1/06/17:
The Official 2016 GTA Achievement Awards and Nominations:
For the 2015 Season, the Official GTA Achievement Awards and Nominations were announced on December 31st 2015. This year, they are being presented January 6th. So, compared to last year, we are somewhat behind schedule with this presentation. But two years ago they were presented on the fifth of January. Thus, overall we are pretty much in line with past presentations time-wise.
The 2014 and 2015 Seasons both had been two of the most active years in the league's history when we considered the amount of new players introduced to the league, the number of sessions and the increased amount of organized tournaments. In that regard, it had been the busiest season of all-time!
Much like the 2015 Season, some trends continued into this past 2016 Season. Once again, we took the league to activity levels never seen before on the Women's side! 2016 was the first season in the league's history to feature two Women's Singles Tournaments, two Women's Doubles Tournaments and two Mixed Doubles Tournaments.
Frank Samara's involvement in running the league was similar to the year before as well (meaning it was down somewhat compared to prior seasons, yet was still enough to make sure all crucial issues remained afloat).
The biggest change this season was the Clifton location for both GTA Weeknight Tennis and GTA Sunday Tennis. When the City of Clifton surprisingly took it upon themselves to redo five of their tennis court locations (a total of twelve courts…and long overdue!), Robin Hood Park was not one of them. RHP had been redone in August of 2009 while seemingly no other Clifton locations had been touched in many more years than that.
The first shift this season was to Holster Park in Clifton (a location with which we have had some past history…especially the GTA Championship Matches between Tom Giarraffa and Frank Samara back in 2010). But when the summer temps went sky high, we found that the HP experience was quite similar to our time at The MSU Courts back in the mid-2000's…no shade at all, feeling like you're baking in the sun!
So then the next shift was to Albion Park in Clifton (at the suggestion of one "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli). This has now become the new Clifton home for the GTA (though some players still hold small session at the old stomping grounds, RHP) for good reason. While it has the similar court setup to RHP (East to West rather than the recommended North to South), there is plenty of shade (more trees than RHP), plenty of parking and plenty of surrounding park space (including a playground for the kids that is also well-shaded).
All in all, the Clifton scene in general continues to fade over the years while there once again was an unprecedented amount of GTA action in Cedar Grove. Kris Srinivasan, along with his wife Doinks, was more than happy to manage the overflow of talent while also often recruiting new players (who happened to be at the courts) into our league. Samara stepped up on several occasions as well to act as host.
A few years ago (in a similar GTA Achievement Awards report) we mentioned how Kris was more than willing to take over the hosting duties there and subsequently cement Cedar Grove as a solid second location for the Global Tennis Association. Last season, we said it could be rightfully argued that Cedar Grove has truly become the primary location for the GTA (not counting Sundays, of course). Well, this season there is no doubt that the majority of GTA matches take place up at C.G.
In addition to all of that, we had many other players who took it upon themselves to schedule Challenge and/or Tournament Matches in Wood-Ridge, Ridgefield Park, Wayne, Montclair and Woodland Park (aka West Paterson). Plus, in the early weeks and latter weeks of each season, there are The Night Owl sessions at The Wayne Bubble as well.
There is absolutely no doubt that the 2016 Season ranks amongst the biggest seasons (in terms of the quantity of players and the amount of sessions and matches) in the entire 24-plus year history of the GTA! As such, this season's activities required a great amount of research in order to properly determine the rightful nominees and winners for both the individual awards and the awards that recognize the matches that were contested.
For the last couple of years now, I felt it was necessary to explain the parameters of the categories to all the "newbies." And I find it to be essential to do that once again given the fact that the 2016 Season has had the biggest rookie class (breaking the record set in the 2015 Season) in the league's history. So, it once again becomes crucial to detail the process and the rules. Plus, there will be a couple of changes this year as each season presents opportunities for certain awards to not make a return appearance from the year before while others may be resurrected from years past. We will also be adding four new award categories this year.
There is (and always has been) a maximum of five nominees per category. Seven years ago, we said that there were no exceptions to that rule except for the fact that there could be less than five if a particular category did not warrant the full amount. However, five years ago we did an Academy Awards style sellout as we expanded two categories to ten nominees each! As they started doing at the Oscar ceremony five years ago (presenting ten nominees for their Movie of The Year category), we will stay with just five nominees for our most important award (the 2016 GTA Player of The Year) and the majority of our awards, but the two categories that were granted the extra nominees were the One-Set Doubles Match of The Year Award and the One-Set Specialty Doubles Match of The Year Award.
Since last season (and likely going forward), we are now allowing a third category to have ten nominees instead of just five: One-Set Mixed Doubles Match of The Year. There were just so many amazing Doubles One-Setters this past year across these three categories, that to only recognize five in each one would be a true injustice. One primary reason for this up-tick in activity is the continued increased amount of female participation.
Let's get back to the traditional rules of the annual awards that are presented in the GTA.
The Most Improved Player of The Year Award will never include players still in their rookie year in the GTA. It is for the players that have at least spent one prior season (could be partial) with us as that is how we're measuring the improvement…from season to season. Sometimes, the improvements are evident by a jump in the rankings while at other times they may only be noticeably visible by the action on the court.
This season we are revisiting an award that has been an inconsistent presence in this presentation over the years: the Comeback Player of The Year Award. This does not recognize the talents of a certain player to make a great comeback within a match. Rather, this recognizes someone who was away from the league for a year or more or had to take themselves off the rank due to serious injury only to return again after that. There were three players this year that fit this category. Being nominated in this category prevents one from also being nominated in the Most Improved category.
Then there are two categories that reward those players who have just had their first season with us: Newcomer of The Year and Rookie of The Year. The difference between the two is that the Newcomer award goes to a player who obviously has some extensive experience, but has just entered the GTA in the past year. Whereas the Rookie award goes to a player who may just be getting started with the GTA or sometimes tennis altogether. They may also be someone who dusted off the rust with us this year and their "tennis rebirth" somewhat made them a "born again rookie."
For the past couple of years, the true deciding differential between the two is a Newcomer was one who made the jump from the Non-Competing Men's Division directly into the Advanced Division while the others went from the NCMD to the Intermediate Division first. From there, the Rookies may have eventually made an additional leap up to the "A" Division. But we can still consider a stronger player as a Newcomer if they only made a brief pit stop in the "I-M" Division before making the eventual permanent leap into the "A" Division. It should also be noted that if a player never competed in a full 2 out of 3 Sets Singles Challenge Match to get themselves out of the Non-Competing Men's Division, they are not eligible for either award.
The Most Inspirational Player of The Year Award recognizes those who overcame some obstacles, but still turned in some gutsy performances. Often it honors those who suffered spectacular on-court injuries. Other times, it remembers those who dealt with off-court health issues and still found a way to return to action. As we made the change five seasons ago, this year and all years going forward it will now be known as The Michael Ruggiano Memorial - Most Inspirational Player of The Year Award.
For those that were not with us a season ago, Michael Ruggiano was the first cousin of both Frank Samara and Dan Delli Santi (two of the league's founders). Had the league been started in the Summer of 1991 (as it almost was) instead of the Spring of 1992, Ruggiano would have been amongst the first players in the history of the GTA. As it turned out, Michael never did see any official GTA action in his lifetime. In August of 2011, he was diagnosed with Acute Lymphatic Leukemia. The original prognosis was that he could be in remission within six months. Instead, he was taken from us in just four months despite a determined and valiant effort. He was fighting for his life right until the day he died (December 17th 2011). Renaming the Most Inspirational Award in his honor is just one small way we can continue to pay tribute to him in the years to come.
For the Greatest Performances of the Year awards (Singles and Doubles), depending upon the match involved we may see just the winner or winners gain recognition for their efforts or both sides of the equation may be honored for their participation.
Some seasons ago, once we saw an increase in activity in the Intermediate and Women's Divisions, we felt the need to add additional award categories to further reward those players. The Intermediate Division saw a new Intermediate Match of The Year Award to go along with the already existing Intermediate Player of The Year Award. That will all remain the same this year. In 2010, we also added a One-Set Intermediate Match of The Year Award.
For the past couple of years, if there was a match (full 2 out of 3 Sets or a One-Setter) that featured an Advanced Division player versus an Intermediate Division player, it would fall into the Advanced match categories. Four years ago, we changed that and began sending those types of matches into the Intermediate match categories as it helped "spread the wealth" in terms of overall Nominations. And if such a match involves two players that are what we call "bridge" players (i.e. simultaneously ranked in both the Advanced and Intermediate Divisions), we may choose to nominate them in the Intermediate category if the Advanced category is already too full with worthy Nominations.
On the Women's side, in addition to all the categories that honor women as individuals or team participants in the league, we only had one category that recognized their contributions to on-court action: Specialty Match of The Year. For the 2009 Awards, we split it into two categories: One-Set Specialty Match of The Year and Specialty Match of The Year (for full 2 out of 3 Set Matches). "Specialty Matches" were any that featured women in any form: Women's Singles, Women's Doubles, Mixed Doubles, Mixed Singles, and Mixed Gender Doubles (which could be any combo of players where one or more women were involved).
In 2010, the Women's Division finally blossomed into a fully functioning singles division. Likewise, the Mixed Doubles Division had an unprecedented year. Thus, we added many new awards categories to recognize the growth in these areas: Women's Match of The Year, One-Set Women's Match of The Year, Mixed Doubles Match of The Year, One-Set Mixed Doubles Match of The Year and Women's Doubles Match of The Year. Three years ago, we also added a One-Set Women's Doubles Match of The Year.
For the past few seasons now, the Specialty Match of The Year Award and One-Set Specialty Match of The Year Awards will remain but now only focus on the matches that featured non-traditional formats such as: Man versus Woman, Men versus Women, Three Men and One Women involved in the match or Three Women and One Man involved in the match.
We then divided the One-Set Specialty Match of The Year Award into two categories: One-Set Singles Specialty Match of The Year and One-Set Doubles Specialty Match of The Year. Like One-Set Doubles Match of The Year, there were so many worthy One-Set Doubles Specialty Matches - that is the category that will continue to feature ten official Nominees. The One-Set Singles Specialty Match of The Year Award will be limited to just five Nominees (as is the case with the majority of the Awards here).
We will do all the same for this season, but also (like last year) add Singles Specialty Match of The Year and Doubles Specialty Match of The Year for full 2 out of 3 Set Specialty Matches that were played this past year.
Two award categories that were revived four years ago were the Women's Doubles Team of The Year and the Women's Doubles Match of The Year. They carry on this year as we did see an unprecedented amount of action in the Women's Doubles Division in the 2016 Season.
One award category that was added five years ago that will be placed on the shelf this season is the Women's Newcomer of The Year Award as there was no true female player coming into the league with a considerable wealth of experience this past year. There were others, however, who were either just getting their start in this sport or dusting off their rustiness.
For that latter group, we have the Women's Rookie of The Year Award. It was dormant last season, but will be revived this season.
Four new award categories added last year and continued again this season are as follows: Doubles Player of The Year, Doubles Specialist of The Year, Women's Doubles Player of The Year and Women's Doubles Specialist of The Year.
We have always recognized a Doubles Team of The Year. But over time, you realize that certain players excel in just about any Doubles setting you put them in (for the guys, Men's Doubles and Mixed Doubles, and for the ladies, Women's Doubles and Mixed Doubles). It seems that frequent success and/or victory is able to become much more of a foregone conclusion once one of these individuals is on a certain team.
The difference between our Doubles Players and our Doubles Specialists is that the "Players" are those that also compete in the Singles Divisions while our "Specialists" are content to only truly compete in Doubles while their names remain in the Non-Competing Singles Divisions on our GTA Rankings.
As was added for the 2010 GTA Achievement Awards, the Awards Presentation this year will once again feature a "Rationale" explanation for each category and "Honorable Mentions" to honor those who just missed the cut. Honorable Mentions do not count as official Nominations. Thus, they will not help to add to a player's overall Nominations Total, but will at least give them some written recognition for their achievements within a specific category. Unlike the Nominations, Honorable Mentions are simply listed in chronological order and are not ranked.
Also, to be eligible for an Individual Award, a player must still be active in the GTA Rankings at year's end. Match Awards are completely exempt from this rule as it is the match being awarded first and foremost (though the players do receive the wins and nominations accordingly). The lone exception is if you had been a reigning Champ this calendar year in a given category.
Enough explanations, it is time for the Awards…and the Total Nominations count follows after all of the official Award categories. I warn you now that this is a lot to read, but the season that was 2016 (ever since the league truly expanded back in 2010) deserves nothing less.
2016 GTA Player of The Year:
Winner: Chris Chiaro
The other Nominees:
Nathan Fernandes
Raj Shah
Marijus Kuzavas
Moka Pathan
The Rationale: Some years, it makes sense that The Top 5 Nominees (including the Winner) should be The Top 5 of The GTA Rankings at season's end. Other years, it does not make sense to go that way. The 2016 Season falls into the former category…well, somewhat. The year end's Top 4 make sense here as well, but then we must drop down in the ranks a bit to find our righteous fifth nominee. We must keep in mind that we are looking for the players that were truly the most successful, both in terms of their victories and their overall tournament and/or Championship accomplishments.
Chris Chiaro won the GTA Championship from Moka Pathan early in the season. Pathan decided to forego the immediate rematch (due to Ramadan) and allowed Chiaro to take on other challengers. Then, Chris was told to wait for a winner to emerge from the Grove Cup Tournament (which, once again, took much longer than expected to complete). But once Nathan Fernandes won the Cup and challenged Chiaro for the GTA Championship, he was dismissed in straight sets (though the 1st Set was an absolute classic). Thus, Chiaro was the most dominant player and is the clear winner of this award. Fernandes is the clear runner-up as he was the 2016 Grove Cup Champ and was on an undefeated run this season until he ran into Chiaro. Raj Shah was the other Grove Cup Finalist and had an impressive victory over Rob Ryan in the Grove Cup Quarters. Marijus Kuzavas was a steady presence in The Top 5 throughout the season and deserves recognition here for a second straight season. As for the fifth nominee, it has to be Moka Pathan…even though he finished the season ranked 10th in the Advanced Division. He won the GTA Championship from Ryan early in the season. He then lost the Title to Chiaro. As mentioned earlier, he did not take the rematch. He also withdrew from his Grove Cup match against Fernandes in order to allow the tournament to move on in a more timely fashion. Thus, we really don't know how much further (or how much higher) Pathan could have taken his 2016 Season.
Honorable Mention: In almost any other season, being one of the three players to hold the GTA Championship this past year would be enough to earn an official nomination here. But not this season as Rob Ryan just misses the cut as he lost the GTA Championship to Pathan in his very first defense of it. He then had a decent run through the Grove Cup until he ran into Shah. Other than his official tournament obligations, he was somewhat inactive this season. Anish Mehta finished the season in The Top 5 (in the 5 spot), but still needs to face a greater array of competition in the league before he earns an official nomination here. Dino Celis was also an on and off presence in The Top 5 this past year and quite possibly the most active player in full Singles matches. Both Tony Shiao and Chazz Weldon had a breakthrough season as each finally cracked The Top 5 which enabled them to fully graduate from the Intermediate Division.
2016 GTA Intermediate Player of The Year:
Winner: Tony Shiao
The other Nominees:
Chazz Weldon
Senthil Kumar
Joe Rodrigues
Greg Swierczek
The Rationale: After a long time working his way up in the Intermediate Division and advancing further and further in the annual GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament, this was the year that Tony Shiao finally broke through and won the entire event. Soon after, he broke into The Top 5 of The Advanced Division and became overqualified for competition in the I-M Division (he did this without winning the GTA Intermediate Title first as others have done in the past…Nathan Fernandes immediately comes to mind). Chazz Weldon began the season as the GTA Intermediate Champ. Then he, too, finally made his way into The Top 5 of The Advanced Division which forced him to vacate the I-M Title and leave the division. This "advancement" should be the ultimate goal of any Intermediate Player. Much like Shiao and Weldon, the reigning GTA Intermediate Champ: Senthil Kumar had a breakthrough year and he also cracked the "A" Division's Top 10. His stated goal for the 2017 Season is to crack The Top 5 of The Advanced Division and also leave the I-M Division behind. Joe Rodrigues finally made the long-awaited jump into the Advanced Division (making him a "bridge player" like Kumar who finds himself in both divisions at once) and he ended the 2016 Season as the Top Contender to the I-M Title. Greg Swierczek was in the GTA Intermediate Title Match to determine a New Champ which he lost to Kumar, but he is another player who has Championship potential in this division.
Honorable Mentions: Jay Phoenix, Omar Santos, Edwin Ortega, Andrew Truong, Mike Mole, Mike Kazlauskas and Scott Bergenfeld. These are the players that round out The Top 10 of The Intermediate Division at season's end. All were very active in Singles Matches throughout the season. Kazlauskas and Bergenfeld fell toward the bottom of the Top 10 bracket when they became somewhat less active in Singles toward the end of the year.
2016 GTA Doubles Team of The Year:
Winners: Norman Taclob and Tito Castolo
The other Nominees:
Chris Chiaro and Raj Shah
Ryan Pienciak and Nick Inciong
Marijus Kuzavas and Mike Kazlauskas
Nathan Fernandes and Moka Pathan
The Rationale: Taclob/Castolo are the current and still undefeated GTA Doubles Champions. They did not have much of an active season due to having to wait for winning teams to emerge from both the M2 and Monk Memorial Men's Doubles Tournaments. They will have to face both of those victorious teams early on in the 2017 Season. Chiaro/Shah are the still undefeated (not counting Non-Title Matches) Former GTA Doubles Champs who were stripped of the Titles at the beginning of the season for failure to defend them in a timely manner. They later went onto win the M2 Tournament and will have their chance to regain the Titles early in 2017. Pienciak/Inciong were the winners of the Monk Memorial Tournament and are also entitled to a shot at the reigning GTA Doubles Champs early next season. Kuzavas/Kazlauskas were M2 Finalists who extended Chiaro/Shah to three sets while Fernandes/Pathan gave a tough straight set tussle to Chiaro/Shah in the M2 Semis.
Honorable Mentions: Dwight Thomas Sr./Dwight Thomas Jr. (aka The Dwights) split sets with Chiaro/Shah in the M2 Tournament and then that match never saw its proper finish due to back and forth scheduling negotiations running afoul of the time constraints of the tournament. Had that match been conclusively concluded with The Dwights emerging victorious, they surely would have earned an actual nomination here. Frank Samara/Vinnie De Benedetto spent the entire season in The Top 5 of The Doubles Division, but suffered somewhat of an upset loss (via a 10-Point Super Tiebreak) to Lou La Forgia/Jorge Solano during the M2 Tournament. La Forgia/Solano could have received an Honorable Mention had they remained an active team at the end of the season. Raj Shah/Raj Boddu were the Cedar Grove Finalists (and overall Semifinalists) in the Monk Memorial Tournament, but missed out on an official nomination here due to being so soundly defeated by Pienciak/Inciong in the Monk Memorial Final. Pienciak's other team with buddy and frequent partner, Tony Shiao, also had a solid season.
2016 GTA Doubles Player of The Year:
Winner: Chris Chiaro
The other Nominees:
Raj Shah
Nathan Fernandes
Ryan Pienciak
Frank Samara
The Rationale: Chris Chiaro and Raj Shah, last year's Winner and top Runner-Up in this category, duplicate that feat again this season as each is always a strong partner in just about any Doubles situation…and even stronger when they come together. Each one makes any team more formidable whether it is in Men's Doubles or Mixed Doubles competition. If Chiaro or Shah are not around, usually the most sought out Doubles partner is Nathan Fernandes. He carried many teams to strong results this season. Ryan Pienciak ended up being part of two Top 10 ranked teams by the end of the season. Historically speaking, Frank Samara is the most decorated Men's Doubles Player ever in GTA history as he has held the GTA Doubles Championship more times (and with more partners) than anyone else. Like last season, he once again had a solid run on the Men's Doubles side (still with Vinnie De Benedetto in the upper ranks and then many others in One-Setter situations), but was surprisingly less active on the Mixed Doubles side of the ledger this past year.
Honorable Mentions: Marijus Kuzavas, one half of his teaming with Mike Kazlauskas (aka M&M, aka The Lanky Lithuanians) also has success on the Mixed Doubles side with his wife Sally Pillay and last season with Christine Toth. Norman Taclob, ended the season as one half of the reigning GTA Doubles Champs (with Tito Castolo as his partner), but was largely inactive beyond that. Lou La Forgia is always a solid partner and he had a good run in The M2 with Jorge Solano and ended up in The Top 10 with Chiaro as well. Senthil Kumar has become quite the steady force in Doubles situations. Mike Kazlauskas and Moka Pathan both ably supported their partners and thus found themselves nominated in the Doubles Team category this year. Same holds true for Chazz Weldon, except on the Mixed Doubles side. John Incognito always manages to raise his game even further in Doubles situations and continues to prove to be a very steady partner. Dan Martinelli, who may soon be nearing the end of his Singles activity in this league continues to remain a force in just about any Doubles situation. Jorge Solano and Rob Gawley are another two guys who if they decided to forego further Singles competition could easily find themselves as official nominees in our next category next season.
2016 GTA Doubles Specialist of The Year:
Winner: Tito Castolo
The other Nominees:
Nick Inciong
Vinnie De Benedetto
Levy Lorenzo
Tom La
The Rationale: Last year, we said that a coin flip could have been used to justify determining the Winner and the top Runner-Up here as Nick Inciong just edged out Tito Castolo as the overall winner as both are such a sure thing in Doubles situations. This year, Castolo comes out on top as he ends the season as one half of both the GTA Doubles Champions and GTA Mixed Doubles Champions. Inciong is the solid runner-up as he was one half of the 2016 Monk Memorial Champs (with Pienciak as his partner). Speaking of solid partners, Vinnie De Benedetto had another steady season with Samara as his main partner, but also in many other Doubles situations as well. Levy Lorenzo has emerged this season as another sound Doubles specialist. Tom La is another solid player who seems to prefer to just remain on the Doubles side of things. He was inactive for much of the season with lingering injuries, but came on strong by year's end.
Honorable Mentions: Felix Castolo is the brother of Tito and has a similar style. He does not play with us all that often as he does not reside in the area. Dwight Thomas Sr. and Dwight Thomas Jr. are an awesome father/son combo, but each would likely find success teaming with just about anyone.
2016 GTA Most Improved Player of The Year:
Winner: Tony Shiao
The other Nominees:
Senthil Kumar
Mike Mole
Joe Rodrigues
Jay Phoenix
The Rationale: This is one of those categories where it is such a close call between the Winner and the top Runner-Up as both improved significantly and each one's name was consistently mentioned throughout the season whenever the subject of "Most Improved Player" was brought up in conversation. The slight difference between Tony Shiao and Senthil Kumar is the fact that Shiao made the jump out of the Intermediate Division and also won their head-to-head match-up in the Finals of the GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament. Shiao then went on to have key victories over Norman Taclob and Chazz Weldon as well. Had Mike Mole not blown a 4-1 3rd Set lead over Nathan Fernandes late in the season, he may have snuck past both Shiao and Kumar to emerge as the Winner here. Joe Rodrigues finally made the long-awaited jump into the Advanced Division…a feat that many thought he should have accomplished a long time ago. Jay Phoenix had a bit of a rebound year results-wise and even pulled off a One-Setter victory over Frank Samara along the way.
Honorable Mentions: Marijus Kuzavas, last year's winner in this category, had another season of steady improvement…just not as dramatic as last year. Chazz Weldon finally made the leap out of the Intermediate Division, but the skill set that enabled him to do so has pretty much been there all along. Omar Santos and Edwin Ortega used their friendly rivalry against one another not only to rise in the ranks, but also to improve their skills and results against others as well. Sairaj Srinivasan continues to amaze all those who play with him as he improves by leaps and bounds at such a young age. Kevin Doyle displayed much improvement, but it was exclusively in Doubles action this past season. There are players in the Non-Competing Men's Division that come to mind like Syed Rashid and Tommy Reszkowski, but they cannot be officially nominated until they at least make the jump into the Intermediate Division.
2016 GTA Comeback Player of The Year:
Winner: Nathan Fernandes
The other Nominees:
Fernanda Toker
Scott Bergenfeld
The Rationale: Nathan Fernandes spent an entire year abroad in England pursuing his Master's degree. Upon his return, he not only shook off the rust quickly…but he took his game to heights heretofore unseen. He had an amazing run through the 2016 Grove Cup Tournament which culminated in his first-ever Cup victory. Only when he came up against the dominant GTA Champion: Chris Chiaro was he finally stopped. Fernanda Toker is a special case when we discuss comebacks as she was in the league just last season. But during the off-season, she broke her leg while skiing…and that led to her forfeiting the GTA Women's Championship and removing herself from the ranks completely. So, upon her return (ahead of schedule, by the way), she was actually coming back to the league. Like Fernandes, she made an impressive run through the GAH6 Tournament to win the entire event. Her undefeated record finally came to an end when she had to face the other undefeated lady in the league, the New GTA Women's Champion: Laura Gawley. Scott Bergenfeld had been away from the league for a couple of seasons. Upon his return, it was readily obvious the he had lost a lot of weight and was now much more fit. He dove headfirst back into competition until a couple of minor injuries slowed down his progress later in the season.
Honorable Mention: Evonne Tan seemed poised to finally make the impact upon this league that many of us thought she was capable of making seasons ago as she was now committed to entering tournaments and taking challenge matches. But then she had a good reason to change those plans…a second pregnancy. We hope she will be able to find the time (hard for a mother of two young children) to join us again in the relatively near future and make the run to the top that she seems more than capable of doing.
2016 GTA's Michael Ruggiano Memorial - Most Inspirational Player of The Year:
Winner: Fernanda Toker
The other Nominees:
Nathan Fernandes
Christine Toth
Dawn Peterson
John Incognito
The Rationale: The way that Fernanda Toker fought so hard to overcome such a serious leg injury suffered in the off-season and the fact that she hit the courts far ahead of schedule is the very definition of the word "inspirational." It is why she emerges as the top choice in this category. Not far behind is Nathan Fernandes who not only made an inspirational return to the league, but also had to take some time away from its completion to mourn the sudden and untimely passing of his father. At the early part of the season, Christine Toth had to go inactive for a while to take care of her ailing mother. In fact, it cost her the GTA Mixed Doubles Championship that she had held with Marijus Kuzavas. Her mother passed during the season. Since that time, she has redoubled her efforts in the league. Dawn Peterson spent much of the latter months of the season taking care of her ailing mother. And then just a week after the season officially ended, her father passed away. John Incognito dealt with some serious health issues that managed to sideline him for a time. But then he used tennis as a way to get back into shape and lose a significant amount of weight in the process.
Honorable Mentions: Like Incognito, Scott Bergenfeld is another relatively young man who has had to deal with some significant health issues. He, too, returned to the sport fitter than before and kept playing in order to maintain (or improve) his newfound physique. Raj Shah, for most of this past season, had to deal with serious health issues that were impacting his mother's life. Thankfully, she made it through relatively OK. Yet, while it rightfully caused him to reduce his playing schedule, he found a way to rise even higher in the ranks than ever before. Frank Samara had another tough season personally as his mother's health issues continue to decline, yet he did not allow those (and other) outside issues to dramatically impact his ability to continue to run the league. Kris Srinivasan also maintained a high activity level as the primary host of GTA Tennis at The Cedar Grove Courts. He was also often assisted by his wife, Doinks, who deserves a mention here as well. Natalia Sout deserves mention here again this year for her inspirational, gutsy and spirited efforts out on the courts. She is a rare combination of active athleticism, unbridled enthusiasm and unprecedented humility. Dan Martinelli seemingly increased his level of play this past season as he always seems to "inspire" those around him. Laura Gawley rose to the top of the Women's Division in a very classy manner and many would consider that to be inspirational as well. As the GTA Champion, Chris Chiaro never shied away from a challenge (provided he was allowed to take one as the lengthy Grove Cup Tournament prevented that for a while). Rob Ryan, the year after mourning the loss of his mother, had to take in his aging father. As such, his tennis schedule lightened somewhat…yet he still had a good run in the Grove Cup.
2016 GTA Newcomer of The Year:
Winner: Anish Mehta
The other Nominees:
Ralph Bernard
Andrew Truong
The Rationale: Anish Mehta is the clear winner here as he rose higher in the ranks than the other two nominees here. In fact, he cracked The Top 5 of the Advanced Division which completely took him out of the Intermediate Division. Ralph Bernard had a full 2 out of 3 Sets Matches victory that immediately catapulted him into the Advanced Division without even first stopping in the "I-M" Division. Andrew Truong was the only other new player this past season to not only be part of the Intermediate Division, but then also become part of the "A" Division as well. Like the other two players ranked above him, his tennis experience is obvious when he is out on the court.
Honorable Mentions: Praful Nair, had he not moved away during the season, would likely have been ranked above as an official nominee as I suspect he also would have found his way to the Advanced Division based on the tennis acumen he demonstrated out on the court. T.J. Shah, Rajan Shah and Levy Lorenzo all show solid tennis experience, but remain in the Non-Competing Men's Division due to not having played a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match this past year.
2016 GTA Rookie of The Year:
Winner: Ryan Pienciak
The other Nominee:
Dennis Cabanatan
The Rationale: Ryan Pienciak remained in the Intermediate Division despite demonstrating a solid dose of tennis experience, so that is why he gains the recognition in this category. Also, he made more of an impact on the Doubles side of the ledger than he did on the Singles side. He will likely make the jump to the Advanced Division next season. Dennis Cabanatan is a tough-luck situation here as he, too, remains in the Intermediate Division despite obvious and solid tennis acumen. Late in the season, he had three consecutive One-Setter victories over Anish Mehta (the last two of which Mehta was willing to have them be counted as a match, but it did not seem fair as it had not been planned that way). Had it end up being recorded as a match, Cabanatan could have instead been the 2016 Newcomer of The Year…though it is sometimes hard to reward what takes place in the final couple weeks of a season when we must recognize what also took place in its entirety.
Honorable Mentions: Mike Carucci, T.J. Shah, Rajan Shah, Abhilash Gadi and Ryan Sherry are all players that can impact the league next season…they just never had the chance to play a full 2 out of 3 Sets Singles Match and get ranked accordingly.
2016 GTA Women's Player of The Year:
Winner: Laura Gawley
The other Nominees:
Fernanda Toker
Sally Pillay
Anna Mazur
Doinks Srinivasan
The Rationale: Laura Gawley is in the power position much like the way Fernanda Toker was for the past two seasons, as an undefeated, honorable and active GTA Women's Champion. And the fact that she ended the undefeated streak of Toker with her most recent Title defense cements her place on top of this category for the past year. Fernanda Toker is still the clear top Runner-Up as she won the GAH6 Tournament and was still undefeated against all others until running into Gawley. Sally Pillay was the GAH6 Finalist who gave Toker a tough run in that Final. Anna Mazur continues to be one of the few women who remain more active in Singles than they do in Doubles. Rounding out both The Top 5 of the Women's Division at season's end and also here is Doinks Srinivasan as she also never shies away from Singles competition.
Honorable Mentions: Genalin Capan, who had a second straight setback season (much of it due to nagging knee injuries and other issues), but was still a steady presence in this division. Kathy Sheldon, who always remains a dangerous foe and a threat to pull off an upset at a moment's notice.
2016 GTA Most Improved Women's Player of The Year:
Winner: Natalia Sout
The other Nominees:
Sally Pillay
Brenda Jordan
Christine Toth
Doinks Srinivasan
The Rationale: Sometimes, we cannot solely measure improvement based on results or placement in the rakings. It must be evidenced by the play that we witness on the court. In this regard, nobody took a bigger leap than Natalia Sout. In only her second year of playing tennis, she is now becoming a competitive force on the court…especially in Doubles (but she also finally got herself ranked in Singles this past season). Sally Pillay also finally got herself ranked in Singles this year and moved way up in the ranks. The only reason she doesn't win this category outright is the fact that we already knew she was quite the player a season ago. Both Brenda Jordan and Christine Toth displayed improved skills throughout the year, though it was almost always in Doubles situations. Doinks Srinivasan's steady improvement may not have been as evident in her results this season, but it was still quite noticeable to those who were on the court either with her or against her.
Honorable Mentions: Laura Gawley rose to the top of the Women's Division and that is a definite improvement from a season ago, but much like here Doubles partner, Pillay…we already knew how great she was last year. Anna Mazur continues her on-court improvement, but considering the fact that she won the GAH5 Tournament last season…this year has to be considered something of a setback by comparison.
2016 GTA Women's Rookie of The Year:
Winner: Natalie Guzman
No other Nominees.
The Rationale: Even though Natalie Guzman had some past tennis experience in high school, it was clear she had to shake off some rust and also make an effort to step her game up to go up against players with more years of tennis playing in their pocket. And she managed to do just that throughout the season. It seems like she is down for the long haul.
Honorable Mention: Mindy Zhang, if only she had remained active in the Women's Division by season's end.
2016 GTA Women's Newcomer of The Year:
Winner: N/A
No other Nominees.
Honorable Mention: Stacy Casais! If only she had managed to play a full 2 out of 3 Sets Singles Challenge Match this season, she would have been eligible for nomination and then would have won this award! She is the quintessential candidate as well as she clearly demonstrates her considerable tennis experience once she steps out onto the court.
2016 GTA Mixed Doubles Team of The Year:
Winners: Tito Castolo and Dawn Peterson
The other Nominees:
Rob Gawley and Laura Gawley
Chazz Weldon and Fernanda Toker
Dino Celis and Laura Gawley
Moka Pathan and Genalin Capan
The Rationale: Castolo/Peterson won the MXD2 Tournament and the up-for-grabs GTA Mixed Doubles Championship all at the same time after it had been vacated by Marijus Kuzavas/Christine Toth when that team went inactive. Then, Castolo/Peterson successfully defended the Titles against Weldon/Toker who won the M-Dub Tournament. So it is clear to see why Castolo/Peterson are the winners here. The Gawleys are the top Runners-Up because Castolo/Peterson had a much tougher time with them in the Finals of The MXD2 then they did against the M-Dub Champs: Weldon/Toker. Still, as M-Dub Champs: Weldon/Toker deserve to be next on this list. And then they fought a tough Final against Celis/Gawley. Pathan/Capan had a solid run in the MXD2 and have done enough to remain in The Top 3 of the Mixed Doubles Division.
Honorable Mentions: Marijus Kuzavas/Sally Pillay is another married couple that also proves to be a formidable tandem near the top of the ranks and they just missed out on an official nomination as they finished this season in The Top 5 of the Mixed Doubles Division. Kris Srinivasan/Doinks Srinivasan, the third married couple on the scene and in this list were riding high until those other two wedded tandems came along. Tommy Reszkowski/Fernanda Toker and Kevin Doyle/Brenda Jordan were both steady teams throughout the season.
2016 GTA Women's Doubles Team of The Year:
Winners: Laura Gawley and Sally Pillay
The other Nominees:
Kathy Sheldon and Christine Toth
Fernanda Toker and Genalin Capan
Doinks Srinivasan and Brenda Jordan
Kathy Sheldon and Dawn Peterson
The Rationale: For the second-straight season, Gawley/Pillay are the top choice here as they have now emerged as the 2-Time (yet still undefeated) GTA Women's Doubles Champions after their tandem had gone inactive in the ranks and they had to regain them via winning the 2016 W2 Women's Doubles Tournament. Sheldon/Toth won the first-ever W-Dub Tournament and ended the season as the Top Contenders, but they were dismissed rather easily by Gawley/Pillay in that Title defense. The Toker/Capan team came together in the W2 Tournament and are a formidable tandem that likely just needs more time together before they advance higher in the ranks. Srinivasan/Jordan and Sheldon/Peterson round out The Top 5 of the Women's Doubles Division at season's end. It will be interesting to see how those teams fare next season. Will Sheldon opt to team more with Toth? Will the usual pairing of Sheldon and Peterson come back together in 2017? Will Srinivasan find a more steady partner next year? It all remains to be seen.
Honorable Mentions: Christine Toth/Dawn Peterson and Doinks Srinivasan/Natalia Sout, the only other two teams remaining active in the Women's Doubles Division by season's end.
2016 Women's Doubles Player of The Year:
Winner: Laura Gawley
The other Nominees:
Sally Pillay
Fernanda Toker
Brenda Jordan
Genalin Capan
The Rationale: Laura Gawley ends the season as one half of the GTA Women's Doubles Champions (along with Sally Pillay) and was nominated twice in the Mixed Doubles Team of the Year category. It is fairly clear that as dominant as she is in Singles, Gawley is equally dominant in Doubles as well. Her partner, Pillay, is the top runner-up here as she is a solid compliment to Gawley in their tandem and always ranks high with her hubby, Marijus Kuzavas, in Mixed Doubles. While Fernanda Toker is more known for her Singles acumen, she proved to be an asset in Doubles as well as she won the M-Dub Tourney with Chazz Weldon and had a good run in the W2 with Genalin Capan. Brenda Jordan continues to emerge as one of the best choices to team with in both Women's Doubles and Mixed Doubles situations and the same holds true for Genalin Capan.
Honorable Mentions: Doinks Srinivasan, Kathy Sheldon and Christine Toth…as any of these three could have been an official nominee here had the results gone their way. Together, Sheldon and Toth had the W-Dub Tourney victory together. But it came late in the season and then they were dismissed fairly easily by Gawley/Pillay. But if they build a better season next year, they may get the bump up to official nods here next season.
2016 Women's Doubles Specialist of The Year:
Winner: Dawn Peterson
The other Nominee:
Denise Savino
Sachiko Tokuda
Robin Altman
Stacy Casais
The Rationale: Once Dawn Peterson decided to remove herself from further Singles competition in the Women's Division, she became the clear winner of this category. In fact, she would have fared well in the previous category (had she remained in the Women's Division) as she ended the season as one half of the reigning GTA Mixed Doubles Champions. Denise Savino is an experienced Doubles specialist who played more with us (both at Nutley Tennis Club and The Wayne Bubble) this past season than she has in many years. Hopefully, she will continue to do so next season. Sachiko Tokuda is a deceptively solid Doubles player who just missed out (twice, I believe) in becoming part of some Doubles Tournaments where she could have increased her standing here. Robin Altman had a good showing in the W2 along with her partner, Marie Salamon. It was Altman who played with us deeper into the season than Salamon did and that is why she gets ranked here. Stacy Casais is a clear Doubles Specialist who made her official GTA Debut somewhat late in the season. Even though she says she prefers Doubles over Singles, her talent level cries out for some activity on the Singles side of the ledger next season. So, we hope she does and that would lead to her being nominated for Doubles Player rather than Doubles Specialist next year.
Honorable Mention: Marie Salamon, who unfortunately went inactive very late in the season. Since she plays more Doubles than Singles nowadays anyway, she may want to consider solely competing in Doubles with us when she returns next season. If so, she will likely rank high in this category next season.
2016 Singles Match of The Year:
The Winner: 10/6 - Raj Shah over Rob Ryan, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, to successfully defend his # 2 Rank in the Advanced Division plus advance to the Finals of the Grove Cup Tournament!
The other Nominees:
9/8 - Raj Shah over Marijus Kuzavas, 6-7 (7-0), 6-3, 7-5, to become the New # 2 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division while advancing to the Semifinals of the Grove Cup Men's Singles Tournament! Not sure of the exact length, but was told it was a marathon.
11/8 - Nathan Fernandes over Raj Shah, 6-4, 7-5, to become the New # 2 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division and the 2016 Grove Cup Champ and next Top Contender to the GTA Championship!
8/28 - Tony Shiao over Chazz Weldon, 6-3, 7-5, to become the New # 3 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division while also advancing to The Semifinals of The Grove Cup Tournament! Shiao is removed from the Intermediate Division (in the process).
8/7 - Anish Mehta over Dino Celis, 6-3, 7-5, to become the New # 5 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division while advancing to the Quarterfinals of The Grove Cup Tournament! Mehta is removed from the Intermediate Division (in the process). The match was nearly 2-1/2 hours long!
The Rationale: For the second time in three years, a Shah-Ryan match takes the top prize. But this time around, Raj came out on top to finally topple the 4-Time Former GTA Champ. And that historical significance is why it just edges out the top runner-up, Shah-Kuzavas (even though that encounter had a closer 1st Set and likely a longer duration to boot). Shah finds himself in The Top 3 matches here as his Grove Cup Final against Fernandes was also quite epic…even if it did end in straight sets. Shiao-Weldon and Mehta-Celis were also straight-set affairs, but both were closely contested and each had historical significance as well.
Honorable Mentions:
4/27 - Marijus Kuzavas over Dino Celis, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, to successfully defend his # 5 Rank in the Advanced Division!
5/24 - Dino Celis over Marijus Kuzavas, 0-6, 6-4, 6-4, to become the New # 4 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division!
5/28 - Brian Barbera over John Incognito, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, to become the New # 17 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division!
6/9 - Dan Praport over Tony Shiao, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, to become the New # 19 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division!
8/9 - Lou La Forgia over Dino Celis, 6-4, 6-4, to become the New # 6 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division!
8/24 - Anish Mehta over Dino Celis, 6-4, 6-4, to successfully defend his # 6 Rank in the Advanced Division!
10/6 - Dino Celis over Anish Mehta, 6-4, 7-5, to become the New # 9 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division!
2016 One-Set Singles Match of The Year:
The Winner: 3/13 – Nathan Fernandes over Frank Samara, 7-6 (7-2)! Only 1 MP, but 1 hour 11 minutes long!
The other Nominees:
8/8 - Chris Chiaro over Nathan Fernandes, 7-5! Nate was up 5-3 with one Match Point!
5/10 - Frank Samara over Nathan Fernandes, 6-4! 5 Match Points, nearly an hour long!
8/30 - Anish Mehta over Dino Celis, 7-5! Anish had jumped out to a 3-0 lead.
9/2 - John Incognito over Anish Mehta, 6-4!
The Rationale: Fernandes-Samara gets the nod here due to its duration and drama. Nate was just shaking the rust off of a one-year layoff from the league, but Frank was also a bit rusty from the winter break. The pride that each one takes in their game forced the other to find a way to raise their level quickly. The top runner-up, Chiaro-Fernandes, took place while the Grove Cup was underway and many rightfully felt it was a preview of what was to come after the conclusion of the tournament. Nate almost came away with a 6-3 win until Chris rallied back and rattled off four straight games for the victory. Samara-Fernandes showed that the old "Wood" can still pull off the upset once in a while…but can he do it in a full 2 out of 3 Sets Match anymore? Maybe we will see in the 2017 Season. Mehta-Celis was an impressive One-Setter in the midst of their friendly rivalry of full Challenge Matches. Incognito-Mehta was something of an upset and it did demonstrate that John can also pull off some surprises in One-Setter situations. Like Samara, he must now prove in the coming season that he can once again do it in full matches, too.
No Honorable Mentions.
2016 Doubles Match of The Year:
The Winner: 10/25 - Chris Chiaro/Raj Shah over Nathan Fernandes/Moka Pathan, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), to advance to the M2 Finals while also successfully defending their # 8 Rank in the Doubles Division!
The other Nominees:
12/4 - Nick Inciong/Tom La over Senthil Kumar/Joe Rodrigues, 6-4, 7-6 (9-7), to become the New # 5 Ranked Team in the Doubles Division!
7/27 - Marijus Kuzavas/Mike Kazlauskas over Tony Shiao/Ryan Pienciak, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, to successfully defend their # 5 Rank in the Doubles Division while advancing to the Semifinals of The M2 Men's Doubles Tournament! The match was two hours long!
8/8 - Marijus Kuzavas/Mike Kazlauskas over Lou La Forgia/Jorge Solano, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, to successfully defend their # 5 Rank in the Doubles Division while advancing to The Finals of The M2 Men's Doubles Tournament!
7/15 - Moka Pathan/Nathan Fernandes over Kris Srinivasan/Senthil Kumar 6-1, 6-7 (7-4), 6-3, to successfully defend their # 30 Rank in the Doubles Division while advancing to the Semifinals of The M2 Men's Doubles Tournament!
The Rationale: Even though it ended in straight sets, Chiaro/Shah-Fernandes/Pathan was the match to beat in terms of overall quality, intensity and drama. It was hard-hitting throughout and many felt it would have been a fitting Final to the M2 Tournament rather than just a Semifinal. Inciong/La-Kumar/Rodrigues has a similar score with an even more impressive 2nd Set Tiebreak, but it lacks a bit in historical significance. Kuzavas/Kazlauskas had quite a run through the M2 as evidenced by their matches against Shiao/Pienciak and La Forgia/Solano. The M2 dominates this category (four of the five nominees) and the match that got things started almost provided us with something of an upset as the newly formed team of Srinivasan/Kumar gave the more experienced Pathan/Fernandes tandem quite a challenge.
Honorable Mentions:
3/23 - Marijus Kuzavas/Praful Nair over Lou La Forgia/Nathan Fernandes, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 68 and # 69 Ranked Teams respectively!
4/17 - Frank Samara/Vinnie De Benedetto over John Incognito/Nick Inciong, 7-5, 6-4, to become the New # 7 Ranked Team in the Doubles Division!
4/27 - Moka Pathan/Chris Chiaro over Lou La Forgia/Praful Nair, 6-4, 7-5, to successfully defend their # 12 Rank in the Doubles Division!
5/2 - Chris Chiaro/Lou La Forgia over Kris Srinivasan/Tito Castolo, 6-4, 7-5, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 27 and # 28 Ranked Teams respectively!
5/19 - Kris Srinivasan/Senthil Kumar over Greg Swierczek/Santosh Reddy, 7-6 (8-6), 6-3, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 29 and # 30 Ranked Teams respectively!
7/18 - Kris Srinivasan/Lou La Forgia over Norman Taclob/Jay Phoenix, 6-4, 7-6 (7-1), as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 37 and # 38 Ranked Teams respectively!
7/20 - Lou La Forgia/Jorge Solano over Frank Samara/Vinnie De Benedetto, 6-3, 5-7, 10-1 (STB), to advance to the Semifinals of The M2 Men's Doubles Tournament!
9/17 - 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! Kris and Jordan came back in both sets.
10/13 - Dan Martinelli/Rob Gawley over Ryan Pienciak/Rick Pienciak, 7-5, 7-5, to become the New # 29 Ranked Team in the Doubles Division!
10/30 - Frank Samara/Vinnie De Benedetto over Ryan Pienciak/Mike Carucci, 6-2, 6-7 (7-2), 10-7 (STB)! Once it went to the STB, rank was no longer on the line.
11/20 - John Incognito/Alfred Chen over Don Moya/Pranav Sinha, 1-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-1), as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 69 and # 70 Ranked Teams respectively!
2016 One-Set Doubles Match of The Year:
The Winner: 12/4 - Frank Samara/Jose Gonzales over Nathan Fernandes/Dino Celis, 7-6 (12-10)! There were 7 Match Points! Nate and Dino were up 4-0 before it became 4-4 and then game for game.
The other Nominees:
6/26 - Mike Mole/Vinnie De Benedetto over Chris Lehmann/Dan Martinelli, 7-6 (12-10)! 8 Match Points and nearly an hour long!
8/21 - Levy Lorenzo/Chris Homick over Frank Samara/Vinnie De Benedetto, 7-6 (9-7)! It had 9 Match Points and was one hour and three minutes long!
11/23 - John Incognito/Don Moya over Ryan Pienciak/Adam Pienciak, 7-6 (10-8)! After having been down 2-5, John and Don rallied back to eventually force the Tiebreak! In the Breaker, they ended up winning it on the 5th Match Point!
3/6 – Frank Samara/Jorge Solano over Dino Celis/Mike Mole, 7-6 (8-6)! 8 Match Points (2 prior to the TB) that were all in favor of Samara/Solano!
11/18 - Kris Srinivasan/Jordan Bachvaroff over Dino Celis/Frank Samara, 7-6 (9-7)! There were 4 Match Points and it was an hour and four minutes long!
7/17 - Alfred Chen/Dan Hwang over John Incognito/Nick Inciong, 7-6 (8-6)! Incognito/Inciong saved 5 Match Points down 4-5 and then led 6-4 in the Tiebreak only to lose the last 4 points!
7/3 - Nathan Fernandes/Ayman Elbatanony over Ryan Pienciak/Adam Pienciak, 7-6 (9-7)! Nate and Ayman were down 5-6 in the TB where they saved that Match Point!
4/10 - Moka Pathan/Brian Barbera over Chris Lehmann/Mike Carucci, 7-6 (9-7)! It was the official GTA Debut of Mike Carucci. Shockingly, only 39 minutes long!
12/13 - John Incognito/Syed Rashid over Frank Samara/Mike Sindler, 7-6 (8-6)! Frank and Mike had a 4-0 lead as John and Syed only won 2 of the first 18 points of the match. They finally won a game, but were soon down 1-5 before rallying to 6-5! There were 3 MP's in the TB! It was an hour and one minute long!
The Rationale: It could be a coin flip between the winner and the top runner-up here, but Samara/Gonzales over Fernandes/Celis gets the nod (even though there was one less Match Point) due to the comeback factor and the overall quality level was likely a tick higher. But Mole/De Benedetto-Lehmann/Martinelli was quite excellent as well. Lorenzo/Homick-Samara/De Benedetto had one more MP than the top runner-up and only suffers slightly due to the lower TB score. Incognito/Moya versus The Pienciaks had a higher TB score than the previous runner-up, but less Match Points. Samara/Solano over Celis/Mole had a high amount of Match Points and all in favor of the eventual winners! Srinivasan/Bachvaroff vs. Celis/Samara also had an impressive TB score. Chen/Hwang-Incognito/Inciong had a solid TB and many MP's as well. Fernandes/Elbatanony versus The Pienciaks had an impressive TB, but seemingly only one Match Point. Pathan/Barbera-Lehmann/Carucci had the same TB score as the previous runner-up, but a short duration and less details. Incognito/Rashid-Samara/Sindler wrapped up the season with one of the most unlikely comeback scenarios (such a dramatic swing in momentum) which enabled the drama to trump the overall quality just enough to get an official nod here. And now get ready for an unprecedented amount of Honorable Mentions…proving just how active and epic the 2016 Season truly was.
Honorable Mentions:
2/28 - Kris Srinivasan/Tito Castolo over Marijus Kuzavas/Frank Samara, 7-6 (7-3)! Kuzavas/Samara had been up 5-1! Down 4-5, Srinivasan/Castolo save an MP and saved another in the TB before winning it on the 3rd MP (their 1st).
4/17 - Rob Ryan/Dino Celis over Jose Gonzales/Tito Castolo, 7-6 (8-6)! 4 Match Points!
4/24 - Dino Celis/Sukumar Mitra over Jose Gonzales/Mike Carucci, 7-6 (8-6)! About an hour long.
4/24 - Kris Srinivasan/Nithin Poosala over Jose Gonzales/Nathan Fernandes, 7-6 (7-3)! Kris and Nithin saved 1 MP to make it 5-5! Kris called it "the match of the night!"
4/25 - Chris Chiaro/Nithin Poosala over Kris Srinivasan/Lou La Forgia, 7-6 (7-4)! Once again, Kris called it "the match of the night!"
5/9 - Dan Martinelli/Syed Rashid over Leo Victor/Vinnie De Benedetto, 7-6 (7-4)! 7 Match Points, 6 of which took place before the TB!
5/20 - Kris Srinivasan/Mike Kazlauskas over Senthil Kumar/Rob Gawley, 7-5! Down 3-5, Kumar and Gawley saved 3 MP's to extend the match.
5/24 - Chris Chiaro/Raj Tailor over Praful Nair/Lou La Forgia, 7-6 (8-6)! There are no other details.
5/31 - Tito Castolo/Felix Castolo over Greg Swierczek/Lou La Forgia, 7-6 (7-5)! It was the official GTA Debut of Felix Castolo.
6/6 - Raj Shah/Jorge Solano over Frank Samara/Vinnie De Benedetto, 7-6 (7-5)! It was one hour long, but only had one Match Point.
6/8 - Edwin Ortega/Tito Castolo over Norman Taclob/Kris Srinivasan, 7-6 (7-2)! Taclob and Srinivasan had a 5-1 lead prior to the TB!
6/10 - Joe Rodrigues/Nathan Fernandes over Raj Shah/Dan Martinelli, 7-6 (7-3)! It was an hour long, but no other details.
6/16 - Kevin Doyle/Nathan Fernandes over Anish Mehta/Ryan Pienciak, 7-5! Down 4-5, Doyle and Fernandes save 4 MP's to begin their comeback!
7/6 - Kris Srinivasan/Tito Castolo over Edwin Ortega/Michael Chang, 7-6 (8-6)! It was the official GTA Debut of Michael Chang. Kris reported the action as solid and the match as quite lengthy.
7/10 - Kris Srinivasan/Senthil Kumar over Raj Shah/Mike Mole, 7-6 (8-6)! 3 Match Points!
7/11 - Nathan Fernandes/Jorge Solano over Frank Samara/Dan Martinelli, 6-4! 6 Match Points and two minutes shy of an hour long!
7/13 - Chris Chiaro/Kris Srinivasan over Raj Tailor/Tito Castolo, 7-6 (7-1)! It was described as a very solid and exciting match.
7/14 - Dino Celis/Tito Castolo over Moka Pathan/Nathan Fernandes, 7-6 (7-4)! Nate and Moka had been up 4-1 prior to the TB!
7/17 - Frank Samara/Vinnie De Benedetto over Mike Mole/Mark Grossman, 6-4! 6 Match Points!
7/26 - Marijus Kuzavas/Mike Kazlauskas over Chris Chiaro/Dino Celis, 7-6 (7-2)! It was almost an hour long.
8/8 - Ralph Bernard/Sairaj Srinivasan over Dennis Cabanatan/Ted Cedroski, 7-6 (7-4)! It was the official GTA Return of Ted Cedroski. Ralph and Sairaj had been up 5-2. Kris described it as a great match.
8/9 - Jay Phoenix/Vinnie De Benedetto over Joe Rodrigues/Matt Meillon, 7-6 (7-5)! There are no other details.
8/11 - Senthil Kumar/Frank Samara over Nathan Fernandes/Edwin Ortega, 7-6 (7-3)! There were only 2 Match Points, but it was nearly an hour long.
8/15 - Raj Shah/Senthil Kumar over Nathan Fernandes/Scott Bergenfeld, 7-6 (7-4)! Kris described it as a very competitive match.
8/21 - Chazz Weldon/Frank Samara over Chris Chiaro/Dean Delgado, 7-5! Chiaro/Delgado had been up 5-2! It was just six minutes shy of being an hour long.
8/26 - Marijus Kuzavas/Nathan Fernandes over Chris Chiaro/Rick Pienciak, 7-6 (7-4)! There are no other details.
8/26 - Jorge Solano/Dennis Cabanatan over Kris Srinivasan/Jose Gonzales, 7-5! There were 5 Match Points!
9/9 - Chris Chiaro/Matt Meillon over Senthil Kumar/Jordan Bachvaroff, 7-6 (8-6)! Chris and Matt were down 0-3. There were just 2 Match Points and it was surprisingly only 45 minutes long.
9/11 - Frank Samara/Jorge Solano over Ryan Pienciak/Rick Pienciak, 7-6 (7-5)! Eight minutes shy of an hour, but just one Match Point.
9/12 - Kris Srinivasan/Raj Boddu over Chris Chiaro/Jordan Bachvaroff, 7-6 (7-4)! Kris and Raj had been up 5-2 prior to the TB!
9/18 - Dino Celis/Jorge Solano over Mike Mole/Vinnie De Benedetto, 7-6 (7-5)! 4 Match Points and just four minutes shy of one hour!
10/3 - Chris Chiaro/Joe Rodrigues over Dino Celis/Ryan Pienciak, 7-6 (7-4)! It was just five minutes shy of an hour.
10/9 - Sairaj Srinivasan/Nithin Poosala over Senthil Kumar/Kris Srinivasan, 7-6 (7-2)! Kris described it as a very good match.
10/14 - Raj Shah/Sairaj Srinivasan over Frank Samara/Santosh Reddy, 7-5! Down 3-5, Raj and Sairaj saved a Match Point. This was 1 hour 3 minutes long without changeovers!
10/28 - Norman Taclob/Tito Castolo over Senthil Kumar/Richard Reicht, 7-6 (7-3)! It was 3-3 in the TB, but no other key details.
11/3 - Nathan Fernandes/Kris Srinivasan over Raj Shah/Jordan Bachvaroff, 7-5! Kris described it as a very good match.
11/13 - Ryan Pienciak/Abhilash Gadi over Frank Samara/Vinnie De Benedetto, 7-6 (7-5)! Frank and Vinnie had been up 5-2 in the TB!
11/13 - Mike Mole/Ryan Pienciak over Dino Celis/Frank Samara, 6-4! 6 Match Points!
11/16 - John Incognito/Don Moya over Dino Celis/Frank Samara, 7-6 (7-3)! There was only one Match Point and it was just 50 minutes long.
11/22 - Senthil Kumar/Tom La over Tony Shiao/Ryan Pienciak, 7-6 (7-5)! There are no other details.
11/23 - Levy Lorenzo/Ted Cedroski over Vladimir Smolyanskiy/Ray Spadaro, 7-6 (7-3)! There are no other details.
11/26 - Jose Gonzales/Kevin Doyle over Levy Lorenzo Jr./Alex Roumi, 7-6 (7-3)! It was the official GTA Debut of Alex Roumi. There were no other details.
11/27 - Dino Celis/Tony Shiao over John Incognito/Nick Inciong, 7-6 (7-3)! Incognito and Inciong had been down 2-5 prior to the TB.
12/1 - Senthil Kumar/Syed Rashid over Ryan Pienciak/Scott Whisten, 7-6 (7-5)! There are no other details.
12/11 - Tom La/Dan Hwang over John Incognito/Alfred Chen, 9-7! They played out the game rather than do the TB. There are no other details.
12/15 - Tony Shiao/Ryan Pienciak over Senthil Kumar/Tom La, 7-6 (7-4)! Senthil and Tom were down 2-5 before going up 6-5. Tony and Ryan were down 1-4 in the TB before taking six straight points to get the win!
2016 Intermediate Match of The Year:
The Winner: 9/6 - Greg Swierczek over Mike Kazlauskas, 7-5, 5-7, 6-4, to become both the New # 16 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division and the New # 1 Ranked Player in the Intermediate Division while advancing to the Finals of the GTA Intermediate Title Tournament! Not sure of the exact length, but was told it was a marathon.
The other Nominees:
11/27 - Nathan Fernandes over Mike Mole, 7-5, 5-7, 6-4, to successfully defend his # 2 Rank in the Advanced Division! Mole had been up 4-1 in the 3rd Set! It was 2 hours 15 minutes long!
7/24 - Tony Shiao over Raj Boddu, 4-6, 7-6 (7-1), 6-3, to successfully defend both his # 12 Rank in the Advanced Division and his # 1 Rank in the Intermediate Division while advancing to The Round of 16 of The Grove Cup Tournament! Shiao saved 3 MP's in the 2nd Set! The match was nearly 3 hours long!
9/24 - 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!
6/10 - Omar Santos over Edwin Ortega, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 0-6, 7-5, to become both the New # 24 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division and the New # 16 Ranked Player in the Intermediate Division! Once again, it was 3 out of 5 Sets format. This one was over 3-1/2 hours long!
The Rationale: A viable argument can be made for any of The Top 3 matches here to end up as the winner, but Swierczek-Kazlauskas gets the nod here (even though the top runner-up has the same exact score) due to the fact that I believe it was even longer in duration and that it had more historical significance. Had Mole somehow pulled off the upset on Fernandes, we would likely have to reverse the winner and runner-up here. And Shiao-Boddu was so epic as well…especially when considering how Tony saved 3 Match Points in the 2nd Set! The less dramatic 3rd Set score (as Boddu seemingly ran out of gas) is why it suffers here just a bit. Kumar-Swierczek was another close contest that suffers a bit due to the 3rd Set score as well, but makes up for it with true historical significance. Santos-Ortega had a prolific friendly rivalry this past season and this 3 out of 5 Sets encounter was clearly the best of the bunch. But they had quite a few more battles in the upcoming Honorable Mentions.
Honorable Mentions:
4/25 - Jay Phoenix over Jorge Solano, 7-5, 7-6 (7-5), to successfully defend his # 9 Rank in the Intermediate Division plus advance to the Quarterfinals of The GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament!
5/10 - Tony Shiao over Ryan Pienciak, 7-5, 7-6 (7-5), to successfully defend his # 8 Rank in the Intermediate Division while also advancing to the Quarterfinals of the GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament!
6/3 - Tony Shiao over Praful Nair, 6-4, 6-4, to successfully defend his # 19 Rank in the Advanced Division while simultaneously becoming the New # 3 Ranked Player in the Intermediate Division and also advancing to the Finals of the GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament! The match was nearly two hours long!
6/8 - Edwin Ortega over Omar Santos, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, to become both the New # 23 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division and the New # 16 Ranked Player in the Intermediate Division! It was a 3 out of 5 Sets format.
7/9 - Edwin Ortega over Omar Santos, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5), to successfully defend both his # 21 Rank in the Advanced Division and his # 11 Rank in the Intermediate Division! Santos was down 0-3 in the 2nd Set prior to the TB!
7/19 - Dean Delgado over Joe Rodrigues, 7-5, 6-4, to advance to The Grove Cup Round of 16!
8/21 - Tony Shiao over Norman Taclob, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4, to become the New # 11 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division while also advancing to The Quarterfinals of The Grove Cup Tournament!
8/23 - Scott Bergenfeld over Jordan Bachvaroff, 3-6, 6-0, 11-9 (STB)! Rank was no longer on the line once they went to the STB, but still it was exciting.
9/13 - 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!
10/28 - Omar Santos over Edwin Ortega, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, to become both the New # 22 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division and the New # 5 Ranked Player in the Intermediate Division! It was 2 hours and 15 minutes long in windy conditions!
11/28 - Joe Rodrigues over Jay Phoenix, 6-4, 6-4, to successfully defend both his # 21 Rank in the Advanced Division and his # 2 Rank in the Intermediate Division!
2016 One-Set Intermediate Match of The Year:
The Winner: 6/16 - Nathan Fernandes over Ryan Pienciak, 7-6 (7-4)! Down 4-5, Fernandes saved an MP while serving to begin his comeback!
The other Nominees:
7/6 - Joe Rodrigues over Jay Phoenix, 7-6 (7-5)! The conditions were very hot and humid.
9/21 - Ryan Pienciak over Dino Celis, 7-6 (7-4)!
8/28 - Nathan Fernandes over Mike Mole, 7-6 (7-1)! It was just two minutes shy of an hour!
4/30 - Kris Srinivasan over Greg Swierczek, 7-6 (7-4)!
The Rationale: The combination of an impressive TB score, some drama and a near upset gives Fernandes over Pienciak the nod here. Rodrigues-Phoenix had the slightly more impressive score and the sweltering conditions, but also less details. Pienciak-Celis has an impressive TB score and is something of an upset. Fernandes-Mole was a near upset and a sign of things to come with regard to their full Challenge Match later in the season. Srinivasan and Swierczek have had a friendly rivalry for a few seasons now and this was another impressive One-Setter in their series of encounters.
Honorable Mentions:
5/25 - Raj Tailor over Mike Kazlauskas, 7-6 (7-2)!
7/10 - Mike Mole over Jay Phoenix, 7-6 (7-4)!
7/10 - Rob Ryan over Jay Phoenix, 7-5!
8/7 - Jay Phoenix over Mike Mole, 7-6 (7-4)!
8/11 - Jay Phoenix over Frank Samara, 6-4!
8/14 - Ryan Pienciak over Frank Samara, 6-4!
9/2 - Dean Delgado over Jay Phoenix, 6-4! It was five minutes shy of an hour long.
9/20 - Jordan Bachvaroff over Scott Bergenfeld, 7-6 (7-3)!
10/23 - Andrew Truong over Tommy Reszkowski, 7-6 (7-3)! Tommy was up 5-2 prior to the TB.
10/29 - Jordan Bachvaroff over Mike Kazlauskas, 7-5!
10/30 - Mike Kazlauskas over Mike Mole, 7-6 (7-5)!
11/6 - Marijus Kuzavas over Kris Srinivasan, 6-4!
2016 Women's Match of The Year:
The Winner: 9/12 - Sally Pillay over Anna Mazur, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-3), to successfully defend her # 2 Rank in the Women's Division while also advancing to the Finals of the 6th Annual Gail-ann Hamilton Memorial Women's Singles Tournament! Anna was up 5-4 in the 3rd Set!
The other Nominees:
4/30 - Evonne Tan over Anna Mazur, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), to become the New # 3 Ranked Player in the Women's Division and advance to the Quarterfinals of the GTA Women's Championship Tournament! Mazur had been up 4-1 in the 3rd Set!
6/6 - Sally Pillay over Doinks Srinivasan, 6-4, 7-5, to become the New # 2 Ranked Player in the Women's Division while also advancing to the Semifinals of the GTA Women's Championship Tournament!
The Rationale: Here's another circumstance where the winner and the top runner-up can almost be decided via a coin flip, but Pillay-Mazur gets the nod over Tan-Mazur due to the fact that the earlier sets were a bit tighter and there was just a shade more historical significance. But both were marathon matches that seemingly could have gone either way. Pillay-Srinivasan, while a straight-set affair, was a close contest throughout and also had a solid dose of historical importance.
No Honorable Mentions.
2016 One-Set Women's Match of The Year:
The Winner: 10/15 - Fernanda Toker over Anna Mazur, 6-4!
No other Nominees.
The Rationale: For the second straight season, there was a somewhat surprising dearth of competitive Singles One-Setters on the ladies side of the ledger . This one is the lone standout.
No Honorable Mentions.
2016 Women's Doubles Match of The Year:
The Winner: 10/23 - Kathy Sheldon/Christine Toth over Doinks Srinivasan/Natalia Sout, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), to win the 2016 W-Dub Tournament and become the New # 2 Ranked Team (aka the next Top Contenders) in the Women's Doubles Division!
The other Nominees:
8/25 - Fernanda Toker/Genalin Capan over Doinks Srinivasan/Brenda Jordan, 6-7 (7-3), 6-1, 6-3, to become the New # 10 Ranked Team in the Women's Doubles Division while advancing to The Finals of The W2 Women's Doubles Tournament!
9/17 - 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!
The Rationale: Sheldon/Toth-Srinivasan/Sout was clearly the closest contest here and it was very exciting right up until the very end. Plus, it had historical significance as well. Toker/Capan-Srinivasan/Jordan was an excellent match that got off to a somewhat surprising start, but it faded somewhat in the end. And then Srinivasan/Jordan-Sheldon/Peterson rightfully rounds up the only three worthy nominees this season.
No Honorable Mentions.
2016 One-Set Women's Doubles Match of The Year:
The Winner: 10/23 - Kathy Sheldon/Christine Toth over Brenda Jordan/Natalie Guzman, 7-5, in the W-Dub Second Round One-Setter!
The other Nominees:
7/11 - Doinks Srinivasan/Brenda Jordan over Kathy Sheldon/Dawn Peterson, 7-6 (7-5)!
8/8 - Doinks Srinivasan/Brenda Jordan over Kathy Sheldon/Dawn Peterson, 7-5!
The Rationale: This is another surprisingly succinct category this season. With three results so similar, the one that has the most historical significance is the one that comes out on top.
No Honorable Mentions.
2016 Mixed Doubles Match of The Year:
The Winner: 10/7 - Tito Castolo/Dawn Peterson over Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5, to win the 2016 MXD2 Tournament and become the New GTA Mixed Doubles Champions! Tito and Dawn were down 0-4 in the 3rd Set! According to multiple sources, this match was somewhere between 2-1/2 and 3 hours long!
The other Nominees:
10/16 - Chazz Weldon/Fernanda Toker over Dennis Cabanatan/Sally Pillay, 6-3, 5-7, 13-11 (STB), to become the New # 13 Ranked Team in the Mixed Doubles Division and advance to the M-Dub Finals! 5 Match Points! 2 hours and 11 minutes long!
8/17 - Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley over Marijus Kuzavas/Sally Pillay, 7-6 (7-5), 7-5, to become the New # 3 Ranked Team in the Mixed Doubles Division while advancing to The Finals of The MXD2 Mixed Doubles Tournament!
5/5 - Jose Gonzales/Natalia Sout over Dave Zhu/Jane Fan, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), as both teams entered the Mixed Doubles Division as the New # 29 and # 30 Ranked Teams respectively!
10/23 - Chazz Weldon/Fernanda Toker over Dino Celis/Laura Gawley, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, to win the 2016 M-Dub Tournament and become the New # 2 Ranked Team (aka the next Top Contenders) in the Mixed Doubles Division!
The Rationale: Castolo/Peterson versus The Gawleys is the clear winner here as it has the historical significance, drama, duration and overall match quality. It was also considered to be somewhat of an upset at the time. Usually, Super Tiebreaks detract somewhat from the importance of a match result. But not in the case of Weldon/Toker-Cabanatan/Pillay as it still ended up being over two hours long, had 5 MP's and sent the winning team to the Finals of the M-Dub Tournament. The Gawleys over Kuzavas/Pillay may have been a straight-set affair, but it was still just about as close as you can get and featured high-quality tennis. Gonzales/Sout-Zhu/Fan actually has the tightest score of the bunch (when we exclude Super Tiebreaks), but lacks in historical significance. Weldon/Toker-Celis/Gawley may lack a dramatic 3rd Set, but it was a high-quality match throughout and it did feature its own version of drama near its end (plus it also had the factor of historical importance).
Honorable Mentions:
8/3 - Moka Pathan/Genalin Capan over Tommy Reszkowski/Fernanda Toker, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, to successfully defend their # 1 Rank in the Mixed Doubles Division while advancing to The Semifinals of The MXD2 Mixed Doubles Tournament!
8/22 - Raj Shah/Dawn Peterson over Jordan Bachvaroff/Brenda Jordan, 6-4, 7-5, to successfully defend the # 9 Rank in the Mixed Doubles Division!
8/23 - Kris Srinivasan/Laura Gawley over Frank Samara/Christine Toth, 6-4, 6-4, as both teams enter the Mixed Doubles Division as the New # 26 and # 27 Ranked Teams respectively!
8/30 - Omar Santos/Christine Toth over Scott Bergenfeld/Mary Rosado, 7-5, 2-6, 7-5, as both teams entered the Mixed Doubles Division as the New # 28 and # 29 Ranked Teams respectively!
10/16 - Chazz Weldon/Fernanda Toker over Senthil Kumar/Brenda Jordan, 2-6, 6-1, 10-7 (STB), as both teams entered the Mixed Doubles Division, and Weldon/Toker advanced to the M-Dub Semifinals!
10/19 - Abhilash Gadi/Doinks Srinivasan over Dennis Cabanatan/Brenda Jordan, 3-6, 6-4, 10-7 (STB), as both teams entered the Mixed Doubles Division as the New #42 and #43 Ranked Teams respectively!
11/9 - Frank Samara/Brenda Jordan over Tommy Reszkowski/Fernanda Toker, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, to become the New # 10 Ranked Team in the Mixed Doubles Division!
12/1 - Kevin Doyle/Dawn Peterson over Sean McHugh/Kathy Sheldon, 6-4, 7-5, to successfully defend the # 48 Rank in the Mixed Doubles Division while McHugh/Sheldon entered the division as the New # 54 Ranked Team!
2016 One-Set Mixed Doubles Match of The Year:
The Winner: 5/9 - Praful Nair/Doinks Srinivasan over Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley, 7-6 (12-10)! It sounds amazing, but there are no other details.
The other Nominees:
5/12 - John Incognito/Denise Savino over Bo Folchi/Barbara Johnson, 7-6 (9-7)! It was the official GTA Returns of both Bo Folchi and Denise Savino and it was also the official GTA Debut of Barbara Johnson. Folchi/Johnson had a 5-3 lead with Double Game/Match Point!
5/12 - Tito Castolo/Natalia Sout over Kris Srinivasan/Dawn Peterson, 7-6 (8-6)! Srinivasan and Peterson had been down 0-3!
5/17 - Jorge Solano/Natalia Sout over Kris Srinivasan/Natalie Guzman, 7-6 (7-3)! Srinivasan and Guzman saved 2 MP's to force the TB where they saved one more before going down on the 4th!
5/20 - Dan Martinelli/Laura Gawley over Dave Zhu/Jane Fan, 7-5! 3 MP's, nearly an hour long!
5/29 - Greg Swierczek/Natalia Sout over Dan Martinelli/Doinks Srinivasan, 7-6 (7-4)! Kris described it as a superb match.
7/17 - Marijus Kuzavas/Sally Pillay over Scott Bergenfeld/Doinks Srinivasan, 7-6 (7-4)! Kris described it as a close and well-contested match.
7/17 - Tony Shiao/Doinks Srinivasan over Ryan Pienciak/Fernanda Toker, 7-6 (7-4)! There are no other details.
8/6 - Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley over Dave Zhu/Doinks Srinivasan, 7-6 (7-4)! There are no other details.
8/8 - Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley over Kris Srinivasan/Sally Pillay, 7-5! Kris and Sally had been up 5-3. Kris described it as a very exciting match and a great comeback by The Gawleys.
8/30 - Kris Srinivasan/Laura Gawley over Dino Celis/Doinks Srinivasan, 7-6 (7-4)! Kris and Laura were out to a good lead before Dino and Doinks made it 6-5.
The Rationale: It is a matter of coincidence, not laziness, that sees the winner and all subsequent nominees in this category end up here in chronological order as the season unfolded. Even without details, we know that Praful and Doinks topping The Gawleys in a One-Setter with a 12-10 TB score has to be the rightful winner. The top runner-up had the next best TB score and also a nice comeback from Incognito/Savino as well. The rest of the nominees here follow suit accordingly. The following Honorable Mentions (which are always simply listed in chronological order) were just slightly less impressive than the nominees above.
Honorable Mentions:
9/5 - Dino Celis/Laura Gawley over Kris Srinivasan/Sally Pillay, 7-5! It was game for game till 5-5.
10/4 - Senthil Kumar/Doinks Srinivasan over Dennis Cabanatan/Natalia Sout, 7-5! Kris described it as a very close and exciting match.
10/14 - Dave Zhu/Sachiko Tokuda over Kris Srinivasan/Doinks Srinivasan, 7-6 (7-3)! It was seven minutes shy of an hour long.
11/2 - Edwin Ortega/Doinks Srinivasan over Kevin Doyle/Dawn Peterson, 7-6 (7-5)! It was 50 minutes long, but no other details.
11/22 - Kevin Doyle/Dawn Peterson over Sean McHugh/Kathy Sheldon, 7-6 (7-4)! It was the official GTA Debut of Sean McHugh. It was nearly an hour long.
2016 One-Set Doubles Specialty Match of The Year:
The Winner: 3/13 – Frank Samara/Dan Martinelli over Nathan Fernandes/Anna Mazur, 7-6 (8-6)! 9 MP's, all were in favor of Samara/Martinelli. They finally won it in 1 hour 27 minutes!
The other Nominees:
11/14 - Nathan Fernandes/Doinks Srinivasan over Kris Srinivasan/Levy Lorenzo, 7-6 (10-8)! Kris and Levy were up 4-0 prior to the TB. There was a total of 8 Match Points! It was exactly one hour long.
4/17 - Nathan Fernandes/Miriam Mendez over Dean Delgado/Rich Jachens, 7-6 (8-6)! Nate and Miriam saved 5 MP's prior to the TB where there were a few more before they could finally win. It was 1 hour 6 minutes long!
5/16 - Kris Srinivasan/Rob Gawley over Tito Castolo/Natalia Sout, 7-6 (8-6)! Down 4-5, Castolo and Sout save an MP. They were then up 6-3 in the TB when Srinivasan/Gawley saved 3 MP's before winning this one on the 5th MP overall!
8/29 - Marijus Kuzavas/Nathan Fernandes over Chris Chiaro/Sally Pillay, 7-6 (8-6)! Marijus and Nate saved multiple Match Points! It was nearly an hour long.
9/15 - Ryan Pienciak/Doinks Srinivasan over Tony Shiao/Dennis Cabanatan, 7-6 (8-6)! Kris described it as a very closely contested match.
10/6 - Chris Chiaro/Natalie Guzman over Joe Rodrigues/Nithin Poosala, 7-6 (7-5)! Kris described this as a very exciting match.
10/5 - Walter Porucznik/Brenda Jordan over Kris Srinivasan/Ryan Pienciak, 7-6 (7-3)! Kris and Ryan had been up 5-1 prior to the TB.
5/16 - Jose Gonzales/Doinks Srinivasan over Praful Nair/Santosh Reddy, 7-6 (8-6)! This sounds quite good, but there are no other details.
12/11 - Anish Mehta/Mike Sindler over Ryan Pienciak/Kathy Sheldon, 7-6 (8-6)! There are no other details.
The Rationale: Here is another category where a coin flip could be used to decide the winner and the top runner-up. Even though the runner-up had the more impressive TB score, the winner had one additional Match Point (all in favor of the eventual winning team…very unusual) and it went almost an hour and a half! Both battles were exciting for those involved and anyone who was able to witness them. The next two runner-ups stand out from the rest of the pack due to better detail and higher drama. Then, the rest of the nominees unfold from there. Yet, they stand out just enough from the Honorable Mentions to follow (again, an unprecedented amount this season).
Honorable Mentions:
3/1 – Frank Samara/Harvey Ranzi over Dino Celis/Robin Altman, 7-5! 4 Match Points!
3/16 – Frank Samara/Mike Mole over Moka Pathan/Genalin Capan, 7-6 (7-3)! Intense, solid action and an hour long, but it only had 1 MP.
3/23 - Doinks Srinivasan/Sally Pillay over Jose Gonzales/Edwin Ortega, 7-6 (7-5)!
4/30 - Greg Swierczek/Doinks Srinivasan over Kris Srinivasan/Jose Gonzales, 7-6 (7-5)!
5/28 - Sally Pillay/Brenda Jordan over Kris Srinivasan/Doinks Srinivasan, 7-6 (7-4)! This sounds good, but has no details.
6/26 - Chazz Weldon/Fernanda Toker over Jorge Solano/David Cardenas, 7-5! Nearly an hour long!
7/2 - Norman Taclob/Mike Mole over Chris Chiaro/Genalin Capan, 7-6 (7-5)! It was nearly an hour long, but no other details.
7/7 - Raj Boddu/Doinks Srinivasan over Sairaj Srinivasan/Levy Lorenzo, 7-6 (7-5)! Sairaj and Levy had been down 0-3 prior to the TB.
7/14 - Kris Srinivasan/Lou La Forgia over Marijus Kuzavas/Sally Pillay, 7-5! It was described as a very close and exciting match.
8/4 - Nathan Fernandes/Doinks Srinivasan over Scott Bergenfeld/Kris Srinivasan, 7-6 (7-4)! There are no other details.
8/25 - Greg Swierczek/Brenda Jordan over Scott Bergenfeld/Kevin Doyle, 7-6 (7-3)! There are no other details.
8/25 - Kris Srinivasan/Laura Gawley over Greg Swierczek/Rob Gawley, 7-5! Kris and Laura had been down 1-4.
9/4 - Kris Srinivasan/Genalin Capan over Jose Gonzales/Sairaj Srinivasan, 7-6 (7-4)! It was 52 minutes long.
9/22 - Edwin Ortega/Michel Encarnacion over Senthil Kumar/Doinks Srinivasan, 7-6 (7-5)! Senthil and Doinks had been down 1-4 prior to the TB.
9/23 - Moka Pathan/Stacy Casais over Frank Samara/Jordan Bachvaroff, 7-5! It was the official GTA Debut of Stacy Casais. It was 50 minutes long.
10/6 - Sairaj Srinivasan/Nithin Poosala over Joe Rodrigues/Christine Toth, 7-6 (7-3)! Kris described it as a very close and compelling match.
10/7 - Senthil Kumar/Kris Srinivasan over Nithin Poosala/Stacy Casais, 7-6 (7-3)! Nithin and Stacy were up 5-3 before the TB.
11/3 - Nathan Fernandes/Doinks Srinivasan over Kris Srinivasan/Dan Martinelli, 7-5! Kris described it as a very close match.
11/27 - Jose Gonzales/Natalia Sout over Frank Samara/Vinnie De Benedetto, 7-5! It was a very close contest throughout and somewhat of an upset.
2016 One-Set Singles Specialty Match of The Year:
The Winner: 7/13 - Nathan Fernandes over Genalin Capan, 7-6 (9-7)! Nate was up 5-3 prior to the TB. Surprisingly, it was only 50 minutes long! Multiple MP's in the TB!
The other Nominees:
7/12 - Chazz Weldon over MaryFrances Patton, 7-6 (7-3)! One hour and 45 minutes long in hot and humid conditions!
9/12 - Genalin Capan over Mike Mole, 7-6 (7-4)! Gen saved 4 MP's prior to the TB! It was one hour long!
3/11 – Mike Mole over Genalin Capan, 7-5! Mike saved 3 MP's before winning it on the 7th!
8/14 - Mike Mole over Genalin Capan, 7-5! There were 3 Match Points in this one.
The Rationale: Yet another category where a valid argument could be made for either the winner or the top runner-up. Fernandes-Capan triumphs due to the more impressive TB score, drama and details. Weldon vs. Patton was the winner of this category last season where they had a 6-4 score, yet a 90 minute match. This year they outdid themselves, but we know how their marathons go by now. Still, it is quite inspiring. The rest of the nominees here follow suit accordingly.
Honorable Mention:
3/15 – Mike Mole over Genalin Capan, 7-5! There were just two Match Points in this one.
2016 Singles Specialty Match of The Year:
The Winner: 5/27 - Anna Mazur over Raj Tailor, 6-2, 6-4!
No other Nominees.
The Rationale: Like last year, only one full 2 out of 3 Sets "Battle of The Sexes" Match was waged this past season. This time around, the result was quite the upset. The ever-ready and always steady Mazur was able to withstand the firepower of Tailor, weather the storm and come out on top. It was an impressive result.
No Honorable Mentions.
2016 Doubles Specialty Match of The Year:
The Winner: 3/10 - Tito Castolo/Nathan Fernandes over Marijus Kuzavas/Sally Pillay, 6-2, 3-6, 10-6 (STB)!
The other Nominees:
11/13 - Nathan Fernandes/Rafaelo Kazakov over Mike Kazlauskas/Natalia Sout, 6-2, 6-7 (7-5), 6-2! It was 2 hours and 5 minutes long!
8/20 - Mike Kazlauskas/Doinks Srinivasan over Kris Srinivasan/Sairaj Srinivasan, 6-4, 6-3!
The Rationale: The winner here prevails because the Super Tiebreak actually provided a greater sense of drama than the full 3rd Set played in the top runner-up and the straight-set affair that was the other nominee.
No Honorable Mentions.
2016 Greatest Singles Performance of The Year:
The Winner: Chris Chiaro for his 11/10 victory over Nathan Fernandes, 7-6 (12-10), 6-1, to complete his third successful GTA Championship defense of his second reign!
The other Nominees:
Laura Gawley for her 11/1 victory over Fernanda Toker, 6-3, 6-1, to complete her first successful GTA Women's Championship defense of her first reign!
Nathan Fernandes for his 11/8 victory over Raj Shah, 6-4, 7-5, to become the New # 2 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division and the 2016 Grove Cup Champ and next Top Contender to the GTA Championship!
Laura Gawley for her 7/24 victory over Sally Pillay, 6-1, 6-1, to win the GTA Women's Championship Tournament and become the New GTA Women's Champion!
Chris Chiaro for his 5/26 victory over Moka Pathan, 6-3, 6-3, to become The New 2-Time GTA Champion!
The Rationale: The winner and the top runner-up are very similar whereby we had dominant Champions sustain said dominance with impressive victories over their Top Contenders who were both coming off of significant Tournament victories. The edge goes to Chiaro (winning out here over Gawley) because the match against Fernandes featured a 1st Set which would have easily been the One-Set Singles Match of The Year had it been a One-Setter. It seemed we were destined to see a full 3 Set marathon only to then have the Champ shift to a higher gear and almost completely dominate the 2nd Set. Gawley's win over Toker was similar as the 1st Set was close, but the momentum shift was not quite as dramatic. Still, it is a close call. Fernandes gets recognition for breaking through with his first-ever Grove Cup victory over a very tough opponent in Shah. Gawley and Chiaro's victories to become the Champions of their respective divisions again were sound statements to just how strong each competitor is and they both came against solid competition as well.
Honorable Mentions:
Moka Pathan for his 4/28 victory over Rob Ryan, 7-5, 2-6, 6-2, to become the New GTA Champion!
Senthil Kumar for his 5/26 victory over Anish Mehta, 6-3, 6-2, to successfully defend his # 11 Rank in the Advanced Division and his # 2 Rank in the Intermediate Division while also advancing to the Finals of the GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament!
Tony Shiao for his 6/14 victory over Senthil Kumar, 6-4, 6-3, to become both the New # 10 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division and the New # 2 Ranked Player in the Intermediate Division while winning the 2016 GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament!
Chris Chiaro for his 6/28 victory over Dino Celis, 6-2, 6-0, to complete his first successful GTA Championship defense of his second reign!
Chris Chiaro for his 7/11 victory over Raj Shah, 6-4, 6-0, to complete the second successful GTA Championship defense of his second reign!
Nathan Fernandes for his 8/2 victory over Dean Delgado, 6-0, 6-0, to become the New # 7 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division while advancing to The Quarterfinals of The Grove Cup Tournament!
Fernanda Toker for her 8/19 victory over Genalin Capan, 6-0, 6-2, to become the New # 4 Ranked Player in the Women's Division while advancing to the Semifinals of the 6th Annual Gail-ann Hamilton Memorial Women's Singles Tournament!
Fernanda Toker for her 8/29 victory over Doinks Srinivasan, 6-1, 6-0, to become the New # 3 Ranked Player in the Women's Division while advancing to The Finals of The 6th Annual Gail-ann Hamiltom Memorial Women's Singles Tournament!
Nathan Fernandes for his 9/15 victory 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!
Senthil Kumar for his 9/24 victory 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!
Raj Shah for his 10/6 victory over Rob Ryan, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, to successfully defend his # 2 Rank in the Advanced Division plus advance to the Finals of the Grove Cup Tournament!
Fernanda Toker for her 10/24 victory over Sally Pillay, 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, to become the New # 2 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division as well as the winner of the 6th Annual Gail-ann Hamilton Memorial Women's Singles Tournament!
2016 Greatest Doubles Performance of The Year:
The Winners: Tito Castolo and Dawn Peterson for their 10/7 victory over Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5, to win the 2016 MXD2 Tournament and become the New GTA Mixed Doubles Champions!
The other Nominees:
Chris Chiaro and Raj Shah for their 10/25 victory over Nathan Fernandes/Moka Pathan, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), to advance to the M2 Finals while also successfully defending their # 8 Rank in the Doubles Division!
Laura Gawley and Sally Pillay for their 9/13 victory 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!
Tito Castolo and Dawn Peterson for their 11/14 victory over Chazz Weldon/Fernanda Toker, 6-2, 6-1, to complete their first successful GTA Mixed Doubles Championship defense of their first reign!
Ryan Pienciak and Nick Inciong for their 11/5 victory over Raj Shah/Raj Boddu, 6-1, 6-2, to become the 2016 Monk Memorial Champs and the New # 2 Ranked Team in the Doubles Division (i.e. the next Top Contenders)!
The Rationale: Castolo and Peterson are the clear winners here as they were a makeshift team put together at the last minute to enter the MXD2 Tournament where they met up with the very experienced tandem known as The Gawleys. They pulled off an impressive comeback upset in a marathon match! When Chiaro and Shah got past Fernandes and Pathan, it set them on the path to then face (and conquer) Kuzavas and Kazlauskas (listed below as an Honorable Mention) and perhaps move on to regain the GTA Doubles Championship that they never lost on the court. Gawley and Pillay had an impressive win over a tough team in Toker and Capan to become the undefeated 2-Time GTA Women's Doubles Champions. When Weldon and Toker won the M-Dub Tournament together, many thought it would lead to them then capturing the GTA Mixed Doubles Championship. But Castolo and Peterson shut down that idea rather quickly and convincingly. Pienciak and Inciong had a similarly dominant victory over a team (Shah and Boddu) that, on paper, should have given them a much tougher fight.
Honorable Mentions:
Norman Taclob and Tito Castolo for their 5/22 victory over Frank Samara/Vinnie De Benedetto, 6-1, 6-3, to become the New GTA Champions! The Titles had been stripped from Chiaro/Shah for inactivity.
Genalin Capan and Fernanda Toker for their 8/5 victory over Marie Salamon/Robin Altman, 6-1, 6-0, as both teams entered the Women's Doubles Division as the New # 12 and # 13 Ranked Teams respectively while advancing to the W2 Semifinals!
Chris Chiaro and Raj Shah for their 11/2 victory over Marijus Kuzavas/Mike Kazlauskas, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, to win the 2016 M2 Tournament and become the New # 2 Ranked Team in the Doubles Division (aka The Next Top Contenders)!
Laura Gawley and Sally Pillay for their 11/6 victory over Kathy Sheldon/Christine Toth, 6-2, 6-0, to complete the first successful GTA Women's Doubles Championship defense of their second reign!
As of the 2013 Season, we changed the way we count the nominations for the "Greatest Performances" Awards. We used to count them as "Match-related", but now count them as "Individual" awards. And that format of accounting occurs again this year. The reason for that is we are recognizing an individual's efforts in those matches and not the match itself.
Speaking of nominations, here we go...
Total Nominations:
NATHAN FERNANDES - 24 TOTAL: 6 Individual, 18 Match-related (N/A in 2015, 9 total in 2014, 14 total in 2013, 11 total in 2012, 0 in 2011).
Doinks Srinivasan - 19 Total: 3 Individual, 16 Match-related (23 total in 2015, 17 total in 2014, 7 total in 2013 which was her debut season).
Laura Gawley - 15 Total: 8 Individual, 7 Match-related (16 total in 2015 which was her debut season).
Ryan Pienciak - 13 Total: 4 Individual, 9 Match-related (debut season).
Sally Pillay - 12 Total: 5 Individual, 7 Match-related (13 total in 2015, 6 total in 2014 which was her debut season).
Fernanda Toker - 11 Total: 6 Individual, 5 Match-related (4 total in 2015, 5 total in 2014 which was her debut season).
Dawn Peterson - 11 Total: 6 Individual, 5 Match-related (9 total in 2015, 4 total in 2014 which was her debut season).
Chris Chiaro - 10 Total: 6 Individual, 4 Match-related (15 total in 2015, 15 total in 2014, 17 total in 2013, 13 total in 2012, 6 total in 2011).
Marijus Kuzavas - 9 Total: 2 Individual, 7 Match-related (15 total in 2015, 0 total in 2014 which was his debut season).
Dino Celis - 9 Total: 1 Individual, 8 Match-related (7 total in 2015, 3 total in 2014, 8 total in 2013, 8 total in 2012 which was his debut season).
Frank Samara - 9 Total: 1 Individual, 8 Match-related (10 total in 2015, 15 total in 2014, 15 total in 2013, 10 total in 2012, 24 total in 2011).
Kris Srinivasan - 9 Total: 0 Individual, 9 Match-related (21 total in 2015, 12 total in 2014, 7 total in 2013 which was his debut season).
Tito Castolo - 9 Total: 5 Individual, 4 Match-related (6 total in 2015, 0 total in 2014 which was his debut season).
Brenda Jordan - 9 Total: 3 Individual, 6 Match-related (16 total in 2015, 5 total in 2014 which was her return season).
Raj Shah - 8 Total: 4 Individual, 4 Match-related (10 total in 2015, 21 total in 2014, 19 total in 2013, 12 total in 2012 which was his debut season).
Genalin Capan - 8 Total: 3 Individual, 5 Match-related (11 total in 2015, 19 total in 2014, 21 total in 2013, 24 total in 2012, 20 total in 2011).
Natalia Sout - 8 Total: 1 Individual, 7 Match-related (9 total in 2015 which was her debut season).
Tony Shiao - 7 Total: 2 Individual, 5 Match-related (3 total in 2015, 2 total in 2014, 6 total in 2013, 3 total in 2012 which was his debut season).
Mike Mole - 7 Total: 1 Individual, 6 Match-related (3 total in 2015, 2 total in 2014, 4 total in 2013 which was his debut season).
Kathy Sheldon - 7 Total: 2 Individual, 5 Match-related (13 total in 2015, 15 total in 2014, 14 total in 2013, 15 total in 2012, 8 total in 2011).
Chazz Weldon - 6 Total: 2 Individual, 4 Match-related (2 total in 2015, 4 total in 2014, 3 total in 2013, 7 total in 2012 which was his debut season).
Moka Pathan - 6 Total: 3 Individual, 3 Match-related (9 total in 2015, 14 total in 2014, 4 total in 2013, 2 total in 2012, 4 total in 2011).
Mike Kazlauskas - 6 Total: 1 Individual, 5 Match-related (10 total in 2015, 3 total in 2014 which was his debut season).
John Incognito - 6 Total: 1 Individual, 5 Match-related (5 total in 2015, 5 total in 2014, 3 total in 2013, 4 total in 2012, 10 total in 2011).
Rob Gawley - 6 Total: 1 Individual, 5 Match-related (7 total in 2015 which was his debut season).
Anna Mazur - 6 Total: 1 Individual, 5 Match-related (11 total in 2015, 9 total in 2014, 7 total in 2013, 5 total in 2012, 0 total in 2011).
Anish Mehta - 5 Total: 1 Individual, 5 Match-related (debut season).
Senthil Kumar - 5 Total: 2 Individual, 3 Match-related (0 total in 2015, 1 total in 2014, 0 total in 2013 which was his debut season).
Joe Rodrigues - 5 Total: 2 Individual, 3 Match-related (4 total in 2015, 7 total in 2014, 3 total in 2013, 1 total in 2012, 6 total in 2011).
Nick Inciong - 5 Total: 3 Individual, 2 Match-related (5 total in 2015, 5 total in 2014 which was his debut season).
Christine Toth - 5 Total: 3 Individual, 2 Match-related (7 total in 2015, 4 total in 2014, 6 total in 2013, 6 total in 2012, 0 total in 2011).
Greg Swierczek - 4 Total: 1 Individual, 3 Match-related (7 total in 2015, 3 total in 2014 which was his debut season).
Dan Martinelli - 4 Total: 0 Individual, 4 Match-related (4 total in 2015, 6 total in 2014, 6 total in 2013, 5 total in 2012, 7 total in 2011).
Natalie Guzman - 4 Total: 1 Individual, 4 Match-related (debut season).
Jose Gonzales - 3 Total: 0 Individual, 3 Match-related (8 total in 2015, 7 total in 2014, 4 total in 2013 which was his debut season).
Dave Zhu - 3 Total: 0 Individual, 3 Match-related (0 total in 2015, 2 in 2014 which was his debut season).
Dennis Cabanatan - 3 Total: 1 Individual, 2 Match-related (debut season).
Jorge Solano - 3 Total: 0 Individual, 3 Match-related (2 total in 2015 which was his debut season).
Vinnie De Benedetto - 3 Total: 1 Individual, 2 Match-related (2 total in 2015 which was his debut season).
Levy Lorenzo - 3 Total: 1 Individual, 2 Match-related (debut season).
Scott Bergenfield - 2 Total: 1 Individual, 1 Match-related (N/A in 2015, 1 total in 2014, 3 total in 2013, 8 total in 2012, 7 total in 2011).
Jay Phoenix - 2 Total: 1 Individual, 1 Match-related (2 total in 2015, 4 total in 2014, 6 total in 2013, 11 total in 2012, 5 total in 2011).
Tom La - 2 Total: 1 Individual, 1 Match-related (0 total in 2015, 0 total in 2014 which was his debut season).
Mike Sindler - 2 Total: 0 Individual, 2 Match-related (debut season).
Adam Pienciak - 2 Total: 0 Individual, 2 Match-related (debut season).
Chris Lehmann - 2 Total: 0 Individual, 2 Match-related (2 total in 2015 which was his debut season).
Praful Nair - 2 Total: 0 Individual, 2 Match-related (debut season).
Jane Fan - 2 Total: 0 Individual, 2 Match-related (1 total in 2015, 0 in 2014, 0 in 2013 which was her debut season).
Denise Savino - 2 Total: 1 Individual, 1 Match-related (0 total in 2015, 1 in 2014 which was her return season).
Rob Ryan - 1 Total: 0 Individual, 1 Match-related (3 total in 2015, 4 total in 2014, 2 total in 2013, 5 total in 2012, 5 total in 2011).
Lou La Forgia - 1 Total: 0 Individual, 1 Match-related (9 total in 2015, 1 total in 2014 which was his debut season).
Dean Delgado - 1 Total: 0 Individual, 1 Match-related (4 total in 2015, 8 total in 2014, 11 total in 2013, 7 total in 2012, 14 total in 2011).
Norman Taclob - 1 Total: 1 Individual, 0 Match-related (3 total in 2015, 0 total in 2014, 1 total in 2013, 4 total in 2012, 0 in 2011).
Ralph Bernard - 1 Total: 1 Individual, 0 Match-related (debut season).
Omar Santos - 1 Total: 0 Individual, 1 Match-related (1 total in 2015, 3 total in 2014, 2 total in 2013, 2 total in 2012, 0 total in 2011).
Edwin Ortega - 1 Total: 0 Individual, 1 Match-related (0 total in 2015 which was his debut season).
Andrew Truong - 1 Total: 1 Individual, 0 Match-related (debut season).
Jordan Bachvaroff - 1 Total: 0 Individual, 1 Match-related (1 total in 2015, 0 in 2014 which was his debut season).
Sairaj Srinivasan - 1 Total: 0 Individual, 1 Match-related (1 total in 2015, 4 total in 2014, 6 total in 2013 which was his debut season).
Raj Boddu - 1 Total: 0 Individual, 1 Match-related (0 total in 2015, 2 total in 2014, 5 total in 2013, 6 total in 2012 which was his debut season).
Walter Porucznik - 1 Total: 0 Individual, 1 Match-related (0 total in 2015 which was his debut season).
Alfred Chen - 1 Total: 0 Individual, 1 Match-related (3 total in 2015, 5 total in 2014, 3 total in 2013, 1 total in 2012, 5 total in 2011).
Rafaelo Kazakov - 1 Total: 0 Individual, 1 Match-related (0 total in 2015, 1 total in 2014, 0 total in 2013 which was his debut season).
Syed Rashid - 1 Total: 0 Individual, 1 Match-related (0 total in 2015, 0 total in 2014, 0 total in 2013, 0 total in 2012 which was his debut season).
Rich Jachens - 1 Total: 0 Individual, 1 Match-related (0 total in 2015, 1 total in 2014, 0 total in 2013, 1 total in 2012, 1 total in 2011).
Dan Hwang - 1 Total: 0 Individual, 1 Match-related (0 total in 2015 which was his debut season).
Mike Carucci - 1 Total: 0 Individual, 1 Match-related (debut season).
Nithin Poosala - 1 Total: 0 Individual, 1 Match-related (0 total in 2015, 0 total in 2014, 0 total in 2013 which was his debut season).
Chris Homick - 1 Total: 0 Individual, 1 Match-related (debut season).
Santosh Reddy - 1 Total: 0 Individual, 1 Match-related (0 total in 2015 which was his debut season).
Don Moya - 1 Total: 0 Individual, 1 Match-related (return season).
Brian Barbera - 1 Total: 0 Individual, 1 Match-related (0 total in 2015, 4 total in 2014, 0 total in 2013, 7 total in 2012, 3 total in 2011).
Raj Tailor - 1 Total: 0 Individual, 1 Match-related (1 total in 2015 which was his debut season).
Ayman Elbatanony - 1 Total: 0 Individual, 1 Match-related (0 total in 2015, 1 total in 2014 which was his debut season).
Bo Folchi - 1 Total: 0 Individual, 1 Match-related (return season).
Sachiko Tokuda - 1 Total: 1 Individual, 0 Match-related (debut season).
Robin Altman - 1 Total: 1 Individual, 0 Match-related (return season).
Stacy Casais - 1 Total: 1 Individual, 0 Match-related (debut season).
Miriam Mendez - 1 Total: 1 Individual, 0 Match-related (0 total in 2015, 2 total in 2014, 4 total in 2013 which was her debut season).
Evonne Tan - 1 Total: 1 Individual, 0 Match-related (return season).
MaryFrances Patton - 1 Total: 0 Individual, 1 Match-related (2 total in 2014 which was her debut season).
Barbara Johnson - 1 Total: 0 Individual, 1 Match-related (debut season).
The stories that emerge from these nomination totals are as follows.
Nathan Fernandes came back to the GTA with a vengeance and he ended up as the top nomination-getter with a whopping total of 24 nominations! We haven't seen someone garner that many since Frank Samara did it back in 2011.
As for Samara, it was his weakest year ever with an all-time low of just nine nominations. Fellow session host, Kris Srinivasan also had a setback year as last season he was the top nomination-getter amongst the men. Busier personal and/or work schedules kept both of them on the sidelines more often than they would have liked. Perhaps the 2017 Season will be kinder to each of them.
As for Mrs. Srinivasan (aka Doinks), she is once again the top nomination-getter amongst the women (last season, she was the top nomination-getter of all players in the league). To be so heavily nominated is both a reflection of activity level and a penchant for being in nail-biter matches score-wise.
Sometimes dominance is a double-edged sword. Case in point…two, actually…our reigning Singles Champions - Chris Chiaro and Laura Gawley. While their seemingly invincible status leads to many nominations and awards on the individual side of the ledger, their on-court performances often lead to blowouts rather than down-to-the-wire finishes. As a result, they can often lack a bit in this regard.
Lastly, the difference between nominations and honorable mentions is often quite slim. No favorites are played here. This is the best effort to determine which individuals and/or matches deserved to receive proper recognition. There are times when some feel slighted, but they should not. No one is left out on purpose. Perhaps next year the balls will bounce their way and they will receive official nominations rather than simply honorable mentions.
Once again, it has truly been an amazing season of GTA Tennis. I thank everyone who was a part of it. And here's to an even greater 2017 Season!
Sincerely,
Frank Samara
