5/10/17:
"Santos-Ortega in Wayne, 2 at AP, Phoenix-La in Nutley, Spin hosts 16 (1 new) at C.G.!":
There were four sessions of GTA Wednesday Tennis: a morning one that went into the early afternoon at The Nellis Drive Courts in Wayne (featuring a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match between "Stealth" Omar Santos and "Eddie O" Edwin Ortega, as reported by Edwin), a late afternoon/early evening one at the Albion Park Courts in Clifton (as reported by "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan), an evening session at The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley (featuring a GTA Intermediate Invitational Round of 16 Match between Jay "The Rising" Phoenix and "The Hitman" Tom La, as reported by Jay) and then the usual evening session at The Cedar Grove Courts hosted by "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli (with an assist from usual host, "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan and also "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes along the way).
So this report will flow in that order. We first go to Edwin's recap from Wayne.
The Nellis Drive Result:
2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:
Edwin Ortega over Omar Santos, 7-6 (8-6), 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), to become both the New # 22 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division and the New # 6 Ranked Player in the Intermediate Division! Edwin: 2 Aces; and Omar: 1 Ace!
The Eddie O Memo: We played at The Nellis Drive Courts in Wayne from 9:45am to 12:15pm. It was a long match with the two Tiebreaks, but also plenty of Deuce games. In the 3rd Set, I was down 3-5 and serving to stay in the match. If Omar had been able to break me, he would have won it. Instead, I was able to come back and force that second TB.
Samara's Notes: I thank Edwin for his very timely reporting...just a little over an hour after the match via text. I congratulate him on a hard-fought victory and also offer kudos to Omar for his fine effort. At least for now, this is the match to beat for Intermediate Match of The Year at season's end.
We now go to Gen for her notes from Albion Park.
The Albion Park Result:
Mike Mole over Genalin Capan, 6-4! No Aces.
Gen's Notes: We played this from 4:30 to 5:10, but we first started hitting around 3:30. It was a pretty good One-Setter considering the last time Mike and I hit was probably sometime in March. During this One-Setter, Dino Celis and Jen Elgart had a practice session on Center Court. We waited until 6pm for Christine Toth, but she never arrived.
Samara's Notes: I thank Gen for her timely reporting as well…much like Edwin, via text and soon after it all ended. What they did not know is that Christine sent an e-mail to Jen (not Gen…LOL!) at 4:50 which explained she had an emergency situation at work and would be unable to make it (she copied me on this).
We now go to Jay's recap from Nutley.
The Park Ave. Result:
GTA Intermediate Invitational Round of 16 Match:
Jay Phoenix over Tom La, 1-6, 6-3, 6-0 (via forfeit of entire last set), to both successfully defend his # 20 Rank in the Advanced Division and his # 4 Rank in the Intermediate Division plus advance to the Quarterfinals of the GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament! Tom: 1 Ace in the 2nd Set.
Jay has his say: We played from 5:30 to 7pm at The Park Avenue Courts in Nutley. After the 2nd Set, he retired due to a leg injury (a calf problem) and he insisted that I take the match.
I was not happy winning this way because he had won the majority of the games and I knew he was the better player based on our history of playing against one another over the last five years. I have never beaten him before. Nevertheless, I will accept the forfeit.
Samara's Notes: It is a tough way to win and I appreciate the fact that Jay was willing to give Tom the chance to continue the match at a later date. But if that is Tom's will, then that is the way it should be. I know he has had a history of injuries and other issues…which is why he has been somewhat hesitant to get involved in full 2 out of 3 Sets Singles Matches in the past. I also thank Jay for his timely reporting of this result.
The Consequences: Phoenix now advances to the Quarters where he will face "The A-Bomb" Andrew Truong.
We now turn this report over to the man known as Spin.
Upon my 8pm arrival, the Cedar Grove Courts were already laced with the GTA faithful doing battle on three of the four courts. One court was to be occupied by two interlopers playing singles for the entire Wednesday night stanza.
It turned out to be a non-factor on this eve because the turnout was only moderate. However, the action was intense even though the attendance was a little lower than normal. It was surprisingly cool out which may have kept the numbers down. It was more like late March than early May.
The Cedar Grove Results:
First, the scores via Kris:
The K has his say: When I made my grand entrance, two doubles matches were already in progress. I hit with two non-GTA players and then Mike Kazlauskas arrived.
Jordan Bachvaroff/Brenda Jordan over Kathy Sheldon/Dawn Peterson, 7-6 (7-1)! No Aces.
Kris Srinivasan/Natalie Guzman over Tito Castolo/Aaron Goldberg, 7-5! No Aces. It was the official GTA Debut of Aaron Goldberg.
Tito Castolo/Aaron Goldberg over Kris Srinivasan/Natalie Guzman, 6-4! No Aces.
Tito Castolo/Aaron Goldberg leading Kris Srinivasan/Natalie Guzman, 4-4 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)! Kris: 1 Ace on Aaron; and Natalie: 1 Ace on Aaron!
The K has his say: Aaron was swinging freely, using his baseball skills to strike the ball. He had quite a few attractive shots. Natalie's efforts were phenomenal and she played great. Tito was his usual wicked self. It turned out to be a fun session. Cheers!
Dennis Cabanatan/Doinks Srinivasan over Dan Martinelli/Syed Rashid, 7-5! No Aces.
Dan Martinelli/Syed Rashid over Dennis Cabanatan/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-4! No Aces.
The Spin from Spin: Oh how cocky Syed and I became in the first One-Setter. Up 4-1 and rolling, it looked like Doinks and Dennis were going to go down in a ball of flames. On the changeover and down 1-4, Doinks said to Dennis, "It's time for a comeback!" Doinks has powers! A spark was ignited and it was Syed and Spin crumbling and Doinks and Dennis pouncing. We were like hapless gazelles on the Serengeti dropping the set at 7-5!
The second One-Setter was more of the same as we again went up 4-1. What's up with going up 4-1 only to watch helplessly as Doinks and Dennis again stormed back to knot the score at 4-4?!?! Deja' vu!!! With Syed and Spin up 5-4 and Doinks serving on Match Point, Doinks took pity on the hapless lads and Double Faulted us to victory. It was a fun match and Doinks and Dennis were great opponents.
And now for scores via Nate (that Kris had also sent):
Nathan Fernandes/Mike Kazlauskas over Raj Tailor/Syed Rashid, 6-0! Mike: 2 Aces on Syed; and Syed: 1 Ace on Mike!
The K has his say: A bagel was served to Syed and Raj without the cream cheese!
Nathan Fernandes/Raj Tailor over Mike Kazlauskas/Kris Srinivasan, 6-2! No Aces.
Lou La Forgia/Jordan Bachvaroff over Nathan Fernandes/Mike Kazlauskas, 6-2! No Aces.
Nathan Fernandes/Mike Kazlauskas over Lou La Forgia/Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-4! No Aces.
Lou La Forgia/Jordan Bachvaroff leading Nathan Fernandes/Mike Kazlauskas, 5-3 (and 30-All, but Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!
It's a shame this one didn't get done as it was originally intended to be a full 2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match!
As mentioned before, it was a bit chilly…but the action was fast and furious. Dino stopped by late for a cameo (again, with phone in hand which it seems he cannot put down!). Lou made it through the night without snapping any strings. Maybe he was a tad tired from last night!
Samara's Notes: Once again, I thank the Doc for doing the hosting duties…and also his colorful reports!
Samara signing off!
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