8/30 Results.

8/30/16:         

"Sally-Anna TBC, Scott-Edwin part of 15 at C.G.!":                                          

GTA Tuesday Night Tennis took place at two locations: The Wood-Ridge Courts (featuring the GAH6 Semifinal Match between "Spicy" Sally Pillay and "Automatic" Anna Mazur) and The Cedar Grove Courts (hosted by "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan, but with additional results and/or details directly sent in by "The Great" Scott Bergenfeld, "Steppin' to the AM" Anish Mehta and "C.A.T." Christine Toth). 

We will first go to the incomplete result that was sent in by both Sally and Anna.  And then we will head up to Cedar Grove for the report from multiple sources, but mainly Kris.

The Wood-Ridge Result:

GAH6 Semifinal Match:

Anna Mazur leading Sally Pillay, 6-4, 3-4!  The match had to be stopped at that time due to darkness.

Samara's Notes: I believe they started somewhere around 6pm and likely had to stop sometime near 7:30.  Sally was not pleased with the court conditions and the distracting surroundings at Wood-Ridge and hopes to continue the match at Fellowship Park in Ridgefield Park.  The two of them are having a hard time finding a mutually convenient time to play later this week, so this may not get concluded until sometime next week.  Fingers crossed that they can get this done as soon as possible.

We now head up to Cedar Grove where we will first get the result from Scott (as that was the first one to be played and then we will turn it over to Kris with scores and details from Anish and Christine inserted along the way).

The Cedar Grove Results:

3 out of 5 Sets Challenge Match:

Scott Bergenfeld over Edwin Ortega, 6-3, 6-2, 6-0, to successfully defend his # 14 Rank in the Advanced Division and his # 4 Rank in the Intermediate Division!  Edwin: 1 Ace in the 2^nd Set!

The Great Scott Report: All in all it was a great workout and well-played match.  We started it around 4:45.

The Say from The K: Scott pulled the wool over Edwin's eyes in this Best of 5 Sets Match.  I thank Scott for reporting his score to me as well so promptly this morning.

2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Doubles Match:

Omar Santos/Christine Toth over Scott Bergenfeld/Mary Rosado, 7-5, 2-6, 7-5, as both teams entered the Mixed Doubles Division as the New # 28 and # 29 Ranked Teams respectively!  Scott: 3 Aces on Christine! 

Toth's Two Cents: We got this started around 6pm. 

The Say from The K: These early birds had all the courts and the night to themselves, so to speak, and played a solid full match that went the distance.  No wonder, Omar was an exhausted man by the time he was done.  It looks like these players had an awesome match and a very tight finish indeed.  Apparently, Omar had sprained his ankle in the 2nd Set, but played through the rest of the match with his pain.  It was good gritty play from him to win the match!

Samara's Notes: Kudos to Omar on toughing it out…very impressive!  We now go to Anish for the next couple of scores and details.

Anish Mehta over Dino Celis, 7-5!  No Aces (apparently).

Dino Celis over Anish Mehta, 6-4!  No Aces (apparently). 

I was up 3-0 in the first one, but Dino came back until I broke him to win at 6-5.  

I lost my serve in the beginning of the second one and wasn't able to recover.  Dino did a good job at the net.  I am trying to switch to a new forehand, but it hasn't been working out…so I was out of sorts once again. 

I had to pick up my wife from the train station, so we couldn't play a 3rd Set to make it a full match.

Samara's Notes: So we will treat it as two separate One-Setters instead.  And we now turn over the balance of this report to The K Man.

The night was buzzing with action, but with a relatively lower turnout of players.  It started as early as 4:45 pm, I believe, as I had to go out and it wouldn't be until two hours later that I could join the gang.

Senthil Kumar/Jose Gonzales over Scott Bergenfeld/Omar Santos, 6-4!  Jose: 3 Aces (2 on Omar and 1 on Scott)!

The exhausted Omar and Scott were tested severely by drop shots from Jose (besides his good serves). Senthil at the net was rock solid.  Senthil and Jose had jumped out to a 5-2 lead before a mini comeback by Scott and Omar winning 2 games in a row.  That's where the buck stopped.

Kris Srinivasan/Laura Gawley over Dino Celis/Doinks Srinivasan, 7-6 (7-4)!  No Aces.

We were placed comfortably before a good run by Dino and Doinks to take the lead eventually at 6-5!  I was a bit casual in the earlier stages when we were leading and Dino played as his usual aggressive self. Coaching Doinks on her serves and footwork, his pointers seemed to have an effect as they committed fewer errors.  The result ended up being decided in the Tiebreak.

Kris Srinivasan/Levy Lorenzo over Dan Martinelli/Laura Gawley, 6-2!  No Aces.

It was a good comeback for Spin and Laura that was short-lived after they were down Love-5.  Levy was brilliant at the baseline and at the net.  He is so diligent in his efforts to every point that he played against an attacking Spin and Laura.

Kris Srinivasan/Levy Lorenzo leading Dan Martinelli/Laura Gawley, 5-3 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

We started well by taking the first three games, but Spin and Laura were determined to make it tough on us.  Spin made sure that we would not win the last game on his serve as we were clocked out to the glee of Spin and Laura.  A big win for the hustler who took time to serve, 2 serves for each point...:-).

All in all, it was an exciting night of enthralling tennis that kept the atmosphere eeeelectrifying!  Cheers! 

Samara's Notes: As always, thanks to Kris for all he does on behalf of the GTA up at Cedar Grove.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

 

8/29 Results

8/29/16:         

"Scott-Jordan, Doinks-Fernanda part of 17 at C.G.!":                                          

GTA Monday Night Tennis only took place at The Cedar Grove Courts (hosted by "Hollywood" Frank Samara with assistance from usual host, "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan). 

Samara was a late arrival as he has been busy earlier in the evening and was unsure if he would even attend the session.  But along the way, he received notice from "The Argentine Machine" Fernanda Toker that her GAH6 Semifinal Match against "The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan on this night rather than this coming Thursday.  At that point, Frank committed to being at the session.

When Samara pulled into the lot at 8pm, he saw Doubles action on Court One as Doinks was teaming with her son Sairaj against "Kevlar" Kevin Doyle and "Bravo" Brenda Jordan.  There were two outsider guys on Court Two who were there for a quite a while (can't remember when they left for it never mattered as we never needed that court anyway).

On Court Three, GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro was teaming with "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes to take on "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas and "Spicy" Sally Pillay.  Kuzavas had been scheduled to face "The Sultan of Swing" Raj Shah in their Grove Cup Quarterfinal Match, but Shah had a last-minute family emergency (I believe he had to take his mother to the hospital).  On behalf of those in the GTA, I wish Raj and his family well at this time.

And on Court Four, Kris was teaming with "Big Kaz" Mike Kazlauskas as they faced "The Great" Scott Bergenfeld and "J-Bach" Jordan Bachvaroff in what ended up turning into a full 2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match (funny as the Srinivasan/Kazlauskas team had just been eliminated from the Doubles Division for inactivity the day before).

Samara sat on the bench alongside Court Four for a while.  At 8:25, "The West Wing" Rick Pienciak arrived and took a seat next to Frank.

While sitting there, Bergenfeld reported to Samara his earlier full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match against Bachvaroff.

And then Toker arrived, as scheduled, at 8:30.  Samara then went out onto Court One where the GAH6 Semi would soon take place to actively take notes and help with any calls (only when asked).

The ladies hit a little over five minutes and then the match officially got underway exactly at 8:38.

In the meantime, "Rowdy" Rob Gawley arrived at 8:35 and took the bench alongside Court One as it seemed he would be doing some scouting for his wife, GTA Women's Champion: Laura "The Aura" Gawley, while she was at the US Open.

The last official arrival of the night was "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak at 8:45 as we ended up with a total of seventeen competitors for the session.

But somewhere around 9:30 or so (perhaps earlier), Laura arrived on her way back from the Open to make an extended cameo appearance for the balance of the evening. 

The Cedar Grove Results:

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:

Scott Bergenfeld over Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-2, 6-4, to successfully defend his # 14 Rank in the Advanced Division!  Scott and Jordan: 1 Ace each and both in the 1^st Set!  This took place on Court Four and Scott said the entire match lasted about 90 minutes.

Chris Chiaro/Nathan Fernandes over Marijus Kuzavas/Sally Pillay, 6-4!  No Aces.  Not sure when this one began on Court Three, but it ended at 8:05.

Sairaj Srinivasan/Doinks Srinivasan over Kevin Doyle/Brenda Jordan, 6-2!  Sairaj: 3 Aces (2 on Brenda and 1 on Kevin)!  Again, not sure when this one got started on Court One, but it was over and done by 8:30.

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Kris Srinivasan/Mike Kazlauskas over Scott Bergenfeld/Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-1, 6-2, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 43 and # 44 Ranked Teams respectively!  Mike: 3 Aces (one on each in the same game in the 1^st Set and then a second on Scott in the 2^nd Set)!  Don't know when they got the 1^st Set underway, but it ended at exactly 8:29.  And the match was finished at 8:55.

Marijus Kuzavas/Nathan Fernandes over Chris Chiaro/Sally Pillay, 7-6 (8-6)!  No Aces.  There were multiple Match Points that ended up being saved by Marijus and Nate!  They played this one on Court Three from 8:10 to 9:01 and it looks to be an almost certain Nominee for One-Set Specialty Doubles Match of The Year at season's end.

GAH6 Semifinal Match:

Fernanda Toker over Doinks Srinivasan, 6-1, 6-0, to become the New # 3 Ranked Player in the Women's Division while advancing to The Finals of The 6^th Annual Gail-ann Hamiltom Memorial Women's Singles Tournament!  No Aces.

1^st Set: Doinks was broken (Love-30, 15-30, Double Break Point where Fernanda hit a winning return for the break), Fernanda held serve (Doinks hit a winner for Love-15, but it then shifted to Double Game Point right after an extended rally and then Doinks blew a volley to allow the hold) and Srinivasan was broken again (Doinks hit a winner for 15-Love, but then it went straight to Double Break Point where Doinks hit a winning volley for Break Point, but then Fernanda hit a passing shot winner for the break) to get off to a 0-3 start.  Toker was then broken as well (Fernanda hit a winning lob for 15-Love and it then went point for point to 30-All right after Doinks had hit a winner to level the game and then there was a Double Fault to set up Break Point where Doinks hit a very aggressive winning volley for the break) to allow her opponent onto the scoreboard.  But from there, The Marathon Woman was broken again (15-Love, Double Fault for 15-All which was where Doinks hit a winning Backhand Volley for 30-15, but then there was another Double Fault for 30-All and that was where Fernanda made an incredible get/lob combo for Break Point, but then Doinks responded with a high-reaching volley to make it Deuce, but then came Break Point again and a winner from Fernanda for the break), The Argentine Machine held (30-Love was where Doinks hit a monster of a return for 30-15, then Double Game Point where Doinks hit a winner for Game Point and then Doinks hit a net-cord return for Deuce, then it was Break Point, 2^nd Deuce where Fernanda hit a passing shot winner for Game Point and then Fernanda made another awesomely executed lob for the hold) and then Doinks was broken once again and this time it was at Love as Fernanda had hit a winning drop shot return to make it Love-30 and it was off and running from there as this set concluded at exactly 9:03 (they had begun it on Court One at 8:38).

2^nd Set: Fernanda held (15-Love where Doinks made a winning return for 15-All and it then went point for point to Game Point as it was an un-returned serve that set up the G.P. and another un-returned serve to earn the hold), Doinks was broken at Love once again after starting off with two straight Double Faults, Toker held again (Love-15 and then back-to-back lengthy rallies brought it to 30-15 where Fernanda made a great get only to have Doinks send it back as a winner for 30-All, but then came another one of those Fernanda get/dig/lobs for Game Point and then an un-returned serve locked down the hold), Srinivasan was broken in a battle (Love-15 and another amazing lob by Fernanda for Love-30 and it then went to Triple Break Point where Doinks hit a winner for Double Break Point and then she hit another winner to make it Break Point, then it was Deuce where an un-returned serve set up Game Point, but then Doinks blew a volley for 2^nd Deuce and then came Break Point and the break), The Argentine Machine held once more (15-Love and then an un-returned serve for 30-Love where Fernanda then hit a winner to set up Triple Game Point, but then Fernanda hit a winner for Double Game Point and then Doinks made a winning return for Game Point, but then came the hold) and The Marathon Woman was broken once again (Love-30 where perhaps the best rally of the match ended with another incredible get by Fernanda that resulted in a drop shot winner to set up Triple Break/Match Point which was where an un-returned serve cut that down to Double Break/Match Point and then another extended rally resulted in it becoming Break/Match Point, but then a Double Fault ended this game, set and match in anti-climactic fashion) to eat a bagel in this 2^nd Set which finished exactly at 9:30!

The Skinny: We say it all the time, but this match did feel closer than One and None!  Doinks put forth a spirited effort and often played with aggression.  Sometimes it paid off and other times it did not.  She sometimes engaged in the lengthy rallies that Fernanda has mastered so well, but down the stretch she decided she would prefer to just go for broke – winner or unforced error.  To Toker's credit, it is truly amazing the gets that she is making while still not 100 percent from the skiing accident/major leg injury she suffered at the beginning of this year.  Doinks may be The Marathon Woman, but Fernanda makes marathon-length rallies look more like a sprint.  She will be tough to deal with in the Finals.  She now awaits the winner of the other Semi, Sally Pillay versus "Automatic" Anna Mazur, which is scheduled to take place on Tuesday night.

Scott Bergenfeld/Rob Gawley over Ryan Pienciak/Rick Pienciak, 6-0!  Rick: 1 Ace on Rob.  This one took place on Court Four from 9pm to 9:20.

2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Doubles Match:

Nathan Fernandes/Sally Pillay over Kevin Doyle/Brenda Jordan, 6-0, 6-1, to become the New # 11 Ranked Team in the Mixed Doubles Division!  Sally: 1 Ace on Kevin in the 1^st Set.  They got this match underway on Court Three at 9:10 and it ended exactly at 9:53.

Kris Srinivasan/Ryan Pienciak over Scott Bergenfeld/Rob Gawley, 6-4!  No Aces.  This one took place on Court Four from 9:21 to 9:50.  They then went straight into another one just to see what they could get in, but Marijus took the place of Scott.

Marijus Kuzavas/Rob Gawley leading Kris Srinivsasn/Ryan Pienciak, 2-1 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm…I think they decided to forego the changeovers as well)!  No Aces.

It was a very exciting and monumental session.  I'm glad that I ended up hosting it.  Samara signing off!

 

 

 

 

8/28 Results.

8/28/16:

"Samara-Rizzo at NTC, Weldon-Shiao at HP, 12 at AP, 4 at NTC, 12 at C.G.!:

There were five sessions of GTA Sunday Tennis: early morning at Nutley Tennis Club (featuring a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match between "Hollywood" Frank Samara and "The Riz" John Rizzo), another early morning one at Holster Park in Clifton (featuring the Grove Cup Quarterfinal Match between "The Legendary" Chazz Weldon and Tony "Sure Shot" Shiao), the usual morning one at Albion Park in Clifton (hosted by Samara, though he joined it as it was already in progress), a late afternoon/early evening session at NTC once again (hosted by Rizzo) and finally at The Cedar Grove Courts (hosted by "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan, but with a couple of results that were mutually reported by "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan).

Toward the end of the week, Samara and Rizzo discussed the possibility of a full Challenge Match at NTC in the early hours of Sunday morning.  The only reservations that The Riz had were his own ailments as his foot pain issues are once again rearing their ugly head (similar to last season).  But by Saturday, he was able to confirm his ability to make it to the match.

Frank was ready for play on Court Five by 8:45am.  John arrived, as scheduled, exactly at 9am.  After a five minute hitting session, they got the match underway.

The NTC Result:

Frank Samara over John Rizzo, 6-2, 6-1, to successfully defend his # 17 Rank in the Advanced Division!  Frank: 1 Ace on John in the 2nd Set.

1st Set: Frank held at Love as he started with a drop shot winner, then had a great get/winner combo which was then followed by back-to-back un-returned serves for the hold, John was broken (he hit a drop shot winner for 30-Love, then it went to 30-15, a Double Fault for 30-All, Game Point, Deuce where a blown drop shot set up Break Point and then came the break) and Samara held again (an un-returned serve for a 15-Love start only to shift to 15-30, but then shift again to Game Point where a passing shot winner secured the hold) for a 3-0 lead.  Rizzo held (Love-30, but then he hit a drop shot winner for 15-30 and then it went to Double Break Point where an excellent rally led to Break Point and then it was Deuce where Frank made a great get and hard shot that found a waiting John at the baseline where he sent back a winner for Game Point and then the opposite happened in the next point where John was the one making a get only to send in Frank's direction where a winner was promptly hit to make it 2nd Deuce and then it went to Game Point again, 3rd Deuce, Game Point, 4rhd Deuce where Frank hit a drop shot winner for Break Point, but then an un-returned serve made it 5th Deuce where another one set up Game Point and then came the hold) and then Hollywood was broken (John hit a winning drop shot return for Love-15, but then an un-returned serve made it 15-All only to have John hit a winner and then a winning lob in the next point to set up Double Break Point, the break then came on Break Point) to have his lead cut to 3-2.  But from there, The Riz was broken (Frank made a great get that led to the point going to Love-30 which was where John made a truly great get/passing shot combo that was perfectly placed past the oncoming Frank who was tracking it down only to find it just beyond reach and this made it 15-30, it was then 30-All where Frank hit a very impressive passing shot winner of his own for Break Point and that was where John made a great get that surprised Frank enough to blow what should have been a surefire winner of a volley up at the net and that made it Deuce and that was where Frank redeemed himself with a winner for Break Point and then came the break), Frank held (he hit a drop shot winner for 15-Love, but it shifted to 15-30 after John hit a winning return, but then John blew a volley for 30-All and then it was Game Point where Frank hit a winning lob for the hold) and then John was broken again and this time it was at Love as Frank started things off with a winning return and then he ended things with a winning drop shot return on Triple Break/Set Point!  This set began exactly at 9:06 and ended at 9:46.

2nd Set: Frank held (perhaps the best rally of the match as there were great gets on both sides of the net and the pace of the shots was solid...this led to a 15-Love start where Frank hit a winner for 30-Love and then an un-returned serve set up Triple Game Point where John hit an excellently angled winning return to cut it to Double Game Point, but then another un-returned serve secured the hold) and John held (another excellent and extended rally to open a game and it again ended 15-Love in the server's favor and then John hit a winner for 30-Love, it also went to Triple Game Point where Frank hit a winner for Double Game Point and then Frank hit a winning lob to cut it to Game Point, then it went to Deuce, Game Point again and the hold) for 1-1.  But from there, Samara held again (Frank hit a winner for 15-Love, it shifted to 15-30, then 30-All, Break Point, Deuce, Break Point, 2nd Deuce, Break Point again where Frank hit a winner for 3rd Deuce and then hit another winner for Game Point and still another winner to lock down the hold), Rizzo was broken (Frank hit a winning lob and another winner on the way to Triple Break Point, then it was Double Break Point where Frank hit another winner for the break), The Wood held again (started with a sideline Ace and then hit a winner for 30-Love, it then shifted to 30-All where another hotly-contested and lengthy rally led to Break Point, but then it went to Deuce, Game Point where John hit a winning drop shot return for 2nd Deuce where Frank hit a winner for Game Point, it was then 3rd Deuce where Frank hit a drop shot winner to set up Game Point where he then hit another winner to secure the hold), The Riz was broken again (another awesome rally to open a game and it led to 15-Love which was where John hit a winner for 30-Love and then an un-returned serve set up Triple Game Point which would get cut down to Deuce as Frank made a great get/winner combo along the way and then Frank hit another winner to make it Break Point, then it was 2nd Deuce where Frank hit a winning return for Break Point and then came the break) and then Frank held once more (an un-returned serve followed by a passing shot winner made it 30-Love, but then John hit a winning return for 30-15, it was then Double Game/Match Point where John hit a laser-like winning return for Game/Match Point only to have it end with an un-returned serve) to get the win!  This match finished at exactly 10:23.

Samara's Notes: I thank John for allowing me to defend my rank against him despite the fact that he did not feel 100 percent.  He put forth a very spirited effort and the match was more interesting and competitive than the score indicates.

While the above match was going on, the Weldon-Shiao battle got underway up at Holster Park in Clifton.  "Coach" Dino Celis got there in time to catch it in its latter stages. 

The Holster Park Result:

Grove Cup Quarterfinal Match:
Tony Shiao over Chazz Weldon, 6-3, 7-5, to become the New # 3 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division while also advancing to The Semifinals of The Grove Cup Tournament!  Now that Shiao is in The Top 5 of the Advanced Division, he is overqualified for competition in the Intermediate Division and is now immediately removed from it.  Tony: 1 Ace in the 1st Set.

The Sure Shot from Shiao: We met at 9:30am and got underway at about 9:50.  I got out of bed this morning dreading the long rallies and knew it would be an excruciating match and a testament of my mental and physical state.  I went into this match knowing that Chazz's game does not complement my hard-hitting baseline style strokes.  So I had to switch it up because the baseline rallies from our previous Intermediate Championship Match did not work in my favor and I fizzled after 20+ strokes in a rally. 

In the 1st Set we traded games and then I was able to hold and then break to take the win at 6-3.  The 2nd Set was neck and neck until I found myself down 3-4.  It was very hot and I had already changed my shirt twice only to have it drenched in my sweat.  I decided to make it a shirts vs. skins game while working on my tan.  I let my almost 40 year old sexy bod hang out and instantly I felt more comfortable and was able to focus and battle back to be up 5-4.  This was when Dino made the cameo and watched on the bench until its conclusion.  I told him he better have brought some good luck for me only to find myself losing the next game.  It was now 5-5 and Chazz battled back from a 15-40 deficit to even it out which was unnerving.  I took the next game on my serve by sticking to the plan and it was now 6-5 and 40-15.  I had three Match Points only to have them stripped away like how Taylor Swift got Kanyed on the mic.  It took a fourth Match Point for me to take the win.  I thank Chazz for the grueling match as he put me to the test.  I look forward to playing him in the future.


From The Coach's Clipboard: Even though the agreed-upon start-time was 9:30, this one got officially underway at 9:57.  In the 2nd Set, Tony was up 5-4 before Chazz battled back to make it 5-5.  Shiao was motivated not to let this one go to a 3rd Set...especially under the sweltering conditions at no-shade Holster Park.

All That Jazz from Chazz: He was determined to win.  It was a good match for him.  He deserved to win.

Samara's Notes: I thank Dino, Chazz and especially Tony for all of the details on this match.  Additionally, I congratulate Tony on his most impressive victory to date.  He has to be considered the lead contender for Most Improved Player of The Year...at least at this point in the season.

And now for how the session at Albion unfolded.

Samara pulled up to the curb at 11am just as "Holy Moly" Mike Mole was doing the same.  Down on the courts, we saw a Doubles One-Setter going on between the teams of "Lean" Dean Delgado/"DC3" David Cardenas and "J-Rod" Joe Rodrigues/"The Vin Man" Vinnie De Benedetto (turns out this was already the second Doubles One-Setter of the day) on the North Court.  "Big George" Jorge Solano was sitting on the sidelines, already exhausted and sweaty from that initial action.

A father/daughter combo was just leaving Center Court while a couple (the same one from last week) was playing on the South Court (they would soon leave at 11:15). 

Samara and Solano started hitting on Center Court.  Soon, "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes made his way to that same court at 11:10.  Mole then stepped on to make it a four-way hitting session.  As the sides already had Mike and Jorge on one side of the net with Nate and Frank on the other, Samara decided to let it ride with those teams as Frank felt he needed Nate's legs to make the gets given the fact that the old Wood already had a full Singles Match under his belt already.

Next to arrive was GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro at 11:30.  His timing was good as that second Doubles One-Setter on the North Court ended soon after and Rodrigues was ready to leave at that time.  Chris took Joe's place in teaming with Vin against Dean and David.

At 11:45, Anna Kropiewnicki made her way to the courts and Nate recognized her as the friend and new recruit of "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan that made her debut at Cedar Grove earlier in the week.  She said that Gen was on her way and then Anna started practicing alone on the South Court.  When the Doubles One-Setter on Center Court finished five minutes later, Samara started hitting with her.

Dino arrived at 11:55 and sat out for a while just to watch the action as an excellent Singles One-Setter between Fernandes and Mole was just getting started on Center Court.

Gen arrived at 12:10.  She started going solo in hitting against Frank and Anna.  Meanwhile, Dean was hitting with Dino on the North Court to warm Celis up before he was about to face Chiaro in a pair of Singles One-Setters.

Delgado then joined Capan for some Mixed Doubles action against Samara and Kropiewnicki.

We ended up with a fairly impressive total of a dozen official competitors at AP.

Let's now get to all the Albion action!

The AP Results:

Joe Rodrigues/Vinnie De Benedetto over Jorge Solano/David Cardenas, 6-2!  No Aces.  This one got the session officially started somewhere around 10am (Jorge said he and David started hitting closer to 9:30).  Not sure exactly when it ended on the North Court.

Joe Rodrigues/Vinnie De Benedetto over Dean Delgado/David Cardenas, 6-4!  David: 1 Ace on Vinnie.  This one began somewhere around 10:50 on the North Court and ended exactly at 11:33.

Nathan Fernandes/Frank Samara over Mike Mole/Jorge Solano, 6-3!  No Aces.  It went like this: Mike was broken (Nate hit a winning drop shot return for Love-15, there was a Double Fault for Love-30, then it was Triple Break Point where a truly un-returned serve made it Double Break Point and then that was where Jorge blew an overhead for the break), Frank held serve (an excellent rally ended with Nate hitting a winner for 15-Love and then Nate hit an awesome passing shot winner for 30-Love, it then went to Triple Game Point and the hold came on Double Game Point) and Jorge was broken (Love-15 then point for point to Break Point right after Jorge blew an overhead and then Frank hit a spinning backhand shot that forced the error from Mike for the break) to get off to a 0-3 start.  Nathan was broken (Frank blew a volley to make it Love-15, it was then Love-30 where Frank redeemed himself with a very impressive winning volley that capped a series of them to make it 15-30, but then Jorge hit a drop shot that led to Double Break Point and then Jorge hit a winning volley for the break) and then Mole held (Nate made an amazing get that took him to the South Court only to still lose the point for 15-Love and then an un-returned serve made it 30-Love which was where an extended and exciting rally ended with a whopper of a winner from Mike for Triple Game Point and then came another un-returned serve to make it a Love hold) to pull to 2-3!  Samara held again (30-Love, 30-15 and then an un-returned serve for Double Game Point where Nate hit a winner to secure his partner's hold) to go up 4-2, but Solano also held (un-returned serve for 15-Love, it then shifted to 15-30, but then shifted again after Jorge hit a winning Backhand Volley and then came the hold) for 3-4.  Fernandes held (15-Love then point for point to Game Point and the hold in a game where I lost track of the winners as the sun was baking my brain at this point) and Holy Moly was broken in another game where the winners are not noted (Love-15 shifted to 30-15, Double Fault for 30-All, Game Point, Double Fault for Deuce, Break/Match Point and another unfortunate Double Fault to end it) to get the "L!"  We played this on Center Court from 11:15 to 11:50.

Chris Chiaro/Vinnie De Benedetto over Dean Delgado/David Cardenas, 6-3!  David: 1 Ace on Chris!  This one was contested on the North Court from 11:35 to 12:05.  Two One-Setters in and The Delgado Slump was still in full effect.

Nathan Fernandes over Mike Mole, 7-6 (7-1)!  Mike: 1 Ace (a very impressive one according to Nate)!  Mike was up 5-4 and had three Match Points, but Nate saved them all to begin to mount his comeback!  This took place on Center Court from 11:55 to 12:53...just two minutes shy of an hour!  This looks to be a possible Nominee for One-Set Singles Match of The Year at season's end.

Chris Chiaro over Dino Celis, 6-1!  No Aces.  This one got underway on the North Court at 12:25.  Not sure when it ended as it went into this next one.

Chris Chiaro over Dino Celis, 6-3!  No Aces.  This one finished at exactly 1:09.  From there, Dino and Nate had a hitting session with one another.

Dean Delgado/Genalin Capan over Frank Samara/Anna Kropiewnicki, 6-2!  No Aces.  Here's how it went down: Frank held (30-Love, 30-15, Double Game Point and the hold), Genalin held (Gen hit a passing shot winner for 30-Love, then it was 30-15 where Gen hit another passing shot winner...both of these were past Anna and down the Doubles Alley...and it was then Double Game Point where an un-returned serve secured the hold), but Anna was the first to be broken (Love-15, Double Fault for Love-30 and then an un-returned serve for 15-30 where Gen hit a winning volley for Double Break Point, but then another un-returned serve made it Break Point only to have the break come next) for 1-2.  Dean held (un-returned serve for 15-Love and it was off and running to Triple Game Point, then it was Double Game Point where Gen blew an overhead for Game Point, but then another un-returned serve locked down the hold) for 3-1, but Samara held again (un-returned serve for 15-Love, then 15-All, but onto Double Game Point, the hold came on Game Point) to 2-3.  But from there, Capan held again as well (15-Love then point for point to Game Point as Frank blew two volleys along the way and an un-returned serve set up the G.P. and then Dean hit a passing shot winner for the hold), Kropiewnicki was broken (Double Fault for Love-30, 15-30 where Dean hit a passing shot winner for Double Break Point and then Gen hit a winning volley for the break) and then Delgado held again (an un-returned serve and a blown volley by Anna made it 30-Love where Frank hit a winning Overhead Smash that smashed into Gen...though thankfully she was able to block most of the blow...and then there was a Double Fault for 30-All, it then went to Break Point where Dean hit a passing shot winner for Deuce and then he hit another winner to set up Game/Match Point where he then hit his most amazing winner...he saved his best for last!) to finally get a long-awaited win!  We played this one on the South Court from 12:25 to 1pm.

The Delgado Slump finally ends!  He needed to be reunited with his old friend and former Mixed Doubles partner, Gen, in order to finally get out of that rut! 

We now go back to Nutley for the second session of the day at the Nutley Tennis Club.

The NTC Result:

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:
Senthil Kumar/Joe Rodrigues over John Rizzo/Nick Inciong, 6-1, 6-7 (7-5), 6-0, to become the New # 3 Ranked Team in the Doubles Division!  No Aces (apparently).  Rizzo said he was done by the end of the 2nd Set.

Samara's Notes: I thank John for reporting that score.  We now head up to Cedar Grove for the final session of the day.  Gen reported, in a very timely fashion, the results in which she was involved.  But Kris reported them as well.  So we will just now run with the report the way that Kris presented it.  Take it away, K Man!

Another quiet night where I had not planned on playing initially, but then we put together a few players once Doinks and Gen had indicated their interest to play.  There were really good matches and pretty much all the players had their share of glory.

The Cedar Grove Results:

Scott Bergenfeld/Levy Lorenzo over Jose Gonzales/Sairaj Srinivasan, 6-4!  No Aces.

It was a very good match in which the result was close indeed.  It was a smoking Scott tonight as he unleashed his forehand to his full satisfaction.  Jose was controlled and got to play smart tennis.  Sairaj's backhand return to Scott's aggressive serves was top notch.  His volleys and reflex to many points were impressive.  Levy has been playing solid tennis and his phenomenal efforts are very commendable.

Jose Gonzales/Sairaj Srinivasan over Scott Bergenfeld/Levy Lorenzo, 7-5!  Jose: 1 Ace on Scott!

Jose and Sairaj got the result that they missed out on in their earlier match.  It was nice of Jose to team up with Sairaj and do so splendidly.  It was another tight match.

Kris Srinivasan/Natalia Sout over Doinks Srinivasan/Genalin Capan, 6-2!  No Aces.

Gen was incredible at the net and Natalia came up with some nice shots.  To one of Doinks' superb shots that took Natalia out of the court sideways, her smoking cross-court winner was probably the shot of the night.  It was a slow start for Doinks and I had a few errant shots that were casual.  I did serve well and Gen probably had more winners.

Doinks Srinivasan/Genalin Capan over Dan Martinelli/Natalia Sout, 6-3!  No Aces.

Spin was supposed to give fewer games to the opponents than I did, but then he likes to make the ladies happy.  Win or lose, he's a happy chap!

Scott Bergenfeld/Jose Gonzales over Kris Srinivasan/Senthil Kumar, 6-4!  No Aces.

Scott had his say brandishing his forehand weapon, ably assisted by Jose.  I was unsettled to some extent. Senthil was steady, but could have gotten some assist from me.

Dino Celis/Jose Gonzales over Kris Srinivasan/Senthil Kumar, 6-4!  No Aces.

Another match, similar to our earlier one, where I erred quite a few times giving the ball to the net player. Dino was playing solid tennis and Jose did well both from the baseline and the net.  Senthil was amazing at the net, taking on multiple shots thrown at him.

Kris Srinivasan/Senthil Kumar over Dino Celis/Jose Gonzales, 6-3!  No Aces.

We were settled in by now and smart play by Senthil put continuous pressure on Dino and Jose.  We missed closing out one game earlier, thanks to an unprovoked unforced error from me due to a rush of blood to smoke the ball to smithereens...J.

Scott Bergenfeld/Natalia Sout over Dave Zhu/Doinks Srinivasan, 7-5!  No Aces (apparently).

Scott continued to dominate.  After a very good start with a healthy lead, Dave and Doinks blew it and came apart due to Scott's slaughter and good responses from Natalia.

Scott Bergenfeld/Natalia Sout leading Dave Zhu/Doinks Srinivasan, 5-2 (Incomplete due to lights out at 10pm)!  No Aces (apparently).

This incomplete match gave the reprieve to Dave and Doinks who would be glad at the time it came, thanks to the mandatory closing time.

All in all, it was another quiet night that managed to kick up some storms and keep the atmosphere charged!
Cheers!

Samara's Notes: The K Man is the man up at Cedar Grove.  Thanks to Kris for all his hard work collecting scores and providing us with his reports from his home base. 

All the best,
Frank Samara

8/27 Results

8/27/16:         

"Kris hosts 10 at C.G.!":                                          

GTA Saturday Night Tennis only took place at The Cedar Grove Courts (hosted by "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan). 

We turn this report over to Kris now.

A quiet Saturday night turned into a fierce night of GTA Tennis with fewer players.  It started with a good hitting session for me with my son Sairaj and Spin (aka Dan Martinelli) while there was a Doubles One-Setter going on in the adjacent court between the teams of Mike Mole/Jordan Bachvaroff and Jose Gonzales/Andrew Truong. 

Sairaj would only get to hit for a while and didn't get to play any matches for the night.  Dino Celis is the other player who came late into the night and only practiced his serves.

The Cedar Grove Results:

Mike Mole/Jordan Bachvaroff over Jose Gonzales/Andrew Truong, 6-2!  No Aces (apparently).

Mole has been playing solid tennis and with good control on his serves and he wasn't giving away any freebies.  Jordan got to play his shots freely.  Andrew was playing some amazing shots, especially the backhand, but a lack of consistency would be his woe.  It was a mixed bag for Jose as he didn't get a chance to warm up.  He had planned to play only one set.

Kris Srinivasan/Dan Martinelli over Ryan Pienciak/Rick Pienciak, 6-2!  No Aces.

All the warm-up did splendors for the Kris-Spin duo as they got to play clean tennis with good serves and crisp shots.  Ryan had some incredible gets and Rick was warming up well.  But it wasn't enough in their first match.

Michel Encarnacion/Andrew Truong over Mike Mole/Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-3!  No Aces (apparently).

Both Michel and Andrew got to play some attacking shots and forced their opponents into submission. 

Mike Mole/Jordan Bachvaroff over Michel Encarnacion/Andrew Truong, 6-3!  No Aces (apparently).

It was Mike and Jordan's turn to flip the results by playing aggressively and producing errors from their opponents.

Kris Srinivasan/Dave Zhu over Ryan Pienciak/Rick Pienciak, 6-3!  No Aces.

It was a good match for us with a positive result, but Dave couldn't match Spin…giving one more game to our opposition...:-).  Dave had picked up his game nicely in the second half and so did Ryan and Rick.

Kris Srinivasan/Ryan Pienciak over Dave Zhu/Rick Pienciak, 6-2!  No Aces.

Ryan was playing superbly with loaded serves and holding the baseline like a fortress.  We played an attacking game and the opposition didn't get the chance to recover from our assaults.  To Rick's credit, he was giving it all, serving well when he got his first serves in and some great shots…but he felt discouraged indeed.

Kris Srinivasan/Ryan Pienciak leading Mike Mole/Dave Zhu, 5-2 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

We were rollicking, but couldn't get the job done as the lights had their say.  It was a good night for me with serves going well and with that, a lot of shots to my liking.

It turned out to be a night of great tennis even though I had originally planned to leave by 8pm.

Samara's Notes: Sounds like it ended up being quite the impromptu session of GTA Saturday Night Tennis up at Cedar Grove.  As always, thanks to Kris for all he does for our league up there.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

 

 

 

 

8/26 Results

8/26/16:

"Samara hosts 16 at C.G.!:

"Hollywood" Frank Samara announced he most likely would be hosting GTA Friday Night Tennis at The Cedar Grove Courts (with some assistance from the usual host, "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan).  He had also said he should get there around 7pm.

As promised, Samara pulled into the parking lot at 7pm just as Kris and his son Sairaj were crossing the street and making their way toward the courts.  Frank linked up with The Srinivasans to assess the court situation as all four were already occupied.

On Court One, they saw the usual sparring partners "The Ambidextrous Machine" Herb Reiner and Miroslav "Mirav" Glavic having a hitting session. 

On Court Two, "Big George" Jorge Solano and "The Vin Man" Vinnie De Benedetto were having a hitting session with one another as well, but both prefer Doubles and were happy to see others arrive.

On Court Three were two outsiders and these guys would be there until 7:55.  After that, we had all four courts and we needed them.

And on Court Four, "Double R" Rob Ryan and "J-Bach" Jordan Bachvaroff had just begun a Singles One-Setter against one another.

Samara suggested that The Srinivasans should head toward Court Two to enable some Doubles action with Solano and De Benedetto.  Meanwhile, Frank was quite content to hang out on the bench outside the fence of Court One as he had only had about four hours sleep the night before.  At times, he almost fell asleep.  Thankfully, everyone there knew him...or else they may mistake him for some homeless hobo bumming the bench for the night.

Actually, it never really got that bad as there were a steady stream of competitors making their arrivals.  At 7:05, "The Webmaster" Senthil Kumar took a seat next to Samara on the bench.  Five minutes later, "Latino Heat" Jose Gonzales did the same...but just briefly.  He was restless and wanted to see what was going on over on the other courts.

At 7:25, the Ryan-Bachvaroff One-Setter ended and this offered both Jose and Senthil the opportunity to get some Doubles going with Rob and Jordan.  Frank was thankful for some continued resting time.

When Jay "The Rising" Phoenix took a seat on the bench next to Samara at 7:30, he couldn't sit too long as the Doubles One-Setter on Court Two had just ended.  Sairaj was heading home and this enabled Jay the chance to take his place.

We then entered into a logjam situation (which proved to only last for 15 minutes) as four players all arrived at 7:40 - GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro, "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes, "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas and Sachiko "Sachi" Tokuda.

Five minutes later, "The West Wing" Rick Pienciak also joined the group.  And another ten minutes after that, Dennis "The Menace" Cabanatan did the same.

Sachiko was dismayed to see all the courts full and no other ladies in attendance, so she left at 7:55.  That was unfortunate as those two outsiders on Court Three left right after she did.

Chris, Nate, Marijus and Rick made a beeline for Court Three.  And then at 8pm, Herb and Mirav also made their exits.  This forced Samara to finally step onto Court One for a hitting session with Cabanatan.  Both were hoping to play some Doubles, but especially the still sleepy Samara.

When the second Doubles One-Setter finished on Court Two at 8:15, Jay and then Vin left soon after.  This led to Kris and Jorge coming over to Court One for Doubles with Frank and Dennis as Srinivasan would team with Samara while Solano did the same with Cabanatan.  They officially got that action underway at exactly 8:17.

Arriving at 8:20, "2 Tall" Dave Zhu was just a few minutes late to be involved in that One-Setter mentioned above.  But he ended up waiting less than ten minutes before he could get onto Court Four to start hitting and it was just another five minutes or so before he became our sixteenth (and final) official competitor for the evening.

The Cedar Grove Results:

Rob Ryan over Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-2!  Rob: 2 Aces.  This one took place on Court Four from 6:55 to 7:25.  Rob said that the unorthodox serving style of Jordan through him for a couple of games, but once he was able to figure it out...it was fairly smooth sailing after that...though he was impressed with Bachvaroff's game overall.

Kris Srinivasan/Vinnie De Benedetto over Sairaj Srinivasan/Jorge Solano, 6-2!  No Aces.  Court Two hosted this one from 7:07 to 7:29.  Kris and Vin jumped out to a 5-0 lead.  It was cut to 5-2 before they were able to close it out.

Rob Ryan/Senthil Kumar over Jose Gonzales/Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-3!  Jose: 1 Ace on Rob (a corner one)!  This was contested on Court Four from 7:34 to 8:04.

Kris Srinivasan/Vinnie De Benedetto over Jay Phoenix/Jorge Solano, 6-2!  No Aces.  They played this one on Court Two from 7:38 to 8:15.  Once again, the Kris/Vin tandem jumped out to a 5-0 lead before it was cut to 5-2 and then they finished it off.

Marijus Kuzavas/Nathan Fernandes over Chris Chiaro/Rick Pienciak, 6-3!  Marijus: 2 Aces on Rick!  This was contested on Court Three from 8:03 to 8:33.

Rob Ryan/Senthil Kumar over Jose Gonzales/Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-0!  No Aces.  This rematch also took place on Court Four and lasted from 8:07 to 8:25.

The Skinny: Rob was doing his usual thing...frustrating the opposition.  But in many ways, Senthil was the standout here as he was so on the money with many of his shots.  He was hitting a combination of fast-paced forehands and well-placed volleys.  Whenever we have the conversation about possible Nominees for Most Improved Player of The Year this season, Kumar must remain in that debate.

Kris Srinivasan/Frank Samara over Jorge Solano/Dennis Cabanatan, 6-3!  No Aces.  It went like this: Frank held serve (Frank hit a winner for 15-Love, then it was 15-All when back-to-back un-returned serves made it Double Game Point and that was where Frank hit a drop shot winner for the hold), Jorge held (Love-15 went straight to Double Game Point as Dennis hit a winning volley, then there was an un-returned serve which was then followed by another winning volley by Dennis all prior to the D.G.P.), Kris held (started with a near ace that ended up being a body blow on Jorge and then he followed with another un-returned serve in the next point and then Frank hit a winning lob to set up Triple Game Point, but that was where the best rally of the match up to that moment occurred and ended with a winning volley by Jorge for Double Game Point and then Frank blew a volley to make it Game Point and then Jorge hit another winning volley to make it Deuce, but then came Game Point and the hold) and Dennis held (Love-15 shifted to 30-15 after an un-returned serve and then it shifted to Break Point after Jorge blew a volley, but then Jorge hit another winning volley to make it Deuce where another un-returned serve set up Game Point only to have another un-returned serve earn the hold) as we were all on serve at 2-2.  Samara was then unceremoniously broken at Love, but then Solano was also broken (Jorge blew an overhead for Love-30, but then he made a great get that led to winning the point for 15-30, then it went to Double Break Point where an un-returned serve cut it to Break Point, but then came the break) for 3-3.  And from there, Srinivasan held again (15-Love, then 15-All and then Frank hit a winning Overhead Smash on the way to Double Game Point where an un-returned serve secured the hold), Cabanatan was broken (Frank hit one of his most wicked and well-placed Windmill Overhead Smashes ever to make it Love-15, but then an un-returned serve made it 15-All only to have back-to-back Double Faults set up Double Break Point where Kris hit a winning volley for the break) and then Hollywood held (not to be outdone, Kris hit what should be described as a Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Sky Hook Overhead Smash for 15-Love, then it was 15-All, 15-30 where an un-returned serve set up 30-All only to have it go to Break Point, but then it went to Deuce and Game/Match Point where Kris hit a scintillating Backhand Volley to lock down his partner's hold) to earn a hard-fought victory!  We played this on Court One from exactly 8:17 to 8:49.

The Skinny: Sometimes it pays to be a zombie resting on the bench as Samara rose from the ashes (even though he is not Jay "The Rising" Phoenix) and actually turned in an above average performance while he was ably supported by a fired up Srinivasan.  Cabanatan is yet another crafty lefty who brings the pace and the topspin on both his serves and his ground-strokes.  Meanwhile, Solano was quite effective whenever he was able to get his footing near the net.

Rob Ryan/Jordan Bachvaroff over Senthil Kumar/Dave Zhu, 6-4!  Jordan: 1 Ace on Dave (Jordan admitted it was only an Ace because Dave missed it, but he was happy to take it nonetheless).  This was contested on Court Four from 8:34 to 9:18.

Marijus Kuzavas/Nathan Fernandes over Chris Chiaro/Rick Pienciak, 7-6 (7-4)!  No Aces.  The rematch, which was also conducted on Court Three and lasted from 8:35 to 9:20, was much closer than their first go-round.  After this, both Chris and Rick left.  This led to a lengthy hitting session between Marijus and Nate.  Along the way, Fernandes described it as the best hitting session in which he had ever been involved as the two of them were slugging away at one another.  I think Nate suggested a Singles One-Setter somewhere during it early on, but Kuzavas was already getting exhausted.

Jorge Solano/Dennis Cabanatan over Kris Srinivasan/Jose Gonzales, 7-5!  No Aces.  Here's some loose notes that get more comprehensive as the contest became more compelling: It was 2-2 and then Kris and Jose jumped out to a 5-2 lead.  Dennis was then on serve and it became an amazing battle of a game as it got to Break/Match Point, then it went to Deuce where Jorge hit a winning volley for Game Point, but then Jose hit a passing shot winner for 2nd Deuce which was where Jose hit a winning volley that found Jorge as its target and this set up the 2nd Break/Match Point, but then an un-returned serve made it 3rd Deuce and then Jose blew a volley to make it Game Point only to have Dennis also blow a volley to bring it to 4th Deuce and then it was the 3rd Break/Match Point where an un-returned serve made it 5th Deuce and then Jorge hit a winning Overhead Smash to set up Game Point where another un-returned finally secured the hold to make it 3-5!  Jose was then broken (Love-30 where Kris hit a winning Overhead Smash for 15-30, it was then Double Break Point where Jorge hit a winning lob to get the break) and Jorge held (30-Love, then 30-15, 30-All, Game Point and a winning lob from Dennis for the hold) to level the set at 5-5!  Kris was broken (Love-15 where Jose hit a winning volley for 15-All, but then Dennis hit a winning volley for 15-30 and then it went to 30-All where Kris blew a volley for Break Point and then Jorge hit a winning Overhead Smash for the break) and then Cabanatan held again (Kris hit a wicked winner for Love-15, then it went to 15-All where Jorge hit a winning volley for 30-15, but then Jose hit a winning lob for 30-All and then Jose hit another winner to set up Break Point where an un-returned serve made it Deuce only to have Jose hit an even more impressive winning volley for Break Point, but then a truly un-returnable serve brought it to 2nd Deuce where Jorge hit one heck of a volley for Game/Match Point, but then there was a Double Fault for 3rd Deuce where Jorge hit another winning volley to set up the 2nd Game/Match Point...which was the 5th M.P. overall...and that was where yet another truly un-returnable serve was able to lock down the hold) to cap an incredible comeback!  This one was contested on Court One from 8:53 to 9:36.

The Skinny: While it will likely get trumped by others with more impressive Tiebreak scores, this comeback One-Setter may still have an outside chance at being a Nominee for One-Set Doubles Match of The Year at season's end.

Senthil Kumar/Dave Zhu over Rob Ryan/Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-3!  Senthil: 1 Ace on Jordan (a slice serve that Senthil tried and has tried often, but admits he rarely finds success with)!  Rob and Jordan jumped out to a 3-1 lead only to drop four straight games to put the opposition up 5-3!  Bachvaroff was then on serve (Double Fault to set up Double Break/Match Point, then an un-returned serve for Break/Match Point, but then came the break) to take the loss.  They just got this one in on Court Four as it started at 9:20 and got finished at 9:56.

Marijus Kuzavas/Nathan Fernandes leading Kris Srinivasan/Dennis Cabanatan, 4-3 (Incomplete when they agreed to stop it at 9:58 after the seventh game had been completed)!  No Aces.  Kris stormed Court Three after action had finished on Court One to try to get one more Doubles One-Setter done for the night.  It officially got underway at 9:41 and there were no changeovers every two games, but still that did not help.  Marijus and Nate jumped out to a 3-0 lead.  They were up 4-2 and then 4-3 after the last completed game was done.  

As we were all walking off the courts, the lights went out at 10pm just as "Coach" Dino Celis drove into the parking lot to make a late cameo appearance.

It was yet another exciting session of GTA Tennis at Cedar Grove.

All the best,
Frank Samara

8/25 Results

8/25/16:        

"W2 Semi part of 17 at C.G. as Frank/Kris host!":                                          

GTA Thursday Night Tennis only took place at The Cedar Grove Courts (co-hosted by "Hollywood" Frank Samara and "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan and featuring the W2 Women's Doubles Tournament Semifinal Match between the teams of "The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan/"Bravo" Brenda Jordan and "The Argentine Machine" Fernanda Toker/"The S Bomber" Genalin Capan). 

Light but steady rain hit most of our area in the 5 o'clock hour.  And at times, it was even a little more than just light.  Streets were sufficiently wet and night tennis suddenly seemed in doubt.

A little before 6:30, Frank sent a text message to Kris to see if the courts at Cedar Grove had enough time to dry since the rains from before.  Srinivasan confirmed that they had.  In fact, his son Sairaj was already out there hitting with "The Pilot" Greg Swierczek.

Around the same time, Fernanda reached out to Doinks to find out that their match could still be played.

By the time that Samara could get up to Cedar Grove, it was 7:15 upon his arrival.  The GTA already had official action underway on three of the four courts with just Court Two being occupied by some outsiders (who likely left somewhere between 8:30 and 9pm…the court remained vacant for the balance of the night).

On Court One, Sairaj was teaming with "The Great" Scott Bergenfeld to take on Kris and Greg.

On Court Four, "Steppin' to the AM" Anish Mehta and "Big Kaz" Mike Kazlauskas were facing Jay "The Rising" Phoenix and "J-Bach" Jordan Bachvaroff.  This ended up becoming a full Doubles Match.

And on Court Three, the W2 Semi had just started about five minutes prior and GTA Women's Champion: Laura "The Aura" Gawley and "Kevlar" Kevin Doyle were sitting on the bleachers outside the fence near Court Three.  So Samara joined them and got brought up to speed by both of them as he began taking notes.  Kevin also reported a result that finished prior to Frank's arrival.

"Mr. 500" Levy Lorenzo arrived at 8pm and then "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes did the same five minutes later.  They did not have to wait long to get involved in some official Doubles action as well.

"Coach" Dino Celis and "Rowdy" Rob Gawley were the last two arrivals of the night at 8:25 and that ended up giving us a total of 17 official competitors for the session (Samara never played).

The Cedar Grove Results:

Greg Swierczek/Brenda Jordan over Scott Bergenfeld/Kevin Doyle, 7-6 (7-3)!  No Aces.  Not sure of the start and stop times, but this took place earlier in the evening on Court One.

Scott Bergenfeld/Sairaj Srinivasan over Kris Srinivasan/Greg Swierczek, 6-4!  Greg: 1 Ace on Sairaj.  This was also played on Court One and had begun prior to Samara's arrival.  It ended some time after, but do not know when as it led right into this next one.

Greg Swierczek over Kris Srinivasan, 6-2!  Greg: 1 Ace.  Another battle waged on Court One.  Do not know the beginning and end times.  It was actually going to be a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match, but with Greg up just 1-0 in the 2^nd Set…both competitors agreed to scrap it in favor of some Doubles action which we will get to later in the report.

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Anish Mehta/Mike Kazlauskas over Jay Phoenix/Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-1, 7-6 (7-3), as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 50 and # 51 Ranked Teams respectively!  No Aces (apparently).  The 1^st Set was already underway at the time of Samara's arrival and it ended at 7:20.  The match finished at exactly 8:03 on Court Four.

W2 Semifinal Match:

Fernanda Toker/Genalin Capan over Doinks Srinivasan/Brenda Jordan, 6-7 (7-3), 6-1, 6-3, to become the New # 10 Ranked Team in the Women's Doubles Division while advancing to The Finals of The W2 Women's Doubles Tournament!  No Aces.

1^st Set: Genalin held serve and Doinks was on serve as Samara arrived.  She ended up being broken to go down 0-2.  Fernanda was also broken (Brenda hit a winning volley for Love-15 and that was on the way to Triple Break Point, then it was Double Break Point where Gen hit a winning volley to make it Break Point, but then came the break), but then so was Brenda (Brenda hit a drop shot winner for 15-Love, it then went 30-Love, 30-15, Double Game Point, Game Point where Brenda blew an overhead for Deuce and then came a moment to end the next point where Doinks and Brenda almost ran into one another going for the shot, but neither hit it…not sure who hit this quirky winner…but now it was Break Point and then Gen hit a winner for the break) to go down 1-3.  Capan held again and this time it was at Love (after hitting an un-returned serve for 30-Love) as her team now took a 4-1 lead!  Srinivasan held in a game where it started to drizzle (Doinks hit a winner for 15-Love, then it was 15-All where Brenda hit a winning Overhead Smash for 30-15 and then it was Double Game Point where Brenda hit an awesome volley to secure her partner's hold) and then Toker was broken again (Brenda hit a passing shot return for Love-30 and then Doinks hit a winning return of her own for Triple Break Point, it was then Double Break Point when Doinks hit another winning return for the break) to have her team's lead cut to 4-3.  Jordan held in a fierce game (Love-15 where Doinks hit a winner for 15-All and then Doinks hit a net-cord winner for 30-15, it then went 30-All, Break Point where Doinks hit a winning semi-lob to make it Deuce and then there was an amazing get by Fernanda only to be answered with a winning volley from a waiting Brenda at the net to make it Game Point, but then Gen hit a winning Backhand Volley for 2^nd Deuce where Brenda hit a winner for Game Point and then she secured her own hold) to knot the score at 4-4!  The S Bomber was broken for the first time (Love-15, 15-All, 15-30 where Doinks hit a passing shot winner to set up Double Break Point, but then Gen hit a winner to cut it to Break Point, but then came the break) as her team lost their lead for the first time at 4-5 as the opposition had just taken four straight games!  But The Marathon Woman was then broken at Love as Gen hit a winning volley for a Love-15 start and then Gen hit a winning Backhand Volley for Love-30 and then Gen hit a winning volley to set up Triple Break Point which then became one of the best rallies of the match, but it ended up in the returning team's favor and leveled things again, this time at 5-5!  The Argentine Machine then had her first hold and it was at Love as she started things off with a very impressive winner and now her team had reclaimed the lead at 6-5.  Then Bravo fought back with her second straight hold (Love-15 and then another excellent rally which led to 15-All and that was where Doinks hit an amazing winner to make it 30-15 where Brenda hit a winner of her own for Double Game Point, but then there was a tight Double Fault for Game Point, Deuce, Game Point again, 2^nd Deuce and then one more Game Point before the hold) as they were now heading to the Tiebreak! 

In the Breaker (which started at 7:57…the 1^st Set began at 7:10): Genalin held her lone serve after it went un-returned, Doinks held the first of her two serves with a net-cord winner, but she was then broken on her second after Gen hit a very well-angled volley to gain a 2-1 lead for her team.  Fernanda was broken on both of her serves after Brenda hit a winning volley to end each of those points as she now had a 3-2 lead for her team while she was about to go on serve.  She held the first of her two serves after hitting another winner for 4-2 and then came the changeover.  Brenda then hit another winning volley to hold her second serve as well as her team now had a fairly commanding 5-2 lead.  Capan held the first of her two serves to pull to 3-5, but was then broken on her second to hand over a 6-3 lead Set Point situation to Srinivasan who then had an un-returned serve to close out this TB at 7-3.  The time was now 8:04.  There was then a fairly lengthy break while Fernanda had to tend to some matters.  The next set got underway at 8:12.

2^nd Set: Brenda was broken (Fernanda made a great get/winner combo for Love-15, then it was 15-All where Gen hit a winning volley for 15-30, then it was Double Break Point where Doinks hit a winner for Break Point and then Brenda hit a net-cord winner for Deuce, then it went to Game Point, 2^nd Deuce where Gen hit another winning volley for Break Point, but then Brenda hit a winner for 3^rd Deuce where Gen answered with a winning Backhand Volley for Break Point and then came the break), Fernanda held (15-Love, 15-All where Doinks hit a winner for 15-30, but then Gen hit a winning volley for 30-All, but Brenda replied with a winning volley of her own for Break Point, but then she blew the next volley to make it Deuce and then it was Game Point where Fernanda made another awesome get to a waiting Brenda, but this time she couldn't handle the pace and put the would-be volley into the net to allow the hold), Doinks was broken (Love-15 where Brenda hit another net-cord winner for 15-All, but then Brenda blew an overhead for 15-30 and that was where Gen hit another impressive volley for Double Break Point where Fernanda then hit a winning return for the break) and Genalin held (Brenda blew an overhead for 15-Love, it then went 15-All, 30-15, 30-All and Game Point where Brenda blew another overhead to allow the hold) for a somewhat commanding 4-0 lead.  Jordan then held (15-Love, 15-All where Doinks hit a passing shot winner for 30-15, then it went to 30-All, Game Point and an un-returned serve for the hold) to get her team on the scoreboard in this set, but Toker held again (Brenda hit a winning volley for Love-15 and then she hit a winning return for Love-30 only to follow that with another winning volley for Triple Break Point, but then it went to Double Break Point where Gen had a winning volley of her own for Break Point and then it was Deuce where another exciting rally led to Break Point again, but Brenda blew a volley to make it 2^nd Deuce and then came an un-returned serve to set up Game Point where Brenda blew a volley to allow the hold) to go up 5-1!  And then Srinivasan was broken again and it was at Love as perhaps the best rally of the match ended with Gen hitting a winning volley for Love-30 and then Brenda blew a volley to set up Triple Break/Set Point where Gen then hit a winner for the break to take the set and level the match at exactly 8:43!  The next set would get going just two minutes later.

3^rd Set: Genalin was broken (Love-30, 15-30, 30-All where Doinks hit a winner for Break Point and then Brenda hit a winning volley for the break), Brenda was broken (Gen hit a winning volley for Love-15 and then it went Love-30, Triple Break Point where an un-returned serve made it Double Break Point, then it was Break Point and the break), but Fernanda was the first to hold in this set (Gen blew a volley for a Love-15 start, but then she hit a winning volley for 15-All and then an un-returned serve made it 30-15 which was where Gen blew another volley for 30-All and then Brenda hit a winning volley to make it Break Point, but then Gen hit a winning Backhand Volley for Deuce and then another un-returned serve set up Game Point where Doinks blew a volley to allow the hold) to go up 2-1.  Doinks was broken (Doinks hit a winner for 15-Love, but then Brenda blew a volley for 15-All and then Fernanda hit a winner for 15-30 where Gen then hit a winning volley to set up Double Break Point and then came the break) and Capan held (Doinks blew a volley for 15-Love and then at 30-Love it was Gen hitting a winner to set up Triple Game Point, but then Gen blew a volley to make it Double Game Point and then it was cut down to Game Point, but then Gen hit a winning volley to secure her own hold) as her team now had a 4-1 lead for the third set in a row!  Jordan held (15-Love, 15-All and then an excellent rally for 30-15 which was where Brenda blew a volley for 30-All, but then Gen also blew a volley to make it Game Point where Brenda once again blew a volley to make it Deuce and then Brenda hit a winning volley to set up Game Point where she then hit another winning volley to lock down her own hold) to pull to 2-4, but Toker held yet again (Gen blew a volley for Love-15, but then Brenda blew a volley for 15-All and then it was at 15-30 where an un-returned serve made it 30-All and then another exciting and extended rally led to Game Point and then came the hold) to take a fairly commanding lead at 5-2.  Srinivasan replied with a hold of her own (Gen blew a volley for 15-Love, it then went 15-All, 30-15 where an un-returned serve set up Double Game Point and then Gen blew a volley to allow the hold) as her team pulled to 3-5 only to have The S Bomber hold again (Brenda blew a volley for 15-Love, then it was 15-All where another rally that could be argued as best rally of the match ended with a winning volley by Gen to go up 30-15 and then it was like an instant replay as another awesome rally ended with a winning volley by Gen and this set up Double Game/Match Point where an un-returned serve ended this war somewhat unceremoniously) to earn a very hard-fought victory at exactly 9:24 on Court Three!

The Skinny: You may see a lot of "blown volleys" by both Gen and Brenda above, but they also hit many winning volleys as well.  Both ladies played aggressively at the net and the percentages reflected that.  Meanwhile, Fernanda and Doinks took the roll of baseline runners for much of the contest.  Toker did her usual awesome get-making thing while Srinivasan was hitting her looping forehand shots that often confounded her opponents (sometimes they are a hybrid of a lob and a forehand winner).  For Doinks, she often had some of those sail long when she failed to get enough topspin on them to bring them down onto the court within the lines. 

When Gen was getting down on herself as her team lost the momentum in the second half of that 1^st Set, Fernanda then lit a fire under her ass with a passionate pep talk.  It seemed to work as they then found a more balanced strategy moving forward with Capan taking more of the net duty with Toker content to cover much of the rest of the court.  Jordan was equal to the task when it came to aggression up at the net and despite many errors I believe it to be Brenda's most impressive performance to date here in the GTA.  She should be a Nominee for Most Improved Women's Player of The Year at season's end.

All in all, it was a highly competitive match that drew the interest of spectators (Laura, Kevin, Frank and Dino) along the way.  Also, "The Legendary" Chazz Weldon kept checking in on scores via texts to Samara as he was hoping to come see the match, but had to work late.  For some, there was a bit of surprise to the 1^st Set score as they may have felt that the Fernanda/Gen tandem was a bit too formidable of a team to face.  But matches are played on the court…not on paper…and the Srinivasan/Jordan duo did their thing which resulted in a very spirited comeback to take the early lead.

After the initial two sets, Brenda wanted to opt for the optional 10-Point Super Tiebreak (perhaps due to the fact that she had played a full Doubles One-Setter prior to this match), but she was overruled by the other three parties in the contest.  The STB will not be an option in the Finals.  Speaking of which…

The Consequences: Fernanda and Gen now find themselves in the Finals where they await the winners of the other pending Semi between the teams of Laura and "Spicy" Sally Pillay and "C.A.T." Christine Toth and "Dominant" Dawn Peterson.  That match will not take place until after Labor Day Weekend (as Dawn is away at this time), so Toker and Capan will have to be content to play the waiting game for now.

Nathan Fernandes/Jordan Bachvaroff over Mike Kazlauskas/Levy Lorenzo, 6-3!  No Aces.  This was played on Court Four and lasted from 8:09 to 8:35.

Mike Kazlauskas/Jordan Bachvaroff over Nathan Fernandes/Levy Lorenzo, 6-4!  Mike: 1 Ace on Levy.  This was also contested on Court Four as it started at exactly 8:37 and finished at 9:16.  Two minutes later, they launched into another set with the same teams.  It perhaps could have been a match.  We will check in with what happened a little later in this report.

Kris Srinivasan/Laura Gawley over Greg Swierczek/Rob Gawley, 7-5!  No Aces.  Kris and Laura were down 1-4 before making a very nice comeback!  Not sure when this one began on Court One, but it finished sometime around 9:30.

Nathan Fernandes/Levy Lorenzo leading Mike Kazlauskas/Jordan Bachvaroff, 5-4 (Incomplete when the light went out at 10pm)!  No Aces (apparently).  Jordan wanted it noted that they were on serve at the time…in the hopes of leveling it at 5-5.

Kris Srinivasan/Laura Gawley leading Dino Celis/Rob Gawley, 5-1 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces (apparently).  They began this on Court Three at exactly 9:40.  Frank and Fernanda were hoping to team up, but were too busy talking and lost the chance to take the court.  Oh well.

Even though there were two cliffhangers, it ended up being a very satisfying session regardless.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

 

 

 

 

8/24 Results.

8/24/16:         

"Anish-Dino at L.F., Kris/Gen host 13 (1 New) at C.G.!":                                          

GTA Wednesday Night Tennis took place at two locations: The Paterson Ave. Courts in Little Falls (featuring a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match between "Steppin' to the AM" Anish Mehta and "Coach" Dino Celis with reports from both of them) and The Cedar Grove Courts (hosted by "Papa K" Kris Srinivasan with assistance from "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan who also sent in her scores and recruited a new player as well). 

We will first go to the dual report from Little Falls and then do the same for Cedar Grove.

The Little Falls Results:

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:

Anish Mehta over Dino Celis, 6-4, 6-4, to successfully defend his # 6 Rank in the Advanced Division!  Anish: 5 Aces!

The AM News: Dino was up early in both sets and I had to come from behind to win both times.  I switched from my two-handed forehand to a traditional one-handed forehand last week.  I'm still adapting and I ended up slicing the ball a lot.  However, my serve was working today.  I had a few Aces and many service winners that helped me stay in the match.

The conditions were tough due to the sun setting earlier and the poor lighting at the Little Falls courts.  It's good enough for hitting, but not adequate for a match.  We were both losing a lot of balls in the darkness by the end, so closing out the match was maybe due to luck to some extent.

From The Coach's Clipboard: Tough conditions for both of us as the lights are not the best.  He was able to adjust his game better than I was.

Samara's Notes: I thank both Anish and Dino for their very timely reporting of that match.

We now present the full Cedar Grove recap.  We will start with the scores and commentary from Gen and then turn it over to Kris for the balance of the report.

The Cedar Grove Results:

Nathan Fernandes/Ryan Pienciak over Kris Srinivasan/Genalin Capan, 6-2!  No Aces.

Nathan Fernandes/Ryan Pienciak over Kris Srinivasan/Genalin Capan, 6-1!  No Aces.

The Say from Papa K: It was a classic case of jumping into the action without the adequate warm-up.  It reflected in our poor performance, but credit goes to the attacking play by Ryan at the net and Nate's well known steady play.  Nate couldn't play freely as he was suffering from a stiff neck.  It was a bit stressful, but he was up for it. 

Samara's Notes: We now go back to Gen for one more result along with some commentary.

Jordan Bachvaroff/Ryan Pienciak over Nathan Fernandes/Genalin Capan, 6-3!  Ryan: 2 Aces (one on each and back-to-back)! 

The Say from Papa K: Well, it was one of those nights…try as hard as you possibly can and still the win eludes you.  Gen felt good starting off well at 1-Love, but it was back against the wall two games thereafter.

Gen's Notes: I invited a friend to join us.  Her name is Anna Kropiewnicki.  She has not played in a while and wanted to get back to playing.  Her husband Dan plays a little, but just watched from the bench and he got to meet Spin (aka Dan Martinelli) and Dino.

Samara's Notes: I thank Gen for those scores and also recruiting a new player.  We now let Papa K take it away!

With The Verona Crew in full swing, we took charge of the other two courts and had them at our disposal thanks to Sairaj going out there early.  It was good to see Gen and she had invited Anna Kropiewnicki to play with us.

It looked like Anna was a bit nervous playing in a new environment with new players.  After the initial tentativeness, she started hitting well.

Rick Pienciak/Natalia Sout over Sairaj Srinivasan/Anna Kropiewnicki, 6-3!  No Aces (apparently).  It was the official GTA Debut of Anna Kropiewnicki.

Rick Pienciak/Natalia Sout over Doinks Srinivasan/Anna Kropiewnicki, 6-1!  No Aces (apparently).

Anna had yet to find her groove and Rick's slices were a bit too much handle...:-).

Levy Lorenzo/Doinks Srinivasan over Rick Pienciak/Anna Kropiewnicki, 6-4!  No Aces (apparently).

Anna started to play well and they had a close match.  As always, the GTA proved to be a gracious host as it enabled Levy to have fun with its players as The Verona Crew had a few more players than the two courts they were occupying allowed.

Nathan Fernandes/Kris Srinivasan over Jordan Bachvaroff/Ryan Pienciak, 6-4!  Jordan: 2 Aces on Nate!

It was a good match and we got the break at the right time.  We also kept Ryan in check at the net...:-).

Dino Celis/Kris Srinivasan over Nathan Fernandes/Ryan Pienciak, 6-3!  No Aces.

We were down 1-3 before staging a good comeback, taking the next 5 games.  There were some close games, but we dug in deep. 

Raj Shah just came briefly, but had a really good time heckling Gen.  He probably had more fun teasing Gen than he might have had playing...:).  It was also good to see Spin after what seemed like a lengthy absence.  He does light up the place and that reflected in his set that never got to finish.

Levy Lorenzo/Doinks Srinivasan tied with Dan Martinelli/Rick Pienciak, 4-4 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces (apparently).

A satisfying match for all the players with the scores leveled.  It looked animated with good rallies and gets.

Overall, it turned out to be a busy, active two-court session that got a lift as the night wore on!  Cheers!

Samara's Notes: Sounds like it was another exciting and productive session.  Sorry I missed it.  Kudos to The K Man who always does his thing for the GTA up at Cedar Grove!

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

 

 

 

 

8/23 Results.

8/23/16:         

"4 play in R.P., Scott-Jordan part of 11 at C.G.!":                                          

GTA Tuesday Night Tennis took place at two locations: Fellowship Park in Ridgefield Park (a full Mixed Doubles Challenge Match between the teams of "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas/"Spicy" Sally Pillay and "T-Rez" Tommy Reszkowski/"The Argentine Machine" Fernanda Toker, as reported by Marijus) and The Cedar Grove Courts (hosted by "Hollywood" Frank Samara with assistance from usual host "Papa K" Kris Srinivasan). 

Before we go to the full recap of how things unfolded up at Cedar Grove, let's first go to the report from Marijus at Fellowship Park.

The Fellowship Park Results:

2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Doubles Match:

Marijus Kuzavas/Sally Pillay over Tommy Reszkowski/Fernanda Toker, 6-3, 6-2, to successfully defend their # 4 Rank in the Mixed Doubles Division!  Marijus: 1 Ace on Tommy.

Super Mario Memo: This match was played for another tournament (run by Robbin Miller), but I figured I would report it for the GTA as well.  We then played another One-Setter for fun.

Marijus Kuzavas/Sally Pillay over Tommy Reszkowski/Fernanda Toker, 6-2!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I thank Marijus for sharing those results with us.  When Robbin Miller ran this same tournament last year, some of those scores were also reported for the GTA as well.  Anyone can feel free to do the same with any tournaments that they play in provided they involve GTA players and/or players you want to bring into the league.

We now present the full Cedar Grove recap.

Earlier in the day, "Hollywood" Frank Samara had indicated he would be hosting the session at Cedar Grove starting around 7pm.  He pulled into the parking lot at 6:20.  Like the night before, he was not feeling well…but for far different reasons than 24 hours prior. 

This time around, Samara was in the midst of a full-on allergic attack as the change in weather (and soon to be seasons) has revived the ragweed pollen.  A sneezing fit had him fit to be tied!  He popped a pill (can't remember which one) to try to overcome the annoying effects of it.

Courts One and Two were vacant.  Court Three just became occupied with a couple of younger guys.

And on Court Four, "The Great" Scott Bergenfeld and "J-Bach" Jordan Bachvaroff were stretching as they got ready for some Singles action against one another.  Samara talked to them for a while and was more than happy not to be needed for any hitting right away.

At 6:35, "C.A.T." Christine Toth arrived.  So Samara took Court One so they could soon start a hitting session.  Ten minutes later, "The Vin Man" Vinnie De Benedetto also stepped onto that court.  It was Vin and Christine hitting against Frank.

At 6:50, what looked to be a father/son combo took Court Two with the younger daughter just watching from the sidelines.

Five minutes later, "The Secret Weapon" Sairaj Srinivasan crossed the street to the courts and made it a foursome on Court One.

At 7pm, GTA Women's Champion: Laura "The Aura" Gawley arrived and Samara invited her to take his place as he was still battling his allergies while also trying to spar with the opposition in the hitting session.  This led to Laura teaming with Sairaj against Christine and Vinnie.

Papa Kris came across the street at 7:20 and had a conversation with Frank through the fence.  He could see just how badly Samara was suffering as the allergies had even affected the way he looked.

It was right around this time that Scott and Jordan finished their 1^st Set on Court Four.  Kris was hoping to join them, but they asked if they could play more Singles.  Srinivasan relented and continued his conversation with Samara.

At 7:45, Kris was able to get involved in the next Doubles One-Setter on Court One as he replaced his son Sairaj.  Just then, "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes arrived.  Samara told him that Bergenfeld and Bachvaroff were likely nearing the end of their Singles action on Court Four.

Five minutes later, Scott and Jordan had now split sets.  We did not know that they had intended to play their action as a full 2 out of 3 Set Singles Challenge Match.  They were very gracious to then play a 10 Point Super Tiebreak in lieu of a full 3^rd Set just so we could get some Doubles action going there next.

That STB was a lengthy one at 15 minutes duration!  Within that timeframe, Dennis "The Menace" Cabanatan had arrived at 8pm.  Once again, Samara was more than happy to let Cabanatan take his place in the Doubles that would take place next…even though Frank was finally starting to feel better.

A short while later, the second Doubles One-Setter on Court One had finished and De Benedetto needed to leave at that time.  So Samara stepped in to take his place in teaming with Toth to take on Srinivasan and Gawley.  And this would end up becoming a full 2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Doubles Match along the way.

At 8:25, four outsiders (later to become five) took Court Three (the first two guys had left at 7:50…and the father/son combo on Court Two left a short while after that).

The final GTA arrival of the night was "Coach" Dino Celis at 8:35, giving us a total of eleven official competitors for the session.  Though the turnout was somewhat low for such a beautiful night weather-wise, it was still a very exciting and productive session.

The Cedar Grove Results:

2 out of 3 Sets:

Scott Bergenfeld over Jordan Bachvaroff, 3-6, 6-0, 11-9 (STB)!  Once they went to the Super Tiebreak, Bergenfeld's rank was no longer on the line.  No Aces (apparently).  This battle took place on Court Four from 6:45 to 8:07!

The Skinny: Scott said he had his first serve cranking away in the 1^st Set (75% success rate, approx.), but it made little difference as he could not do anything else right.  It did not help that Jordan was blocking it back with many successful returns.  In the 2^nd Set, Bergenfeld lost his first serve ability…but all his other assets and skills rose to the surface as a bagel set quickly balanced things out.  And now we go to the Super Tiebreak!

STB: Scott held his lone serve and then Jordan held both of his to go up 2-1.  Bergenfeld was broken on the first of two, but held the second for 2-3.  Bachvaroff held his first for 4-2 at the changeover, but was broken on his second to have his lead cut to 4-3.  Great Scott was broken on his first, but held his second for 4-5.  J-Bach held his first after a winning lob to go up 6-4, but a winner from Scott broke him on the second service to cut that lead to 6-5.  Scott held his first serve for 6-6 at the second changeover and then he hit a truly un-returnable serve to go up 7-6!  Jordan held his first with an un-returned serve as well, but was broken on his second for 7-8.  Bergenfeld was broken on his first, but held his second to go up 9-8 and have the first Match Point in his favor.  Bachvaroff held his first serve for 9-9 at the third changeover, but was then broken on his second to hand a 10-9 lead over to Scott as well as the 2^nd Match Point.  And then to end the point of his first service, Scott hit a net-cord winner that Jordan (or anyone, for that matter) could not get to and that was how this one ended!  The STB had started at 7:52 and ended at 8:07…fifteen minutes long!

Vinnie De Benedetto/Christine Toth over Sairaj Srinivasan/Laura Gawley, 6-3!  Laura: 3 Aces (1 on Vinnie and 2 on Christine in that order…and her first two were back-to-back in her first service game)!  While talking to Kris, Frank took the following notes somewhat loosely: Laura held (30-All, then an Ace up the T on Vinnie for Game Point and then a corner Ace on Christine for the hold), Christine held, but Sairaj was the first to be broken for 1-2.  Vinnie was also broken and Gawley held again to reclaim the lead for her team at 3-2.  But from there, Toth also held again, Srinivasan was broken again as he hit a Double Fault on Break Point, De Benedetto held and then The Aura was finally broken (30-15, sideline Ace on Christine to go up Double Game Point, then Game Point where Vin hit a winning volley for Deuce, then it was Break/Match Point where Laura hit her own winning volley to bring it to 2^nd Deuce, but then came the 2^nd Break/Match Point and an excellent rally to end the match) in a fun but fiercely-contested fight!  They played this one on Court One from 7:12 to 7:42.

Kris Srinivasan/Laura Gawley over Vinnie De Benedetto/Christine Toth, 6-0!  Laura: 1 Ace on Christine.  This was also played on Court One and it lasted from 7:45 to 8:06.

Nathan Fernandes/Dennis Cabanatan over Scott Bergenfeld/Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-4!  No Aces.  This one took place on Court Four as it began at 8:10 and ended at 8:50.  After this one, Jordan was once again experiencing knee problems.  He explained this only happens to him while playing Doubles from all the standing in place rather than the constant movement he gets from Singles.

2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Doubles Match:

Kris Srinivasan/Laura Gawley over Frank Samara/Christine Toth, 6-4, 6-4, as both teams enter the Mixed Doubles Division as the New # 26 and # 27 Ranked Teams respectively!  No Aces.  We began this one on Court One at 8:12 and it finished at 9:30.

1^st Set: Laura held (a killer Overhead Smash from Kris for 15-Love, then it was 30-Love where Laura hit a wicked winner for Triple Game Point, but then Christine hit a winning Backhand Volley for Double Game Point and then there was a Double Fault to cut the lead to Game Point, but then an un-returned serve earned the hold), Frank held (Kris hit a passing shot winner for Love-15 and then it was Love-30, but then Kris blew two volleys on the way to Game Point and then Frank hit a sizzling passing shot winner for the hold), Kris held at Love as Laura started things off with a winner and Kris ended things with another whopper of an Overhead Smash, but Christine was the first to be broken (Love-30 where an un-returned serve made it 15-30 which was where Laura hit a winning Overhead Smash for Double Break Point and then Kris hit a winner for the break) to go down 1-3.  Gawley was broken (Love-15 then point for point until 30-All as Laura blew an overhead along the way, but then it was Game Point where Frank hit a severe short-angle winning return for Deuce and then Laura blew another overhead to make it Break Point where Frank then hit a laser-like passing shot winner for the break) to have her team's lead cut to 3-2, but Samara was also broken (Love-15 then point for point until 30-All and Kris had blown both a volley and an overhead along the way, but then it was Game Point where a Double Fault cut that to Deuce, but then an un-returned serve made it Game Point again only to go back to 2^nd Deuce, Break Point, 3^rd Deuce, Break Point and then a winning return from Laura for the break) to fall to 2-4.  Srinivasan was broken (Love-15 then point for point until 30-All, Game Point, Deuce, Break Point and a Double Fault for the break) to have his team's lead cut to 4-3, but Toth was broken again and this time it was at Love as it was The Kris Show as he first made a great get/winner combo, then hit back-to-back winner and ended the game with a winning Backhand Volley as his team went up 5-3!  But The Aura was broken again (Laura hit a winning volley for 15-Love, but it shifted to 15-30 as Frank hit a winning volley of his own along the way and then Frank hit a winning Overhead Smash to make it Double Break Point where Frank hit another winning volley to get the break) to cut their lead to 5-4, but then Hollywood was also broken again (Kris hit a winning volley for Love-15, but then he blew a volley for 15-All and then it was straight to Double Game Point, but then that was cut to Deuce after Christine blew a volley and then it went to Break/Match Point and then the break in somewhat anti-climactic fashion) to take the loss which then became dropping the initial set as both teams agreed to play on to make it a full match as this one ended at 8:52.  There was a five minute break between sets as Christine had to tend to a few issues and we thank her for sticking around considering the fact she lives in New York State.

2^nd Set: Kris held (there were two winners from Kris and an amazing passing shot winner blast by Laura to make it Triple Game Point where Christine hit a well-placed winning volley for Double Game Point, but then came the hold), Christine held (15-Love shifted to 15-30 after Kris hit a drop shot winner, but then two un-returned serves shifted it to Game Point and then came the hold), but Laura was the first to be broken (Laura blew an overhead for Love-15, it was Love-30 when an un-returned serve then made it 15-30, but then a winning return from Frank made it Double Break Point, that then went to Deuce, Game Point, 2^nd Deuce, Game Point where Frank hit a winner for 3^rd Deuce, then came Break Point and the break) for 1-2.  Frank held (Kris blew an overhead and then two un-returned serves made it Triple Game Point which was where Kris hit a great passing shot return for Double Game Point only to have Christine respond with her best volley of the night for the hold) to extend his team's lead to 3-1, but Srinivasan held again (Love-30 shifted to Game Point as Kris made an awesome winner just prior to the G.P. and then an equally impressive winner to secure the hold) and Toth was broken (Kris hit a winning drop shot return for Love-15, it then was Love-30 where an excellent rally led to 15-30 which was where Laura hit a winning drop shot return of her own for Double Break Point and then Christine hit a winner where the angle could not have been sharper or shorter to make it Break Point, but then came the break) to level things at 3-3!  Gawley held at Love with two un-returned serves along the way to take the first lead for her team at 4-3 since they were up 1-0, but Samara held again (15-Love where Kris hit a winning drop shot return for 15-All, but then it was straight to Double Game Point as Christine made a marvelous winning volley along the way and then Kris blew an overhead to allow the hold) to knot the score once more at 4-4!  But Papa K then had a Love hold as Laura started things off with a big-time winning Overhead Smash and then she had a drop shot winner and then Kris had a drop shot winner of his own to lock down the hold and then C.A.T. was broken once more (Kris hit a drop shot winner and then another winner and then Laura also hit a drop shot winner to set up Triple Break/Match Point, but then Kris blew a volley to make it Double Break/Match Point and then Kris blew another volley to bring it down to Break/Match Point, but then Kris redeemed himself with a well-executed and winning drop shot return for the break) to take a tough loss at exactly 9:30!

The Skinny: As stated earlier, it started off as just a One-Setter.  Christine was prepared to head home after that initial one.  But once she saw we would only be three for the balance of the evening, she agreed to stick around for one more and Kris suggested we make it a match.  It ended up being a close contest and it added two solid teams to the ranks of the Mixed Doubles Division.  It was a lot of fun as well.

Dino Celis/Nathan Fernandes over Scott Bergenfeld/Dennis Cabanatan, 6-2!  No Aces.  This one got underway on Court Four at exactly 8:53.  Not sure when it ended as it went right into the next one.

Dino Celis/Nathan Fernandes leading Scott Bergenfeld/Dennis Cabanatan, 6-5 (Incomplete when both sides called it a night at exactly 9:58)!  No Aces.

The Skinny: Kris was disappointed that they did not try to get in one more game to complete this set and possibly would-be match as well.  But it felt like it was very late in that 9:58 minute as it seemed like the lights cut out just a minute later.  They were still doing the changeovers as well, so by the time they switched sides…I doubt they would have gotten this one done anyway.  Scott, in fact, was looking to call it a draw at 5-5 at 9:55, but Papa K strongly suggested that they continue play.

All in all, it was an exciting session that did not need strong numbers in turnout to reach a fever pitch. 

Sincerely,

Frank Samara