6/29 Results.

6/29/17:               

"Samara-Rizzo at NTC, Gawley-Toker part of 16 at C.G., M2 WD!":                               

GTA Thursday Night Tennis took place at two locations: Nutley Tennis Club as "Hollywood" Frank Samara and "The Riz" John Rizzo squared off in a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match (with Frank reporting) and at The Cedar Grove Courts with "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan acting as host while there was the Main Event which was the GTA Women's Championship Match between GTA Women's Champion: Laura "The Aura" Gawley and Former Champ: "The Argentine Machine" Fernanda Toker (both reported this result directly along with additional commentary).  "Latino Heat" Jose Gonzales also reported a couple of Doubles One-Setters directly as both were quite noteworthy…particularly the first of the two.

We will first go to the NTC recap from Frank, then all the results from Laura, Fernanda, Jose and Kris which cover all of what took place up at Cedar Grove.

"Hollywood" Frank Samara arrived at Nutley Tennis Club exactly at 6:45 as originally agreed upon with "The Riz" John Rizzo who was already waiting courtside in a chair on Court Three.  Not according to plan was the fact that Frank had to bring his kids with him and this knocked out the chance of Samara heading to The Park Ave. Courts afterward to host a brief session there as well. Frank asked John to act on his behalf, so Rizzo sent an e-mail out to the league to let them know that Samara would not be heading to Park Ave. after all.

After a brief hitting session, they got the match underway right around 6:50.

The NTC Result:

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:
Frank Samara over John Rizzo, 6-4, 6-3, to successfully defend his # 22 Rank in the Advanced Division!  No Aces.

1st Set: Frank held serve (15-Love shifted to 15-30, 30-All, Break Point where Frank hit a winner to get to Deuce, but then John replied with a winner of his own to bring it back to Break Point, an un-returned serve made it 2nd Deuce, then on Game Point it was John who hit another winner to swing it back to 3rd Deuce where an un-returned serve set up Game Point only to have John hit a net-cord-aided winner to force a 4th Deuce, but then it went to Game Point again where Frank hit a winner to finally secure the hold), John held (Frank hit a winner for Love-15 which was where John hit a winning Overhead Smash for 15-All only to see the game go straight to Double Break Point, but back-to-back un-returned serves brought it to Deuce, then on Game Point there was an un-returned serve to secure the hold) and then Samara was the first to be broken (15-Love shifted to 15-30 as John hit a winning return along the way, it was then 30-All where John hit a winning lob for Break Point, then it went to Deuce, Break Point again where Frank hit a winning passing shot for 2nd Deuce only to have John do the same thing twice to bring it to Break Point and then the break) to fall to 1-2!  Rizzo was also broken (Frank hit a winning return for Love-15, then a winning volley from John made it 15-All only to have Frank hit a winning drop shot return followed by another drop shot winner bring it to Double Break Point and then John blew a volley to break himself) and then Hollywood held at Love as he started off with two un-returned serves and then John blew another volley to set up Triple Break Point as the lead changed hands at 3-2 for Samara.  The Riz responded with a hold of his own (Frank hit a passing shot winner for Love-15 where John hit a winning Overhead Smash for 15-All only to have back-to-back drop shot winners from Frank bring it to Double Break Point where John hit a winner to cut it to Break Point, then it was Deuce where an un-returned serve set up Game Point and then came the hold) and then Frank was broken (started off with a Double Fault and then John hit a winning Overhead Smash for Love-30, it then went to 15-30, Double Break Point where Frank hit a passing shot winner to cut it to Break Point, but then came the break) as the lead bounced back to Rizzo at 4-3.  John was broken (started off up 15-Love only to see Frank hit two consecutive net-cord-aided winners followed by another winner to bring it to Double Break Point where Frank then scored with a winning lob for the break) and Samara held at Love (the game was bookended by an un-returned serve upfront and a winner for the hold) to reclaim the lead at 5-4!  Rizzo was then broken at Love as he first blew a volley, Frank hit a winning drop shot return, John blew another volley and then Frank hit another winning drop shot return to take the set which ended right around 7:30 (it had started near 6:50).  It was just at this time that "The Hit Man" Tom La arrived to make an extended cameo appearance.  He took a seat courtside and stayed to watch the entire next set.

2nd Set: Frank held (John hit an emphatic winner for Love-30, but then it shifted to 30-All as Frank first hit a winner and then a drop shot winner only to have John hit a quick reflex and hard-hitting Backhand Volley to set up Break Point which was where Frank hit a winning lob for Deuce, it was Break Point again and then 2nd Deuce where a drop shot winner from Frank set up Game Point which was where an un-returned serve secured the hold), John held (Love-15 shifted straight to Double Game Point as Frank blew drop shot attempts in back-to-back points, it then went to Game Point and then the hold), Samara held again (Love-15 went right to Double Game Point as Frank hit an un-returned serve, a winner and a winning volley and then he hit another un-returned serve to secure the hold) as did Rizzo (a winning lob from Frank made it Love-15, but then it shifted to 30-15 as John whipped out another solid Backhand Volley winner and then it went to 30-All where John hit a winner to set up Game Point where Frank blew another drop shot attempt to allow the hold) for 2-2.  The Wood held at Love as a winner set up Triple Game Point and another winner sealed the deal on that game, but The Riz also held yet again (back-to-back winners from Frank made it Love-30, but then a winner from John reversed the momentum as it then sent the game sailing to Game Point where a truly un-returnable serve...it took an awkward bounce off the back of the service line tape...locked in the hold) as we were both still on serve in this set at 3-3!  Frank held yet again (an un-returned serve for 30-Love, but it then shifted to 30-All as John hit a drop shot winner along the way, but then Frank hit a drop shot winner of his own to set up Game Point and then a winning volley earned the hold), but John was the first to be broken in this set and this time around it was at Love as Frank hit a passing shot winner to open the game and John hit a Double Fault to set up Triple Break Point) to fall to 3-5.  Samara then held one more time (Frank hit a winner for 15-Love, it then went to 15-All before going to Double Game/Match Point which was set up by another winner and then came the hold for the match as Frank did not even realize it was Match Point...John was the one to tell him the match was over!) to get the "W!"  We took a brief break between sets so John could take a bathroom break and we also ended up talking to Tom a bit.  So this set started at 7:39 and ended exactly at 8:13.

The Skinny: Coming into this match, Samara did not take anything lightly.  Even though Rizzo is still on the road to recovery, the clay at NTC is pretty much his "home surface" at this point.  Meanwhile, this was the first time that Frank played on the clay this season.  Plus, while John is still dealing with some lingering ailments, Frank had to deal with family drama on the way to NTC and then had to keep watch on his kids from the corner of his eye from time to time (not to mention some ill-timed interruptions from the cuties).  It pretty much evened everything out for both of them.  The 1st Set was the higher quality of the two and the lead shifts definitely made it interesting.  In the 2nd Set, even though both players kept holding serve and the difference was only that one break of serve...Samara seemed to be more in control in this one as Rizzo was fading fast in the humidity and that was coupled with the fact that some of his ongoing pain issues were once again taking their effect.  He had just played two full sets the night before against "The AM Rush" Anish Mehta (same score, but separated as two One-Setters at 6-4 and 6-3), so it was all quite understandable.

Samara's Notes: I thank Riz for offering me the match even though he was the one in the challenger's position.  At least now I cannot be leapfrogged once the June Rank Defense Review takes place as of June 30th and fall even further in the ranks.  It also allowed me to get a full Challenge Match under my belt as we get ready to head into the Grove Cup Men's Singles Tournament.

We now get results and commentary from Laura, Fernanda, Jose and Kris in that order.

The Cedar Grove Results:

GTA Women's Championship Match:

Laura Gawley over Fernanda Toker, 6-3, 6-2, to complete her third successful GTA Women's Championship defense of her first reign!  No Aces.

The Aura states: We went onto the court at 6:45 and were done at 8pm.  Fernanda played very well and was very consistent throughout the match.  We had some very long points and there were many Deuce games. Luckily, the sun wasn't fully out for this match because Fernanda had me do a lot of running!

Toker's take: It was much closer than the score shows...tons of Deuce games!  I think I closed the gap a little bit more between us and we certainly had fun and long rallies.  Overall, great match...she's a great player and a great person...I like playing her!

Samara's Notes: I thank both for their contributions to this report and it sounds like it definitely was a tighter match than the score suggests.  And now we grab a couple results from Jose along with his brief commentary.

Moka Pathan/Joe Rodrigues over Jose Gonzales/Janice Wang, 7-6 (13-11)!  Jose: 3 Aces (2 on Joe and 1 on Moka); and Moka: 1 Ace on Janice!

The Heat Sheet: Janice and I were down 3-0 and then we won the next five games.  Then in the Tiebreak we were down 0-4 and then came back and had Match Points to win when up 10-9 and 11-10.  Unfortunately, we fell short.  That Janice is a fighter till the end.  Even though we lost, it was fun teaming with her.

Samara's Notes: As of right now, this is the One-Setter to beat for One-Set Specialty Doubles Match of The Year at season's end.

Nathan Fernandes/Natalia Sout over Jose Gonzales/Janice Wang, 6-4!  Jose: 2 Aces on Natalia!

Samara's Notes: I thank Jose for his very timely reporting of both of these results.  We now turn over the rest of this report to Kris.

2 out of 3 Sets:

Ralph Bernard over Santosh Reddy, 6-3, 6-2!  No Aces.  This was not a rank defense for Bernard as he is solely in the Advanced Division.  In the process, however, Reddy has now entered the Intermediate Division as the New # 47 Ranked Player.

Samara's Notes: The good thing about a match like this is that Reddy is now qualified for entry into the upcoming Grove Cup Men's Singles Tournament (if he chooses to do so).

Kris Srinivasan/Doinks Srinivasan over Tommy Reszkowski/Fernanda Toker, 7-6 (7-4)!  No Aces.

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Ryan Pienciak/Tito Castolo over Raj Tailor/Ralph Bernard, 6-3, 6-4, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 72 and # 73 Ranked Teams respectively!  No Aces.

The K has his say: I was a late show last night missing out on most of the matches.  Jordan Bachvaroff took the day off and was just watching us in action. 

Dino Celis came late, but stayed put long enough for a lengthy session of meaningful tips for us…especially for Doinks.  After our match against Tommy and Fernanda, we had a great hitting session against Don Moya who never got to play any matches…and we didn't continue what was supposed to be a full match.

It still was a great night for GTA Tennis, just with fewer players.  Cheers!

Samara's Notes: As always, I truly thank Kris for all he does for the GTA up at Cedar Grove.

The evening's events were not over yet as behind the scenes there was a major development.  It all started to occur close to a week ago as the M2 Round of 13 Match between the teams of Raj Tailor/Levy Lorenzo and William Bobila/Fred Suba was having some issues getting scheduled. 

When it failed to come together last weekend, Levy had to pull out as he was going away on a business trip this past Monday that was set to last close to three weeks.  Raj was allowed to choose a new partner to replace him.  Two of the guys who had inquired about entry into the tourney (but had missed the registration deadline), Joe Rodrigues and Jorge Solano, were offered the slot and Solano was the first to step forward.

But now it is Raj who has some important family matters to tend to…all positive, not negative like Samara's circumstances…so he decided to withdraw as well.  Plus, he is still trying to meet his commitment to the ongoing GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament as he was hoping to play his Semifinal Match against Nihar Panda on Friday.  It was just too much on his plate all at once.

In fairness to the Bobila/Suba team who has been more than patient throughout this process, they will just be given a bye into the Quarterfinals at this point rather than waiting further for some completely new team to emerge.  Jorge, unfortunately, became the odd man out in this situation. 

Samara signing off!

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

862-596-3354

6/28 Results.

6/28/17:               

"Anna-Dawn + 2 at PAC, 2 play at NTC, Kuzavas-Kaz, M2, MXD2 all part of 24 at C.G.!":                               

GTA Wednesday Night Tennis took place at three locations: The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley as there first was a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match between "Automatic" Anna Mazur and "Dominant" Dawn Peterson (with Dawn reporting) and then "The Speed Demon" Dan Praport and "Richie" Rich Liu faced off in a One-Setter (with Dan reporting); Nutley Tennis Club as "The AM Rush" Anish Mehta and "The Riz" John Rizzo squared off in two One-Setters (with John reporting) and at The Cedar Grove Courts with "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan acting as host while there were three big matches (among may others): "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas versus "Big Kaz" Mike Kazlauskas (Marijus reported this one directly), The M2 Round of 13 Match featuring Dennis "The Menace" Cabanatan teaming with his pal "The Hit Man" Tom La to take on the tandem of "The Bulgarian Bull" Jordan Bachvaroff and "The Running Man" Ryan Sherry and The MXD2 Round of 13 Match featuring "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes and Natalia "Nitro" Sout going up against "The Legendary" Chazz Weldon and "LP" Lena Pyatski.

We will first go to the Nutley recap from Dawn and Dan, then the scores from John and then turn this report over to Kris for what took place up at Cedar Grove (but first with a contribution from Marijus). 

The Park Ave. Results:

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:

Anna Mazur over Dawn Peterson, 6-1, 6-1, to successfully defend her # 5 Rank in the Women's Division!  In the process, Peterson returns to the "W" Division as the New # 15 Ranked Player.  No Aces.

Dawn's data: I have not played Singles in a couple years.  She played very well, but youth and speed were on her side.

Samara's Notes: I thank Dawn for submitting that result.  We now go to Dan for his score.

Dan Praport over Rich Liu, 6-4! 

The Praport Report: I met up with Rich at Park Ave at 7pm.  We played a One-Setter.  Rich played well.  I was up 4-1, then Rich tied it 4-4.  He had Double Break Point to go up 5-4, but I bounced back in that game and then took the last one.

Samara's Notes: I thank Dan for submitting that score in a very timely manner.  We now stay in Nutley, but go from Park Ave. to the Nutley Tennis Club for some scores from John.

The NTC Results:

Anish Mehta over John Rizzo, 6-3!  No Aces.

Anish Mehta over John Rizzo, 6-4!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I thank John for reporting those results.  We now head up to Cedar Grove to first grab some results from Marijus before turning over the rest of the report to Kris. 

The Cedar Grove Results:

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:

Marijus Kuzavas over Mike Kazlauskas, 6-0, 6-1, to successfully defend his # 6 Rank in the Advanced Division!  Marijus: 2 Aces in the 1st Set; Mike: 3 Aces in the 2^nd Set!

The Super Mario Memo: We got together early and went to the courts down the road.  We hit for a bit and then we played the match.  Then we traveled back to the main Cedar Grove Courts and played a Doubles One-Setter later in the night against Jordan Bachvaroff and Ryan Pienciak.

Marijus Kuzavas/Mike Kazlauskas over Jordan Bachvaroff/Ryan Pienciak, 7-5!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I thank Marijus for his very timely reporting of those results.  We will now let The K Man take it away!

It truly was a "Wonderful Wednesday" for GTA Tennis as there was plenty of action throughout the night which got off to an early start.  It featured two tournament matches besides the regular impromptu matches.  The turnout was great and the weather was perfect.

The M2 Men's Doubles Match kick-started the proceedings of the evening as it got going around 5:30.   By the time I arrived at the tennis courts close to 7pm, this match was coming to a conclusion.  As per Jordan, he was not his usual sharp self and his team (which did very well just a couple of days ago) was not the same.  On the contrary, both Tom and Dennis were on a roll, starting off well and then they kept the momentum going.

Nick Inciong got to watch the match as he and Ryan will face the winners of this match in the next round of the tourney.

The other tournament match of the night (MXD2 Mixed Doubles) featured Nate and Natalia against Chazz and Lena.  This match started just about 7pm with a lengthy warm-up session.  It was the first time for me to see Lena and she was impressive in the warm-up coming with a backhand blast once in a while.  Of course, the match takes a toll mentally for she would play more safely than attack.  The 1st Set was quite impressive going neck and neck.  Chazz displayed his consistency and Lena was going toe to toe with Natalia.  Nate, fresh from his euphoric win against Chris Chiaro the previous night, was laid back and showed plenty of confidence in his partner.  Natalia sure didn't fail him as she was in the thick of the rallies most of the time.  Nate did interject himself by approaching the net and putting away some overheads and his slices did come in handy as well.  Chazz was unbelievable in some of his gets.  It was so tight that Nate actually felt that they had won the 1st Set at 6-4 (instead of 6-3)!

The highlight of the night was the return of young Peter Corso who played brilliant tennis to wow his opponents, his partner and the crowd.  Aided superbly by the crafty play of Rob Gawley, Peter was a force at the net as he has great touch.  Dan Martinelli (aka Spin) and Abhilash Gadi had their moments of glory, indeed, though that only was reflected in some of the points and not on the end result.  It was a spirited match that had exciting moments.

Janice Wang was the other star of the night playing a consistent, crisp and smart tennis.  Both her forehand and backhand were awesome, but it was the slices and net play that brought the variety in her game.  She always comes up with good gets as well.

It looked like the M's had a good day as Marijus, Mike Kaz and Mike Mole all played aggressively.  Ryan and Jordan did make the set very close and competitive, but both would remain winless for the night. Jose Gonzales and Jay Phoenix had their moments.

Doinks did very well, especially when testing out new racquets as she properly played shots that came off well, almost all the time.  There were some long hops at times, but her baseline shots were more consistent than the ones she hit while at the net.

Tito Castolo and Don Moya paired up and proved to be a strong team.  They got to play just a bit more than a set as they were the last two to show up to the session.

It was good to see Dino Celis spending sometime with us as he got involved in tennis talk and coaching tips.  GTA Women's Champion: Laura Gawley was solely a spectator as well and she got to watch the MXD2 Mixed Doubles Match.

All in all, it was a terrific night filled with non-stop GTA locomotion in full swing!  Cheers!

M2 Men's Doubles Round of 13 Match:

Dennis Cabanatan/Tom La over Jordan Bachvaroff/Ryan Sherry, 6-1, 6-4, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 68 and # 69 Ranked Teams respectively while Cabanatan/La advance to the Quarterfinals of the GTA M2 Men's Doubles Tournament!  No Aces. 

Kris Srinivasan/Janice Wang over Jordan Bachvaroff/Sairaj Srinivasan, 6-2!  No Aces.

Mike Mole over Jay Phoenix, 6-3!  No Aces.

MXD2 Mixed Doubles Round of 13 Match:

Nathan Fernandes/Natalia Sout over Chazz Weldon/Lena Pyatski, 6-3, 6-2, to successfully defend their #22 Rank in the Mixed Doubles Division while advancing to the Quarterfinals of the GTA MXD2 Mixed Doubles Tournament!  In the process, Weldon/Pyatski entered the division as the New # 39 Ranked Team.  No Aces.

Marijus Kuzavas/Mike Kazlauskas over Jay Phoenix/Ryan Pienciak, 6-3!  No Aces.

Kris Srinivasan/Janice Wang over Abhilash Gadi/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-3!  No Aces.

Tito Castolo/Don Moya over Jordan Bachvaroff/Ryan Pienciak, 6-4!  No Aces.

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Rob Gawley/Peter Corso over Dan Martinelli/Abhilash Gadi, 6-4, 6-2, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 70 and # 71 Ranked Teams respectively!  It was the official GTA Return of Peter Corso.  No Aces.

Kris Srinivasan/Janice Wang over Jose Gonzales/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-4!  No Aces.

Tito Castolo/Don Moya leading Jordan Bachvaroff/Ryan Pienciak, 3-1 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

Rob Gawley/Peter Corso leading Dan Martinelli/Abhilash Gadi, 4-0 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

Nathan Fernandes/Janice Wang leading Kris Srinivasan/Doinks Srinivasan, 5-2 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: As always, I truly thank Kris for all he does for the GTA up at Cedar Grove.  It sounds like it was quite the session.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

862-596-3354

6/27 Results.

6/27/17:               

"Chiaro-Fernandes part of 17 at C.G. as Kris hosts!":                               

GTA Tuesday Night Tennis took place at The Cedar Grove Courts with "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan acting as host while the Main Event was the GTA Championship Match between GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro and "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes.  Chiaro reported his score directly to "Hollywood" Frank Samara after the match was over and both he and Nate provided additional commentary as well.

We now turn this report over to Kris and we will include the comments of Chris and Nate along the way.  

It was another beautiful night for GTA Tennis, but surprisingly it was not overcrowded.  The highlight indeed was the GTA Championship Match for the coveted "Uno" Number 1 Rank in the Advanced Division.  There was also a Singles One-Setter between Raj Shah and Jordan Bachvaroff that went under the radar as it was eclipsed by the Chiaro-Fernandes match.

There were multiple other matches, some of which may not be featured in the report as I was left in the dark about the results.  GTA Women's Champion: Laura Gawley and Dan Martinelli (aka Spin) were on the bench watching the match.  Laura did manage to get into the action, but Spin was very clear about not playing.  He would only be watching and doing the chitty chat.  Players did stream in steadily, but the turnout at best was modest.

The Cedar Grove Results:

Mike Mole/Jose Gonzales over Sairaj Srinivasan/Vinnie De Benedetto, 6-1!  No Aces. 

This was more of a "warm-up" match where Vinnie was gallant to team with Sairaj, whose game was a mixed bag.  There were some nice aggressive shots from Mike and Jose to both Sairaj and Vinnie the Pooh that made a big difference.

Joe Rodrigues/Laura Gawley over Kris Srinivasan/Andrew Kroessler, 7-6 (7-4)!  No Aces.

This was a solid set in which we came back resoundingly from down 2-5 to take four straight games, but then we lost our footing in the final moments.  There were plenty of nice rallies and great points to make it exciting and close as it ended in a nail-biter.

GTA Championship Match:

Nathan Fernandes over Chris Chiaro, 6-4, 6-4, to become the New GTA Champion!  No Aces.

The Crushing Commentary from Chris: The match lasted one hour and 40 minutes.  I want to congratulate Nathan on his win.  He has definitely deserved (and earned) the Title and to become the number one player in the league.  I wish I could have given a better match, but nevertheless Nathan played great.  Congrats again!

Nate's Notes: This match had a little bit of everything - deer prancing around, dark clouds, a light drizzle at one point, gusts of wind and even a rainbow.  Even though the match was a straight set affair, it felt like every game was a match within a match.  Chris made sure both sets were tight by saving 4 Set Points in the 1^st Set and then fighting his way back from being down 2-5 in the 2nd Set.  At the end, it seemed like he had an off day and on another day the result could have been very different.  As for me, I'll enjoy my (brief?) time on the iron throne knowing that dragons (the size of 747s) are not far off (a Game of Thrones reference)!

The K has his say: It was a great win for Nate to take out Chris in straight sets.  Congratulations to him indeed to get this win over the Champion.  Chris was a shadow of his usual self and he has been for the past few days now.  It is fair to say that he was not playing as his usual sharp self.  On the contrary, Nate has been in pretty good form and in a great mindset.  Obviously, Nate was under no pressure, too, like Chris was in defending the top rank. 

I was close by when Chris was serving down 3-5 with 2 Set Points in favor of Nate.  We saw sparks of fight as Chris constructed beautiful points with great approaches to the net for winners.  After giving himself a Game Point, he would lose the next point to end up in a game of multiple Deuces before eventually holding his serve.  It looked like the turnaround moment, but alas the stress and pressure didn't help Chris play his usual fierce game.  Nate would hold his serve to secure the 1st Set.  I didn't get to see the 2nd Set, but the score was identical.  Nate had a very potent weapon in his slices that he used very effectively.  The temperament, mindset, strategic play...it all worked in his favor.  Chris was not himself and we didn't get to see his usual overpowering shots.  Credit goes to Nate for putting constant pressure on Chris and, ultimately, for his win.

Samara's Notes: Let me also congratulate Nate on a hard-fought victory.  It has been a long road to the top for Mr. Fernandes.  He and Chris both entered the league in the 2011 Season, but it was obvious then that Chiaro was the far more experienced player.  Nate came to us pretty much as a true rookie.  And then season after season, he displayed tremendous improvement.  He has had the occasional setback, but finally all the hard work and court time paid off for him with this impressive win.  I also offer major kudos to Chris as he has always been a defending GTA Champion.  In fact, there were a few occasions where he issued an open challenge to his nine top contenders (the rest of The Top 10 of the Advanced Division) only to receive no reply.  I believe this has been due to his dominance.

The two of them will likely engage in a rematch in the first week of July.  If Nate wins again, he will be in the clear and then told to wait for a winner to emerge from the upcoming Grove Cup Men's Singles Tournament (likely registration deadline to be Monday, July 10^th…more details to come later this week).

If Chris regains the GTA Championship, he will also be asked to wait to defend the Title.  Fernandes would then have an immediate rematch in his back pocket to cash in after the conclusion of the Cup.  Plus, if he managed to win that tournament, he would then have two guaranteed shots at the Title (quite similar to the situation that Former GTA Women's Champ: Fernanda Toker had).

We now go back to the report from Kris.

Chris Chiaro/Andrew Kroessler over Joe Rodrigues/Kris Srinivasan, 6-2!  No Aces.

Nathan Fernandes/Dave Zhu over Laura Gawley/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-1!  No Aces.

Dave Zhu/Doinks Srinivasan over Lou La Forgia/Laurie Boughton, 6-2!  No Aces.

Chris Chiaro/Jose Gonzales over Kris Srinivasan/Tito Castolo, 6-2!  No Aces.

Raj Shah over Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-3!  No Aces.

There were other matches. Raj was also involved in some Doubles.  Vinnie teamed with T.J. Shah to play against Mole and Jose.  Natalia Sout was involved in a couple of sets, one with Lou, I believe.

Well, I am sorry that I didn't get the results and equally sorry that people don't give me them.  I don't want to get stressed about the scores that I am not aware of.  I hope that Frank will be here for me so I can just focus on the game...:-).

Samara's Notes: Unfortunately, complications in my personal life are keeping me from being at GTA Tennis as often as I would like to be.  And it continues to disturb me when results go unreported.  Of course, I don't blame Kris (or anyone else assuming "hosting" duties) as one can only do so much.  But this is also why I so often shy away from being part of the action (even while others are practically insisting that I get out on the courts) when I am there just so that I can keep everything properly organized and duly noted.  And I ask no one else to make the same sacrifice…just please understand the reasons why I do it.  We now go back to Kris one last time.

Wednesday night should be exciting with a couple of tournament matches. There will be a MXD2 Mixed Doubles Round of 13 Match as Nate and Natalia team up against Chazz Weldon/Lena Pyatski.  Also in the pipeline is the M2 Men's Doubles Round of 13 Match as Jordan teams with Ryan Sherry to take on Dennis Cabanatan/Tom La. 

Here's to a great evening of GTA Tennis!  Cheers!

Samara's Notes: I truly thank Kris for all he does for the GTA up at Cedar Grove.

 

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

862-596-3354

6/26 Results.

6/26/17:               

"Phoenix-Praport at PAC, Kris/Spin host 22 at C.G.!":                               

GTA Monday Night Tennis took place at two locations: The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley featuring a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match between Jay "The Rising" Phoenix and "The Speed Demon" Dan Praport (with Dan reporting) and The Cedar Grove Courts with "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan and "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli acting as co-hosts.

We first turn this report over to Mr. Praport and then go to Kris and Spin for their shared report. 

The PAC Result:

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:

Dan Praport over Jay Phoenix, 6-2, 6-4, to become the New # 15 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division!  No Aces.

The Praport Report: I met up with Jay at 7pm at the Park Ave Courts for a match.  We hit around for about ten minutes and then got into it.  Jay was up 3-1 in the 2nd Set, I took it to 5-3, then Jay one the next game and I won the last.  It was a very hard-fought set.  We finished up at 8:10. 

Samara's Notes: I thank Dan for reporting that result.  We now head up to Cedar Grove to let Kris and Spin take it away!  First we go to The K Man and The Doc will add his commentary to the matches in which he participated.

It was a beautiful night for GTA Tennis and we surely capitalized on it fully.  It was an outstanding night for GTA Women's Champion: Laura Gawley, who Spin felt can easily take out quite a few of our men like bowling pins!  GTA Champion: Chris Chiaro had an exceptionally poor day and it didn't help matters that his partners played into the hands of their opponents.  It was small solace for him in the last match of the night that the set was pushed to the distance after having been down throughout the set.  It was a great night for Nathan Fernandes and Ryan Pienciak (who was especially severe at the net).

I was glad to pair Jordan Bachvaroff and Ryan Sherry together as they teamed for a good night of tennis. It worked out as a perfect practice session for them before they take on Dennis Cabanatan and Tom La in the GTA M2 Men's Doubles Tournament on Wednesday night.

It was a mixed bag for me and my wife, Doinks.  Natalia Sout put in a spirited performance.  Edwin Ortega played in the comfort of Tito Castolo's umbrella.  It might have been more balanced had he teamed with Omar Santos.  Kathy Sheldon was a happy camper (positive results matter to her and sure enough, the smile was on).  Lou La Forgia played the gentle giant in his "warm-up" set, but was able to express himself well subsequently thereafter.  Spin was his usual spirited self, buoyant and boisterous.  It was great to see Greg Swierczek by the bench just watching the action and chatting with our folks.  We hope to see him back in action in about three weeks.

It turned out to be a great night with plenty of action.  Tuesday night is expected to be exciting as well with Nate pitted against The Champ (Chris) in Men's Singles for the GTA Championship! It should be a well-contested and brutal battle, starting at 6:30pm.  An early start by others could help grab a few other courts for an extended run.  Cheers!

The Cedar Grove Results:

Nathan Fernandes/Kathy Sheldon over Chris Chiaro/Dawn Peterson, 6-1!  No Aces.

Omar Santos/Natalia Sout over Sairaj Srinivasan/Syed Rashid, 7-6 (7-5)!  No Aces.

Kris Srinivasan/Kathy Sheldon over Lou La Forgia/Dawn Peterson, 7-6 (7-4)!  No Aces.

Jordan Bachvaroff/Ryan Sherry over Joe Rodrigues/Jorge Solano, 7-6 (7-1)!  No Aces.

Lou La Forgia/Joe Rodrigues over Jordan Bachvaroff/Ryan Sherry, 6-4!  No Aces.

Nathan Fernandes/Ryan Pienciak over Chris Chiaro/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-0!  No Aces.

Syed Rashid/Laura Gawley over Omar Santos/Dan Martinelli, 6-2!  No Aces.

The Spin from Spin: This contest was first set up with Laura and Spin teaming together.  However, the "Master Of Ceremonies" Kris Srinivasan decided that Syed and Laura was a better match-up.  Well, it didn't turn out that way as Laura's Aura was too bright for the eyes of Omar and Spin as they basically crushed us with her surgical strikes and Syed's pace-laden ground-stokes.  Except for a few misfires from Syed (because he likes to hit the ball so hard), his play was excellent and Laura was…well "Laura!"

Laura Gawley/Doinks Srinivasan over Omar Santos/Dan Martinelli, 6-1!  No Aces.

The Spin from Spin: Billed as the "Battle of The Sexes," it was not a battle at all!  Doinks and Laura dominated us completely from start to finish.  Only a lucky hold of my serve kept us from "Bagel Land."  It wasn't pretty, but it was fun.  I personally think that Laura and Doinks like to amp it up when playing the men...I mean boys because they reduced us to just that!  Omar played well, however, yours truly…eh not so much.  The most telling shot of the night came when I hit a screamer cross court that I thought for sure was going to be a clear winner.  Doinks had other plans.  She tracked it down and sent it back to me almost as hard as I hit it to her.  I do believe we won that point, but the die was cast.  The Meteorological Society should go off their normal routine and name the next two Atlantic storms Doinks and Laura!

Nathan Fernandes/Ryan Pienciak over Chris Chiaro/Kris Srinivasan, 6-0!  No Aces.

Jordan Bachvaroff/Ryan Sherry over Lou La Forgia/Joe Rodrigues, 6-4!  No Aces.

2 out of 3 Sets:

Edwin Ortega/Tito Castolo over Omar Santos/Natalia Sout, 6-3, 6-3!  No Aces.

Dan Martinelli/Laura Gawley leading Omar Santos/Doinks Srinivasan, 4-3 (On serve, but incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

Edwin Ortega/Tito Castolo leading Rob Gawley/Natalia Sout, 5-1 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

Chris Chiaro/Kris Srinivasan tied with Nathan Fernandes/Ryan Pienciak, 6-6 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I thank both Kris and Spin for their very timely reporting of these results.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

862-596-3354

6/24 Results.

6/24/17:               

"Riz hosts 4 at NTC, Laura-Doinks part of 15 at C.G. as Kris hosts!":                               

GTA Saturday Night Tennis took place at two locations: Nutley Tennis Club where "The Riz" John Rizzo was the host and The Cedar Grove Courts with "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan acting as host as there was an impromptu GTA Women's Championship Match when GTA Women's Champion: Laura "The Aura" Gawley put her Title on the line against "The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan.  It should be noted that Laura also sent in all her scores directly.

We first turn this report over to John and then go to Laura and Kris for their shared report. 

The NTC Result:

2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Doubles Match:

Bo Folchi/Denise Savino over John Rizzo/Laurie Boughton, 6-3, 6-3, to become the New # 36 Ranked Team in the Doubles Division!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I thank John for reporting that result.  We now head up to Cedar Grove to let Laura and Kris take it away!

The Cedar Grove Results:

GTA Women's Championship Match:

Laura Gawley over Doinks Srinivasan, 6-0, 6-2, to complete her second successful GTA Women's Championship defense of her first reign!  No Aces.

The Aura states: I showed up at about 5:30 to play with whoever was there.  Doinks came across the street about 10 minutes later and asked if I wanted to play Singles.  We had some very good points.

Ryan Pienciak/Laura Gawley over Senthil Kumar/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-0!  No Aces.

Levy Lorenzo/Jose Gonzales over Laura Gawley/Doinks Srinivasan, 7-5!  No Aces.

The Aura states: The guys wanted a "Battle of the Sexes" style One-Setter.  It was a fun night of tennis!

Kris Srinivasan/Ryan Pienciak over Chris Chiaro/Sairaj Srinivasan, 7-5!  No Aces.

Senthil Kumar over Ryan Pienciak, 6-4!  No Aces.

Chris Chiaro/Levy Lorenzo over Kris Srinivasan/Jose Gonzales, 6-2!  Jose: 1 Ace on Levy!

Kris Srinivasan/Jose Gonzales over Chris Chiaro/Levy Lorenzo, 6-3!  Jose: 1 Ace on Levy!

Chris Chiaro over Andrew Truong, 6-1!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: Rumor has it that I should change the moniker for Andrew from "The A Bomb" to "The F Bomb" as he really let the expletives fly during this one…LOL!

Kris Srinivasan/Ryan Pienciak over Senthil Kumar/Levy Lorenzo, 6-0!  No Aces.

Ryan Pienciak over Andrew Truong, 6-2!  No Aces.

Jose Gonzales/Tito Castolo over Senthil Kumar/Mike Mole, 6-2!  No Aces.

Senthil Kumar/Tito Castolo over Mike Mole/Jose Gonzales, 6-4!  Jose: 1 Ace on Tito!

Kris Srinivasan/Dave Zhu over Don Moya/Janice Wang, 6-1!  Don: 1 Ace on Kris!

Don Moya/Janice Wang over Dave Zhu/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-3!  No Aces.

Kris Srinivasan/Tito Castolo tied with Mike Mole/Jose Gonzales, 2-2 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I thank both Laura and Kris for their very timely reporting of these results.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

862-596-3354

6/23 Results.

6/23/17:

"Shiao-Mole 1-Setters at HP, Marie's Tennis Party in F.L.!":

GTA Friday Tennis first took place at the Holster Park courts in Clifton as Tony "Sure Shot" Shiao and "Magic" Mike Mole split a couple of One-Setters (as reported by Mike).  They got these two in just before the rains came (not sure if they were trying to complete a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match or not).

On tap for The Cedar Grove Courts was the last of the two GTA Intermediate Invitational Semifinal Matches.  This one would be between "The Annihilator" Nihar Panda and "Tailor Made" Raj Tailor.  But as  "Hollywood" Frank Samara was driving from Passaic to Fair Lawn, he started receiving a bunch of text messages from Nihar concerning the status of the match.

First, Panda was reporting the uncertainty of it getting started as there were already dark clouds in the sky at Cedar Grove.  Also, he did not have a cell number to reach Tailor at...just an e-mail address (and Samara confirmed he only had the same as well).  Then the rain hit and Nihar informed Frank that the match would have to be rescheduled...hopefully for later in the weekend, though that had yet to be confirmed.

As for Samara, he was heading to Fair Lawn to attend "The Olympian" Marie Salamon's indoor group season-ending party.  She has been running this group and having this close-out party for twenty years now!  As an occasional sub for the past couple of seasons, this was Frank's second invitation to the festivities.

This year, the execution of the event exceeded last year's as Marie had an ideal amount of attendees: 16!  This meant she had four per court and four of the five courts there were booked for the party.  For the first hour, she just had two of the courts.  So, from 7pm to 7:30, half the group warmed up while the other half socialized in the upstairs lobby.  And then at 7:30, the two halves switched.

From 8pm to 10pm, there would be Doubles action (always three of the sets were pure Mixed Doubles while the fourth would be Mixed Gender Doubles as there were nine men and seven women) on four of the courts.  Every 40 minutes (so that would make three distinct timeslots over the course of two hours), the match-ups would be switched.

As he has in the past, Samara asked Salamon if he could at least record his action as being for the GTA and Marie wholeheartedly encouraged it.  So even though 16 players competed over the course of the entire session, only nine make it into the following results.  And the last three don't even get to join the ranks of the league as that last One-Setter was never finished.  Oh well!

Still, it was a very fun night and the after party (after the tennis, that is) lasted all the way until midnight!  I thank Marie not only for inviting me, but for her generosity as well as she sent me home with a bag of food that fed my family the entire weekend!

We will first grab those couple of scores from Mike and then detail the action in Fair Lawn.
 
The Holster Park Results:

Tony Shiao over Mike Mole, 6-1!  Tony: 2 Aces!

Mike Mole over Tony Shiao, 7-5!  No Aces. 

The Mole Memo: Total time of play (both sets) was 3:40 to 4:50.  Both of them were really good One-Setters.

Samara's Notes: I thank Mike for his very prompt reporting of those scores (via text just shortly after they were over).

The Fair Lawn Results:

Ralph Nadal/Arlene Hyde over Frank Samara/J.D. Lee, 6-3!  Ralph: 2 Aces (one on each, both were up the T and the one on Frank was on Match Point)!  It was the official GTA Return of Ralph Nadal and the official GTA Debut of Arlene Hyde.  The quick skinny: Ralph held, J.D. held, Arlene held and Frank held for 2-2.  Nadal held again, Lee held again, Hyde held again, but Frank was the first to be broken for 3-5.  Then Rafa held a third straight time and impressively closed it out with a big booming Ace up the middle!  This was played on Court Four from 8pm to 8:30.

Samara's Notes: I've played against Ralph a few times in the past in Fair Lawn.  His greatest on-court asset is that big serve of his (along with powerful forehand ground-strokes) and his best off-court asset is his sense of humor.  Marie said that Arlene usually plays at Penny Jung's tennis parties.  I'm not sure where she is based, but if she ever decided to come play with us on a regular basis...she would be one of the strongest competitors in our Women's Division.  Her most impressive skill was her consistency to hit winning volleys.

Frank Samara/J.D. Lee leading Ralph Nadal/Arlene Hyde, 3-1 (Incomplete when Marie blew the whistle at 8:40 to switch things up)!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: It was decided that the teams should continue to play out games until time was up...and not just stop when a set was completed.  So I first asked Robin "The Ultimate" Altman (who was assisting Marie in running the party) if we should count all games played as Marie was going to present a gift to both the male player and the female player who had won the most games over the course of the entire evening.  Robin felt the total should included all games and so did Marie.

As for the incomplete One-Setter, Lightning Lee (very fast and adept at making gets) and I were finally starting to find our rhythm when we had to call it quits as a team.  In terms of games toward the gifts, Rafa and Arlene left the court with a 7 to 6 lead over us.  That would come into play at the end of the night.

Frank Samara/Robin Altman over J.D. Lee/Elizabeth Resnick, 6-3!  Frank: 1 Ace on Elizabeth on the very first point of the match (a well-placed one on the sideline...not a bully serve)!  It was the official GTA Debut of Elizabeth Resnick.  This was played on Court One from 8:45 to 9:10.

Samara's Notes: I can't remember how the games went, but I obviously served (also held) first when you see the detail about the Ace.  I do recall that Robin and I always had the lead.  In fact, we may have gone up 5-1 when J.D. and Elizabeth started to mount a mini-comeback.  This was my first time ever meeting Elizabeth and she has a great sense of humor on the court.  All four of us had a great time in this One-Setter.  And the more I get to know Robin, the more she reveals her sly sense of humor to me as well.  Ms. Altman is such a solid Doubles partner as she knows just where to hit her shots.  Mr. Lee is a force to be reckoned with as he hits big serves, big forehands and seems to be all over the court.  Ms. Resnick is a crafty lefty who is able to throw the opposition off-guard with a somewhat unusual style.  I will give her the moniker of Ridgewood Resnick as that is where she is originally from and she was wearing a wristband with an "R" on it in honor of her original hometown.  Even though she is somewhat out of our area, she had me add her to our mailing list as she may try to come down our way sometime.

Frank Samara/Robin Altman leading J.D. Lee/Elizabeth Resnick, 2-1 (Incomplete when Marie blew the whistle at 9:20 to switch things up once again)!  No Aces.

Frank Samara/Tula Savickas tied with Horst Savickas/Carin (don't know the last name), 5-5 (Incomplete when the entire tennis session shut down at 10pm...we began this one on Court Two at 9:25)!  Horst: 1 Ace on Frank (a nice one on the sideline)!

Samara's Notes: Another one that was a whole lot of fun.  It is a shame that we did not reach a proper conclusion as it would have been the official GTA Return of both Horst and Tula Savickas.  But perhaps it is just as well as Marie does not have the last name info of Carin who will soon be moving away anyway.  Plus, Mr. and Mrs. Savickas are back up in NJ for the summer and may decide to swing by either Albion Park in Clifton or Cedar Grove for some GTA action.  It was great seeing both of them again.

During the party session (which was definitely a lot of fun and featured more food than 16 people could reasonably consume), I had the chance to meet Frank Hohorst.  He is a very nice guy.  Even though he is somewhat out of the area (I forget where he currently resides), he also had me add him to our mailing list as he, too, may swing down our way to officially join the league at some point.

Late in the party portion of the evening, Marie presented the gift bags to the male player with the most games won and the female player with the most games won.  For a brief moment, they thought it was me as I had won 19 games throughout the evening when counting the incomplete sets as well.  But once Ralph Nadal realized this, his total went from 18 games to 21.  So, it all came back to that opening One-Setter!  And Marcia Yu was the winner on the women's side.

All in all, it was great fun and good times!

Sincerely,
Frank Samara
gtasamara5@gmail.com
862-596-3354

6/22 Results.

6/22/17:

"Kumar-Ortega in Wayne, Bobila-Phoenix at HP, 4 (1 new) at PAC, 22 (2 new) at C.G.!":

GTA Thursday Tennis took place at four locations: The Pointview Courts in Wayne featuring a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match/Non-Title Match between reigning GTA Intermediate Champ: "The Webmaster" Senthil Kumar and "Salsa Picante" Edwin Ortega (as reported by Senthil and only his Advanced Division rank was on the line), Holster Park in Clifton featuring the GTA Intermediate Invitational Semifinal Match between William "Bombs Away" Bobila and Jay "The Rising" Phoenix, The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley where the session was hosted by "The Speed Demon" Dan Praport and at The Cedar Grove Courts with surprise impromptu host "Hollywood" Frank Samara.

So we will first grab the result from Senthil, then the mutual report from both William and Jay, then the recap from Dan and then we will detail all the comings and goings that took place at Cedar Grove.

The Wayne Result:

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match/Non-Title Match:
Senthil Kumar over Edwin Ortega, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, to successfully defend his # 18 Rank in the Advanced Division! Kumar's GTA Intermediate Title was not on the line as he still awaits a winner to emerge from the ongoing GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament. Edwin: 3 Aces (2 in the 1st Set and 1 in the 2nd Set)!

Samara's Notes: I thank Senthil for his very timely reporting of that match. We now head to Holster Park in Clifton and get the mutual report from William and Jay of their Semifinal Match against one another.

The Holster Park Result:

GTA Intermediate Invitational Semifinal Match:
William Bobila over Jay Phoenix, 6-2, 5-7, 6-1, to successfully defend both his # 13 Rank in the Advanced Division and his # 2 Rank in the Intermediate Division while advancing to the Finals of the GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament! William: 2 Aces!

Bobila Bombs Away!: Our warm-up started about 5:30 and the match began around 5:40/5:45 and ended somewhere around 7:45 to 7:55. In the 1st Set, there were a lot ground-stroke shots. I was more consistent than Mr. Jay Phoenix who made a lot of errors. It appeared he couldn't figure me out in that set.

In the 2nd Set, there was even more rally shots. I was leading 5-2 and Jay was really a fighter as he fought back and won the next 5 games to take the set! I was running out of stamina and suffering from a shortness of breath. Jay was so nice (and I salute him) in giving me enough time to rest during the changeover. He showed me his true sportsmanship.

In the 3rd Set, in the 1st service game Jay held his service. Surprisingly, and luckily, I got my second wind back. Jay started to commit many unforced errors. I won the next 6 games to close the match.

Jay has his say: His first serve is powerful and he is very consistent on both sides. The better player won.

Samara's Notes: I thank both for their timely reporting. I congratulate William on a hard-fought victory and offer kudos to Jay for his spirited effort. We now head to Nutley for the Praport Report.

The Park Ave Results:

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:
Dean Delgado/Dan Praport over Keith Lewkowitz/Arunraj Nair, 6-4, 7-5, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 66 and # 67 Ranked Teams respectively! It was the official GTA Debut of Arunraj Nair. No Aces.
 
Keith Lewkowitz/Arunraj Nair over Dean Delgado/Dan Praport, 6-3! No Aces.
 
The Praport Report: I got to Park Ave. at 7pm and we started soon after that.
 
Samara's Notes: I thank Dan for his recap. We will now discuss how the Cedar Grove session unfolded.
 
After failing to address the league earlier in the day as to what his tennis plans would be later in the night, "Hollywood" Frank Samara sent a text message to Kris a little after 7pm stating that he would soon be on his way to Cedar Grove and hope to get there by 7:30.

Samara pulled into the lot at 7:25.  Upon his arrival, he saw "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes in a hitting session with "The Ambidextrous Machine" Herb Reiner on Court One.  Herb's wife Kate roamed the grounds and eventually sat on the bench with Frank to talk tennis. 

On Court Two, there was a Singles One-Setter already in progress as "The Sultan of Swing" Raj Shah was taking on "Instant" Moka Pathan.

On Court Three, "Big Kaz" Mike Kazlauskas was teaming with "The Secret Weapon" Sairaj Srinivasan as they faced two guys that Frank did not recognize.  Kris soon told him that they were friends with Bobila and to get their info after the action ended.

And on Court Four, Kris was teaming with "Latino Heat" Jose Gonzales as they faced "The Bulgarian Bull" Jordan Bachvaroff and "ME" Michel Encarnacion. 

At 7:30, we had the surprise arrival of "Kaboom" Raj Boddu as we have not seen him at the courts of Cedar Grove for some time now.  Frank directed him over to Court One to get involved in the hitting session with Nate and Herb.

The next two players to arrive were "The Lethal Lefty" Lou La Forgia at 7:50 and then Senthil another five minutes later. 

At 8pm, the Doubles One-Setter featuring the two newest members of Bobila's Pinoy Posse had ended and Samara stepped onto that court to introduce himself and also obtain their names.  Peddy Santos and Vio Mendoza are both nice guys who are happy to now be part of the league and they would soon play another Doubles One-Setter before calling it a night.

It was also at this same time that "The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan made her way across the street.  Her timing was perfect as she was able to take the place of her son Sairaj in the next Doubles One-Setter on Court Three.

At 8:10, a lot of talent-shifting took place on the courts and Samara stepped onto Court One to hold it for future action as that hitting session had ended for the evening.

Five minutes later, "Magic" Mike Mole arrived and headed over to Court One to hit with Samara as did Jose.  But soon after, both of those players had the chance to get involved in a Doubles One-Setter on Court Four and they jumped at the opportunity.

At 8:35, "2 Tall" Dave Zhu and "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli both arrived separately.  But they would soon form a team together on Court Three that would stick with each other the rest of the night.

From 8:50 to 9pm, "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak, Tito "Touch" Castolo and Natalia "Nitro" Sout all arrived.  Ryan was able to get involved in some Doubles action on Court Two while Tito and Natalia decided to have a hitting session on Court One.

And those were the final arrivals of the evening as the session featured an impressive total of 22 official competitors.

Let's get to the action!

The Cedar Grove Results:

Moka Pathan over Raj Shah, 6-3!  Raj: 1 Ace.  Not sure when this one got underway on Court Two, but it did not end until 7:55.

Mike Kazlauskas/Sairaj Srinivasan over Peddy Santos/Vio Mendoza, 6-4!  Vio: 1 Ace on Sairaj!  It was the official GTA Debut of both Peddy Santos and Vio Mendoza.  Again, not sure when this one got started.  But it was finished on Court Three at exactly 8pm.

Kris Srinivasan/Jose Gonzales over Jordan Bachvaroff/Michel Encarnacion, 6-2!  Jose: 2 Aces (one on each)!  This one took place on Court Four from 7:10 to 7:47.

Kris Srinivasan/Raj Boddu over Jordan Bachvaroff/Michel Encarnacion, 6-0!  No Aces.  This one was also played on Court Four and it lasted from 7:50 to 8:18.

Peddy Santos/Vio Mendoza over Mike Kazlauskas/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-1!  Mike: 3 Aces (2 on Vio and 1 on Peddy)!  This was played on Court Three from 8:05 to 8:30.

Nathan Fernandes/Lou La Forgia over Raj Shah/Senthil Kumar, 7-5!  No Aces.  Court Two hosted this one from 8:10 to 8:50.  Down 3-5, Nate and Lou saved a Match Point and then went on to win four straight games for the comeback victory!

Kris Srinivasan over Michel Encarnacion, 6-2!  Kris: 1 Ace.  They got this one done on Court One in the time span of 8:22 to 8:55.

Frank Samara/Raj Boddu over Mike Mole/Jose Gonzales, 6-0!  No Aces.  It went like this: Raj held serve (Mike hit a winning return for Love-15, but then it went straight to Double Game Point with an un-returned serve along the way and then another one to earn the hold), Mike was broken (Jose blew a volley for Love-15 and it was on the way to Triple Break Point which was where Mike hit a missile-like passing shot winner for Double Break Point, but then he hit a Double Fault to break himself), Frank held at Love as Jose blew a volley, Raj hit an excellent Backhand Volley winner and then Raj hit a vicious volley winner to secure his partner's hold and then Jose was broken (started with a Double Fault, it shifted to 30-15 after Jose hit a victorious volley winner, but then it shifted back to Break Point after Raj hit a blast of a passing shot winner and then came the break) to fall to 0-4!  Boddu then held again (Jose blew a volley for 15-Love, it then went 30-Love, Double Game Point and then the hold) and Mole was broken at Love when Raj made an amazing get on Triple Break/Match Point which led to winning the point...game, set and match!) for the win!  We played this one on Court Four from 8:23 to 8:43.

The Skinny: Jose was dealing with a sore wrist that had occurred the night before and Mike had not yet quite dialed in those big topspin forehands and serves of his.  Frank played the best he has in quite some time, but the real story was the magnificent play of Raj who has been away from the courts of the GTA for some time.  Not only has he not lost a step, it seemed he has gained one as he made several great gets coupled with strong and finishing shots.

Dave Zhu/Dan Martinelli over Mike Kazlauskas/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-3!  Mike: 2 Aces on Spin in the same game (and the second one was on a second serve)!  Dave and Spin were up 5-2 and they may have had a Match Point that would have been saved by Big Kaz and Doinks to extend this set one more game before its end.  This was played on Court Three from 8:40 to 9:22.

Frank Samara/Raj Boddu over Jordan Bachvaroff/Mike Mole, 6-2!  No Aces.  Here's how it went down: Mike held (Love-15 then point for point until 30-All which was right after an un-returned serve and then another un-returned serve set up Game Point and then came the hold), Raj held (15-Love, Double Fault for 15-All which was where Frank hit a winning volley and then there was an un-returned serve on the way to Double Game Point and then the hold), but Jordan was the first to be broken (30-Love, Double Fault for 30-15, but then Frank hit a winning return to reverse the momentum as it would then go to Break Point and the break) for 1-2.  Frank held (an un-returned serve and then a winning lob from Raj made it 30-Love, but then Mike made an amazing get that caused Frank to muff an easy volley to cut the lead to 30-15 and sent his game spiraling to Break Point, but then it went to Deuce, Break Point again where Raj hit an excellent passing shot winner for 2nd Deuce, then it was Break Point again where Frank hit an equally impressive passing shot winner for 3rd Deuce, then came Game Point and the hold), Mole was broken at Love as he started with a Double Fault and then Frank hit an emphatic Overhead Smash winner for Love-30, then there was another Double Fault to set up Triple Break Point and then one more Double Fault (for good measure) to break himself and then Boddu held again (started off with two straight Double Faults, but then an un-returned serve shifted the momentum straight to Game Point and the hold) for a commanding 5-1 lead!  Bachvaroff held (Mike hit a winner to set up Triple Game Point, Double Fault cut that lead to Double Game Point where Mike hit another winner to secure his partner's hold) to pull to 2-5, but then Samara held again (started off with an un-returned serve for 15-Love, then 30-Love, 30-15 and another un-returned serve to set up Double Game/Match Point where Frank secured his own hold with a winning lob) to get the win!  We played this on Court Four from 8:45 to 9:15.

The Skinny: Boddu's excellent level of play continued unabated and it inspired Samara to keep pace with it.  The two of them have teamed together in the distant past, but the long layoff as a tandem did not allow them to miss a beat as they were simply on a roll on this night.

Nathan Fernandes/Lou La Forgia over Senthil Kumar/Ryan Pienciak, 6-3!  No Aces.  Court Two hosted this one from 8:55 to 9:25.

Frank Samara/Kris Srinivasan over Tito Castolo/Natalia Sout, 6-3!  No Aces.  The breakdown: Frank held (Kris hit a winning volley for 15-Love where Tito hit a much more vicious volley winner for 15-All and then Kris blew a volley for 15-30, but then an un-returned serve started the shift to Game Point where another un-returned serve secured the hold), Natalia held (Tito blew a volley and then Kris hit a winner to make it Love-30, but then two consecutive winning volleys by Tito led to Game Point where Frank blew a volley to allow the hold), Kris held (Kris hit a winner to get off to a 15-Love start, it shifted to 15-30, then an un-returned serve started the shift to Game Point where another un-returned serve secured the hold), but Tito was the first to be broken (15-Love shifted to 15-30 shifted again to Game Point, Deuce, Game Point, 2nd Deuce, Break Point, 3rd Deuce, Break Point and finally the break…could not remember who hit what winners where and when, but Kris was a force at the net with at least a few winning volleys and Overhead Smashes along the way) for 1-3.  Samara held again (Love-30 shifted to 30-All, Break Point, Deuce, Break Point, 2nd Deuce, Game Point, 3rd Deuce and Game Point again where the only winner I could remember may have been the shot of the night when Frank hit a backhand down-the-Doubles Alley passing shot winner for the hold) and Sout was broken at Love to fall to 1-5.  Srinivasan was also broken at Love as Frank blew two of his patented Windmill Overhead Smashes along the way (the first of which found an unintended target…Spin on Court Three!  And then the second one was a complete whiff!) and then Castolo held (two winners by Tito led to Triple Game Point, then it was Double Game Point where an un-returned serve secured the hold) to pull to 3-5!  But Hollywood then had his third straight hold (Natalia hit a net-cord-aided winning return to make it Love-30, it then went to 15-30 where Kris blew an overhead to set up Double Break Point, but then Kris redeemed himself with a big-time Overhead Smash winner for Break Point and then an un-returned serve set up Deuce where Frank then hit his other "patented" shot…a screen shot winner to set up Game/Match Point where Kris hit a victorious volley winner to secure his partner's hold) to earn an impressive victory!  We played this on Court Four from 9:20 to 9:54.

The Skinny: Much like Boddu, Samara was on a roll on this particular evening and Srinivasan joined him in the cause.  Although both had some embarrassing misfires, they more often than not made up for it with spectacular play.  Sout continued to show improvement in her increasingly aggressive game while Castolo was surprisingly off his usual smooth rhythm just a bit.

Lou La Forgia/Ryan Pienciak over Jordan Bachvaroff/Mike Mole, 6-2!  Mike: 2 Aces (one on each)!  This one got underway on Court Two at exactly 9:27.  Not sure when it ended as it went right into this next one.

Lou La Forgia/Ryan Pienciak leading Jordan Bachvaroff/Mike Mole, 2-0 (Incomplete when the lights went off at 10pm)!  No Aces.

Dave Zhu/Dan Martinelli leading Mike Kazlauskas/Doinks Srinivasan, 4-3 (Incomplete when the lights went off at 10pm)!  Dave: 2 Aces on Mike (in the same game); and Mike: 1 Ace on Spin!  This one began on Court Three at 9:25.  In the two (well, almost) One-Setters they played, these four seemed to be having a whole lot of fun!

It was a great session where the intensity increased as did the humidity!  But the steam room-like conditions only made the circumstances more heated…but all in the right way.

Sincerely,
Frank Samara
Gtasamara5@gmail.com
862-596-3354

6/21 Results.

6/21/17:               

"4 play at PAC, Women's Titles, MXD2 x2 all part of 26 at C.G.!":                               

GTA Wednesday Night Tennis took place at both The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley featuring a full 2 out of 3 Sets Match between "The Speed Demon" Dan Praport and "Richie" Rich Liu and then a Doubles One-Setter to follow (with Rich reporting both) and at The Cedar Grove Courts with usual host "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan providing us with this report.  GTA Women's Champion: Laura "The Aura" Gawley also submitted her result directly as she was involved in the Main Event of the evening.  It was the GTA Women's Doubles Championship Match where she teamed with "The Smackdown" Sally Pillay to face the 2017 W2 Champs and Top Contenders: "The Argentine Machine" Fernanda Toker and "Automatic" Anna Mazur.

And then "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas also reported that same result along with another one where he got to team with his wife Sally in what became the second of two back-to-back MXD2 Mixed Doubles Tournament Matches (plus a Doubles One-Setter in between).

After "The Bulgarian Bull" Jordan Bachvaroff and "The Olympian" Marie Salamon won their Round of 13 Match against "Kevlar" Kevin Doyle and "Bravo" Brenda Jordan, Marijus jokingly asked if they would want to play the Quarterfinal against he and Sally next.  But Jordan and Marie took that offer seriously and it was "challenge accepted!"  Well, sometimes you need to be careful what you wish for!

Anyway, Kris had all the results covered…but we will go to both Laura and Marijus for their additional details along the way as well. 

So we will first grab the result from Rich and then turn this report over to Kris as he breaks down all that took place at Cedar Grove on the first official day of summer.

The Park Ave Results:

2 out of 3 Sets:

Dan Praport over Rich Liu, 6-1, 7-5!  No Aces.  This does not count as a rank defense for Praport as Liu remains solely in the Intermediate Division.

The Richie Rich Report: Dan, as usual, showed his quickness and consistency in making all his shots.  However, he showed a new facet of his game tonight with his impressive and effective net-play.  It took me a while to adjust, but later the match was more competitive.  Rich tried out his new power serve (from YouTube) which, at times, was effective.  It was a beautiful night for tennis at Nutley Park Ave.

Randy Doran/Edgar Valencia over Dan Praport/Rich Liu, 6-4!  No Aces.

The Richie Rich Report: It was a close match.  Ravishing Randy was especially motivated to win and show how truly ravishing he is…haha!  Ed made some really good first serves and got the best of me in some critical moments of the match.  I'm sure Dan and I will win next time, but congrats to Randy and Ed on their win.  

Samara's Notes: I thank Rich for his recap.  We now turn this report over to Kris.

It was yet another evening filled with plenty of action that included three Tournament Matches.  There was a logjam of players during "the prime time" hours, but beyond that it was smooth sailing overall. GTA Tennis did get off to an early start just after 5pm and that ensured the players who did turn up that they would get into the action.

It is great to see the strength of the GTA on the rise, not just in the number of players but on the level of play as well.  Surely, we can see some players working on their games and strategies.  It is getting very competitive, but still it remains fun-filled.  To top it off, the trend of the "tennis talk" at the end of the sessions is a welcome one...:-). 

The Cedar Grove Results:

GTA Women's Doubles Championship Match:

Laura Gawley/Sally Pillay over Fernanda Toker/Anna Mazur, 6-1, 6-1, to complete the second successful GTA Women's Doubles Championship defense of their first reign!  Laura: 1 Ace on Fernanda!

The Aura speaks:  We started at 5:30 and I'm pretty sure we finished around 6:30.  Tommy Reszkowski helped with the line calls and keeping track of the score!

The K has his say: The first match of the day started with all the players keeping to their scheduled start-time.  It was a match that Laura and Sally dominated given that they are playing in the best form of their lives.  Both Fernanda and Anna put too much pressure on themselves and that became a mental thing.  I didn't get to watch the match, but did get the feedback from Anna.  Given the fierce form of Sally at the moment, Marijus did predict to Dan Martinelli a 6-1, 6-1 win and he feels that Spin owes him at least some whiskey for his Nostradamus-like prediction...:-).

Marijus Kuzavas/Sally Pillay over Tommy Reszkowski/Fernanda Toker, 6-4!  Tommy: 2 Aces (one on each)!  After this, Marijus said that he and Sally went over to scout their potential opponents.

The K has his say: It was a long match and surely Tommy and Fernanda did not get an easy pass to play Marijus and Sally.  Tommy is very aggressive at the net and complements the style of Fernanda very well.  Clearly, the aggression of Marijus and Sally gave them the edge in the end.

MXD2 Round of 13 Match:

Jordan Bachvaroff/Marie Salamon over Kevin Doyle/Brenda Jordan, 4-6, 6-1, 10-8 (STB), to advance to the Quarterfinals of the MXD2 Mixed Doubles Tournament!  No Aces.  Once they went to the Super Tiebreak, the Mixed Doubles Division ranking of Doyle/Jordan was no longer on the line.  But, in the process, Bachvaroff/Salamon entered the division as the New # 37 Ranked Team.

The K has his say: The 1st Set was a solid one with both Kevin and Brenda on the money.  Kevin was absolutely steady from the baseline and running around while Brenda did splendidly well at the net. Marie is known to play well from the net and she did.  But both Brenda and Kevin did challenge Marie on some points and the drop shot return of Marie's serve by Brenda sure brought out some unexpected colorful language from Marie…:-).  Jordan was steady, but his decent serves were not a threat though. 

The 2nd Set changed things with Jordan playing more aggressively and covering the baseline.  Conversely, Brenda was tiring.  She lost the first two games and was serving Love-40 before showing some fight to save all the Break Points to hold her serve.  I left to go to the other side at this stage. Apparently, they got whipped from thereon to force a Super Tiebreak that was pretty close.  Kevin was quite solid and a fresher Brenda could have given her team a greater chance of reversing the ultimate result.  It was good to see Denise, rooting for Kevin and Brenda, who stayed put throughout the match to cheer them up.

Samara's Notes: I'm not sure who Denise is.  Oh well…back to Kris!

MXD2 Quarterfinal Match:

Marijus Kuzavas/Sally Pillay over Jordan Bachvaroff/Marie Salamon, 6-0, 6-0, to successfully defend their # 5 Rank in the Mixed Doubles Division while advancing to the Semifinals of the GTA MXD2 Mixed Doubles Tournament!  Jordan: 1 Ace on Marijus!

The K has his say: Jordan and Marie were game enough to play their next round match right away against Marijus and Sally who are the team to beat right now, given their form and aggressive play.  They were too good as they took apart Jordan and Marie.  Jordan felt both Marijus and Sally were playing strong and looked unbeatable.  Indeed, they were playing more like bullies, these monsters...haha!  Steady is somewhat insipid to describe Sally's game now.  She looks more like a 'ravenous' tiger...:-).  Go girl!

Samara's Notes: It has been quite some time since I called Ms. Pillay, "Steady Sally."  She soon morphed into "Spicy Sally" and then fully graduated to "The Smackdown!"  She is able to deal out hard shots on the court and quick comeback remarks off the court.  Either way you will get smacked down!  Once again, it is back to Kris we go!

Tito Castolo/Dawn Peterson over Sairaj Srinivasan/Anna Mazur, 6-4!  No Aces.

It was a good and close match.  Anna was impressed with Sairaj's game and Sairaj, as usual, felt he played poorly.  Dawn was very steady and Tito did what he does best, frustrating his opponents by making shots they don't want to see.

Nathan Fernandes/Janice Wang over Jorge Solano/Laura Gawley, 7-5!  No Aces.

It was probably the best match of the night with all the players displaying their skills well.  The net play of Janice was exceptional.  Nate was all over the place when needed and his gets were outstanding.  Jorge played well, but surely not his best.  He is a diligent player, doing his best on every shot even though he did miss a few where he normally does well.  It was Laura, the pick of the lot, who played a far superior game…especially to some tough deep shots.  She was serving great, moving in aggressively to put away points and was so precise in some of her shots that she was able to dig in from deep.  They were leading 5-4 and were clearly on a winning note.  Nate was under phenomenal pressure to hold his serve as Laura was punishing only to be let down by mistakes by her team combined with brilliant play by Janice at crucial times.  I missed the last part, but apparently Nate and Janice did well to secure the last three games.  This match highlighted why Laura will remain a tough player to beat in the Women's Division (Singles) as she displayed how to counterattack even at times that looked like she was pinned.

Tito Castolo/Dawn Peterson over Omar Santos/Anna Mazur, 6-3!  No Aces.

Tito seems to have an inexhaustible supply of magic as he continued to inflict more pain on Anna who must have come to the conclusion, "if you can't beat them, join them!"  Not a bad idea to team with this guy...:-).

Tommy Reszkowski/Fernanda Toker over Kris Srinivasan/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-4!  No Aces. 

It was a very good match that was aggressive and somewhat fast-paced.  Tommy was great at the net and won many crucial points.  Surely, our unforced errors made us the victims...:-).  Doinks set up some nice points for me by playing her signature deep shots.  Fernanda was kept under constant pressure, but got relief from Tommy time and again who also had some impressive returns of serve.

Raj Tailor/Omar Santos over Kris Srinivasan/Doinks Srinivasan, 7-5!  Omar: 1 Ace on Kris!

It was another great match marred by relentless unforced errors and poor plays that cost us a few games.  Omar and Raj went to multiple Deuces during their services and had to save many Break Points to hold.  Raj had great serves and vicious topspin forehands that were effective, but he also had his fair share of errors.  Omar was steady and reliable.  The best part is he plays his shots unperturbed.  There is music in his shot-making, but with a more sedate tempo. 

Levy Lorenzo/Mike Mole over Tom La/Don Moya, 6-4!  No Aces.

Mike was happy to get a win against two good players, but he did have rock-solid support from Levy.

Nathan Fernandes/Natalia Sout over Senthil Kumar/Janice Wang, 6-4!  No Aces.

Senthil was a late show, but he did get to play a set and a lengthy hitting session thereafter.  He was going "nutshell" with Nate and Nat.  Natalia is playing very well with attacking shots.  Coming off her knee injury, she was slightly tentative but has started playing more freely now.  With Nate's smart moves, she is clicking well.

Tom La/Don Moya over Levy Lorenzo/Mike Mole, 7-6 (7-5)!  No Aces.

Tom and Adonis corrected their earlier loss with a close win.  After the match, they got to hit a bit for a while.

Samara's Notes: Perhaps "Adonis" is a talk-to-text typo, but I like it.  Much like when "The Riz" John Rizzo had a talk-to-text typo in reporting a result from "Days Ahmadi" rather than Dave Ahmadi that subsequently led to Dave's new moniker becoming "Happy Days!"  Or more recently when "Hollywood" Frank Samara mistakenly reported the results of one "Edgar Valentina" rather than Edgar Valencia…and now we call him Edgar "Valentino" Valencia rather than "Eager Edgar."  I think "Adonis" should now replace the rather boring "Drill Instructor" nickname.

One more time, take it away Kris!

Nate was teamed up with Marie against Janice and Natalia, but I'm not sure if it was a serious set.

Senthil Kumar over Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-2!  No Aces.

Senthil did get to play a Singles One-Setter and he took out a beat-up Jordan.

Overall, it was a lovely night for tennis and we sure made full use of the great weather and ambience.  Cheers!

Samara's Notes: As always, I thank Kris for all he does for the GTA up at Cedar Grove!  I also thank Laura and Marijus for their timely reporting as well.   

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

862-596-3354

6/20 Results.

6/20/17:               

"Kris hosts 29 at C.G. incl. M2 1^st Rounder!":                               

GTA Tuesday Night Tennis took place at The Cedar Grove Courts with usual host "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan providing us with this report.  "The Accelerator" Abhilash Gadi also submitted his result directly as he was involved in the Main Event of the evening.  It was another M2 Men's Doubles Tournament Round of 13 Match as Abhi teamed with "The Legendary" Chazz Weldon to take on "Richie" Rich Liu and Edgar "Valentino" Valencia.  And even though Kris had all the scores covered, GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro also submitted his results directly.

So we now turn this report over to Kris (with minor contributions from Chris and Abhi along the way). 

It was a blockbuster night in Cedar Grove with GTA Tennis surpassing "Cars 3" and "Wonder Woman" big-time...:-).  The weather was great and the atmosphere was superb.  We got to see some tantalizing matches as some of our players were quite elated with their performance.  We got to enjoy all four courts throughout the night and I believe we had an early start to accommodate almost all the players. There was some wait time in between as some matches took quite a while to finish. 

The Cedar Grove Results:

Raj Shah/Moka Pathan over Chris Chiaro/Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-3!  Jordan: 2 Aces on Moka; and Raj: 1 Ace on Jordan!

Chris Chiaro/Jordan Bachvaroff over Raj Shah/Moka Pathan, 6-2!  Chris: 1 Ace on Moka!

The K has his say: This was some of the earlier action starting just after 6:15pm.  Both One-Setters were well-played and it was all high quality according to "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes.  One set apiece meant an evenly balanced match, but with players coming in steadily, these players vacated the courts for the later arrivals.

Samara's Notes: Chris was the one to provide the Ace counts for the above action as well as the results that he was involved in later in the night…and later in this report.  I now turn it back over to Kris.

Nathan Fernandes/Kathy Sheldon over Jose Gonzales/Dawn Peterson, 6-4!  No Aces.

Nathan Fernandes/Kathy Sheldon over Sairaj Srinivasan/Dawn Peterson, 6-3!  No Aces.

It was a smiling Kathy at the conclusion of both as she teamed with a winning partner.  Both the sets had great moments for both the teams, however.

M2 Round of 13 Match:

Chazz Weldon/Abhilash Gadi over Rich Liu/Edgar Valencia, 6-3, 7-5, to advance to the Quarterfinals of the M2 Men's Doubles Tournament as both teams enter the Doubles Division as the New # 64 and # 65 Ranked Teams respectively!  Abhilash: 1 Ace on Edgar! 

The K has his say: This was an exciting match that was so well-fought, especially in the 2nd Set that looked like it would be heading for a Tiebreak.  Abhi was thrilled to play with Chazz and was quite impressed with the consistency displayed by Chazz.  It was good to see Chazz back in action here.  Edgar had some good shots at the net, but couldn't put away some of the shots and those would come back to haunt his team.  Rich was great in the rallies and digging in hard from the baseline.  Abhi was able to play some attacking shots that paired off handsomely.

Samara's Notes: Abhi, like Chris earlier, was the one to provide the Ace count.  Once again, we turn it back over to Kris.

Kris Srinivasan/Ryan Pienciak over Marijus Kuzavas/Sally Pillay, 6-4!  Marijus: 1 Ace on Kris!

It was a warm-up set for us played on Court 2…not exactly the best court, what with acorns, twigs and leaves.  We did some clean-up, good enough to carry us all for the night.  Both Marijus and Sally were solid and are playing great tennis at the moment.  Ryan had some great serves and attacking net play to keep us in good standing.  After an easy hold in his first two services, Marijus was broken the third time around to give us the set.

Chris Chiaro/Michel Encarnacion over Lou La Forgia/Mike Mole, 6-2!  No Aces.

Chris was already on fire and once Michel got the hang of Lou's serves, they had the edge.  It didn't help when Mike's expansive shots didn't find the target.

Jordan Bachvaroff/Michel Encarnacion over Lou La Forgia/Mike Mole, 7-5!  No Aces.

It looked like a very good and close match.  Michel was a happy camper to call it a night after this match...:-) .  He reminded me of Jay Phoenix...:-).

Dan Martinelli/Ryan Pienciak over Levy Lorenzo/Dave Zhu, 7-6 (7-5)!  No Aces.

This was probably the match of the night and it was played for an hour or so with amazing gets from all the players.  It was anyone's game and it went to the men with the bigger grins!  It was an animated match that was well-fought leaving all the players satisfied with their performance.  It was clear that Spin was well-rested and raring to go.  Ryan was playing his attacking game.  Dave was solid with both his serves and ground-strokes.  Levy was as steady as it gets and was able to frustrate Ryan who was itching to attack at the net.  There were some nice serves off of Spin's racquet and his shots had the same zest.

Jose Gonzales/Doinks Srinivasan over Laura Gawley/Natalia Sout, 6-0!  No Aces.

Jose was clearly able to frustrate Laura by finding his "target" constantly.  He has been playing well, mixing it up to deceive his opponents.  There were some nice rallies, but the lopsided score surely was a surprise.

Laura Gawley/Natalia Sout over Rob Gawley/Doinks Srinivasan, 7-5!  No Aces.

It was a great comeback by Doinks and Rob who were down 1-5 when Rob had had enough and told Doinks that he was not ready to sit down.  He then jumpstarted his game to another level and, with some good support from Doinks, they ended up tying the match at 5-All.  As happens most times, they eased up on the throttle a bit and that would put a break to their winding momentum.

Marijus Kuzavas/Sally Pillay over Don Moya/Janice Wang, 6-3!  No Aces.

Don was testing out his feet (he rolled his ankle last week).  He and Janice got to face Marijus and Sally for the first time.  Janice felt both Marijus and Sally played aggressive tennis and especially when attacking at the net.

Chris Chiaro/Janice Wang over Kris Srinivasan/Edgar Valencia, 6-2!  No Aces.

We lost the first three games before winning the next two.  We couldn't finish a couple of games, but both Chris and Janice were steady and brutal at times.

Kris Srinivasan/Edgar Valencia leading Chris Chiaro/Janice Wang, 4-3 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

We upped our game and managed to dominate more in this set and ended up leading at 4-2 before Chris held his serve as the lights went off. 

Nathan Fernandes/Lou La Forgia leading Jordan Bachvaroff/Don Moya, 4-2 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

It was another incomplete set which ensured Nate staying undefeated and Lou going winless for the night.

Laura Gawley/Sally Pillay leading Doinks Srinivasan/Natalia Sout, 4-1 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

Laura and Sally got to team finally and have a somewhat of a practice session, though it was an incomplete one. They have a big match planned for Wednesday night at 5pm as they will defend their GTA Women's Doubles Championship against the 2017 W2 Champs: Fernanda Toker and Anna Mazur (aka The Argentine Machine and The Polish Machine, as succinctly put by our Nate).

There will also be a MXD2 Mixed Doubles Tournament Match between the teams of Jordan Bachvaroff/Marie Salamon and Kevin Doyle/Brenda Jordan at 6 pm.  It looks like another exciting night of GTA Tennis is on tap. 

It turned out to be a beautiful night filled with action.  Even the birds were chirping happily in the early part of the evening.  Cheers!

Samara's Notes: As always, I thank The K Man for being "The Man" for the GTA up at Cedar Grove!  I also thank Chris and Abhi for their timely reporting as well.   

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

862-596-3354