Monday, May 22, 2017

5/19 Results.

5/19/17:

"Samara hosts 4 at PAC, Laurie-Lena part of 13 at C.G.!":

GTA Friday Night Tennis took place at both The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley (hosted by "Hollywood" Frank Samara) and at The Cedar Grove Courts as the session got started with a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match between "Laidback" Laurie Boughton and "LP" Lena Pyatski (with Laurie reporting, and additional results coming in from "Dominant" Dawn Peterson and "Sadistic" Syed Rashid).

First we will recap what went down at the "PAC" and then we will take this report up to C.G. (with contributions made by Boughton, Peterson and Rashid).

Samara pulled into the parking lot at Park Ave. in Nutley precisely at 8pm.  As he headed up the hill and approached the courts, he saw two guys on Court One (aka the Entrance Court) and three other guys on Court Two.

The only other GTA guy in sight was "Speed Demon" Dan Praport who was waiting as he sat along the fence in the area between Courts Three and Four.

Just as Frank was getting close to the courts, he overheard one of the three guys on Court Two ask Dan if he wanted to join them for some Doubles.  Praport declined as he pointed out that I was on my way.

Once Samara started crossing the courts to get over to the area Dan was in, one of the three guys on Court Two joked that they were "just about to take his partner."  Frank's reply was, "that's no problem."

At this time, it seemed there could be a chance for some recruitment of new players (like the night before).  This especially seemed true after "MC Quick" Mike Carucci arrived at 8:20 and soon after started hitting with the other three (it should be said that, by this time, the first two guys on Court One had left at 8:10 which caused the three guys who had been on Court Two to shift to that one while Samara and Praport also shifted to Two.

Frank and Dan soon started a Singles One-Setter at 8:15 with the agreement that if nobody else from the GTA arrived, they would make it a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match.  When Carucci arrived just five minutes later, it briefly seemed that plan would have to be scrapped.  But then the deal was back on once Mike was invited to hit with the other three.

"The Hitman" Tom La arrived at 8:30.  The three guys who were still just hitting with Carucci all said "hi" to Mr. La.  In fact, Tom took the place of one of the three who had to leave early.

It seemed we would have two GTA players going up against two non-GTA players (with the hope being to recruit those two guys and have them become GTA players as well...the way it went down the night before).

Then, "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan walked onto the courts at 8:40.  With an odd number player scenario once again unfolding, Samara and Praport went back to the idea of just playing a One-Setter (which ended exactly at 8:45).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

But then La removed himself from Court One to come over to Court Two for some proper Doubles as he told Samara that those other guys just like to keep hitting the ball all night long.  It was at this moment that Frank decided to team with Tom to take on Dan and Gen.

He also hoped that Carucci would eventually get involved along with some new recruits.  But alas, it was not to be.  Eventually, the two guys asked Mike if he could step off as they did then end up playing a Singles One-Setter with one another.  There would be no opportunity to recruit them.  And Carucci said he could not stick around and left soon after that.                                                                                                                                    

Enough chit chat, let's get to the scores!

The Park Ave. Courts Results:

Frank Samara over Dan Praport, 6-3!  No Aces.  It went like this: Frank held serve (Frank hit a winning lob for 15-Love, Double Fault for 15-All, 15-30 where Frank hit a winner for 30-All, Game Point and the hold) and Dan was broken (Frank hit an impressive return winner for Triple Break Point, it was then Double Break Point where Dan made an amazing get/passing shot winner combo to make it Break Point, but then came the break) for an 0-2 start.  Samara was broken at Love as Dan hit scorching down-the-line winning returns to set up both Love-15 and Triple Break Point, but then Praport was broken again (Dan hit a winner for 15-Love, but then it went straight to Double Break Point after Dan blew a volley and then came the break) to make it 1-3.  Hollywood was broken again (Dan hit a winner and another one of those punishing return winners on the way to Triple Break Point, it was then Double Break Point where Dan made a nice get/passing shot winner combo for the break) to have his lead cut to 3-2 and then The Speed Demon held in an epic struggle (Dan made another great get/winner combo for 30-Love which was where Frank hit a drop shot winner for 30-15, it then went to Double Game Point which was soon cut down to Deuce which was where Dan hit an excellent Backhand Volley winner for Game Point...and from here forward I could no longer remember who hit what winners...as it then went to 2nd Deuce, Game Point, 3rd Deuce, Break Point, 4th Deuce, Game Point, 5th Deuce, Game Point and the hold) to tie things up at 3-3!  But from there, Frank held (30-Love where Dan hit a winner for 30-15, Double Game Point which was where Dan blew a volley to allow the hold), Dan was broken and this time it was at Love as Frank hit drop shot winners to bookend the game at beginning and end and then Samara held again (un-returned serve for 15-Love, 30-Love where Dan whipped out another sizzling return winner for 30-15 which was where Frank hit a roller over the tape that seemed like he had just dipped the ball in super glue just prior to the shot as it absolutely hugged the net on the way down...so much so that Dan, who was nearby, could not make a play on it...and now it was Double Game/Match Point where Frank blew an overhead to cut his own lead down to Game/Match Point where he would find redemption when he scored with a laser-like passing shot winner that seemingly went right through Dan who was waiting near the net for it, yet could not make a play on it!  We played this one on Court Two from 8:15 to 8:45.

The Skinny: Afterward, Praport told Samara that while he could see that Samara sometimes had some timing issues with some of the prep for his shots, overall his placements were even better than they were three or four years ago (the last time these two did battle).  On the flip side, Frank told Dan that his amazing get-making abilities have returned to form (likely only GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro and "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes can match Praport in this regard) and now most of the rust has been shaken off as well.  The two hope to soon face one another in a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match which should be interesting if it is anything like this One-Setter was.  If both of these players can continue to return to past form, they each may once again make an impact upon the Advanced Division as they had done not all that long ago.

Frank Samara/Tom La over Dan Praport/Genalin Capan, 6-1!  No Aces.  Here's how it went down: Dan held serve (Tom hit a wicked winner for Love-30, but then Frank blew a volley and Dan hit a winner of his own on the way to Game Point where Dan made an awesome get/volley winner combo for the hold), Frank held at Love as Tom hit a drop shot winner and then back-to-back winning Overhead Smashes on the way to Triple Game Point and then Frank earned his hold with an un-returned serve, but Genalin was the first to be broken (Dan hit a winner for 15-Love and then it went point for point as Gen hit an un-returned serve along the way, but Tom also hit a winner and then once it got to 30-All, Tom hit another winner to set up Break Point, it then went to Deuce, Break Point again where Frank hit an amazing winner to get the break) for 1-2.  Tom held (an un-returned serve for 15-Love, 15-All, Double Fault for 15-30, another un-returned serve for 30-All, Game Point where Dan hit a lob return winner for Deuce, but then came Game Point and the hold), Praport was broken (Frank hit a winning drop shot return for Love-15, it was 15-All before heading to Double Break Point as Tom hit a vicious volley winner along the way, it was then Break Point where Dan made another electrifying get/passing shot winner combo to make it Deuce, then came Break Point, 2nd Deuce where Frank hit a high-powered return winner for Break Point and then came the break), Samara held again (Love-15 went straight to Double Game point as Frank had hit two winners and an un-returned serve along the way, but then Tom blew a volley to make it Game Point where Tom found redemption when he scored with a venomous volley winner to secure his partner's hold) and then Capan was broken again (Triple Break/Match Point where Tom blew a volley to make it Double Break/Match Point, but that was where the break came) to take the loss.  We played this one on Court Two from 9pm to 9:25.

In the next one, Dan and Gen decided to switch up their service sides.  All other things remained the same.

Frank Samara/Tom La over Dan Praport/Genalin Capan, 6-2!  Dan: 2 Aces on Frank!  The dirty lowdown: Tom held serve (started with a Double Fault, but then went straight to Double Game Point as he hit an incredible winner along the way and then Dan made one of the sickest gets I've ever seen, but his team still lost the point, Frank blew a volley to make it Game Point, but then came the hold), Dan held (15-Love where Tom hit a winning Overhead Smash for 15-All and then it was straight to Double Break Point, but then it shifted to Deuce where Dan scored with a deceptive slice Ace against Frank for Game Point and then another un-returned serve secure the hold), Frank held (Frank hit a drop shot winner and Gen blew a volley on the way to 30-Love, it then went 30-15, Double Game Point and the hold) and Genalin held (15-Love, an excellent rally for 15-All, 15-30 which then shifted to Game Point, Deuce, Game Point again where Tom hit a net-cord winner for 2nd Deuce, Game Point again, 3rd Deuce, Game Point yet again and finally the hold) as we were all on serve at 2-2.  But from there, Praport was broken (un-returned serve for 15-Love where Frank hit a winner for 15-All and then Dan hit an Ace that just caught the outside of the T-line to victimize Frank once again for a 30-15 lead only to see Tom whip a wild winner for 30-All which was where Dan had a winner of his won for Game Point, Deuce where Tom hit a drop shot winner to set up Break Point and then came the break), Samara held again (Love-30 where Frank hit a winner for 15-30, then it went to Double Break Point which then rebounded to Deuce, Game Point and the hold) and Capan was then broken again (Love-15 where Gen hit a winning lob for 15-All, but then it was straight to Double Break/Match Point as Tom hit a drop shot winner along the way, it then went to Break/Match Point and then that is where the break came) to get another "L!"  This one was also contested on Court Two and it lasted from 9:28 to 9:58...the lights went out soon after!

The Skinny: Do not let the scores of these two Doubles One-Setters fool you as they both felt far more competitive then they seem on the surface.  All four played well.  The biggest difference-maker was Tom as he aggressively finished off many points while up at the net.

Let's now head up to Cedar Grove where we will first get a full match result from Laurie, then some scores from "Dominant" Dawn Peterson and...

The Cedar Grove Results:

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:
Lena Pyatski over Laurie Boughton, 6-0, 6-0, as both players entered the Women's Division as the New #12 and #13 Ranked Players respectively!  Lena: 5 Aces!

Laurie's lament: What a strange night for me, to say the least...LOL!  At any rate, you see the score...Lena whooped me!  I have no comment, except HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!  I think it lasted an hour and a half?  More?  Less?  It seemed like an eternity to me, so I have no clue on the time...LOL!

I honestly have no excuses.  Lena played a defensive game using great placement and it worked perfectly.  I felt like I had never played tennis in my entire life.  I played that badly.  I was almost ready to switch to golf, but then peeps had me play Doubles, and I got my game back. :-) 

OMG…and as I was down 0-4 in the 1st Set, I thought "OMG, WHAT IF SHE DOUBLE BAGELS ME?"
And I soooooooooooooooo know better than to have negative thoughts, but I did, and I self-fulfilled my own horror story…hahahahaha!

HOWEVER, I shall never ever give up...next time I'll whoop her!  And, if not, at least I cannot do worse than a double bagel. ;) 

At least we both got into the competing Women's Division now…hahahahahahahahahhaha!  I can hardly wait...pfffffffffffffffffffffffffttttttttttt!  Good night!

Samara's Notes: I thank Laurie for that very entertaining write-up and I also congratulate Lena on a very impressive victory.  We now go to Dawn.

Kevin Doyle/Dawn Peterson over Mike Mole/Kathy Sheldon, 6-4!  No Aces (apparently).

Mike Mole/Laurie Boughton over Kevin Doyle/Dawn Peterson, 9-7!  No Aces (apparently).  They did it "old school" style by playing out the games rather than going to the Tiebreak.

Samara's Notes: I thank Dawn for sending in those scores.  "Coach" Dino Celis made a cameo appearance there that night and he witnessed this last one.

We now go to Syed for the balance of the results.

Jose Gonzales/Syed Rashid over Dave Zhu/Rafaelo Kazakov, 6-0!  No Aces (apparently).

Tito Castolo/Syed Rashid leading Dave Zhu/Rafaelo Kazakov, 5-3 (Incomplete when the lights went off at 10pm)!  No Aces (apparently).

Samara's Notes: I thank Syed for his timely reporting as well.  When everyone steps up like this, it is always greatly appreciated.

Also, Jay "The Rising" Phoenix and "The A-Bomb" Andrew Troung had begun their GTA Intermediate Invitational Quarterfinal Match with one another there that night until Andrew had to bow out due to illness.  He offered to forfeit the rest of the match to Jay, but Mr. Phoenix would not have it.  They decided to then continue it on Sunday morning…and it is in that report where you will find out who emerged victorious.

All the best,
Frank Samara
gtasamara5@gmail.com
862-596-3354








 


No comments:

Post a Comment