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
"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
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