9/26 Results

9/26/16:         

"Chris hosts 5 at C.G.!":                                          

GTA Monday Night Tennis took place at The Cedar Grove Courts, but the usual host "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan was too busy to host.  Instead, GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro acted as the impromptu host and sent in their scores.

So here we go!

The Cedar Grove Results:

Chris Chiaro/Jose Gonzales over Sairaj Srinivasan/Joe Rodrigues, 6-2!  No Aces.

Chris Chiaro/Dennis Cabanatan over Jose Gonzales/Joe Rodrigues, 6-3!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I thank Chris for reporting these results in a timely manner.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

 

9/25 Results.

9/25/16:

"The Monk Memorial takes place at AP and Cedar Grove!":

GTA Sunday Tennis officially got underway at 10:20am in Albion Park in Clifton (though "Hollywood" Frank Samara was the first to arrive at 9:30) and everyone left the park soon after 1:05.  Thankfully, the weather cooperated as it was a picture perfect first official Sunday of autumn - sunny with temps starting just under 60 degrees and going just over 70 degrees.

When Samara arrived at the courts, he saw that all three were vacant.  This was a good thing, but he was worried about getting enough of the GTA players there in short order in order to hold all three which would be necessary for the upcoming tourney.

The featured event of the day was the Monk Memorial Men's Doubles Tournament.  It was originally planned to be a 24-Man/12-Team Event with half of it being contested at AP (for many years prior it had been contested at Robin Hood Park in Clifton, aka RHP) while the other half would take place at Cedar Grove.

At 9:40, "The Vin Man" Vinnie De Benedetto was the next to arrive and Frank invited Vin to hit with him on the North Court.

Five minutes later, both "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak and his father "The West Wing" Rick Pienciak arrived and they took the South Court to hit with one another.

At 9:50, "The Assassin" Alfred Chen snuck up on us as he walked up the hill from the baseball fields.  This was his first time ever playing at Albion, but not in the Monk Memorial as he is a former Winner of this event.

At 9:55, almost everyone else came at once..."Teej" T.J. Shah, "Raging" Rajan Shah, "Coach" Dino Celis, "Chito" Nick Inciong, "MC Quick" Mike Carucci and "Big George" Jorge Solano.

That left just one registered player as not there yet, "Holy Moly" Mike Mole.  Samara waited until 10:05 before sending a text message and then calling him.  The reply was immediate and that he was on his way and would arrive "in four minutes"..which seemed like a curious amount of time to promise (most might say five minutes in that situation...anyway, it was good for a laugh).  He ended up showing up in a little under three minutes, for the record.

With all twelve promised participants in attendance, we next headed into the lottery portion of the event as we would have the six highest ranked players (based on the current GTA Rankings) pick the names of the six lowest ranked players that were written on raffle tickets and then placed in the bottom of a plastic bag (sorry, no hat!).

Celis was the highest ranked player, so he picked first.  His raffle ticket read "Rick" which meant he got Mr. Pienciak as his partner.   

Samara was the next highest ranked player, so he drew next.  His raffle ticket said "Mike C" which meant  his partner would be Carucci.

Next to choose was Mole and he got a ticket that said "Rajan" as in Rajan Shah.

And then Alfred had the next grab from the bag and he got the other Shah, "T.J." 

Up next was Ryan and his pick read "Nick!"  On paper, this was the team to beat as Inciong is as consistent as it gets in Doubles while the young Pienciak has proven to be a force in both Singles and Doubles.

That left Solano to be stuck with the ticket that was left in the bag.  The name on that last ticket was "Vin"…so he got Vinnie De Benedetto.  This veteran team of Doubles specialists also seemed to be quite formidable.

The three initial match-ups were determined by the rank of the team captains.  So they were as follows:

Dino Celis/Rick Pienciak vs. Jorge Solano/Vinnie De Benedetto
Frank Samara/Mike Carucci vs. Ryan Pienciak/Nick Inciong
Mike Mole/Rajan Shah vs. Alfred Chen/T.J. Shah

The 12-Man/6-Team format was presented to the league right at the outset of the announcement of this tournament a couple of weeks ago.  There would be a One-Setter First Round.  The three winning teams would then hold court as the three losing teams shifted accordingly.

There would then be a One-Setter Second Round.  If we had three teams manage to go 2-0, then those three would advance to the Semifinals (for the location, not the overall tournament) which would be a full match except if the sets were split...then it would be a 10-Point Super Tiebreak in lieu of a full 3rd Set to save time and not make everyone play too many sets of tennis in one day.

The fourth team would be "The Lucky Losers" that lost by the slimmest margin (after totaling the amount of games they won in both One-Setters combined).  They would advance to face the 2-0 team that won by the widest margin while the other 2-0 teams would face each other.

If we had just two teams go 2-0, we would then advance those two teams into the location Final (again, a full match but with the 10-Point STB rather than a full 3rd Set...the overall Monk Memorial Tournament Final will have to be a full 2 out of 3 Set Match with a full 3rd Set, if necessary).

We did not fully think out the scenarios if just one team went 2-0 or if we had three teams go 1-1.  And, as it turns out, we truly did not properly plan out the proper scenario for just two teams going 2-0...but more on that later in the report.

As promised, we had a total of twelve official competitors at Albion Park.  No other non-tournament players ever arrived, nor was there any non-tournament action during or afterward (as there often is).  The entire session at Albion was consumed by the tourney.

Let's get to the tourney action that took place at AP (as The Cedar Grove half of the action will be detailed later in this report).

The AP Results:

Monk Memorial First Round One-Setter:
Alfred Chen/T.J. Shah over Mike Mole/Rajan Shah, 6-1!  Mike: 1 Ace on Alfred.  They played this on the South Court from 10:19 to 10:50.

Monk Memorial First Round One-Setter:
Ryan Pienciak/Nick Inciong over Frank Samara/Mike Carucci, 6-2!  No Aces.  It went like this: Nick was broken (Double Fault for Love-30, it shifted to 30-All after an un-returned serve and then a passing shot winner by Nick, but then a Double Fault set up Break Point and another Double Fault caused the break) and Frank held serve (an un-returned serve set up Triple Game Point, it was then Double Game Point where Ryan hit a winner to cut the lead to Game Point, but then came the hold) to get off to a 2-0 start.  But from there, Ryan held (an un-returned serve and a passing shot winner by Nick made it 30-Love, it then shifted to 30-All, but then came Game Point and the hold), Mike was broken at Love after a Double Fault had made it Love-30, Inciong held (Ryan hit a winning Backhand Volley for 30-Love where Frank hit a very impressive Overhead Smash to cut the lead to 30-15, but then Nick topped him with an even more amazing passing shot winner to set up Double Game Point where Mike made such a great get that it caused Ryan to blow the volley and cut his team's lead to Game Point, but then came the hold), Samara was broken (15-Love shifted to Double Break Point as Ryan hit a winning Overhead Smash and Nick made a winning return, but then Ryan blew a volley to bring it to Break Point, but then came the break), Pienciak held (15-Love shifted to 15-30 after Mike hit a winning Overhead Smash, but then it shifted again to Game Point and then came the hold) and Carucci was broken again (Love-15 where Ryan blew a volley for 15-All, Double Fault for 15-30 and then it went to Double Break/Match Point where an un-returned serve cut it down to Break/Match Point only to have a Double Fault unceremoniously end it!) to take the loss!  We played this on Center Court from 10:20 to 10:50.

The Skinny: Ryan and Nick got off to a shaky start, but once each one of them found their individual game...they then gelled as a team and reversed the momentum dramatically and immediately.  Mike keeps improving by leaps and bounds.  His get-making ability led to his partner later calling him "MC Speed" at the courts, but "MC Quick" Mike Carucci has a better ring to it.  He is hitting his shots nicely and truly needs now to just focus on more consistency in his service game in order to jump up to that next level.

Monk Memorial First Round One-Setter:
Dino Celis/Rick Pienciak over Jorge Solano/Vinnie De Benedetto, 6-4!  No Aces.  Down 3-5, Jorge held as his team pulled to 4-5.  Dino was then on serve and as soon as the game went to Game/Match Point, it ended up being Rick putting it away with a winning Overhead Smash!

Monk Memorial Second Round One-Setter:
Ryan Pienciak/Nick Inciong over Mike Mole/Rajan Shah, 6-0!  No Aces.  Center Court hosted this one, but not for too long as it went from 11:03 to 11:30.

Monk Memorial Second Round One-Setter:
Dino Celis/Rick Pienciak over Frank Samara/Mike Carucci, 6-3!  No Aces.  Here's how it went down: Dino held serve (an un-returned serve for 15-Love, then 30-Love, 30-15 where Dino hit a winner to set up Double Game Point and then came the hold) and then Mike held in an epic struggle (15-Love, 15-All, but then onto Double Game Point, Game Point, Deuce and then all Game Points until 4th Deuce, Double Fault for Break Point, 5th Deuce, Double Fault for Break Point, 6th Deuce, Game Point and the hold...it should be noted that Rick had winning volleys that brought the game to those first and third Deuces and that Frank had some winning volleys and Overhead Smashes that kept bringing the game back to Game Point) for 1-1!  Rick was broken (15-Love, 15-All, Double Fault for 15-30, Double Break Point, Break Point and the break) and so was Frank (Mike blew a volley for Love-30, but then Mike hit a winning volley for 15-30, it then went to Double Break Point where Ryan hit a vicious winning volley for the break) to now make it 2-2.  Celis held at Love as Dino hit a drop shot winner along the way and then Rick hit a big-time Overhead Smash to secure his partner's hold and then Carucci was broken at Love after hitting a Double Fault on Triple Break Point!  This meant that the Dino/Rick duo had just won ten straight points to take a 4-2 lead!  Pienciak held (15-Love, Double Fault for 15-All and then Mike hit a monster Overhead Smash for 15-30, but then it went to 30-All where an un-returned serve made it Game Point and then another un-returned serve secured the hold) to extend his team's lead to 5-2!  Samara held (Dino hit a laser-like passing shot winner for Love-15, but then it shifted to Double Game Point as Frank hit a winner along the way and then closed out the game with an un-returned serve) to pull to 3-5, but Coach held again and it was his second straight Love hold as he hit another amazing passing shot winner to set up Triple Game/Match Point which is where this one ended!  We played this on the North Court from 11:04 to 11:37.

The Skinny: The great get-making continued by Carucci and Samara did his thing as well...but it was not enough as Celis was really on his game and Pienciak was keeping the unforced errors to a minimum while also getting offensive at the net wherever he could.  Mike thought that Frank could have perhaps been a little more aggressive as it seemingly paid off whenever he did take those chances.  Ah, the luxuries of 20/20 hindsight! 

Monk Memorial Second Round One-Setter:
Alfred Chen/T.J. Shah over Jorge Solano/Vinnie De Benedetto, 6-4!  No Aces.  At 11:38, Alfred and T.J. were up 5-2.  It was all eyes on this foursome on the South Court as the rest of the tournament hung in the balance.  Jorge and Vin pulled to 3-5 and then 4-5.  Along the way, something occurred to Samara that had never done so in past tournaments with this similar 12-Man/6-Team format...the Solano/De Benedetto tandem was in a unique situation.  They already were in place to be "The Lucky Losers" as they would be the team that lost by the slimmest margin in both rounds if they were to lose.  But what would be worse is if they were to continue to make the comeback and win!  They would play the role of spoilers by ruining the 2-0 opportunity for Chen/Shah, but they would not only spoil the opposition's chance to advance...they would be doing the same to themselves!  But in losing, they would be "The Lucky Losers" paired up with the other three winning 2-0 teams!  It became a moot point as they lost the next game to be on the losing end of a 6-4 score...the strange scenario was no more!  South Court hosted this one from 11:03 to 11:50.

Once the possible situation was explained to Jorge and Vin, they were then crowned as "The Luckiest Losers Ever!"  De Benedetto, in particular, got a good laugh out of this one.

It also meant they would face the team that won by the widest margin, Ryan and Nick, while the other two 2-0 teams would face off in the other location Semi - Dino/Rick vs. Alfred/T.J.

Going into that next round, Samara was still haunted by the other possibility.  What if Jorge and Vin had come back to win?  They would be penalized for being victorious?!?!  This made absolutely no sense at all.  And it led to him coming to a new conclusion as to how to handle this format in the future.

If it ever occurs where what could have potentially happened today (but thankfully did not as this following idea was not yet in place) leads to a situation of having two teams go 2-0, another two with a 1-1 split and then the other two finishing at 0-2, then we have the two 2-0 teams and the two 1-1 teams advance and just lose the two-time losers.

In this scenario, the 2-0 team that won by the widest margin would face the 1-1 team that lost by the biggest margin in one Semi while the other 2-0 team would go up against the other 1-1 team.

This makes much more sense as you can never have a team get punished for winning.  It also means that if your team at least won one of the two One-Setters in the opening two rounds of action, you could still advance.  Only the two teams that never won would be eliminated at that time.

Anyway, this is all fodder for the future.  Let's get back to the present.

Monk Memorial Quarterfinal/AP Semifinal:
Alfred Chen/T.J. Shah over Dino Celis/Rick Pienciak, 6-1, 6-2, as both teams entered the Doubles Division and Chen/Shah advanced to the AP Final/Monk Memorial Semifinal!  No Aces.  This was played on the South Court from 11:56 to 12:57.

Monk Memorial Quarterfinal/AP Semifinal:
Ryan Pienciak/Nick Inciong over Jorge Solano/Vinnie De Benedetto, 6-2, 6-2, as both teams entered the Doubles Division while Pienciak/Inciong advanced to the AP Final/Monk Memorial Semifinal!  Nick: 1 Ace on Jorge in the 2nd Set.  This was contested on the North Court from 11:57 to 1:05

1st Set: Nick was broken in a 2-Deuce game, Jorge was broken at Love and Ryan held at Love as his team just took eight straight points!  Vin was broken (Break Point, Deuce, Break Point, 2nd Deuce, Break Point and the break), Inciong held and Solano was broken to fall to 1-5!  Pienciak was then broken (Double Break Point, Break Point, Double Fault) to have his team's lead cut to 5-2, but then De Benedetto was broken again (Break/Set Point was the best rally of the match thus far and it ended with an impressive winner from Nick for the point and the set) to drop the initial set at 12:34 (it began at 11:57).  Ryan then needed to take a bathroom break.  The next set would get underway three minutes later.

2nd Set: Nick held (30-All, corner Ace on Jorge for Game Point and then came the hold), Jorge was broken and Ryan held for a 3-0 lead.  Vin held (Love-30 shifted to Game Point where Vin hit the winning volley and then proclaimed: "Nobody shuts us out!" which drew a round of laughter from the crowd of observers) to get his team on the scoreboard, but Inciong replied with a Love hold for 4-1!  Solano responded with a Love hold of his own as once again Vin ended a game with a winning volley and now they had cut the lead of the opposition to 4-2.  But Pienciak also had a Love hold up his sleeve and then De Benedetto was broken (Double Game Point, Game Point where Nick made an amazing get/winner combo to bring it to Deuce and then it went to Break/Match Point which is where the break came) as The Luckiest Losers Ever just had their luck run out!  This match concluded at 1:05.

The Consequences: The Albion Final/Monk Memorial Semifinal will feature Chen/Shah versus Pienciak/Inciong.  It seems it cannot take place next Sunday, but Samara urged them to get that match played sooner...and most preferably at Albion Park as the winning team is emerging from that very location.  The overall Monk Memorial Final can be played at either AP or Cedar Grove.  Cedar Grove?  Speaking of there, let's head that way now.

We now backtrack in time a bit to detail all that took place up at Cedar Grove. 

With Greg Swierczek having to pull out and the two "tentative" players, Senthil Kumar and Jordan Bachvaroff, also becoming not available…it suddenly went from 13 (with "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli as a willing alternate) on the registration list to just 10 actual players...and that is with Spin stepping up to compete.

As such, it had to become a 10-Man/5-Team event with a Round Robin format.  Keeping that in mind, we now let The K take it away!

It was a beautiful September Sunday, starting with the scent of April freshness and the glorious sun making it ideal for tennis.  Joe Rodrigues, Rob Gawley and my son Sairaj were the first to arrive, followed by Marijus Kuzavas, Mike Kazlauskas, Kevin Doyle and myself.  Dan Martinelli (aka Spin) had confirmed he was coming, but would be a few minutes after 10am and so did Raj Boddu.

It looked certain that three of the originally expected players were not going to make it and that was a shame.  Special thanks to Rob for committing to play and come despite Sunday being his usual "Squash" day.  Marijus and Mike have always signed up for all our tournaments.  So has Kevin.  It was great for Joe, Boddu and Shah to come and make it that much more exciting.  One can always count on Spin.

Not yet seeing Raj Shah and being unable to reach him, we thought of playing with just eight players and we would have asked Sairaj to step down.  That would have meant resting Spin as well when he showed up.

When Raj Shah did show up and a few moments later with Spin flying in, we decided to play with 10 players (5 teams).  Sairaj was recalled from home and boy he did come!  It was nice of Sairaj to step in and/or step out as was requested.

With Shah having a go first followed by the others, the teams were decided.  Shah will solidify his team by  picking Boddu; Marijus with Spin; Kaz with Gawley; Kris with Kevin and Joe with Sairaj.  As for the format, we decided on playing Round Robin with the top two teams going on to play each other in the Finals.

With 5 teams, it was another draw for which team would sit out in the beginning.  It turned out to be Marijus and Spin.

And off we started with Raj and Raj taking on Kaz and Gawley on Court 3 and Joe and Sairaj against Kris and Kevin on Court 4.  We just needed 2 courts even though there were three available at the start of play (2 courts were occupied prior to 10:15).

It looked like Joe loves the morning session and he can be deadly.  He was serving superbly and packed his shots with a lot of punch.  He was brilliant in getting the best out of Sairaj.  Still, we had 2 Break Points in Joe's very first service where we couldn't capitalize.  It didn't help that I broke my racquet's strings in the early stages of the very first match.  I would continue to be like a fish out of water for the rest of the morning.  As for Sairaj, his serves were coming in nicely, winning at ease.  Kevin did his best, but he normally plays so much better and he couldn't bring his "A" game today.

Shah and Boddu were making merry on the adjacent court, but they did get a good fight from Mike and Rob.  When Mike got his serves going, he was deadly but he couldn't do it consistently.  Rob was his usual crafty self and effective on quite a few occasions.

It was a mixed bag for Marijus and Spin.  They did come back nicely in two of the matches.  Against Joe and Sairaj, they were down Love-4 when they mounted the comeback.  Against Shah and Boddu, Spin was serving down 2-5 and facing 2 Match Points.  That's when he had one of the famous put-aways from Raj Shah, an overcooked assault of a volley that saved one MP.  Spin would save the next one, too, and go on to hold his serve.

We (Kevin and I) had a poor day overall earning the dubious distinction of getting a complete whitewash. To add to the insult, we played all the matches…J.

Joe and Sairaj were outstanding.  They were playing well in tandem and when Sairaj missed a point or two, Joe was quick to get him back on his feet.  They were relentless and remained unbeaten.  So did Shah and Boddu winning all their matches.

The name Raj means "King!"  It was a day where The Kings ruled The Cedar Grove Tennis Courts...Raj Shah, Raj Boddu, Sairaj and Joe"Raj"drigues...hahaha!

With Gawley having to leave at 12:30 and Boddu at 12:45, they didn't get to play their fourth match in the Round Robin…but by then we clearly had two teams emerging as winners and they will face each other in the Finals for the CG portion of it before advancing to the overall Monk Memorial Finals.

The Cedar Grove Results:

Sairaj Srinivasan/Joe Rodrigues over Kris Srinivasan/Kevin Doyle, 6-3!  No Aces.

Raj Shah/Raj Boddu over Mike Kazlauskas/Rob Gawley, 6-4!  No Aces.

Sairaj Srinivasan/Joe Rodrigues over Marijus Kuzavas/Dan Martinelli, 6-4!  No Aces.

Raj Shah/Raj Boddu over Kris Srinivasan/Kevin Doyle, 6-2!  No Aces.

Mike Kazlauskas/Rob Gawley over Kris Srinivasan/Kevin Doyle, 6-3!  Rob: 1 Ace on Kevin!

Sairaj Srinivasan/Joe Rodrigues over Mike Kazlauskas/Rob Gawley, 6-4!  No Aces.

Raj Shah/Raj Boddu over Marijus Kuzavas/Dan Martinelli, 6-4!  Spin: 1 Ace on Shah!

Marijus Kuzavas/Dan Martinelli over Kris Srinivasan/Kevin Doyle, 6-2!  No Aces.

What started as a  tête-à-tête between Spin and Joe on the sidelines ended up in a big spinoff session with all remaining until 1:45 before we called it a day.

It was a great day for GTA Tennis and we had some nice action on a lovely day, thanks to the willing and able players!

We were cheered by Laura Gawley at the onset of the tournament and by Doinks at its conclusion!  Cheers!

Samara's Notes: I thank Kris for being so willing to run the Cedar Grove portion of this grand event…an annual tourney that stands in tribute to my late stepfather, "The Monk" Tom Mueller.  I also thank all the competitors who participated in this tourney as well.  The Monk would be happy to know that so many of our players competed in his honor.

With all the Cedar Grove teams having only played separate One-Setters throughout the event, none of them will be added to the Doubles Division at this time.  But the two Cedar Grove Finalists soon will once they play that match.

Later in the evening, "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan and "Holy Moly" Mike Mole got together for a Singles One-Setter (as reported by Gen).

Mike Mole over Genalin Capan, 6-1!  Mike: 2 Aces.  We played this one from 6:45 to 7:10.

Gen's Notes: We started hitting around 6:20.  We then hit around for another 20 minutes after this One-Setter.

Samara's Notes: I thank Gen for her prompt reporting of that result.  It meant that, on the day, we had 12 players in Clifton and 12 players in Cedar Grove with Mole being the lone man doing double-duty.

All the best,
Frank Samara

9/24 Results.

9/24/16:

"Greg-Senthil in Wayne, Gen hosts 2 at AP!:

There were two sessions of GTA Saturday Tennis: a morning session at The Nellis Drive Courts in Wayne that featured the GTA Intermediate Title Tournament Final Match (to crown a New GTA Intermediate Champ (between "The Pilot" Greg Swierczek and "The Webmaster" Senthil Kumar, as reported by Senthil) and then a late afternoon session at Albion Park (hosted by "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan as she played a Singles One-Setter with "Holy Moly" Mike Mole).

Let's first start with Senthil's report before we go to Gen's recap.

The Wayne Result:

GTA Intermediate Title Tournament Final Match:
Senthil Kumar over Greg Swierczek, 5-7, 6-3, 6-3, to win the GTA Intermediate Title Tournament and become both the New GTA Intermediate Champ and the New # 16 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division in the process!  No Aces (apparently).

1st Set: The first game for both servers went to Deuce and both held their serve.  Then both got broken to level it at 2-2 and 3-3.  Senthil then lead 5-3, but then lost the next 4 games and the set to Greg.

2nd Set: Senthil was leading 4-1 and 5-2 and then won it at 6-3 to level the match.

3rd Set: Started off at 1-1 and then Senthil took leads of 4-1 and 5-2 before closing out the set (and match) at 6-3.

Samara's Notes: I thank Senthil for his comprehensive report and congratulate him on a very impressive victory!  Kudos go to Greg as well for a valiant effort.  This seems like it could be a possible Nominee for the Intermediate Singles Match of The Year at season's end.  And while Tony "Sure Shot" Shiao may still be in the lead for consideration as the Most Improved Player of The Year, Senthil is right on his heels as a close second this season. 

The AP Result:

Mike Mole over Genalin Capan, 7-5!  Mike: 4 Aces! 

Gen's Notes: We started hitting at 4:15 and then the One-Setter lasted from 4:45 to 5:25.

Samara's Notes: I thank Gen for her very timely reporting of that result. 

Best wishes,
Frank Samara

9/23 Results.

9/23/16:

"Samara hosts 16 (1 New) at C.G.!:

There was just one session of GTA Friday Night Tennis: the usual later session up at The Cedar Grove Courts hosted by "Hollywood" Frank Samara (with some assistance from the usual host there, "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan). 

Let's now recap all that transpired up at Cedar Grove.

Samara pulled into the parking lot at 6:55.  On Court One, "The Secret Weapon" Sairaj Srinivasan was having a hitting session with "RC" Rick Christensen.   

Court Two was vacant.  On Court Three, Kris was having a hitting session with "The Ambidextrous Machine" Herb Reiner while Herb's wife Kate was watching from the sidelines. 

And on Court Four, "J-Bach" Jordan Bachvaroff was hitting with a woman that Frank had never seen before.  As Samara got out of his car and walked toward the courts, Jordan called Frank "The Godfather" while Kris said to this mystery woman, "here's the guy I want you to meet."

Soon Frank got out on the court and started hitting on Jordan's side against this lady who had already made it readily apparent that she possesses a substantial skill level.  Five minutes later, "Instant" Moka Pathan had arrived and took her side in hitting against Samara and Bachvaroff.

She introduced herself to the group as Stacy and then asked if this was the GTA as she had met some women from the GTA this past Wednesday night.  Moka confirmed her suspicions and said that Frank is the guy that runs it.

Within another five minutes it turned into a One-Setter and, during one of the changeovers, Samara got her last name and e-mail address.  She happens to have extensive tennis experience, plays with the Little Falls group but is very happy to find us as she continues to shake off the rust from some time away from the game.

At 7:05, "ME" Michel Enacarnacion arrived and went over to Court Two to practice his serve.  But he soon ended up on Court One hitting with Sairaj and Rick.  Five minutes later, "Big George" Jorge Solano had also arrived and he soon made it a foursome over on that court. 

At 7:15, "Latino Heat" Jose Gonzales made his way toward the courts...but he was unsure where to go.  By this time, Kris and Herb had finished their hitting session and Mr. Reiner was ready to head home with Mrs. Reiner.  Meanwhile, Sairaj seemed to only want to hit and not get into any official action.

Kris was going to take his son's place, but upon seeing a lone Jose wandering around just outside the fence...he called him over and asked him to be the fourth player on Court One instead.  For a little while, The K Man was the odd man out...but that did not last too long.

At 7:35, both "Double R" Rob Ryan and "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak arrived.  They took Court Three and then asked Kris to join them in a hitting session.

Somewhere around 8pm, a loner and his "Lobster" took over Court Two for a solo practice session.  Later in the evening, it seemed that Jorge invited him into our action...but he chose to remain alone.

Natalia "Nitro" Sout was the next to arrive at 8:15.  At that same time, Bachvaroff called it a night and headed home.  Frank then joined Natalia for a hitting session on Court Three as the three guys who had been hitting over there had now shifted over to Court Four for some Doubles action which also included Pathan.

"2 Tall" Dave Zhu was the next arrival at 8:40 and he took Natalia's side in hitting against Frank.  Another five minutes later, Sachiko "Sachi" Tokuda arrived and was able to make it a foursome on Court Three.

When "Mr. 500" Levy Lorenzo made his way toward the courts at 8:30, Samara invited him to take his place on Court Three.

The final official player to arrive was "The West Wing" Rick Pienciak at 8:35 and that gave us a total of 16 official competitors for the evening!  "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli showed up to make an extended cameo appearance that lasted from 8:55 to 9:25.

The Cedar Grove Results:

Moka Pathan/Stacy Casais over Frank Samara/Jordan Bachvaroff, 7-5!  Jordan: 2 Aces on Stacy in the same game!  It was the official GTA Debut of Stacy Casais.  It went like this: Moka held serve (an un-returned serve for 30-Love, 30-15, Double Game Point and then a truly un-returnable serve for the hold), Jordan held (Stacy hit a winning return for Love-15, but then it shifted to Double Game Point as Jordan hit two un-returned serves along the way and then he hit a third to secure the hold), Stacy held (an un-returned serve and a blown overhead by Frank paved the way to Triple Game Point, it then went to Double Game Point where another un-returned serve locked down the hold) and Frank held (there were two un-returned serves on the way to Triple Game Point, then it went to Double Game Point where Jordan blew a volley to make it Game Point and then Moka made an amazing get that led to Jordan muffing a tight volley at the net to bring it to Deuce and then an ill-timed Double Fault made it Break Point, but then Frank hit a drop shot that led to 2nd Deuce and then Jordan hit a winning volley to set up Game Point where he then hit a winning Backhand Volley to guarantee his partner's hold) as we were all on serve at 2-2!  Pathan was the first to be broken (Jordan hit a passing shot winner for Love-15, then an un-returned serve made it 15-All and then Stacy blew a volley for 15-30 to then be followed by Double Break Point where Frank blew a volley to make it Break Point where Jordan hit an excellent winning volley for the break), but then so was Bachvaroff (Frank hit a winning Backhand Volley for 15-Love and it then went point for point until 30-All as Frank blew another volley along the way and then Moka hit a winning Backhand Volley to make it Break Point where a Double Fault sealed that deal) to level it again at 3-3.  Casais was broken (an excellent rally led to Love-15 and then a truly un-returnable serve made it 15-All, but it shifted again to Double Break Point as Stacy blew a volley along the way and then she, too, hit a Double Fault to break herself), but Samara was shockingly broken at Love as it started with a sizzling passing shot return by Stacy, a blown volley by Jordan, a drop shot winner from Moka and it then ended with another blown volley by Jordan to knot the score once more at 4-4!  So now all four of us had been broken!  Instant Moka then held (un-returned serve for 15-Love and then in the next point Frank hit a slice lob that made Stacy misjudge it and whiff on it and Moka could not get there in time, so it was a cheap winner for 15-All and then it went to 15-30 where Jordan blew a volley to level it at 30-All, but then he hit a winning volley for Break Point, but then it went to Deuce and then Game Point where Moka hit a winning volley to ensure his own hold), J-Bach held (Stacy hit a winning return to start the game at Love-15, it then went to Love-30 before two un-returned serves led the way to Game Point, then it was Deuce, Game Point again where Moka hit a drop shot winner for 2nd Deuce and that was where Jordan hit a big Ace into the corner against Stacy to once again make it Game Point and then that would be where Stacy made an incredible get/winner combo to bring it to 3rd Deuce only to once again be victimized by an instant replay Ace...same hard blast to the corner...to once again earn Game Point, it then went to 4th Deuce, Game Point once again and finally the hold) to tie things up again, this time at 5-5!  Stay-Cay then held (Jordan hit a beast of a winner for Love-15, but then two un-returned serves set the path to Double Game Point where another un-returned serve set in stone the hold), but then Hollywood was the only one to be broken in this third section of four games (yet another game opened with Sally sending a missile of a winning return down the Doubles Alley for a Love-15 start, it then shifted to 30-15 after Frank hit a winner and then followed it with an un-returned serve, but it then shifted again after Jordan blew an overhead and then Jordan made a great get in the next point only to have Moka send back a winner to set up Break/Match Point where Frank then made a great get only to hit the top of the tape and end the point, game, set and match as the lone player to get broken twice...and that was the difference!  We played this on Court Four from 7:05 to 7:55.

The Skinny: Stacy is quite the player and looks to become a steady presence here in the GTA.  She is still shaking off some rust and getting tennis fit, but she already displays a formidable game.  She says she prefers Doubles to Singles, but if the improvement is steady and the resolve is there to get involved in the Women's Division as well...she will likely be at the top of the food chain along with GTA Women's Champ: Laura "The Aura" Gawley and Former Champ: "The Argentine Machine" Fernanda Toker!

Jose Gonzales/Jorge Solano over Michel Encarnacion/Rick Christensen, 6-3!  No Aces (apparently).  They got this one underway on Court One at 7:20.  Not sure when it ended as it went right into a rematch One-Setter that we will get to a little later in this report.

Rob Ryan/Ryan Pienciak over Moka Pathan/Kris Srinivasan, 6-4!  Rob: 1 Ace on Kris; Ryan: 1 Ace on Kris; and Moka: 1 Ace on Rob!  This foursome fought valiantly on Court Four from 8:03 to 8:42.  After this, Moka left.

Michel Encarnacion/Rick Christensen over Jose Gonzales/Jorge Solano, 6-4!  No Aces (apparently).  This rematch on Court One ended at 9:05.

Dave Zhu/Natalia Sout over Levy Lorenzo/Sachiko Tokuda, 6-2!  No Aces.  Here's the basic breakdown: Natalia held, Sachiko was broken and Dave held (Game Point, Double Fault for Deuce, Game Point, Double Fault for 2nd Deuce, Game Point and the hold) to get off to a 0-3 start.  Levy held to get his team on the scoreboard and then Sout was broken to have her team's lead cut to 3-2.  But from there, Tokuda was broken again, Zhu held again and Lorenzo was broken (Break/Match Point, Deuce, it ended on the 2nd Break/Match Point) to take the loss.  Court Three hosted this one from 8:34 to 9:04.

Kris Srinivasan/Ryan Pienciak over Rob Ryan/Rick Pienciak, 6-1!  Rick: 2 Aces (one on each and back to back in the same game)!  This was contested on Court Four from 8:49 to 9:18.

Dave Zhu/Natalia Sout over Levy Lorenzo/Sachiko Tokuda, 6-0!  No Aces.  The simple summary is as follows: Natalia held, Sachiko was broken, Dave held, Levy was broken, Sout held again and Tokuda was broken again.  If you blinked, you missed this one as it was over and done on Court Three in just seventeen minutes (9:05 to 9:22)!  Spin couldn't believe it was over already!

Rob Ryan/Kris Srinivasan over Ryan Pienciak/Rick Pienciak, 6-4!  Rob: 1 Ace on Rick.  This one was conducted on Court Four from 9:20 to 9:50.

Frank Samara/Sachiko Tokuda over Levy Lorenzo/Natalia Sout, 6-2!  No Aces.  Here's how it went down: Frank held (Love-15 shifted to Double Game Point as Frank hit a winner, then made an un-returned serve and then Sachiko hit a winning Backhand Volley, but then it shifted again as it went to Deuce where Sachiko hit a winning Overhead Smash to set up Game Point and then came the hold) and Natalia was broken (Love-15 and then it went point for point as Natalia hit a winner in the second point and then the break came after an excellent rally) to go down 0-2.  Sachiko was then broken (Natalia hit an awesome winning return for Love-15, it went to Love-30, then 15-30 and Double Fault where Natalia hit an even more impressive winner for the break) and then Levy held (Frank blew an overhead for 15-Love, but then it shifted to 15-30 as Frank hit a passing shot winner along the way, it then went to 30-All where Natalia blew a volley to end a lengthy rally for Break Point, but then it went to Deuce, Game Point and the hold) to level things at 2-2.  Samara held again (15-Love then point for point to Game Point as Levy made an amazing get/winner combo to even it at 15-All only to have Frank answer with an awesome get/winner combo of his own and then a pair of un-returned serves set up the Game Point and then secured the hold), Sout was broken again (Frank hit a winner for Love-15 and then it went point for point to Break Point as Natalia hit a winner of her own only to have Frank blast a beast of a winner to set up Break Point where there was another extended rally...and it led to the break), Tokuda held (Love-15 then point for point until 30-All where another action-packed rally set up Game Point where a truly un-returnable serve secured the hold) and Lorenzo was then broken (Natalia blew a volley to make it Love-30, but then an un-returned serve brought it to 15-30 and that was where Frank may have made his best get/winner combo of the night to set up Double Break/Match Point where Natalia blew a volley to end it) and get the "L" out of there just in time as this one ended on Court Three at 9:55 (we had started it at 9:25).

The Skinny: This was a fun and action-packed One-Setter and a fitting way to end an epic session.  It may go down in history as the night that was The Debut of Casais! 

Best wishes,
Frank Samara

9/22 Results.

9/22/16:         

"Kris hosts 15 (1 New) at C.G.!":                                          

GTA Thursday Night Tennis took place at The Cedar Grove Courts as "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan acted as host, but GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro and "Coach" Dino Celis took it upon themselves to send in their scores as well.

So the following report is pretty much all Kris, but with an additional result (via Chris) that he had missed.

It was well after 7:15pm when I hit the courts and already in action it was Marijus Kuzavas hitting against Mike Kazlauskas on one side and on the other side we had my son Sairaj, Jordan Bachvaroff and Natalie Guzman involved in a hitting session.

Just as we started a Doubles One-Setter, Dan Martinelli (aka Spin) arrived and was then followed by Michel Encarnacion, the Gawleys (Rob and Laura), Edwin Ortega, Senthil Kumar, Lou La Forgia, Celis, Chiaro and my wife Doinks. 

Two elderly gentlemen played Singles on Court 2.  And as Marijus and Mike left, their court was taken over by Guy Dupoux who got to hit balls from a hopper to his friend.  The elderly gentlemen were replaced by kids, who had just finished high school.  One of them eventually got to play with us as the fourth player in a Doubles One-Setter.

The Cedar Grove Results:

Jordan Bachvaroff/Natalie Guzman over Kris Srinivasan/Sairaj Srinivasan, 6-4!  No Aces. 

It was almost an even match, but we had more opportunities to close a couple of games and put away the set…but that was not to be.  The turnaround point came when Natalie held her serve and Sairaj was broken.  In both these games, we just did not finish.  Also in both these games, Natalie was brilliant with some incredible gets and very consistent play.

Chris Chiaro/Dan Martinelli over Lou La Forgia/Dino Celis, 6-4!  No Aces.

It looked like a close match but Chiaro-Spin did have a solid edge when I last saw leading 4-3 (Spin said they actually had been up 4-1) and Lou was serving down 15-40. But as I was moving to the other side, I got to see Lou digging in hard saving the two break points.

Chris Chiaro/Dino Celis over Lou La Forgia/Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-2!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: This was the result that Kris did not have, but both Chris and Dino sent in directly.  We now go back to Kris for the rest of the scores.

Edwin Ortega/Michel Encarnacion over Senthil Kumar/Doinks Srinivasan, 7-6 (7-5)!  No Aces (apparently).

This was a solid comeback game for Senthil and Doinks as they were down 1-4 and struggling before mounting a huge counterattack helped with unforced errors from their opposition.  It went the distance and, again in the Tiebreak, they were distanced by a 4-1 lead by Michel and Edwin.  Another recovery from behind by Senthil and Doinks didn't have enough legs to help them cross the finish line.  It was a relieved Michel and Edwin to see the win after galloping fast to almost give it away.

2 out of 3 Sets:

Rob and Laura Gawley over Kris and Rick Christensen, 6-2, 6-3!  Rick: 1 Ace on Laura in the 1^st Set; and Rob: 1 Ace on Kris in the 1st Set!  It was the official GTA Debut of Rick Christensen.

Rick had amazing serves when they came through and for someone who has just started playing tennis, he was amazing.  He has just finished high school but, from his feedback, he is more of a golfer than a tennis player...:-).  He did get to enjoy the match.  Both Laura and Rob were their usual amazing selves and played some exquisite shots coupled with some great serves.  We did well to a great extent, but blew it at inappropriate times in the games we lost.

Senthil Kumar/Doinks Srinivasan over Edwin Ortega/Michel Encarnacion, 6-4!  No Aces (apparently).

With the momentum coming off their earlier One-Setter, they played much more to their potential by playing freely with Senthil doing the damage at the net combined with his placements.  Doinks finally started to play her shots, but perhaps still not her best.  With Michel and Edwin dropping their level of play a bit despite occasional good shots, the result was in the cards.

Marijus and Mike Kaz had played basketball for 2 hours prior to tennis.  Marijus did say that then they played tennis for an hour.  They might have played a Singles One-Setter, but surely looked beat up afterward.

I don't know if Jordan played a Singles Match with Lou after the Doubles.

Samara's Notes: I did not receive any results from any of the four aforementioned players, so whatever they did will have to remain unofficial.  We now go back to Kris for his final thoughts. 

Overall, we did occupy three of the courts with players staying put in the same court.  This meant we didn't get to mix the teams up.  Still, it was a fairly decent night of GTA tennis in Cedar Grove for sure! 

Cheers! 

Samara's Notes: I thank everyone who contributed to this report and especially Kris for always being so willing to act as host and continually recruit new players into the league.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

 

9/21 Results.

9/21/16:         

"5 play at L.F., 7 play at C.G.!":                                          

There was two sessions of GTA Wednesday Night Tennis as the usual evening session at The Cedar Grove Courts had to wait a while as first the new Little Falls League had the courts only to then get bumped by The Verona Crew who took three of the four.

So five of our ladies went to The Paterson Ave. Courts in Little Falls before some of them returned to Cedar Grove once more courts had become available.

With "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan and family having taken the night off from hosting, scores and details came in from "Bravo" Brenda Jordan (who mistakenly sent them to the entire league already), "C.A.T." Christine Toth (who reported an additional result that Brenda had missed since she left Little Falls earlier than the rest) and "Coach" Dino Celis.

So the following report is a combination of information from Brenda, Christine and Dino.  We first go to Brenda.

When Dawn and I arrived at Cedar Grove, the new Little Falls League was using two of the courts.  15 minutes later, the woman from the Verona League let everyone know they had 3 of the 4 courts reserved from 6:30 to 8pm.

Dawn, Christine Toth and I went over to the Little Falls courts on Paterson Ave.  We told Kathy and Sally (who we knew would be coming) the situation and they met us there.

There are lights at the Little Falls courts, but they aren't very good.  I wouldn't recommend playing there after dark.

Samara's Notes: Both Dino and Anish Mehta have said the same.  We now go back to Brenda.

Kathy Sheldon/Dawn Peterson over Brenda Jordan/Christine Toth, 6-3!  No Aces (apparently).

And now the next score comes from Christine.

Sally Pillay/Christine Toth over Kathy Sheldon/Dawn Peterson, 6-4!  No Aces (apparently).

Brenda then went back to play at Cedar Grove.  At that point, others from the GTA were already in action.  Dino sent scores via text and made some corrections to the results reported by Brenda as well.

The Cedar Grove Results:

Ryan Pienciak over Dino Celis, 7-6 (7-4)!  No Aces.

Dino Celis/Ryan Pienciak over Rob Ryan/Brenda Jordan, 6-3!  No Aces.

2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Doubles Match:

Rob Ryan/Brenda Jordan over Rob Gawley/Sally Pillay, 6-3, 6-4, as both teams entered the Mixed Doubles Division as the New # 31 and # 32 Ranked Teams accordingly!  No Aces (apparently).

Samara's Notes: I thank everyone who contributed to this report.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

 

9/20 Results.

9/20/16:         

"Kris hosts 23 (4 New) at C.G.!":                                          

There was just one session of GTA Tuesday Night Tennis, but it was a big one…the usual evening session at The Cedar Grove Courts (hosted by "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan, but with additional scores and details coming from "The Great" Scott Bergenfeld, "C.A.T." Christine Toth and GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro).

So we now go to the report from Kris with all other information added appropriately along the way.

It was a busy night of non stop tennis action despite the pickle ballers as the early GTA were in control of two courts and subsequently usurping all the courts and in the process bringing in new players to keep everyone engaged. There were some good games and some lop-sided as well.

The Cedar Grove Results:

Scott Bergenfeld over Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-1!  Scott: 1 Ace (on the very first point of the match); and Jordan: 2 Aces!

The Say from The K: Scott was in full control as he stormed to the finish line before Jordan could make any sense of it all in this first One-Setter.

Jordan Bachvaroff over Scott Bergenfeld, 7-6 (7-3)!  No Aces.

The Say from The K: Jordan had regrouped well in this second One-Setter and, along with some unforced errors by Scott, he was able to eek out a narrow win in the TB.

The Great Scott Report: During the first point of the second One-Setter, I lunged for a ball and tweaked something in my lower back.  I took a few moments to recover and then continued playing even though I shouldn't have.  I just didn't feel right.  I couldn't come around on my forehand.  Jordan played very well and took advantage of this. 

Unfortunately, this morning as I am typing this from my bed, I cannot move laterally at all and I'm in a lot of pain.  I called my doctor and already scheduled an appointment for later this afternoon.  I'm hoping for the best and that it's just a pull.  But the way it looks and feels, I will be out of action for a little while. 

Samara's Notes: It is always unfortunate to hear of an injury taking place while any of us are playing and enjoying tennis.  I wish Scott a full and speedy recovery.  I know this will be minor consolation for him, but at least now it makes even more sense that he withdrew from the GTA Intermediate Title Tournament Semifinal Match against Senthil Kumar.

And now we go back to Kris, though these next few results…it was the combo of Chris and Christine that provided the scores.

Chris Chiaro/Sairaj Srinivasan over Kathy Sheldon/Christine Toth, 6-3!  No Aces.

Chris Chiaro/Christine Toth over Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley, 6-2!  Rob: 1 Ace on Christine.

Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley over Chris Chiaro/Christine Toth, 6-3!  No Aces.

Chris Chiaro/Laura Gawley over Tony Shiao/Rob Gawley, 6-1!  No Aces.

Chris Chiaro/Laura Gawley over Tony Shiao/Rob Gawley, 6-2!  Tony: 1 Ace on Laura.

Kris Srinivasan/Dan Martinelli over Dino Celis/Kevin Doyle, 7-6 (7-1)!  Spin: 1 Ace on Kevin!

After cruising to a 4-1 lead, we dropped the level of our game to some extent…but it was also due to good shot-making by Dino and steady play by Kevin…we soon found ourselves behind 4-5.  Thanks to some smart plays by Spin, we dug in and managed to win it in the TB.  I played poorly and messed up with some of the would-be easy put-aways.

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Dino Celis/Senthil Kumar over Kris Srinivasan/Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-2, 6-2, to become the New # 47 Ranked Team in the Doubles Division!  No Aces.

Amazing serves and aggressive shots by Dino combined with an almost flawless game at the net ensured a good drubbing.  I played into the hands of Senthil time and again who punished me with his brilliant net play and it didn't help Jordan who was standing very close to the net.  Jordan did serve well and a slight adjustment in strategy could have helped us, but overall my performance was below grade and we got a good shellacking.  By the same token, I am confident of a better showing than what we delivered today.  It was a good win for the team that played very well.

Ryan Pienciak/Dennis Cabanatan over Erdem Alpay/Sinan Yildirim, 6-0!  No Aces (apparently).  It was the official GTA Debut of both Erdem Alpay and Sinan Yildirim.

Erdem and Sinan were hitting as they come to play every now and then.  I suggested to them to play Doubles and that helped Ryan and Dennis get into action.  Aggressive plays by Ryan and Dennis resulted in a bagel for the newcomers.

Erdem Alpay/Sinan Yildirim over Ryan Pienciak/Dennis Cabanatan, 6-1!  No Aces (apparently).

Erdem and Sinan almost returned the favor in the second One-Setter as they played steady and let Ryan and Dennis beat themselves handsomely.

Ryan Pienciak over Dennis Cabanatan, 6-1!  No Aces (apparently).

Ryan was all over the court and it led to this One-Setter being over in no time.

Michel Encarnacion/Raj Boddu over John Paul Davis/Francis Garcia, 6-3!  No Aces (apparently).  It was the official GTA Debut of both John Paul Davis and Francis Garcia.

We saw John Paul sitting by the sidelines for a while.  I suggested to him to take the court when the Scott-Jordan One-Setters were done.  He ended up playing Doubles along with another newcomer, Francis.  John Paul plays Singles here against Arvind D'Cunha and sometimes Doubles.  He is a solid player and it was fun to have him play with us.  Michel and Raj got the better of JP and Francis in this first One-Setter.

John Paul Davis/Francis Garcia over Michel Encarnacion/Raj Boddu, 7-5!  No Aces (apparently).

I got to watch the very end as JP and Francis won this second One-Setter.  Francis was pretty good at the net and assisted JP splendidly.  Raj seemed quite thrilled with his game for the night as the action was quite competitive and close.  He thought JP played really well and some of his gets were amazing.

All in all, plenty of GTA action and there was much good stuff to cheer about!  Cheers!

Samara's Notes: As always, I thank Kris for always being the host with the most (and the chief recruiter) up at Cedar Grove.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

 

9/18 Results.

9/18/16:

"Samara hosts 8 at AP, Gen hosts 2 at HP, M2 forfeit!:

There were two sessions of GTA Sunday Tennis: the usual morning one at Albion Park in Clifton (hosted by "Hollywood" Frank Samara) and a late afternoon/early evening one at Holster Park (hosted by "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan).

And now for how the session at Albion unfolded.

Samara pulled up to the curb at 10:10.  Walking up from the courts was "The Vin Man" Vinnie De Benedetto (who had been there since 9:45) and he looked desperate for some tennis action.

On the South Court, there were two outsiders and these guys seemed to have had a fairly lengthy Singles Match against one another.  They ended up leaving at 11:35. 

So Samara stepped onto the North Court with De Benedetto as they entered into a hitting session. 

"Coach" Dino Celis was the next to arrive at the courts at 10:30.  As he ate a small breakfast, Frank and Vin took a break from hitting to sit and chat with him.  Afterward, it was Samara and De Benedetto hitting against Celis.

"Big George" Jorge Solano stepped onto the North Court around 10:50 and started hitting with Dino against Frank and Vin.  It looked like this would be the first Doubles One-Setter of the day, but when "Holy Moly" Mike Mole arrived at 10:55...Samara let him take his place.

At 11am, "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli arrived and it looked like he had brought a small posse with him.  Actually, it turned out to be T.J Shah and Rajan Shah.  As both have already registered for next week's Monk Memorial Men's Doubles Tournament, they wanted to get a feel for the courts at Albion Park. 

Meanwhile, Spin was only there to make an extended cameo appearance as he is still trying to recover from a recent hip injury.  He did play the night before up at The Cedar Grove Courts...and that only exacerbated his situation on this following morning.

The Shahs of Sunset hit Center Court to hit with one another while Samara and Martinelli went into their usual Hecklers mode for the action that was about to take place on the North Court right in front of them (The Wood and The Doc rode the bench right alongside N. Ct.).

At first, Solano seemed noticeably shaken by the constant hilarity emanating from the bench...but it was De Benedetto's game that seemed to suffer the most.  Vin was a walking comedy of errors.  He then referred to Frank and Spin as "The Bench People!"

Ultimately, it was all in good fun and it seemed that the lighter atmosphere led to more intense action as Mole and De Benedetto made a nice comeback against Celis and Solano as this would become a Tiebreak One-Setter.

Along the way, both "MC" Mike Carucci and "Chito" Nick Inciong each arrived at 11:10.  Nick went straight out to Center Court to hit with The Shahs while Mike hung out with The Hecklers for a while before making it a foursome out on Center Court.  They then had a very long hitting session that ran all the way until 12 noon before Nick had to call it a day.

It is a shame that this never turned into a One-Setter as Inciong would have been the ninth official competitor of the day.  Instead, we had only eight players counted. 

There were occasional bouts of drizzle along the way, but nothing could dampen the jovial spirit of the day.  By the way, Nick registered for the Monk Memorial in person.  He also did so on behalf of his good friend, "The Assassin" Alfred Chen.

Mole also registered and Carucci is willing to be an alternate/substitute if needed.  This would give us the total of 12 players for Albion Park.  In fact, we have to confirm if "DC3" David Cardenas will be moved from tentative to confirmed status.  Otherwise, it will be Cardenas out and Carucci in as far as the Dirty Dozen at Albion are concerned.

Let's now get to all the Albion action!

The AP Results:

Dino Celis/Jorge Solano over Mike Mole/Vinnie De Benedetto, 7-6 (7-5)!  No Aces.  The partial breakdown: Dino and Jorge were up 4-1 only to lose the next four games to go down 4-5!  Mike was now on serve with the lead in his team's favor.  They took it to Game/Match Point, but then it went to Deuce and then Break Point where Jorge hit a big-time winner of an Overhead Smash for the break to make it 5-5!  Celis then held for 6-5, but De Benedetto then had a Love hold to force the Tiebreak!  In the Breaker: Jorge was broken on his lone serve after Vin hit a drop shot winner.  Them Mike held the first of his two serves with an un-returned serve, but was then broken on his second for 2-1.  Dino held both of his serves.  The first was after a winning Overhead Smash by Jorge and the second was the result of an un-returned serve.  It was now 3-2 in his team's favor.  When Vin hit a Double Fault on the first of his two serves, his team had then fallen to 2-4 at the changeover.  He then held his second to pull to 3-4.  Solano held the first of his two serves after Vin blew an overhead and then he held his second as well as it was now Match Point (the 2nd M.P. overall) in Jorge's teams favor as the service returned to the opposition.  Mole held both of his serves and each one was a Match Point situation.  Celis had 6-5 and one last Match Point to seal the deal before things could potentially be evened up at the would-be second changeover.  Instead, an exciting (though not all that long) rally ended with Dino hitting a shot that would be a rolling dribbler over the net for the win!  Spin did not want to see it end that way.  His constant catcalls of "Federer!" to Dino did not have their intended effect after all...LOL!  They played this on the North Court from 11:07 to 12:03!  The victory came on the 4th Match Point overall.

Frank Samara/Mike Carucci over T.J. Shah/Rajan Shah, 6-2!  No Aces.  It went like this: Frank was broken (Frank blew an overhead for Love-15, an un-returned serve made it 15-All, Rajan hit a scorching winner of a return for 15-30, an un-returned serve made it 30-All, Rajan made a great get that led to Break Point, it then went to Deuce, Break Point again and the break), Rajan was broken (Love-15 where T.J. hit a winning volley for 15-All, but then it was straight to Double Break Point as Frank had a winner along the way, an un-returned serve made it Break Point, but then came the break) and then Mike was the first to hold serve (T.J. blew a volley for 15-Love, it was then 15-All where T.J. blew another volley on the way to it going to Double Game Point, the hold came on Game Point) to go up 2-1.  T.J. was broken (Mike hit a very nice winner for Love-15, it then went to Love-30 and then the shift came to 30-All as T.J. hit a winning lob along the way, but then Mike hit a nice winning return for Break Point and then came the break), Samara held (Mike hit a winning Overhead Smash for 15-Love, then it went to 15-All before it went to Double Game Point as an un-returned serve set that up and then another un-returned serve secured the hold) and R. Shah was broken again (T.J. hit a winning volley for 15-Love, a Double Fault for 15-All, then it was 30-15 where Frank hit a blast of a passing shot winner for 30-All and then T.J. blew a volley to set up Break Point where Frank then hit an even tighter angle passing shot winner blast for the break) to go down 1-5!  Carucci was broken (a winning lob from Raj and then back-to-back winning volleys by T.J. set up Triple Break Point where Frank hit another passing shot winner to make it Double Break Point, but then a Double Fault caused the break) to have his team's lead cut to 5-2, but then TJS was broken again and this time it was at Love as Rajan blew an overhead to get the game started and then Double Fault on Triple Break/Match Point ended this one in unceremonious fashion!  This one took place on Center Court from 12:07 to 12:37.

The Skinny: Once it became obvious that the North Court would be vacant, Spin invited the guys over to that court so the action could be closer to him.  But Samara declined the invitation and said they were perfectly fine over on Center Court.  Martinelli's reply was something along the lines of "sure, he can take it but he can't dish it out!"  Still, The Doc was able to do some long-distance heckling.  As for The Shahs, they were not rattled by the man known simply as Spin.  They have very impressive game as they have both played for the Clifton High School Tennis Team.  Perhaps there was some rust factor as they just needed to up the consistency level a bit.

Frank Samara/Mike Mole over T.J. Shah/Rajan Shah, 6-1!  No Aces.  Here's how it went down: T.J. was broken (T.J. hit a winning volley for 15-Love, then 30-Love where a Double Fault made it 30-15 and then Frank hit a winner for 30-All, Double Fault for Break Point and then another Double Fault for the break), Mike was broken (a truly un-returnable serve for 15-Love, then 30-Love and then back-to-back Double Faults to make it 30-All, Game Point, Double Fault for Deuce where Rajan made an awesome get that led to Break Point, 2nd Deuce, Double Fault for Break Point and then the break), Rajan was broken (15-Love then 15-All where back-to-back Double Faults set up Double Break Point and then came the break), but Frank was the first to hold serve (un-returned serve for 15-Love, 30-Love, 30-15, Double Game Point where Mike made a great get that led to T.J. blowing the volley and allowing the hold) to go up 3-1!  TJS was broken again (Love-15 where Rajan hit a winning lob for 15-All, but then it went straight to Double Break Point as Mike hit a winner along the way, an un-returned serve brought it down to Break Point, but then came the break), Mole held (un-returned serve for 15-Love, 15-All, Double Fault for 15-30, it then shifted to Game Point where another un-returned serve secured the hold) and R. Shah was broken again (Mike hit a monster winner to set up Triple Break/Match Point where a Double Fault led to a Love break and a loss) to end it!  We played this one on Center Court as well and it lasted from 12:40 to 1:07.

We now head to Holster Park for the result from Gen. 

The HP Result:

Mike Mole over Genalin Capan, 6-4!  No Aces.  This lasted from 5pm to 5:40.

Gen's Notes: We started hitting at Holster at 4:30.  We started the One-Setter at 5pm.  Afterward, we hit for another 10 to 15 minutes.

Samara's Notes: I thank Gen for reporting that result in a very timely manner. 

While there were no official Cedar Grove Results on court for the GTA, there is now resolution to a match that had begun there.  So it officially closes now.

M2 Quarterfinal Match:
Chris Chiaro/Raj Shah over Dwight Thomas Sr./Dwight Thomas Jr., 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 (3rd Set via a forced forfeit), to become the New # 8 Ranked Team in the Doubles Division while advancing to the Semifinals of The M2 Men's Doubles Tournament!  Dwight Sr.: 1 Ace on Chris in 1st Set!

The Skinny: After taking a while to get the match started in the first place (as scheduling conflicts ruled the day), they were finally able to play those first two sets...but then there was no time to play the 3rd Set that same night.  From there, the scheduling conflicts only grew worse.  A decision had to be made and it went in favor of the team that had greater availability (i.e. more open dates) than the other.  This was not a matter of playing favorites and the decision was not taking lightly as we hate to see matches (especially tournament matches) end in this manner.

On the bright side for the team known as The Dwights, the fact that this match now comes to an official conclusion in mid-September...it means they will be active on the ranks of the Doubles Division (as well as individually in the Non-Competing Men's Division) until mid-April of the 2017 Season!

As for Chiaro/Shah, they now advance to the Semis where they will face longtime friendly rivals - Nathan Fernandes/Moka Pathan!

Samara signing off!

9/17 Results.

9/17/16:         

"Kris hosts 15 at C.G. as Men's/Women's Doubles both score!":                                          

There was just one session of GTA Saturday Night Tennis: the usual evening session at The Cedar Grove Courts (hosted by "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan).

So we now go to the report from Kris.

What started as a quiet day on Saturday ended up in an active session of GTA Tennis in Cedar Grove.  The strength of the women's players in action was significant and the turnout of the men was not too shabby either.

The Cedar Grove Results:

Sairaj Srinivasan/Dan Martinelli over Kevin Doyle/Natalia Sout, 6-3!  No Aces (apparently).

Spin made up for his nearly weeklong absence with his lively presence and, with Sairaj, he was going gung-ho.  Kevin also felt that Sairaj was playing an aggressive game.

2 out of 3 Sets Women's Doubles Match:

Doinks Srinivasan/Brenda Jordan over Kathy Sheldon/Dawn Peterson, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, to become the New # 4 Ranked Team in the Women's Doubles Division!  No Aces (apparently).

Initially, the women had planned to play just two sets.  But after winning a set apiece, they couldn't resist playing the deciding 3^rd Set and make it a full match.

Greg Swierczek/Mike Kazlauskas over Senthil Kumar/Jose Gonzales, 6-2!  No Aces (apparently).

It was an easy win for the big guys as they were unloading their serves (especially Kaz) and they kept the pressure on right through the match.

Mike Kazlauskas/Kris Srinivasan over Greg Swierczek/Jose Gonzales, 6-2!  Greg: 2 Aces on Kris!

Kaz served superbly and Greg did, too, in one of his service games, acing me twice!  That game did go to multiple Deuces, but overall we played well enough to overpower our opposition.

Greg Swierczek/Mike Kazlauskas over Senthil Kumar/Kris Srinivasan, 6-3!  No Aces.

I should take "credit" for our loss for suddenly after the first few games, I seemed to have lost energy and felt hungry…:-).  The level of my game dropped and despite Senthil doing a splendid job, I just blew multiple points.

Dan Martinelli/Andrew Troung over Kevin Doyle/Natalia Sout, 6-2!  No Aces (apparently).

The Spin-Troung combo proved to be too strong as they were relentless and in control of the set.

Dino got to play a non-GTA Singles Match and when he finished it, Kaz was happy to hit the ball with him.

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Kris Srinivasan/Jordan Bachvaroff over Senthil Kumar/Jose Gonzales, 6-4, 7-5, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 47 and # 48 Ranked Teams respectively!  Jose: 1 Ace on Jordan!

This was a classic comeback performance by us in both sets.  Down Love-3 in the 1st Set, we got on the scoreboard in the fourth game but soon we were down 2-4.  That's when we took matters into our own hands and we charged to a 6-4 win!  Full credit goes to Jordan for playing superbly and serving as well. This, especially after he had 3 Sets of a non-GTA Singles Match with his friend!

The 2nd Set was eerily the same with us starting poorly down Love-3 before getting on the board.  We almost had the same scene of going 2-4, but missed out on multiple opportunities to break Jose's serve. Now, down 1-5, our backs were against the wall but we did splendidly well to win one game at a time to get to the finish line.  It was a super-sweet win and we played superbly as a team.  The best part was that we managed to finish it just a minute before the lights went off.

Great finish and it was a lovely session indeed!  Cheers!

Samara's Notes: It definitely sounds like it was a great way to cap the night.  Even though that last match was a straight-setter, it may still have an outside chance at being a Nominee for Doubles Match of The Year at season's end.

As always, I thank Kris for always being the host with the most up at Cedar Grove.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

 

9/16 Results.

9/16/16:

"Samara hosts 16 at C.G.!:

There was just one session of GTA Friday Night Tennis: the usual later session up at The Cedar Grove Courts hosted by "Hollywood" Frank Samara (with some assistance from the usual host there, "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan). 

Let's now recap all that transpired up at Cedar Grove.

Samara pulled into the parking lot at 6:30.  On Court One, there were two guys having a full Singles Match with one another.  "J-Bach" Jordan Bachvaroff knew the older of the two gents from having previously played in Little Falls with him. 

Court Two was vacant.  On Court Three there were four young boys.  And on Court Four, Jordan was practicing his serve.  Jordan eagerly invited Frank to come hit with them, but Samara needed a couple of minutes to get situated first

Soon Frank got out on the court and started hitting with Jordan.  For a little while, it looked like it may just be the two of them.  Then, at 6:45, "Big George" Jorge Solano arrived and ended up taking Samara's side in hitting against Bachvaroff.

At 6:50, Kate and Herb Reiner took Court Two for a brief hitting session with each other.  They ended up being replaced by a foursome (two men, two women...who decided to do it "Battle of The Sexes" style for the rest of the night).  That group stayed until 8:20 (and also seemed to know both Jordan and The Gawleys, who came later in the session).

At 7:05, Kris came across the street just as "The Webmaster" Senthil Kumar was arriving at the same time.  Samara decided to let both of them take Court Four while he decided to step off for a while. 

The potential logjam ended quickly as the two guys on Court One left at 7:10 which enabled Senthil and Jordan to take over that court while "Spicy" Sally Pillay (who had just arrived) headed onto Court Four.

Five minutes later, "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes pulled into the lot and then soon headed onto Court Four as well.  The hitting session was now Nate and Jorge against Kris and Sally.  It soon led to a Doubles One-Setter featuring those two same teams.

When "The Secret Weapon" Sairaj Srinivasan came across the street at 7:20, Samara directed him to head to Court One and he would meet him there to take on Senthil and Jordan in Doubles.  Five minutes later, that was the second Doubles One-Setter underway.

At 7:30, "Kaboom" Raj Boddu and "ME" Michel Enacarnacion both arrived.  They were able to take Court Three as the four kids were leaving it at that exact time.  The two then began a hitting session with one another.  Five minutes later, "The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan came a cross the street and got involved in the hitting session on Court Three.

At 7:50, both "Rowdy" Rob Gawley and GTA Women's Champion: Laura "The Aura" Gawley both arrived.  Laura stated her initial intent of teaming with her hubby rather than be split up into action on two courts (as Court Three needed a woman to enable some Mixed Doubles action).  But when she asked Rob to back up her opinion on that, he said it was no big deal to him either way.  She then said "fine" and made a beeline to Court Three where she said she would be for "the rest of the night!"

How does that expression go?  Unhappy wife, unhappy life?  Something like that, right?  Well, The Rowdy One (aka Squash Boy) likes to live life on the edge.  They patched things up quite nicely later in the evening anyway.

At 8:05, "Instant" Moka Pathan and Dennis "The Menace" Cabanatan both arrived at the same time.  They would not have to wait long as the winners of that first Doubles One-Setter on Court Four (Kris and Sally) both stepped off to allow Moka and Dennis to take their place.  Instead, Srinivasan and Pillay soon faced off with Samara on Court Two in a lengthy hitting session.

"2 Tall" Dave Zhu was the final arrival at 8:40 and that gave us a total of 16 official competitors!  It was a fun session that ran rather smoothly as we always seemed to gain courts just when we needed them.  Good times!

The Cedar Grove Results:

Kris Srinivasan/Sally Pillay over Nathan Fernandes/Jorge Solano, 6-4!  No Aces.  This was played on Court Four from 7:17 to 8:07.

Senthil Kumar/Jordan Bachvaroff over Frank Samara/Sairaj Srinivasan, 6-2!  No Aces.  It went like this: Jordan held serve (a winning Overhead Smash by Sairaj and then a winning return by Sairaj set up Love-30 only to have it shift gears straight to Game Point as Senthil hit a winning Backhand Volley along the way and there was also an un-returned serve...the hold came on the G.P.), Sairaj was broken (15-Love and then point for point until 30-All, then Break Point where Frank whipped out his Windmill Overhead Smash to make it Deuce, but then a Double Fault brought it back to Break Point, 2nd Deuce, Break Point again and then the break) and Senthil held (30-Love, Double Fault for 30-15, 30-All, Game Point, Deuce and then all Game Points to 3rd Deuce, Game Point again and then finally the hold in a game where I could no longer remember who hit what winners, but suffice to say that both Sairaj and Senthil hit many of them and the majority were volleys at the net...they had some nice exchanges up there) to take a 3-0 lead!  Frank held (Jordan made a great get in the first point and then Senthil had an awesome get/winner combo to make it Love-30, but then two un-returned serves led the way to Game Point where Frank hit a winning lob for the hold) to get his team on the scoreboard, but Bachvaroff held again (Triple Game Point, Double Fault for Double Game Point and then an un-returned serve for the hold) and Srinivasan was broken again (Love-15, 15-All, 15-30, Double Fault for Double Break Point and that was where Sairaj blew an overhead to break himself) to fall to 1-5.  Kumar was broken (15-Love then point for point until 30-All where Sairaj had a winning return and Senthil had a winning volley along the way, but then it went to Break Point where Jordan blew a volley for the break) to have his team's lead cut to 5-2.  And then came the game of the match with Samara on serve as Sairaj blew an overhead to set up Triple Break/Match Point, but then it was Double Break/Match Point where Senthil blew an overhead to make it Break/Match Point and then came the Moment of the Match as a shot (can't remember if Senthil or Jordan hit it) that landed near the baseline with Frank standing over it was thought to be in by Samara only to have both Sairaj and Rob Gawley from the bench call it long and that brought the game to Deuce, then it was the 4th Break/Match Point, 2nd Deuce where Frank made a Fernanda-style get/dig/lob combo to go up Game Point, then the 5th Break/Match Point, 3rd Deuce, then the 6th Break/Match Point, 4th Deuce and then the 7th Break/Match Point where Frank dumped an unforced error into the net after a fairly lengthy rally...talk about disappointing and anticlimactic!  We played this one on Court One from 7:25 to 8:03.

The Skinny: It felt closer than the score.  Sairaj played excellent tennis.  Unfortunately for him, his best game was the one where I couldn't remember all the winners...and I likely forgot some in the final game as well.  He had at least three or four winning forehand returns where he just fired it down the Doubles Alley.  He also made several nice volleys and Overhead Smashes.  Once he gets a little more consistent, The Secret Weapon will become a very lethal weapon...indeed!

Michel Encarnacion/Laura Gawley over Raj Boddu/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-3!  Raj: 1 Ace on Michel; and Michel: 1 Ace on Raj!  This one took place on Court Three and lasted from 8pm to 8:38.  Michel left afterward.

Senthil Kumar/Rob Gawley over Jordan Bachvaroff/Sairaj Srinivasan, 6-2!  Rob: 1 Ace on Sairaj.  Court One hosted this one from 8:07 to 8:40.  Sairaj called it a night after this one.

Nathan Fernandes/Moka Pathan over Jorge Solano/Dennis Cabanatan, 6-3!  No Aces.  They played this on Court Four from 8:10 to 8:37.  Nate and Moka wanted to get some playing time as a team together as they find themselves in the Semifinals of the ongoing and much delayed M2 Men's Doubles Tournament where they are still waiting for a winner to emerge from the in-progress Quarterfinal Match between the teams of Chris Chiaro/Raj Shah and Dwight Thomas Sr./Dwight Thomas Jr.

Nathan Fernandes/Moka Pathan over Kris Srinivasan/Dennis Cabanatan, 7-5!  No Aces.  This also took place on Court Four and lasted from 8:38 to 9:16.

Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley over Sally Pillay/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-2!  No Aces.  Even without engaging in changeovers, this was a long one!  They played this on Court Three from 8:43 to 9:38!  Samara was watching from the sidelines until he was called into action.  Up 2-1, Rob had a service game that easily went to 20-plus Deuces...no exaggeration!  He held to go up 3-1.  Soon after that, Frank was needed on Court Four.  After this win, The Gawleys left while Sally and Doinks had a hard-hitting sparring session with one another.

Senthil Kumar/Jordan Bachvaroff over Raj Boddu/Dave Zhu, 6-4!  Raj: 1 Ace on Senthil.  They played this one on Court One from 8:48 to 9:23.

Nathan Fernandes/Moka Pathan over Frank Samara/Dennis Cabanatan, 6-0!  No Aces.  Here's how it went down: Dennis was broken (an un-returned serve and then a winner by Dennis made it 30-Love, then it went to 30-15 where Frank hit a winning Overhead Smash for Double Game Point, but then it shifted to Deuce where Moka hit a drop shot winner to set up Break Point and then came the break), Nathan held serve (Love-30 shifted to Game Point as Moka hit a winner, Nate hit a winner and then Nate hit a winning volley along the way and then the hold came next), Frank was broken (15-Love, 15-All and then Moka blew an overhead as the game shifted to Double Game Point, but then it shifted to Deuce where Nathan blew a volley to make it Game Point once more, but then Nate hit a winning drop shot return for 2nd Deuce and then it went to Break Point where Dennis blew a volley for the break), Moka held (Dennis blew a volley for 15-Love, Frank hit a winning Backhand Volley for 15-All, but then it was off and running toward Double Game Point as first there was an un-returned serve then followed by a truly un-returnable serve along the way and then another un-returned serve secured the hold), Cabanatan was broken again (Moka hit a lob return that caused Frank to whiff on what should have been a winning Windmill Overhead Smash and that made it Love-15 and it was all downhill from there as it was a Love break) and then Fernandes held again (Moka blew an overhead for Love-15, it shifted to 30-15 with an un-returned serve along the way and that was where the rally of the match ended with a hard-hitting winner from Frank for 30-All and then Dennis hit a winning Backhand Volley to make it Break Point, but then it went to Deuce, Break Point again, 2nd Deuce, Break Point yet again, 3rd Deuce where the second best rally of the match ended with a blown volley by Dennis to set up Game/Match Point and then came the hold) to serve up a late-night bagel!  We played this on Court Four from 9:20 to 9:47.

The Skinny: It is a cliche', but most of them are true...this did feel much closer than the shutout score indicates.  We had several Game Point and/or Break Point opportunities, but could never convert on any of them.  Dennis is a menacing force with that big lefty forehand of his, but sometime he is a menace to himself with some ill-timed moments of inconsistency.  On the overall, he is a very solid player who just has to make his game a little cleaner and then he will be taking most of his opponents to the cleaners!  Much credit also has to go to the resiliency of the winners...especially Nate who is always cool, calm and collected.  Moka was a little all over the map as well...often hitting impressive winners only to be followed by some foolish errors.  For my part, I actually felt I played pretty well after almost falling asleep while alone on Court Two.

Kris Srinivasan/Dave Zhu over Senthil Kumar/Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-4!  No Aces.  Not sure if they decided to forego changeovers, but I do know they were happy to get this one done on Court One in rather rapid time (they played it from 9:25 to 9:57)!

All's well that ends well...and it is always an especially satisfying session when all matches have come to their full and proper conclusion.  All in all, it was a lot of fun.

Best wishes,
Frank Samara

9/15 Results.

9/15/16:         

"Tony-Nate part of 15 at C.G.!":                                          

There was just one session of GTA Thursday Night Tennis: the usual evening session…and it was another big one…at The Cedar Grove Courts (hosted by "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan, but with scores and commentary contributions also coming in from the two participants in the Grove Cup Semifinal Match, Tony "Sure Shot" Shiao and "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes, plus "Dominant" Dawn Peterson as well).

So we now go to the report from Kris (with the additional information from Dawn, Nate and Tony along the way).

The Cedar Grove Results:

Grove Cup Semifinal Match:

Nathan Fernandes over Tony Shiao, 6-0, 6-1, to become the New # 4 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division while also advancing to the Finals of the Grove Cup Men's Singles Tournament!  Tony: 1 Ace in the 2^nd Set. 

The Sure Shot from Shiao:  Nate and I decided to meet at Cedar Grove at 6:45 to play our Semifinal Match in the Grove Cup.  It was a beautiful evening for tennis.  The air was crisp with a light breeze to keep us energized and cool throughout the match.  The match, however, was no contest!  Although a number of games went to Deuce, I was unable to convert.  I made many unforced errors at the net and Nate just ran down every shot.  I tried switching up my game and played similar to his style but the 40+ stroke rallies tired me out quickly.  I then reverted back to my usual game and hit some big topspin forehands only to have them easily returned.  He was a wall...The Great Wall of Nate!  He is wicked quick like Chiaro and consistent like Chazz, but with a wing span of a Marijus...nah f-that...more like a 747!  I did manage to sneak in an Ace in the second set!  Yippee!  I wish him luck in the Finals and I apologize for my foul language to the others playing on the adjacent courts.

The Say from The K: From the feedback received, it looked like there were quite a few games that were close and tight…but even in games where Tony was leading 40-15, Nate did well to clinch those games ending in a bagel in the 1st Set for Tony.

The consistency and the amazing gets to some of the tough shots by Nate put a severe dent on the psyche of his opponent as it was clearly visible that Tony couldn't put the ball away or construct the point nicely.  He couldn't cash in on his approach to the net and was too careful with some of the shots that should have been taken to the cleaners.  The result was that Nate was never threatened or put under the sword.  Instead, he ramped up his shots with beautiful placements.  Tony did run Nate side to side on multiple occasions, but that's when he couldn't take advantage of opportunities that were there for the taking as he was afraid to smoke the overheads and crippled with unforced errors.  Full credit goes to Nate for making an indelible mark on Tony's mindset so that the ball is always going to come back no matter how well he played his shots...:-).

Samara's Notes: I thank Tony for the comprehensive write-up.  Nate sent the score directly via text as well and also stated that he thought the match started just after 7pm.  I congratulate Nate on a very impressive victory here as well as a highly dominant run though the Grove Cup Tournament thus far.  He now awaits the winner of the other Semi – "The Sultan of Swing" Raj Shah vs. "Double R" Rob Ryan!

And now we go to Kris for the rest of the report along with some additional details from Dawn.

Chris Chiaro/Jordan Bachvaroff over Mike Kazlauskas/Dawn Peterson, 6-4!  No Aces (apparently). 

Dawn's Details: We were up 4-2 when they then took the next four straight games.

Chris Chiaro/Jordan Bachvaroff over Moka Pathan/Lou La Forgia, 6-4!  No Aces (apparently).

The Say from The K: It as a good One-Setter as there was plenty of good shots, but there were also many unforced errors.

Mike Kazlauskas/Dawn Peterson over Sairaj Srinivasan/Jorge Solano, 6-4!  No Aces (apparently).

Chris Chiaro/Jordan Bachvaroff over Moka Pathan/Kris Srinivasan, 6-4!  No Aces.

This was another tight one that could have seen a different result if we had cashed out on some of the Break Point opportunities that we had.  We missed out on both of Chris' serves and especially the one that could have tied the match 4-All.  Some of Moka's backhand shots down the line were a delight to watch and so were Chiaro's fiery shots that were hit with jet speed.  Jordan put away some points at the net that were timely for his side.

Ryan Pienciak/Doinks Srinivasan over Tony Shiao/Dennis Cabanatan, 7-6 (8-6)!  No Aces (apparently).

This was a very closely contested match that went the distance and was a nice win for Doinks and Ryan. We did get to hear plenty of noise coming from Tony and Ryan on the other side!

Samara's Notes: This seems like it could be a possible Nominee for One-Set Specialty Doubles One-Setter of The Year at season's end.  We now go back to Kris.

Tony Shiao/Ryan Pienciak over Dennis Cabanatan/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-2!  No Aces (apparently).

Tony and Ryan do well playing together and that showed in this match.  It didn't help that there were quite a few unforced errors from Doinks and Dennis.

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Lou La Forgia/Mike Kazlauskas over Nathan Fernandes/Dave Zhu, 6-3, 6-2, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 49 and # 50 Ranked Teams respectively!  Mike: 1 Ace on Nate in the 1^st Set; and Dave: 1 Ace on Mike in the 2^nd Set!

It looked like an attacking game in this match and all players got to do well on many points.  Mike missed a few at the net, but did well on his serves and rallies.  Lou was expressive in his shots and so was Dave.  Nate played his consistent game with plenty of running to get shots that were hit fiercely taking him off of the court.

Nathan Fernandes/Dave Zhu leading Kris Srinivasan/Jordan Bachvaroff, 3-2 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.  The last game mattered as it put Nathan and Dave into the leading position...:-).

Overall, it was quite an active night with three of the four courts at out disposal.  Cheers!

Samara's Notes: I thank Kris for hosting and his colorful and comprehensive reporting.  I again thank all those who made contributions to this report.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

 

9/13 Results.

9/13/16:

"Mole-Santos, W2 Final part of 25 at C.G.!:

There was just one session of GTA Tuesday Tennis: the usual session (but it got an earlier than usual start) up at The Cedar Grove Courts as it began with a 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match between "Holy Moly" Mike Mole and "Stealth" Omar Santos (details provided by Omar) and then later hosted by "Hollywood" Frank Samara with some assistance from "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan.

The Main Event of the evening was the W2 Women's Doubles Tournament Final Match featuring GTA Women's Champion: Laura "The Aura" Gawley teaming with "Spicy" Sally Pillay to take on "The Argentine Machine" Fernanda Toker and "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan.  The winning team would not only win the tourney, but also be crowned the New GTA Women's Doubles Champions.

Before we get to how the evening portion of the session unfolded, let's first report that earlier score of the Mole-Santos match.

The Cedar Grove Results:

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:
Omar Santos over Mike Mole, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), to become both the New # 22 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division and the New # 10 Ranked Player in the Intermediate Division!  Mike: 5 Aces in the 2nd Set!

The Stealth Report: We played at the old courts down the road.  We started playing around 3:30 pm and finished the match at 5pm.  I took command of the 1st Set which ended at 4pm.

In the 2nd Set, Mike started hitting his big serves and aced me a lot.  I still took a 5-2 lead because of his errors and me winning most of the long rallies.  He made a big comeback to take a 6-5 lead using his big serve and penetrating ground-strokes, but I held serve to force a Tiebreak and luckily won the match.

Samara's Notes: First off, I congratulate Omar on that impressive victory.  And second, I thank him for providing us with such a comprehensive report.  If Mole has constantly been in the conversation of likely Nominees for Most Improved Player of The Year at season's end, then certainly Santos should be in it as well.

Let's now recap all that transpired up at Cedar Grove later in the evening.

Samara pulled into the parking lot at 6:45, just as Capan was doing the same.  On Court One, there were two outsiders (somewhat older gents) playing a full 2 out of 3 Sets Singles Match against one another.

On Court Two, "J-Bach" Jordan Bachvaroff was hitting against both "The Great" Scott Bergenfeld and "The Secret Weapon" Sairaj Srinivasan.  Gen soon joined them to make it a foursome.

The bad news was out on Court Three and Court Four as The Pickle Ballers were back!  There were signs on every gate along the fences that The Ballers would be back every Tuesday night from 6pm to 7:30.

At 6:50, "The Vin Man" Vinnie De Benedetto arrived and joined Samara on the bench alongside Court One.  With the weather as beautiful as it was, he was happy to be patient and just wait for another court to open. 

Five minutes later, "J-Rod" Joe Rodrigues also made his way to the bench.  We soon learned that the four ladies ("Killer Kat" Kathy Sheldon, "Bravo" Brenda Jordan, "C.A.T." Christine Toth and "Dominant" Dawn Peterson) who all connected via e-mail to play their own Women's Doubles Match at 6:30 had to take their match to the two courts down the road once they got court-blocked by The Ballers.

Also arriving at the same time as Rodrigues was someone we had not seen at The Cedar Grove Courts since last autumn, "The Rain Maker" Richard Reicht.  For the moment, all he could do was become part of the ever-growing logjam.

At 7:05, Kris came across the street right at the same time that Laura arrived.  She approached the Pickle Ballers as she knew one of them (the name escapes me at this time).  Laura then said we were actually fortunate that the Ballers were only occupying two of the courts as their permit gives them the right to all four if they want and need them! 

As we were having this discussion, "The Natural" Natalie Guzman arrived at 7:10.  It turns out that this same lady who had been talking to Laura had been a Cedar Grove High School coach of Natalie's.

Things soon started to look up, however, when The Ballers made their exit at 7:25 which freed up Courts Three and Four.  As our players rapidly headed out there, the next wave of GTA competitors would soon arrive and lead to the second logjam of the night.

As all this was happening, the four ladies who had played Doubles down the road returned...but they were not anxious to step out on the courts as they had just played and wanted to give others the chance to do so.

Reicht and Guzman started hitting with one another on Court Three while Rodrigues and De Benedetto took one side of Court Four to hit against Srinivasan and Gawley on the other side of it.

At 7:35, "Coach" Dino Celis arrived and reported that he had started what was intended to be a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match against "Lean" Dean Delgado at the courts down the road (they had also been court-blocked by The Ballers).  It instead ended up being an incomplete One-Setter as the sun sets early nowadays. 

Arriving at the same time as Celis were all the following players: GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro, "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes, "Rowdy" Rob Gawley, "The Lethal Lefty" Lou La Forgia, "The Legendary" Chazz Weldon (he was only there to watch the W2 Final) and Toker.

Fernanda took her time getting out to the courts mainly because she thought her partner Gen had not arrived yet (she could not see Capan playing tennis out on Court Two as her focus was only on Court Four).

Meanwhile, Gen was sensing that her services were now needed over on Four as that would be the court to host the W2 Final.  So Scott proposed a One-Point Tiebreak (as they had just went to 6-All in games).  While this was a good idea for getting Capan off that court in a timely manner, it negated the official status of the contest as a One-Point Tiebreak (even with all parties in agreement with the idea) cannot be allowed to stand as a fully complete result. 

So this one had to be filed under "Incomplete" along with the 5-All Celis-Delgado One-Setter and the 3-All Women's Doubles One-Setter (after a complete One-Setter) from down the road earlier in the evening.

At 7:50, "The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan headed over to the courts having just finished a run.  All she wanted to do was watch the action as well. 

Two more players only making cameo appearances were "Mr. 500" Levy Lorenzo (arriving at 8:10) and "T-Rez" Tommy Reszkowski (arriving at 8:15). 

Despite all the players who sat out of the action (including myself), we still ended up with an amazing total of 25 official competitors!  Oh, what a night!

The rest of the results:

Brenda Jordan/Christine Toth over Kathy Sheldon/Dawn Peterson, 6-3!  No Aces.

Brenda Jordan/Christine Toth tied with Kathy Sheldon/Dawn Peterson, 3-3 (Incomplete when they ran out of sunlight)!  No Aces.

Dino Celis tied with Dean Delgado, 5-5 (Incomplete when they ran out of sunlight)!  No Aces.

Scott Bergenfeld/Sairaj Srinivasan tied with Jordan Bachvaroff/Genalin Capan, 6-6 (but Scott and Sairaj did win that 1 point Tiebreak...this still goes down as Incomplete)!  They got this one underway on Court Two at exactly 6:59.  At 7:23, it was tied 3-3.  It ended prematurely at 7:42.

Nathan Fernandes/Natalie Guzman over Dino Celis/Richard Reicht, 6-4!  Dino: 1 Ace on Natalie.  It was the official GTA Return of Richard Reicht.  This one got started on Court Three at 7:40.  The Nate/Nat combo were down 2-4 before taking four straight games for a nice comeback win that ended at 8:19.

Chris Chiaro/Rob Gawley over Joe Rodrigues/Vinnie De Benedetto, 6-4!  Chris: 1 Ace on Joe; and Joe: 1 Ace on Chris!  This was contested on Court Two from 7:51 to 8:32.

W2 Tournament Final/GTA Women's Doubles Championship Match:
Laura Gawley/Sally Pillay over Fernanda Toker/Genalin Capan, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, to become the New 2-Time GTA Women's Doubles Champions and win the 2016 W2 Women's Doubles Tournament!  Laura: 1 Ace on Gen in the 1st Set.

1st Set: Fernanda held serve (Sally blew a volley for 15-Love, Double Fault for 15-All, un-returned serve for 30-15, Sally blew an overhead for Double Game Point, Sally hit an awesome winning return to cut it to Game Point, but then another un-returned serve earned the hold), Laura held (Gen hit a winner for Love-15 and then Sally hit a winner for 15-All, then 30-15 where a corner Ace on Gen brought it to Double Game Point where another un-returned serve secured the hold), Genalin held (un-returned serve for 15-Love and then Laura blew a volley to make it 30-Love, but then Laura hit a winning volley for 30-15 and the shift was on all the way to Break Point, but then Sally blew a volley to bring it to Deuce and then Gen hit a winning volley to set up Game Point where Laura blew an overhead to allow the hold) and then Sally was the first to be broken (Love-15 where Laura blew a volley for Love-30 and then Gen hit a winning volley to set up Triple Break Point, but then an un-returned serve cut it to Double Break Point and then Laura hit a passing shot winner to bring it down to Break Point, but then a Double Fault dashed any hopes of a hold) to fall behind 1-3.  From there, Toker held again (un-returned serve for 15-Love and then Sally blew an overhead to make it 30-Love where then Laura blew a volley to set up Triple Game point and then Gen hit a winning volley to make it a Love hold for her partner), Gawley was broken (back-to-back un-returned serves made it 30-Love, but then Gen hit a winning Backhand Volley to cut it to 30-15 where another un-returned serve set up Double Game Point only to have Laura blow an overhead to bring it to Game Point and then Laura blew a volley to make it Deuce where then Sally blew an overhead to set up Break Point where Sally then blew another overhead for the break) and Capan held again (un-returned serve for 15-Love, then Gen blew an overhead for 15-All where Laura hit a winning net-cord volley to make it 15-30, but then Sally blew a volley for 30-All, it was then Game/Set Point where Sally hit a winning Overhead Smash to bring it to Deuce where Gen then hit an amazing winning volley to set up the 2nd Game/Set Point where Laura then blew an overhead to allow the hold) to take the set!  This set and match got underway on Court Four at 8pm and this one ended at 8:26.  Two minutes later, they would start the next one.

2nd Set: Laura was broken (Laura blew a volley for Love-15, it then went to Love-30, 15-30 where Sally blew an overhead to make it Double Break Point and then came the break), Genalin was broken (Sally hit a winning Overhead Smash for Love-15, it was Love-30 where Laura hit a passing shot winner to set up Triple Break Point, then it was Double Break Point where Gen blew an overhead to break herself), but Sally was the first to hold serve in this set (un-returned serve for 15-Love and then Gen blew a volley to make it 30-Love only to have Laura hit a hellacious winning volley to set up Triple Game Point, but a Double Fault then made it Double Game Point which was where Gen blew an overhead to allow the hold) for 2-1.  Fernanda was broken (Sally blew a volley for 15-Love, but then Laura hit another vicious winning volley to make it 15-All and then the first truly awesome rally of the match ended with a winning Backhand Volley by Sally for Double Break Point and then Laura hit a passing shot winner to get the break), Gawley held again (Sally hit a heated volley for 15-Love and then Laura tried to best her with a similarly scorching volley for 30-Love, it was then 30-15 where perhaps the new best rally of the match...featuring several amazing gets by Fernanda, but ultimately all for naught...made it Double Game Point, but then Laura blew an overhead to cut the lead to Game Point and then Sally blew an overhead to make it Deuce, but then an un-returned serve set up Game Point and then Laura secured her own hold with a winning Overhead Smash) and Capan was broken again (Love-15 where Gen hit another winning drop shot volley for 15-All and then it was 15-30 where another excellent and extended rally would end with a venomous volley by Sally to make it Double Break Point and then Laura scored with a winning passing shot return for the break) as now it was her team falling to 1-5.  It seemed the first two sets would be an even trade, but then Pillay was broken (started with a Double Fault and then another amazing rally would end with one of Gen's best winning volleys of the night to make it Love-30 and then it was Triple Break Point where Gen would score with yet another of those winning drop shot volleys to make it a Love break) and Toker then held (Sally blew a volley for 15-Love, but then she redeemed herself with a blazing passing shot return for 15-All and that was where Fernanda would hit one of her famous winning get/lob combos to make it 30-15 where Sally then blew a volley to set up Double Game Point and then Gen hit a winning volley to secure her partner's hold) as her team pulled to 3-5.  Then The Aura rose to the occasion with her second straight hold (a truly un-returnable serve for 15-Love, 30-Love, then Triple Game/Set Point and another actual un-returnable serve to get the Love hold, take the set and even the match) to level things and increase the drama at 8:56!  Like the last time around, the next set would get underway two minutes later.

3rd Set: Fernanda held (Gen hit another awe-inspiring winning volley for 15-Love, it was then 15-All where Laura blew a volley to make it 30-15 and then a lengthy rally led to Double Game Point where Sally blew a volley to allow the hold), Laura held (a winning Overhead Smash by Laura for 15-Love, it was 15-All where another marathon rally took place and ended with a blown volley by Gen to make it 30-15 and then Sally hit an awesome and reactionary slam-dunk style winner while poised near the net to set up Double Game Point where Laura then came through with her own winner for the hold), Genalin held (Fernanda hit another one of her infamous get/lob combos for 15-Love and then an un-returned serve made it 30-Love where Sally then blew a volley to make it Triple Game Point, but then Laura had winning volley to cut it to Double Game Point where another un-returned serve locked down the hold) and Sally held (another wild rally ended with yet another sizzling net-cord volley winner by Laura to make it 15-Love and then Laura hit another winning volley for 30-Love, but then she blew a volley to cut the score to 30-15 where Sally hit a passing shot winner to make it Double Game Point and then came the hold) as all were on serve in this set at 2-2!  Toker was the first to be broken (Love-15 where Sally hit an awesome winning return for Love-30 and then another seesaw rally made it 15-30, then it went to Double Break Point and then Break Point where Laura hit a passing shot winner for the break) to lose the lead at 2-3.  And then came the lengthiest and most pivotal game of the match with Gawley on serve as Sally blew an overhead for Love-15 and then Gen hit a winning lob for Love-30, but then Sally replied with a sizzling winning volley for 15-30, it was then 30-All where Gen hit a winning Backhand Volley for Break Point, but then Laura hit a winning volley of her own to bring it to Deuce only to have Gen hit another winning volley to bring it back to Break Point and it then went to 2nd Deuce only to have Gen hi another winning volley for Break Point again, but then she blew a volley to make it 3rd Deuce and then she blew another volley to set up Game Point for the opposition, but then came Gen's redemption moment with an awesome passing shot return winner for the 4th Deuce where Sally hit a big-time winner of an Overhead Smash to set up Game Point which was where Gen blew a volley to allow the hold as the opposition went up 4-2!  From there, Capan was broken (Sally blew an overhead for 15-Love and then Fernanda hit a winner for 30-Love, but then Gen blew a volley to make it 30-15, it was then 30-All where a great get by Fernanda led to an error from the opponents to allow them to go up Game Point, but then Laura hit a blistering passing shot winner to make it Deuce and then came a Double Fault to bring it to Break Point and then came the break) and then Pillay held again (Laura hit a winning Overhead Smash for 15-Love, it as 15-All where Laura hit a winning volley for 30-15 and then the last great rally of the match ended with an excellent winner by Sally to set up Double Game/Match Point which was where Laura blew an overhead to make it Game/Match Point, but then she redeemed herself with a winning volley for the win) for the come-from-behind victory to seal the deal, take the tournament and reclaim the gold!  This match finished at 9:35.

The Skinny: This was an awesome match which was better than the topsy-turvy scoring may indicate.  In the 1st Set, it seemed that both Laura and Sally were too "amped up" as each made several errors...often drilling would-be winners into the net (while also sailing some long as well).  Meanwhile, Fernanda did her "Cool Hand Luke" thing along the baseline making great gets as if they were commonplace while her partner Gen was the steady hand at the net as many shots fired at her by the opposition would simply be blocked back as winning volleys. 

For the 2nd Set, Gawley/Pillay switched up both their service sides of the court and their return of serve sides...and it all seemed to fall into place from there as they also switched up their overall philosophy. Going against their normal style of play and swinging away, they intentionally fell back a bit and started to play the game of their opposition (extended rallies featuring looping lobs, etc.).  The strategy worked!

In the 3rd Set, Toker/Capan decided to switch up their service sides (while maintaining their return of service sides) in an attempt to shake things up a bit.  It almost worked.  In the aftermath of what seemed to be such a solid victory for Laura and Sally, it is easy to forget how close this last set was.  Had Fernanda and Gen got the break back (after Toker was broken) in that marathon game against Gawley's serve, it would have been 3-3 rather than 4-2 and this one may have gone the difference...with a different result.

Samara's Notes: Congratulations to both Laura and Sally on an impressive and hard-fought victory!  Also, kudos need to be offered up to both Fernanda and Gen on such a fine effort as well.

The Consequences: Since there are no Former Champs in this scenario, Gawley/Pillay are now free to defend their newly-won Titles against any team already ranked in the Women's Doubles Division.

Lou La Forgia/Kris Srinivasan over Marijus Kuzavas/Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-4!  Lou: 1 Ace on Jordan.  This one took place on Court One from 8:03 to 8:56.

Nathan Fernandes/Joe Rodrigues over Chris Chiaro/Rob Gawley, 6-4!  Joe: 1 Ace on Rob; and Rob: 1 Ace on Joe!  This battle was waged on Court Two from 8:36 to 9:26!  Once Joe and Rob both left, this enabled Chris and Nate to face off in a Singles One-Setter...which we will get to later.

Lou La Forgia/Kris Srinivasan over Marijus Kuzavas/Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-1!  Lou: 2 Aces (one on each)!  Court One hosted this one from 8:45 to 9:15.

Lou La Forgia/Kris Srinivasan over Dino Celis/Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-2!  No Aces.  Again, Court One was the scene of the crime as the action took place from 9:25 to 9:50.  After this, Dino and Kris hit with one another for the remaining time.

Nathan Fernandes leading Chris Chiaro, 5-2 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm with Nate on serve having just blown Match Point by dumping what should have been a certain winning volley into the net a la Andy Roddick at that Wimbledon Final against Roger Federer some years back and it had then gone to Deuce when it all went black)!  No Aces.

What a way to end such an eventful night...with a cliffhanger!  Had Nate sealed the deal while he could, it would have been quite the One-Set Upset.  Was this One-Setter a preview of what is to come immediately following this year's Grove Cup Tournament?  Only time will tell.

All in all, it was a memorable session...one for the record books!    

All the best,
Frank Samara