10/30/16:
"Samara hosts 14 at AP!:
There was just one session of GTA Sunday Tennis: the usual morning session at The Albion Park Courts hosted by "Hollywood" Frank Samara.
When Samara pulled up to the courts at 10am, he saw "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak out on the North Court (Ryan said he gotten there around 9:50 as he first thought 10am would be the starting-time per the e-mail from Samara...turns out Frank had originally said 10:30) while "The Vin Man" Vinnie De Benedetto was still waiting in his car.
Frank and Vin soon walked down the hill and through the gate before stepping onto the North Court as they each hit against Ryan until they later switched it up with Samara going solo.
It took a while for a fourth player to arrive. These three players were hoping for some Doubles.
Finally, "MC Quick" Mike Carruci came through at 10:35. Samara soon proposed the idea of a full Doubles Match which would enable his team with De Benedetto to remain active in the ranks of the Doubles Division while Ryan and Mike could get ranked as a team as well.
The only possible problem was the fact that both Vin and Mike said they needed to leave around noon. So Frank proposed the idea of a 10-Point Super Tiebreak if the two teams ended up splitting sets. The only caveat being at that point, the rank of the Samara/De Benedetto team would no longer be on the line. The match would then just serve the purpose of keeping that Samara/De Benedetto tandem active in the ranks while also introducing the Pienciak/Carucci team into the Doubles Division.
The other three players were fine with this proposal. And, as it turns out, it was a good thing that said conversation was had ahead of time.
The match officially got underway at exactly 10:43. Around seven minutes later, GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro arrived and sat for a bit to watch the match.
The idea of scrapping the match and having it only be a One-Setter in order to make sure that Chiaro would not be "the fifth wheel" for too long did come up...but it also did not last long as "Mr. 500" Levy Lorenzo was the next to arrive at 10:55.
At 11am, both "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes and "Coach" Dino Celis made their way (separately) to the courts. Soon there was a hitting session on Center Court as both Chris and Levy hit to Nate. Meanwhile, Dino was eating his lunch while sitting on the bench alongside the North Court.
At 11:15, "Lean" Dean Delgado, "Bravo" Brenda Jordan and "Dominant" Dawn Peterson all arrived at the same time. This led to Levy shifting over to the South Court with the three of them for some Mixed Doubles (it ended up becoming a full 2 out of 3 Sets Match) while Chiaro and Fernandes faced off in a Singles One-Setter on Center Court.
Celis, who fashions himself as something of a "photog", took some pics of the action going on at the courts around this time.
The Chiaro-Fernandes One-Setter finished at 11:45 and then Chris left just as "Eddie O" Edwin Ortega was arriving. Five minutes later, "Holy Moly" Mike Mole also made his way toward the courts.
Mike and Edwin soon joined Nate and Dino in watching the way the full Men's Doubles Match was playing out on the North Court as a 2nd Set Tiebreak then gave way to a full 10-Point Super Tiebreak! That match finally finished at 12:13. Kudos to both Vin and Mike for hanging in and seeing it through to its proper conclusion. They both left immediately after and Frank and Ryan then took the bench alongside the North Court to allow the four guys who had been waiting there a chance to play on the North Court. Though first, Pienciak threw out an Open Challenge for someone to play him in Singles, but nobody bit at the bait.
The two teams of Fernandes/Celis and Mole/Ortega got their One-Setter underway at exactly 12:17. Eight minutes later, "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan made her way onto the courts and soon entered into a hitting session with Pienciak on Center Court.
Hot on her heels was "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli, but he was only coming to make an extended cameo appearance as he looked to be quite banged up from his earlier Sunday football game at Latteri Park in Clifton.
When the Men's Doubles One-Setter on the North Court ended, Dino willingly pulled himself out of the next one in order to let Ryan take his place. Celis and Capan then continued the hitting session on Center Court.
When the full Mixed Doubles Match finished on the South Court at 12:49, we did not have anyone in place to keep the court. As a result, a mother with her two young boys were able to take it over at 1:05. But, eventually, once Dino grew tired of hitting and joined Frank and Spin on the bench alongside the North Court...Gen headed over to that court and hit with the boys all the way until 2pm.
The last Doubles One-Setter on the North Court ended exactly at 1:01. Mole then issued an Open Challenge for Singles. Pienciak was tempted to bite at it, but knew he already had to leave if he wanted to stay in the good graces of his wife and children. So Edwin jumped at the opportunity instead as Ryan called it a day.
Frank and Spin both left at 1:30 and Dino would soon follow as well.
After Mole battled Ortega, he then faced off against "Big Kaz" Mike Kazlauskas. This gave us a total of 14 official competitors (which does not include Gen who only got involved in hitting sessions).
Given how extraordinary the weather was...sunny and 70 plus degrees with no wind...some of us were actually surprised that the total number of players wasn't even higher.
Let's now go to the results.
The Albion Park Results:
2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:
Frank Samara/Vinnie De Benedetto over Ryan Pienciak/Mike Carucci, 6-2, 6-7 (7-2), 10-7 (STB), to remain active in the Doubles Division (their rank was no longer on the line once it went to the Super Tiebreak) as the Pienciak/Carucci team entered the division as the New # 68 Ranked Team! No Aces.
1st Set: Frank held serve (Mike blew an overhead and then Frank hit a drop shot winner in the next point to go up 30-Love and then Ryan hit a hard return which forced Vin to blow a volley for 30-15, but then it went to Double Game Point and the hold), Ryan held (un-returned serve for 15-Love, 30-Love, 30-15 and then Double Game Point where Mike hit a winning volley to secure his partner's hold), Vinnie held (Triple Break Point where an un-returned serve made it Double Break Point and then Vin hit a vicious volley to cut it to Break Point where Frank hit a passing shot winner which was a shot hit on the run that made its way over the post as it streaked down the Doubles Alley out of the opposition's reach and now it was Deuce and then Game Point where Frank hit another impressive winner, this time down the middle to secure his partner's hold), but Mike was the first to be broken (Double Fault for Love-30, it then shifted to 30-All with an un-returned serve and then a winning Backhand Volley by Ryan, but then Vin hit a winning Overhead Smash to set up Break Point where another Double Fault caused Mike to break himself) for a 1-3 start! Samara held again (an un-returned serve followed by a blown overhead by Ryan made it 30-Love, it then went to 30-15, Double Game Point and the hold), but Pienciak was broken (Frank hit his Windmill Overhead Smash which found its landing place back near the baseline but also gave enough time for Ryan to run it down and send back a short lob of a shot right where Vin placed himself only to then find himself confused and not play it at all as it ended up being a strange winner for 15-Love, then a Double Fault made it 15-All, it then went 15-30, 30-All, Break Point and the break) to fall to 1-5. De Benedetto was also broken and it was all his partner's fault as Frank blew back-to-back volleys and then blew an overhead to set up Triple Break Point where Frank redeemed himself slightly with one winning volley to bring it down to Double Break Point only to mess things up again with a blown volley for the break as his team's lead was cut to 5-2! But Carucci was broken again (Frank hit a victorious volley for Love-15, then it was 15-All, a Double Fault for 15-30 and then it was 30-All where Vin hit another one of his signature volleys to set up Break/Set Point where Frank hit a more whipping Windmill Overhead Smash than his previous one to get the break and take the set) as this set ended exactly at 11:08 (it had gotten underway on the North Court at 10:43)! Just one minute later, they were onto the next one.
2nd Set: Frank was broken at Love as Ryan made a winning return and a great get along the way, Ryan then held at Love as Vin blew two volleys on the way to Triple Game Point and then an un-returned serve secured the hold and then Vinnie found himself down Love-30 on his serve after Mike hit a winning volley and then he hit a winning Backhand Volley. This meant that the Pienciak/Carucci tandem had just taken the first ten points of the set! It then shifted to 30-All, however, as Frank made a great get to swing one of those two winning points in his team's favor. But then it went to Break Point and the break as Vinnie was broken for 0-3! Mike was broken (started with a Double Fault and then Vin hit a winning Overhead Smash for Love-30, it shifted to 30-All as both Mike and Ryan hit winners, but then came Break Point and the break) and Samara held (back-to-back winning volleys by Vin made it 30-Love, but then it shifted straight to Break Point as Vin blew a volley and Ryan hit a winning return along the way, but then it went to Deuce where Vin hit a winning Overhead Smash for Game Point where Vin followed up with yet another winning Overhead Smash to secure the hold) to pull to 2-3. Pienciak held again (Frank hit a wicked and winning Overhead Smash for Love-15, but then it went right to Double Game Point as Mike hit a winning volley and Frank blew a volley along the way and then Frank blew an overhead to allow the hold) as his team went up 4-2! De Benedetto held (an excellent rally opened the game at 15-Love and then it was 30-Love where Ryan hit one of his monster Overhead Smashes for 30-15, it then went to Double Game Point and Game Point where Frank hit a winning Backhand Volley to secure his partner's hold) and Carucci was broken again (Frank made a great get/winner combo that had Mike backpedaling to make it Love-30, it was then Triple Break Point where Ryan hit another one of his big chopping Overhead Smashes to cut it down to Double Break Point, but then Ryan blew a volley to allow the break) to knot the score at 4-4! Hollywood held again (Vin hit a winning volley for 30-Love, it then went 30-15, Double Game Point where Ryan made a great get/return combo on a near ace that caused Vin to blow the volley and bring it to Game Point where an un-returned serve secured the hold) to earn his team's first lead of the set at 5-4, but The Lumberjack held yet again (15-Love was where what was perhaps the rally of the match ended with an awesome get/winner combo from Frank for 15-All which was then answered by an untouchable drop shot winner by Ryan for 30-15, it then went to 30-All and Break/Set Point where Ryan made an amazing get/winner combo of his own to bring it to Deuce and then Vin blew a volley to set up Game Point and then came the hold) to stay alive at 5-5! The Vin Man also held again (30-Love, 30-15 where Vin hit a big-time winning Overhead Smash for Double Game Point which was where Ryan made another great get/winner combo to cut it down to Game Point, but then came the hold) to go up 6-5, but then MC Quick came through in the clutch with a hold of his own (Love-15 went straight to Double Game Point as Vin blew an overhead, Mike made one of his speedy gets that caught Vin so unaware that he ended up blowing the volley by missing the shot entirely and then the hold came at that D.G.P.) to force the Tiebreak! In the Breaker: Frank was broken on his lone serve and then Ryan was broken on the first of his two serves when Frank hit a winner, but then Ryan replied with a winner of his own to hold his second serve for 2-1. Vinnie was broken on the first of his two serves to fall to 1-3, but then held his second to pull to 2-3. But from there, Mike held the first of his two serves for 4-2 at the changeover and then he held his second as well after Ryan hit a crushing Overhead Smash for a 5-2 lead! Samara was broken on the first of his two serves when Ryan hit a winning volley which made it 2-6 and Break/Set Point going into his second service where Ryan hit another one of those whopping Overhead Smashes to get the break, the point, the TB and the set to level the match at 12noon (they had begun this Tiebreak at 11:55)! In the very next minute, they were into the Super Tiebreak!
STB: Ryan was broken on his lone serve after Vin hit a vicious volley, but then Vin blew a volley on his first serve for 1-1 only to have Ryan then blow a volley to allow a 2-1 lead for the opposition. Mike was then broken on his first serve after Vin hit a blast of an Overhead Smash for 1-3, but then Mike held his second serve to pull to 2-3. Frank held the first of his two serves for 4-2 at the changeover and then was broken on his second to have his team's lead cut to 4-3. Pienciak was then broken on both of his serves to fall to 3-6 and then De Benedetto held the first of his two serves after Frank scored with a drop shot winner that had just a little extra slice on it as they went up 7-3! Vin was then broken on his second serve and Carucci held the first of his two serves after Ryan hit an emphatic winner of an Overhead Smash to pull to 5-7 at the time of the second changeover. Mike was broken on his second serve, however, as an 8-5 lead was now handed to the opposition with Samara now going on serve. Ryan made an amazing get/winner combo that caused Frank to be broken on his first serve and have his team's lead cut to 8-6, but Samara then held his second service to go up 9-6 and set up Match Point. Service now returned to The Lumberjack who cut down that first M.P. with another chopping Overhead Smash to pull to 7-9 and the 2nd Match Point. And then what happened next was the proverbial pin in the balloon as the air of opportunity burst in a most anticlimactic fashion when Ryan hit a Double Fault to end this one as unceremoniously as one could imagine at 7-10! The time was 12:13 as both Vin and Mike headed for the hills to get home as soon as possible.
The Skinny: In a year full of great Doubles Matches, this one may miss the cut in consideration as a Nominee for Doubles Match of The Year at season's end. Had it not ended with that Double Fault and perhaps if Pienciak held for 8-10...the chances for consideration would then greatly increase. Oh well! Still, it was a lot of fun and Carucci seemingly improved over the course of the match. Meanwhile, his partner Pienciak was much like the opposition - Samara and De Benedetto, as they all had really hot moments followed by some downright cold and ugly ones.
Chris Chiaro over Nathan Fernandes, 6-3! No Aces. This was contested on Center Court from 11:20 to 11:45. Chris left immediately after and then Nate had a hitting session with Dino before both of them were called into Doubles action.
2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Doubles Match:
Dean Delgado/Brenda Jordan over Levy Lorenzo/Dawn Peterson, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5), as both teams entered the Mixed Doubles Division as the New # 44 and # 45 Ranked Teams respectively! No Aces. This match took place on the South Court from 11:25 to 12:49.
Nathan Fernandes/Dino Celis over Mike Mole/Edwin Ortega, 6-0! Dino: 1 Ace on Mike. This one did not occupy too much time on the North Court as it started at 12:17 and was over at 12:36!
Nathan Fernandes/Ryan Pienciak over Mike Mole/Edwin Ortega, 6-2! No Aces. Another battle fought on the North Court, it lasted from 12:37 to 1:01.
Edwin Ortega over Mike Mole, 6-4! No Aces. This one got underway on the North Court at 1:05. Not sure when it ended as I had left before it finished.
Mike Kazlauskas over Mike Mole, 7-6 (7-5)! No Aces. Gen said this one got going on the North Court right around 2pm as she was leaving.
Mike Mole over Mike Kazlauskas, 6-3! No Aces. Mole reported that they did not have time to play a 3rd Set and make it a full match.
Mike Kazlauskas sent in some additional commentary and it is as follows:
Big Kaz says: I decided to come out to Albion Park around 1:30 in the hopes that there would still be some players at the courts. Mike Mole, Dino and another gentlemen (probably Edwin) were still there working on their serves.
Mike stayed to play with me for a bit while the other guys left. After a brief hitting session, we decided to play a set.
In what ended up being the first One-Setter, I took an early lead of 4-0. But Mike did a good job of coming back and breaking me a couple of times. In the Tiebreak, I was leading 5-1 and Mike came back and cut my lead to 6-5. However, I was able to get the final point and take the set.
Then we decided to play another set (the second One-Setter). I took an early lead again at 2-0 and that is when my game just turned off. Mike M. took the next 5 games to take the lead at 5-2. I was able to hold my serve to cut his lead to 5-3. However, Mike served it out for the win. In this second One-Setter, Mike played really consistent forehand and backhand shots while my game just abandoned me and all the shots started sailing long or short.
Samara's Notes: I thank Gen and both Mikes for their very timely reporting. All in all, it was a solid session and it was nice to be back at Albion.
All the best,
Frank Samara
"Samara hosts 14 at AP!:
There was just one session of GTA Sunday Tennis: the usual morning session at The Albion Park Courts hosted by "Hollywood" Frank Samara.
When Samara pulled up to the courts at 10am, he saw "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak out on the North Court (Ryan said he gotten there around 9:50 as he first thought 10am would be the starting-time per the e-mail from Samara...turns out Frank had originally said 10:30) while "The Vin Man" Vinnie De Benedetto was still waiting in his car.
Frank and Vin soon walked down the hill and through the gate before stepping onto the North Court as they each hit against Ryan until they later switched it up with Samara going solo.
It took a while for a fourth player to arrive. These three players were hoping for some Doubles.
Finally, "MC Quick" Mike Carruci came through at 10:35. Samara soon proposed the idea of a full Doubles Match which would enable his team with De Benedetto to remain active in the ranks of the Doubles Division while Ryan and Mike could get ranked as a team as well.
The only possible problem was the fact that both Vin and Mike said they needed to leave around noon. So Frank proposed the idea of a 10-Point Super Tiebreak if the two teams ended up splitting sets. The only caveat being at that point, the rank of the Samara/De Benedetto team would no longer be on the line. The match would then just serve the purpose of keeping that Samara/De Benedetto tandem active in the ranks while also introducing the Pienciak/Carucci team into the Doubles Division.
The other three players were fine with this proposal. And, as it turns out, it was a good thing that said conversation was had ahead of time.
The match officially got underway at exactly 10:43. Around seven minutes later, GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro arrived and sat for a bit to watch the match.
The idea of scrapping the match and having it only be a One-Setter in order to make sure that Chiaro would not be "the fifth wheel" for too long did come up...but it also did not last long as "Mr. 500" Levy Lorenzo was the next to arrive at 10:55.
At 11am, both "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes and "Coach" Dino Celis made their way (separately) to the courts. Soon there was a hitting session on Center Court as both Chris and Levy hit to Nate. Meanwhile, Dino was eating his lunch while sitting on the bench alongside the North Court.
At 11:15, "Lean" Dean Delgado, "Bravo" Brenda Jordan and "Dominant" Dawn Peterson all arrived at the same time. This led to Levy shifting over to the South Court with the three of them for some Mixed Doubles (it ended up becoming a full 2 out of 3 Sets Match) while Chiaro and Fernandes faced off in a Singles One-Setter on Center Court.
Celis, who fashions himself as something of a "photog", took some pics of the action going on at the courts around this time.
The Chiaro-Fernandes One-Setter finished at 11:45 and then Chris left just as "Eddie O" Edwin Ortega was arriving. Five minutes later, "Holy Moly" Mike Mole also made his way toward the courts.
Mike and Edwin soon joined Nate and Dino in watching the way the full Men's Doubles Match was playing out on the North Court as a 2nd Set Tiebreak then gave way to a full 10-Point Super Tiebreak! That match finally finished at 12:13. Kudos to both Vin and Mike for hanging in and seeing it through to its proper conclusion. They both left immediately after and Frank and Ryan then took the bench alongside the North Court to allow the four guys who had been waiting there a chance to play on the North Court. Though first, Pienciak threw out an Open Challenge for someone to play him in Singles, but nobody bit at the bait.
The two teams of Fernandes/Celis and Mole/Ortega got their One-Setter underway at exactly 12:17. Eight minutes later, "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan made her way onto the courts and soon entered into a hitting session with Pienciak on Center Court.
Hot on her heels was "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli, but he was only coming to make an extended cameo appearance as he looked to be quite banged up from his earlier Sunday football game at Latteri Park in Clifton.
When the Men's Doubles One-Setter on the North Court ended, Dino willingly pulled himself out of the next one in order to let Ryan take his place. Celis and Capan then continued the hitting session on Center Court.
When the full Mixed Doubles Match finished on the South Court at 12:49, we did not have anyone in place to keep the court. As a result, a mother with her two young boys were able to take it over at 1:05. But, eventually, once Dino grew tired of hitting and joined Frank and Spin on the bench alongside the North Court...Gen headed over to that court and hit with the boys all the way until 2pm.
The last Doubles One-Setter on the North Court ended exactly at 1:01. Mole then issued an Open Challenge for Singles. Pienciak was tempted to bite at it, but knew he already had to leave if he wanted to stay in the good graces of his wife and children. So Edwin jumped at the opportunity instead as Ryan called it a day.
Frank and Spin both left at 1:30 and Dino would soon follow as well.
After Mole battled Ortega, he then faced off against "Big Kaz" Mike Kazlauskas. This gave us a total of 14 official competitors (which does not include Gen who only got involved in hitting sessions).
Given how extraordinary the weather was...sunny and 70 plus degrees with no wind...some of us were actually surprised that the total number of players wasn't even higher.
Let's now go to the results.
The Albion Park Results:
2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:
Frank Samara/Vinnie De Benedetto over Ryan Pienciak/Mike Carucci, 6-2, 6-7 (7-2), 10-7 (STB), to remain active in the Doubles Division (their rank was no longer on the line once it went to the Super Tiebreak) as the Pienciak/Carucci team entered the division as the New # 68 Ranked Team! No Aces.
1st Set: Frank held serve (Mike blew an overhead and then Frank hit a drop shot winner in the next point to go up 30-Love and then Ryan hit a hard return which forced Vin to blow a volley for 30-15, but then it went to Double Game Point and the hold), Ryan held (un-returned serve for 15-Love, 30-Love, 30-15 and then Double Game Point where Mike hit a winning volley to secure his partner's hold), Vinnie held (Triple Break Point where an un-returned serve made it Double Break Point and then Vin hit a vicious volley to cut it to Break Point where Frank hit a passing shot winner which was a shot hit on the run that made its way over the post as it streaked down the Doubles Alley out of the opposition's reach and now it was Deuce and then Game Point where Frank hit another impressive winner, this time down the middle to secure his partner's hold), but Mike was the first to be broken (Double Fault for Love-30, it then shifted to 30-All with an un-returned serve and then a winning Backhand Volley by Ryan, but then Vin hit a winning Overhead Smash to set up Break Point where another Double Fault caused Mike to break himself) for a 1-3 start! Samara held again (an un-returned serve followed by a blown overhead by Ryan made it 30-Love, it then went to 30-15, Double Game Point and the hold), but Pienciak was broken (Frank hit his Windmill Overhead Smash which found its landing place back near the baseline but also gave enough time for Ryan to run it down and send back a short lob of a shot right where Vin placed himself only to then find himself confused and not play it at all as it ended up being a strange winner for 15-Love, then a Double Fault made it 15-All, it then went 15-30, 30-All, Break Point and the break) to fall to 1-5. De Benedetto was also broken and it was all his partner's fault as Frank blew back-to-back volleys and then blew an overhead to set up Triple Break Point where Frank redeemed himself slightly with one winning volley to bring it down to Double Break Point only to mess things up again with a blown volley for the break as his team's lead was cut to 5-2! But Carucci was broken again (Frank hit a victorious volley for Love-15, then it was 15-All, a Double Fault for 15-30 and then it was 30-All where Vin hit another one of his signature volleys to set up Break/Set Point where Frank hit a more whipping Windmill Overhead Smash than his previous one to get the break and take the set) as this set ended exactly at 11:08 (it had gotten underway on the North Court at 10:43)! Just one minute later, they were onto the next one.
2nd Set: Frank was broken at Love as Ryan made a winning return and a great get along the way, Ryan then held at Love as Vin blew two volleys on the way to Triple Game Point and then an un-returned serve secured the hold and then Vinnie found himself down Love-30 on his serve after Mike hit a winning volley and then he hit a winning Backhand Volley. This meant that the Pienciak/Carucci tandem had just taken the first ten points of the set! It then shifted to 30-All, however, as Frank made a great get to swing one of those two winning points in his team's favor. But then it went to Break Point and the break as Vinnie was broken for 0-3! Mike was broken (started with a Double Fault and then Vin hit a winning Overhead Smash for Love-30, it shifted to 30-All as both Mike and Ryan hit winners, but then came Break Point and the break) and Samara held (back-to-back winning volleys by Vin made it 30-Love, but then it shifted straight to Break Point as Vin blew a volley and Ryan hit a winning return along the way, but then it went to Deuce where Vin hit a winning Overhead Smash for Game Point where Vin followed up with yet another winning Overhead Smash to secure the hold) to pull to 2-3. Pienciak held again (Frank hit a wicked and winning Overhead Smash for Love-15, but then it went right to Double Game Point as Mike hit a winning volley and Frank blew a volley along the way and then Frank blew an overhead to allow the hold) as his team went up 4-2! De Benedetto held (an excellent rally opened the game at 15-Love and then it was 30-Love where Ryan hit one of his monster Overhead Smashes for 30-15, it then went to Double Game Point and Game Point where Frank hit a winning Backhand Volley to secure his partner's hold) and Carucci was broken again (Frank made a great get/winner combo that had Mike backpedaling to make it Love-30, it was then Triple Break Point where Ryan hit another one of his big chopping Overhead Smashes to cut it down to Double Break Point, but then Ryan blew a volley to allow the break) to knot the score at 4-4! Hollywood held again (Vin hit a winning volley for 30-Love, it then went 30-15, Double Game Point where Ryan made a great get/return combo on a near ace that caused Vin to blow the volley and bring it to Game Point where an un-returned serve secured the hold) to earn his team's first lead of the set at 5-4, but The Lumberjack held yet again (15-Love was where what was perhaps the rally of the match ended with an awesome get/winner combo from Frank for 15-All which was then answered by an untouchable drop shot winner by Ryan for 30-15, it then went to 30-All and Break/Set Point where Ryan made an amazing get/winner combo of his own to bring it to Deuce and then Vin blew a volley to set up Game Point and then came the hold) to stay alive at 5-5! The Vin Man also held again (30-Love, 30-15 where Vin hit a big-time winning Overhead Smash for Double Game Point which was where Ryan made another great get/winner combo to cut it down to Game Point, but then came the hold) to go up 6-5, but then MC Quick came through in the clutch with a hold of his own (Love-15 went straight to Double Game Point as Vin blew an overhead, Mike made one of his speedy gets that caught Vin so unaware that he ended up blowing the volley by missing the shot entirely and then the hold came at that D.G.P.) to force the Tiebreak! In the Breaker: Frank was broken on his lone serve and then Ryan was broken on the first of his two serves when Frank hit a winner, but then Ryan replied with a winner of his own to hold his second serve for 2-1. Vinnie was broken on the first of his two serves to fall to 1-3, but then held his second to pull to 2-3. But from there, Mike held the first of his two serves for 4-2 at the changeover and then he held his second as well after Ryan hit a crushing Overhead Smash for a 5-2 lead! Samara was broken on the first of his two serves when Ryan hit a winning volley which made it 2-6 and Break/Set Point going into his second service where Ryan hit another one of those whopping Overhead Smashes to get the break, the point, the TB and the set to level the match at 12noon (they had begun this Tiebreak at 11:55)! In the very next minute, they were into the Super Tiebreak!
STB: Ryan was broken on his lone serve after Vin hit a vicious volley, but then Vin blew a volley on his first serve for 1-1 only to have Ryan then blow a volley to allow a 2-1 lead for the opposition. Mike was then broken on his first serve after Vin hit a blast of an Overhead Smash for 1-3, but then Mike held his second serve to pull to 2-3. Frank held the first of his two serves for 4-2 at the changeover and then was broken on his second to have his team's lead cut to 4-3. Pienciak was then broken on both of his serves to fall to 3-6 and then De Benedetto held the first of his two serves after Frank scored with a drop shot winner that had just a little extra slice on it as they went up 7-3! Vin was then broken on his second serve and Carucci held the first of his two serves after Ryan hit an emphatic winner of an Overhead Smash to pull to 5-7 at the time of the second changeover. Mike was broken on his second serve, however, as an 8-5 lead was now handed to the opposition with Samara now going on serve. Ryan made an amazing get/winner combo that caused Frank to be broken on his first serve and have his team's lead cut to 8-6, but Samara then held his second service to go up 9-6 and set up Match Point. Service now returned to The Lumberjack who cut down that first M.P. with another chopping Overhead Smash to pull to 7-9 and the 2nd Match Point. And then what happened next was the proverbial pin in the balloon as the air of opportunity burst in a most anticlimactic fashion when Ryan hit a Double Fault to end this one as unceremoniously as one could imagine at 7-10! The time was 12:13 as both Vin and Mike headed for the hills to get home as soon as possible.
The Skinny: In a year full of great Doubles Matches, this one may miss the cut in consideration as a Nominee for Doubles Match of The Year at season's end. Had it not ended with that Double Fault and perhaps if Pienciak held for 8-10...the chances for consideration would then greatly increase. Oh well! Still, it was a lot of fun and Carucci seemingly improved over the course of the match. Meanwhile, his partner Pienciak was much like the opposition - Samara and De Benedetto, as they all had really hot moments followed by some downright cold and ugly ones.
Chris Chiaro over Nathan Fernandes, 6-3! No Aces. This was contested on Center Court from 11:20 to 11:45. Chris left immediately after and then Nate had a hitting session with Dino before both of them were called into Doubles action.
2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Doubles Match:
Dean Delgado/Brenda Jordan over Levy Lorenzo/Dawn Peterson, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5), as both teams entered the Mixed Doubles Division as the New # 44 and # 45 Ranked Teams respectively! No Aces. This match took place on the South Court from 11:25 to 12:49.
Nathan Fernandes/Dino Celis over Mike Mole/Edwin Ortega, 6-0! Dino: 1 Ace on Mike. This one did not occupy too much time on the North Court as it started at 12:17 and was over at 12:36!
Nathan Fernandes/Ryan Pienciak over Mike Mole/Edwin Ortega, 6-2! No Aces. Another battle fought on the North Court, it lasted from 12:37 to 1:01.
Edwin Ortega over Mike Mole, 6-4! No Aces. This one got underway on the North Court at 1:05. Not sure when it ended as I had left before it finished.
Mike Kazlauskas over Mike Mole, 7-6 (7-5)! No Aces. Gen said this one got going on the North Court right around 2pm as she was leaving.
Mike Mole over Mike Kazlauskas, 6-3! No Aces. Mole reported that they did not have time to play a 3rd Set and make it a full match.
Mike Kazlauskas sent in some additional commentary and it is as follows:
Big Kaz says: I decided to come out to Albion Park around 1:30 in the hopes that there would still be some players at the courts. Mike Mole, Dino and another gentlemen (probably Edwin) were still there working on their serves.
Mike stayed to play with me for a bit while the other guys left. After a brief hitting session, we decided to play a set.
In what ended up being the first One-Setter, I took an early lead of 4-0. But Mike did a good job of coming back and breaking me a couple of times. In the Tiebreak, I was leading 5-1 and Mike came back and cut my lead to 6-5. However, I was able to get the final point and take the set.
Then we decided to play another set (the second One-Setter). I took an early lead again at 2-0 and that is when my game just turned off. Mike M. took the next 5 games to take the lead at 5-2. I was able to hold my serve to cut his lead to 5-3. However, Mike served it out for the win. In this second One-Setter, Mike played really consistent forehand and backhand shots while my game just abandoned me and all the shots started sailing long or short.
Samara's Notes: I thank Gen and both Mikes for their very timely reporting. All in all, it was a solid session and it was nice to be back at Albion.
All the best,
Frank Samara
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