pace and topspin. His services are strong as well (that Ace he had was called "severe" as the angle was short, but the pace was also present). Kumar was a steady hand throughout most of the contest. The third and fourth games were quite long and that was where I stopped noting who hit what winners and where (until the last game of the match), but it is safe to say that Norm racked up many winners with well-placed volleys and Overhead Smashes. Senthil had similar success at the net while Mike sustained many rallies with his solid strokes. Frank was the loose cannon in this foursome as he sometimes made great gets to keep rallies alive only to miss on what should have been surefire set-ups for winners. The two teams decided to play a rematch which we will get to a little later. But first...
Kris Srinivasan/Raj Shah tied with Jose Gonzales/Laura Gawley, 6-6 (5-5)...Incomplete, a true Tie...even in the Tiebreak...as the lights went out at 10pm! Not sure when this one got underway on Court Three, but we certainly know when it was cut short. It is a shame it was not properly concluded as it could have been a likely Nominee for One-Set Specialty Doubles Match of The Year at season's end.
Norman Taclob/Mike Sindler leading Senthil Kumar/Frank Samara, 5-1 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)! No Aces. Here's how it was going: Senthil was broken (15-Love went straight to Double Break Point, the break came on Break Point), Norman held (Triple Game Point was cut down to Deuce, Game Point again, 2nd Deuce, Game Point once more and then the hold) and Frank was broken (one of the sweetest return winners I've ever seen came off of Norm's backhand as I thought I may have scored an Ace only to see it come straight down the Doubles Alley for Love-15 and then it went point for point up until we got to 30-All, Game Point, Deuce and then all Break Points until 3rd Deuce, another Break Point and then the break) to get off to a 0-3 start. Mike was also broken (Love-30 shifted to 30-All, Break Point and the break) to allow the opposition onto the scoreboard), but Kumar was broken again (15-Love went straight to Double Break Point and the break) and Taclob held again (Triple Game Point, Double Fault for Double Game Point, but then came the hold) to go up 5-1! Samara was now on serve and it was his very first serve that went sailing through the air as the lights cut out at 10pm. Frank yelled to Norm to "watch out" as Samara could still see the trajectory of the ball, but Taclob could not as we then heard him yelp out in pain! The impact came very close to the "family jewels." Speaking of family, we learned that Norm has a second son on the way (Congratulations to Papa Taclob) and he also spoke of his wife's desire to eventually follow that with some twins as well. Samara may have inadvertently ruined those plans...LOL! Going into this rematch, Norm and Mike switched up their return of service sides as lefty Taclob took the less-familiar Deuce side rather than his usual Ad side of the court. Norm also used a different racquet which seemingly worked wonders for his game (though his game was already quite solid the first time around). Meanwhile, Frank's game went further down the crapper!
Overall, it was a very enjoyable session that also proved to be somewhat productive as well.
All the best,
Frank Samara
"2 play in Montclair, Kris/Frank host 17 at C.G.!":
"Hollywood" Frank Samara hosting any session of GTA Friday Night Tennis seemed to be in some serious doubt as the weather forecasts varied somewhat, but all agreed to some amount of precipitation in the late afternoon/early evening hours.
Samara decided to plan his day accordingly and be in the area just in case the weathermen were wrong (as they have been so many times before). He did laundry at the Laundromat in the Richfield Shopping Center in Clifton.
As that wrapped up, the skies were dark and there was a steady drizzle falling at that time. So Frank decided to eat some dinner at the nearby Boston Market.
Upon leaving, the rain had stopped and there was a huge rainbow in the sky. Furthermore, looking toward the west (the direction of Cedar Grove from Clifton), the skies were bright. It seemed encouraging for a session to be taking place there after all.
Samara left Clifton at 8pm. As three different trains interrupted his trek to C.G., he did not arrive there until 8:20. But before we get to all that, let's first go to Mountainside Park in Upper Montclair where "Big Returns" Ralph Bernard and Jay "The Rising" Pheonix faced each other in a couple of Singles One-Setters (they had intended it to be a full 2 out of 3 Sets Singles Match, but Bernard is still active in the draw of ongoing Grove Cup Men's Singles Tournament and cannot accept outside challenges).
The Mountainside Park Results:
Ralph Bernard over Jay Phoenix, 6-0! Ralph: 2 Aces.
Ralph Bernard over Jay Phoenix, 6-1! Ralph: 1 Ace.
Samara's Notes: I thank both Ralph and Jay for sending in those scores in a very timely manner. They had originally intended for this to be a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match, but since Bernard is still in the active draw of the ongoing Grove Cup Tournament…it had to be separated into two One-Setters. They got started at 3:45 and finished by 5pm.
We now detail how the session up at Cedar Grove unfolded.
Samara pulled into the parking lot at C.G. at 8:20. He was happy to see all four courts filled with GTA players. But he was somewhat disappointed to see that his buddy, "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli, was not in attendance. Frank sent him a text message and the reply made it seem like The Doc would be M.I.A. for the evening.
Around this same time, "Big George" Jorge Solano was leaving for the night...but his drenched in sweat appearance had made it obvious that he had been involved in some official action.
On Court One, there was Singles action going on between pals "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas and "Big Kaz" Mike Kazlauskas.
Court Two had some Men's Doubles as it was "Latino Heat" Jose Gonzales and "The Webmaster" Senthil Kumar squaring off against "Papa K" Kris Srinivasan and "Topspinner" Mike Sindler.
Court Three had Mixed Doubles action well underway as "The Sultan of Swing" Raj Shah teamed with "Bravo" Brenda Jordan to take on Brenda's usual partner, "Kevlar" Kevin Doyle, and the New GTA Women's Champion: Laura "The Aura" Gawley.
And on Court Four there was another Men's Doubles battle brewing as it was the father and son combo of "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak (the son) and "The West Wing" Rick Pienciak (the father) facing off against "The Secret Weapon" Sairaj Srinivasan and "Nimble" Nithin Poosala.
As soon as Samara sat his butt down on the one dry area of the benches (thanks to the previous posterior of Mr. Solano) as that same very drizzle had hit the Cedar Grove area earlier as well (the big rainbow was also in full view from there, too), the Mixed Doubles action on Court Three concluded and an invitation was extended to Frank to see if he wanted to get involved in action on that court.
Frank opted out citing the fact that he had just eaten a late dinner. This led to a rematch One-Setter taking place instead.
At 8:35, we had the surprise arrival of "Stormin" Norman Taclob. He got changed in his car so he could get ready for some action. And ten minutes later, Spin decided to show up after all...though it would only be for an extended cameo appearance.
Somewhere around 9pm, "Coach" Dino Celis also arrived solely to make an extended cameo. Along with his buddy Spin, they played the role of The Hecklers while usual "Heckler" Samara was out on Court Two involved in Men's Doubles action.
Along the way, both Kris and Nithin gave Frank the results that had concluded prior to his arrival.
We ended up with a total of seventeen official competitors for the night...very impressive when considering the unstable weather conditions earlier in the evening that may have deterred some from coming.
The Cedar Grove Results:
2 out of 3 Sets:
Kris Srinivasan/Raj Shah over Kevin Doyle/Brenda Jordan, 7-5, 6-2! Raj: 1 Ace on Kevin in the 1st Set! They had played this one on Court Three (not sure of the start and stop times).
2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:
Jose Gonzales/Jorge Solano over Sairaj Srinivasan/Nithin Poosala, 6-2, 7-5, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 40 and # 41 Ranked Teams respectively! No Aces (apparently). I believe this one was played on Court Four, though not completely sure (also don't know the beginning and end times).
Raj Shah/Brenda Jordan over Kevin Doyle/Laura Gawley, 6-3! Laura: 1 Ace on Brenda. This one got done on Court Three at 8:22.
Raj Shah/Brenda Jordan over Kevin Doyle/Laura Gawley, 6-1! Laura: 1 Ace on Brenda. This was also played on Court Three as it began at 8:25 and ended at 8:52.
Jose Gonzales/Senthil Kumar over Kris Srinivasan/Mike Sindler, 6-3! No Aces. This one concluded on Court Two at 8:45.
Mike Kazlauskas over Marijus Kuzavas, 7-5! No Aces. Not sure when they started this one on Court One, but it did not end until 9:05. After that, they had the following rematch.
Marijus Kuzavas over Mike Kazlauskas, 6-2! Marijus: 1 Ace. This one was also contested on Court One and it lasted from 9:07 to 9:35.
Sairaj Srinivasan/Nithin Poosala over Ryan Pienciak/Rick Pienciak, 7-5! Rick: 2 Aces (one on each); Ryan: 1 Ace on Nithin; and Sairaj: 1 Ace on Rick! Not sure when this one got underway, but it concluded on Court Four at 8:40. Three minutes later, they were off and running for two more sets which we decided to record as a full match.
2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:
Sairaj Srinivasan/Nithin Poosala over Ryan Pienciak/Rick Pienciak, 6-4, 6-2, to successfully defend the #41 Rank in the Doubles Division while The Pienciaks enter the division as the New #42 Ranked Team! No Aces (apparently). They got this one underway on Court Four at 8:43, but we are not sure of the finish time.
Norman Taclob/Mike Sindler over Senthil Kumar/Frank Samara, 6-2! Mike: 1 Ace on Senthil. It went like this: Senthil held at Love as Frank hit a winning volley, then a winning Overhead Smash and then a winning Backhand Volley before Senthil hit an un-returnable serve on Triple Game Point for the hold and Norman was broken (Love-30 shifted to 30-All, then it went to Break Point and the break) to get off to a 0-2 start. Frank was broken in a battle (30-Love shifted to 30-All, Break Point, Deuce, Break Point, 2nd Deuce, Game Point, 3rd Deuce, Break Point, 4th Deuce, Break Point and the break) and Mike held in a struggle (Love-15 then point for point to Break Point, Deuce, Game Point, 2nd Deuce, Game Point, 3rd Deuce, Game Point and the hold) to level it at 2-2! Kumar was broken (Frank hit a monster Overhead Smash that knocked the dampener off of Norm's racquet for 15-Love, but then it shifted to 15-30, then it was 30-All, Break Point and the break) and Taclob held (Love-15 shifted to 30-15 which shifted again to Break Point, then Deuce, Game Point and the hold) to go up 4-2. Samara was broken again (Love-15, 15-All and then straight to Double Break Point and the break) and Sindler held again (30-Love where he hit a severe sideline Ace on Senthil to set up Triple Game/Match Point where Frank hit an impressive return winner for Double Game/Match Point, then it was Game/Match Point, Deuce, 4th Game/Match Point where Senthil hit a winner for 2nd Deuce, but then Norm hit a winning volley to set up the 5th Game/Match Point where the hold finally came to end the best game of the match) to get the win! We played this one on Court Two from 8:55 to 9:30.
The Skinny: Considering he had just come off the bench and eaten not all that long before, Samara came out like a man on fire as he could seemingly do no wrong for the first couple of games. But then he came back down to Earth while Taclob really started to find his game. Sindler is an impressive player who utilizes a forehand attack that has both pace and topspin. His services are strong as well (that Ace he had was called "severe" as the angle was short, but the pace was also present). Kumar was a steady hand throughout most of the contest. The third and fourth games were quite long and that was where I stopped noting who hit what winners and where (until the last game of the match), but it is safe to say that Norm racked up many winners with well-placed volleys and Overhead Smashes. Senthil had similar success at the net while Mike sustained many rallies with his solid strokes. Frank was the loose cannon in this foursome as he sometimes made great gets to keep rallies alive only to miss on what should have been surefire set-ups for winners. The two teams decided to play a rematch which we will get to a little later. But first...
Kris Srinivasan/Raj Shah tied with Jose Gonzales/Laura Gawley, 6-6 (5-5)...Incomplete, a true Tie...even in the Tiebreak...as the lights went out at 10pm! Not sure when this one got underway on Court Three, but we certainly know when it was cut short. It is a shame it was not properly concluded as it could have been a likely Nominee for One-Set Specialty Doubles Match of The Year at season's end.
Norman Taclob/Mike Sindler leading Senthil Kumar/Frank Samara, 5-1 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)! No Aces. Here's how it was going: Senthil was broken (15-Love went straight to Double Break Point, the break came on Break Point), Norman held (Triple Game Point was cut down to Deuce, Game Point again, 2nd Deuce, Game Point once more and then the hold) and Frank was broken (one of the sweetest return winners I've ever seen came off of Norm's backhand as I thought I may have scored an Ace only to see it come straight down the Doubles Alley for Love-15 and then it went point for point up until we got to 30-All, Game Point, Deuce and then all Break Points until 3rd Deuce, another Break Point and then the break) to get off to a 0-3 start. Mike was also broken (Love-30 shifted to 30-All, Break Point and the break) to allow the opposition onto the scoreboard), but Kumar was broken again (15-Love went straight to Double Break Point and the break) and Taclob held again (Triple Game Point, Double Fault for Double Game Point, but then came the hold) to go up 5-1! Samara was now on serve and it was his very first serve that went sailing through the air as the lights cut out at 10pm. Frank yelled to Norm to "watch out" as Samara could still see the trajectory of the ball, but Taclob could not as we then heard him yelp out in pain! The impact came very close to the "family jewels." Speaking of family, we learned that Norm has a second son on the way (Congratulations to Papa Taclob) and he also spoke of his wife's desire to eventually follow that with some twins as well. Samara may have inadvertently ruined those plans...LOL! Going into this rematch, Norm and Mike switched up their return of service sides as lefty Taclob took the less-familiar Deuce side rather than his usual Ad side of the court. Norm also used a different racquet which seemingly worked wonders for his game (though his game was already quite solid the first time around). Meanwhile, Frank's game went further down the crapper!
Overall, it was a very enjoyable session that also proved to be somewhat productive as well.
All the best,
Frank Samara
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