7/30 Results.

7/30/17:

"Samara hosts 4 at AP, Riz hosts 4 at NTC, Gen hosts 6 at C.G.!":               

GTA Sunday Tennis took place at three locations: Albion Park in Clifton with "Hollywood" Frank Samara acting as host; The Nutley Tennis Club with "The Riz" John Rizzo acting as host; and The Cedar Grove Courts with "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan acting as host.

We will first go to the comings and goings at Albion, then the results recap from NTC and then we will close this report with the write-up from Gen.

GTA Sunday Tennis took place as usual at the Albion Park Courts in Clifton.  And the usual host, "Hollywood" Frank Samara got there at the usual starting time of 11am.  But that is where the use of the word "usual" ends.

There was a full family (about six or seven people, at least) on the North Court while both "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak and "The Webmaster" Senthil Kumar were walking to the courts at this time.

Frank was not alone as he had his daughter Angie and son Dante with him as well.  "Big George" Jorge Solano was soon following them down the hill on the way to the courts.

Jorge explained that the Grove Cup XX Round of 41 Match against Dennis "The Menace" Cabanatan (scheduled for 8am) never happened as Dennis sent him an early morning e-mail stating that he was sick and he would forfeit the match (it is actually just a withdrawal, not a forfeit of rank that counts for an actual loss) and allow Jorge to take the bye into the Round of 32.

The kids went off to the playground area.  In an effort to hold the remaining two courts, Samara suggested splitting up into two Singles hitting sessions with Senthil and Ryan against one another on the South Court while Frank and Jorge would do the same on Center Court.  Any players arriving could just fill in on either court until we had enough players for Doubles on both.

Jay "The Rising" Phoenix arrived at 11:20 and he chose to join the hitting session on the South Court.

Ten minutes later, "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli made his way down the hill and he chose the Center Court.

And shockingly...on such a beautiful day (seventy degree range, sunny with almost no humidity at all), nobody else was arriving.

So, a Doubles One-Setter got underway on the South Court at 11:40 as Senthil teamed with Jorge to take on Jay and Ryan.

It was around this time that the kids needed a water break.  After that, Big Daddy Frank invited them onto the courts to hit the ball around with their pops and Spin as well.

The family left the North Court at 11:45.  Their timing was perfect as it allowed us to shift over to that court and not interfere with the official action on the South Court as there is always the occasional errant ball when you have the kids swinging away at them.

At this point, Angie is far more steady and competitive than her younger brother is.  We split it up with Spin and Angie on one side and Dante and daddy on the other.

That first Doubles One-Setter ended at 12:05.  Both Jay and Ryan were itching to play Singles.  Senthil and Jorge agreed as they did the same.

Spin and Frank would have played Doubles, but now the kids were involved and still happy to be hitting.  Plus, the other four all seemed content to compete in some Singles action anyway.

From 12:10 to 12:25, Samara took his kids to the Dunkin Donuts down the road to get drinks and also both of them needed a bathroom break.

Upon their return, "Coach" Dino Celis was already in attendance and on the bench alongside the South Court watching the Phoenix-Pienciak One-Setter while Martinelli was still sitting on the North Court in order to hold it.

And then it was back to the same hitting session (Spin/Angie versus Frank/Dante) while the other guys continued to play Singles and also switch things along the way.  And thus, we had a shockingly low total of just four official competitors for the day!  It would have been six if Frank and Spin were able to get involved...but alas, it was not to be.

The Albion Park Results:

Jay Phoenix/Ryan Pienciak over Senthil Kumar/Jorge Solano, 6-2!  No Aces.  They played this one on the South Court from 11:40 to 12:05.

Ryan Pienciak over Jay Phoenix, 6-0!  No Aces.  This early afternoon bagel lasted all of eighteen minutes (12:10 to 12:28) on the South Court!

Jorge Solano over Senthil Kumar, 6-4!  Jorge: 2 Aces.  And the shockers continue as this one took place on the Center Court and lasted from 12:10 to 12:48.

Ryan Pienciak over Jay Phoenix, 6-1!  No Aces.  This was also played on the South Court and it lasted from 12:30 to 12:55.

Senthil Kumar over Ryan Pienciak, 6-4!  Ryan: 1 Ace.  Center Court hosted this one from 12:56 to 1:34. 

Jay Phoenix over Jorge Solano, 6-3!  No Aces.  They played this one on the South Court from 12:56 to 1:40.

All in all, it was quite the strange session…indeed!  We now go to NTC for The Riz Report.

The NTC Results:

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

John Rizzo/Alfred Chen over Dan Hwang/Ray Spadaro, 6-2, 6-2, to become the New # 65 Ranked Team in the Doubles Division!  No Aces.

Dan Hwang/Ray Spadaro over John Rizzo/Alfred Chen, 6-4!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I thank John for his timely reporting.  And now we turn over the rest of this report to Gen.

Raj Shah and I agreed to meet up at Cedar Grove around 6:30pm.  When I arrived, Raj and Andrew Truong were already on the courts hitting.  We invited Melvin Hyman over for a Doubles One-Setter. 

The Cedar Grove Results:

Raj Shah/Genalin Capan over Andrew Truong/Melvin Hyman, 6-1!  No Aces.  Duration: 7:04-7:25. 

Andrew needed to get home and was done after this set.  Mel and I took one side and hit against Raj. Mel left and we invited Mr. Herb Reiner to continue hitting with us.  Then it was Herb's turn to depart for the evening.  Raj and I then decided to play a Singles One-Setter before heading home. 

Raj Shah over Genalin Capan, 6-0!  No Aces.  Duration: 8:37-8:56. 

As we were getting ready to leave, The Gawleys arrived.  Rob asked if we were still up for playing. 

Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley over Raj Shah/Genalin Capan, 6-2!  No Aces.  Duration: 9:05-9:40. 

Raj Shah/Genalin Capan tied with Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley, 2-2 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.  Raj and I went up a break and were leading 2-1.  I was then broken to go back on serve and knot it at 2-All.  We decided to end it there and a minute later the lights went out. 

There were many good rallies in both sets.  One game where I was serving (in the 1st One-Setter) went back and forth to at least 9 or 10 Deuces when Raj and I finally got the hold.  It was a fun night of tennis. 

Samara's Notes: I thank Gen for hosting that impromptu session and reporting it in such a timely manner.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

862-596-3354

 

7/29 Results.

7/29/17:

"Mazur-Capan at PAC, Riz hosts 4 at NTC!":               

GTA Saturday Tennis took place at two locations: The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley featuring the GAH7 Quarterfinal Match between "Automatic" Anna Mazur and "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan (with both reporting); and The Nutley Tennis Club with "The Riz" John Rizzo acting as host.

We will first go to the report from Gen (with additional notes from Anna) and then to the results recap from John.

The Park Ave. Result:

GAH7 Quarterfinal:
Anna Mazur over Genalin Capan, 7-5, 6-2, to successfully defend her # 6 Rank in the Women's Division while also advancing to the Semifinals of the 7th Annual Gail-ann Hamilton Memorial Tournament!  No Aces.

Gen's Notes: We played from 3:30 to 5pm.  The 1st Set was 47 minutes long.  We had to make constant adjustments with the wind, but we did have some nice rallies...especially when the score was somewhere around 4-3.  Anna went up 5-4.  Then I was on serve when I saved 1 Set Point and then held for 5-5.  Anna held again and then I was broken to end the set.

The 2nd Set was 40 minutes long.  Good rallies despite the swirling winds.  Anna played well and had many put-away winners at the net.  Down 2-5, I was on serve and it went right to Triple Break/Match Point.  I cut it down to Break/Match Point, but then it ended.  Congratulations to Anna on a well-played match!

Anna's Annotations: We had a great match which lasted about 1.5 hours. Gen played an excellent game. 

Samara's Notes: I thank Gen and Anna for sending in this result in such a timely manner (from Gen, it was via text less than an hour after it finished).  I also congratulate Anna on her impressive victory.

We now stay in Nutley, but head over to NTC for The Riz Report.

The NTC Results:

John Rizzo over Mike Mole, 6-4!  No Aces.

3 out of 5 Sets:

Mike Mole/John Rizzo tied with Don Moya/Janice Wang, 5-7, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-3)!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: With the sets split two for each team, they ran out of time and had to end it as Incomplete.  I thank John for his timely reporting as well.

Samara signing off!
gtasamara5@gmail.com
862-596-3354 

 

 

 

 

7/28 Results.

7/28/17:

"Samara hosts 17 (2 new) at C.G.!":               

GTA Friday Night Tennis took place at The Cedar Grove Courts with "Hollywood" Frank Samara once again acting as host.  It was another gray day full of humidity, though it was not quite as bad as the night before.  And the chance of any showers had pretty much passed earlier in the day.  Yet, the turnout was weaker.  If it wasn't for "Ambassador" Rob Gawley, we would have only had 15 official competitors for the evening (more on that later).

Samara pulled into the parking lot at 6:50 with "The Levitator" Levy Lorenzo not far behind.  All four courts were full already.  Out on Court One, it was "The Ambidextrous Machine" Herb Reiner having his usual hitting session with his buddy, Miroslav "Mirav" Glavic.

On Court Two, "Big George" Jorge Solano was practicing his serve as he was waiting for his Grove Cup XX Round of 41 opponent, Dennis "The Menace" Cabanatan to arrive.

On Court Three it was a family that included some small children.  Thankfully, they left at 7pm.

And out on Court Four we had "Big Kaz" Mike Kazlauskas going solo in a hitting session against both "The Bulgarian Bull" Jordan Bachvaroff and "The Olympian" Marie Salamon.  Levy soon took Mike's side in the hitting session and that would lead to a Doubles One-Setter.

Meanwhile, Samara replaced the family on Court Three in order to hold that court.  Solano called Frank over to the fence to tell him that Cabanatan was running late and this was already their third reschedule of their match.  Samara then left a message in the cell voicemail for Dennis and then sent a follow-up text message.

During all this, an interloper arrived while Jorge had stepped off the court and went back out into the parking lot to go into his car (presumably to reach Dennis).  Frank knew it would not be a good look to try to hold two open courts, so he told the gentleman he could have Court Three.  Samara then headed over to Court Two and Solano soon returned to that court as well.  Meanwhile, the buddy of the guy on Court Three had also arrived and they started hitting with one another.  Frank knew that he had seen these two guys at least twice before at Cedar Grove, so he was glad that he gave them the chance to play again.

By 7:20, neither Samara nor Solano had received any reply from Cabanatan.  At that time, Frank sent a second text message to Dennis stating that he had now been withdrawn from the Grove Cup and that Solano would advance via a bye into the Round of 32 to face Former GTA Champ: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro.  After all this, Frank and Jorge then entered into a lengthy hitting session.

At 7:40 (just a couple of minutes after their One-Setter had finished), Mike and Jordan came over to Court Two to ask Frank and Jorge if they could have it for some Singles action while Samara and Solano could go over to Court Four for Doubles.  Frank and Jorge were absolutely fine with all this and the old "switcheroo" was made.  While all this was happening, "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli made his arrival.

Soon we had Frank teaming with Marie to take on Levy and Jorge on Court Four.  The logjam situation would soon begin as The Gawleys arrived at 7:45 (Rowdy Rob and Laura the Aura, the GTA Women's Champion) and they sat next to Spin on the bench alongside Court Four.

Five minutes later, Santosh "Ever" Reddy had also arrived.  He joined the growing crowd at or around the bench.  The posse of people grew even bigger when "The Webmaster" Senthil Kumar arrived at 7:55.  

It was right around this time when Rob thought that the guys on Court Three may be done as both were talking to one another for quite some time at the net.  When he asked if they were done, they replied that they were just taking a break.  Mr. Gawley then slipped into "ambassador" mode as he invited them to instead play some Doubles.  They were agreeable to this scenario and they would soon face Rob and Santosh.  And what initially looked to be somewhat lopsided instead ended up becoming quite the One-Setter.  We will get to that later.

"2 Tall" Dave Zhu arrived at 8:20 and five minutes later, "Latino Heat" Jose Gonzales did the same.  

At 8:30, Cabanatan made a late arrival.  He explained that he had just heard and/or seen all the messages a short while ago.  Samara told him that there were no more viable excuses at this point.  There were too many cancellations and it was unfair to Jorge to keep him waiting and/or rescheduling on all these occasions.  But Mr. Solano was a gentleman and was open to once again scheduling the match for early Sunday morning instead.  Frank said he was willing to withdraw the withdrawal as long as Jorge was OK with it.  This was very much a class act and an example of fine sportsmanship on the part of Jorge as he could have simply stayed with the bye into the Round of 32.

I think it was around 8:35 when "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan made her arrival.

Somewhere after 9pm, "Coach" Dino Celis arrived to make an extended cameo appearance.  We ended up with a total of seventeen official competitors, two of them new...thanks to the recruiting skills of "Squash Boy" Rob Gawley.  Kudos to a job well done!

And now onto the action!

The Cedar Grove Results:

Mike Kazlauskas/Levy Lorenzo over Jordan Bachvaroff/Marie Salamon, 6-2!  Mike: 1 Ace on Jordan.  This one took place on Court Four from 7:05 to 7:38.

Levy Lorenzo/Jorge Solano over Frank Samara/Marie Salamon, 6-4!  No Aces.  It went like this: Frank held serve (Frank hit a winning drop shot and an un-returned serve on the way to Triple Game Point, the hold came on Double Game Point), Jorge held serve in an epic struggle (Love-30 shifted to 30-All as Frank blew a drop shot and Jorge hit a monster Overhead Smash, but then it went to Break Point, Deuce where Frank hit a winning volley to set up another Break Point and it would be all Break Points until 4th Deuce where Jorge hit a winner to reverse the momentun and earn his first Game Point where Levy would then hit a winner to secure his partner's hold), but Marie was the first to be broken (15-Love was where Levy hit a winning lob that reversed the momentum once again as it was now straight to Double Break Point where Jorge hit another winning Overhead Smash as this one earned the break) for 1-2.  Levy held (from here on out, I no longer noted who hit what winners as once again my wet and sweaty hands were making things difficult...Love-15 shifted to 30-15, 30-All, Game Point and the hold) to extend his team's lead to 3-1, but then Samara held again (Triple Break Point would go all the way to Deuce, then Game Point, 2nd Deuce, Game Point and the hold) and Solano was broken (Love-15 shifted to 30-15 shifted to Break Point and then the break) to tie things up at 3-3!  Salamon was broken again (Love-15 then point for point to Break Point, Deuce, Break Point again and then the break), but Lorenzo was also broken (Love-15 then point for point to Break Point and then the break) to knot the score once more at 4-4!  Hollywood was then broken for the first time (Love-30 shifted to 30-All, Break Point, Deuce, Break Point again and then the break) and then Big George held (30-Love, 30-15, Double Game/Match Point and then the hold) to earn a hard-fought victory!  We played this one on Court Four from 7:45 to 8:34.

Samara's Notes: This One-Setter ended up being a lot of fun as it was a mixture of competitive spirit and some lighthearted moments as well.  All involved played quite well, but it only took a couple of errors here and there to turn things in the other team's favor.  This was one of those One-Setters where nobody went away mad...not even the losers.

Jordan Bachvaroff over Mike Kazlauskas, 6-4!  Mike: 1 Ace.  This one got underway on Court Two at 7:45.  Not sure when it ended as it went right into this next one.

Mike Kazlauskas over Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-1!  No Aces.  This one finished at 9:05.

Rob Gawley/Santosh Reddy over Mina Matta/Andrew Tadros, 7-6 (7-5)!  No Aces.  It was the official GTA Debut of both Mina Matta and Andrew Tadros.  This one was played on Court Three from 7:55 to 8:40.

Samara's Notes: Rob and Santosh jumped out to a 5-1 lead.  This seemed to be a lopsided affair as Rob had to direct the competition through the scoring and rules of the match (they were more used to Singles and just hitting in general).  But then Simone arrived.  I believe she is Andrew's wife.  She must have been their good luck charm because suddenly their fortunes changed and they rose to the challenge by eventually forcing a Tiebreak.  It seems that all involved had a good time and we hope to see more of Mina and Andrew in the future.  Afterward, Simone got involved in a hitting session with both Andrew and Mina...but they said she is not ready to compete just yet.

Senthil Kumar/Dave Zhu over Dan Martinelli/Laura Gawley, 6-2!  Spin: 1 Ace on Dave on the very first point of the match!  They played this one on Court One from 8:25 to 8:55.  It was Mr. Zhu to the rescue as it had been a three-way hitting session for quite some time before his arrival.

2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Doubles Match:
Dennis Cabanatan/Marie Salamon over Jose Gonzales/Genalin Capan, 6-2, 2-6, 10-8 (STB)!  In the process, both teams entered the Mixed Doubles Division as the New # 44 and # 45 Ranked Teams respectively!  Jose: 3 Aces (2 on Marie and 1 on Dennis) in the 2nd Set!  This took place on Court Four and lasted from 8:48 to 9:53.

Senthil Kumar/Dave Zhu over Jorge Solano/Santosh Reddy, 6-0!  No Aces.  This one got underway on Court One at exactly 8:58.  Not sure when it finished as they went straight into another one where they switched up the teams.  We will get to that one a bit later.

Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley over Frank Samara/Dan Martinelli, 6-3!  Laura: 1 Ace on Frank.  It went like this: Frank held serve (Love-15 shifted to Double Game Point with an un-returned serve along the way), Laura held (un-returned serve for 15-Love, a winning volley from Frank for 15-All and then it was point for point until 30-All, Break Point where Frank blew a volley to bring it back to Deuce, then Game Point and the hold), but Spin was the first to be broken and it was at Love for 1-2.  Rob was also broken (here is where I decided to stop noting winners again...he started with a Double Fault and then it went point for point until 30-All, Game Point, Deuce, Break Point and the break) to level the score at 2-2, but then Samara was broken (30-Love went straight to Break Point and the break) for 2-3.  Mrs. Gawley held in a battle (Love-15 then point for point to Break Point, Deuce, Break Point, 2nd Deuce, Break Point, 3rd Deuce, Game Point and then a big corner Ace against Frank for the hold) and then Martinelli was broken again (Love-30, 15-30, Double Break Point and the break) to fall to 2-5.  Mr. Gawley was also broken again (the rally of the match led to Love-15, it then went to 15-All, 15-30, a Double Fault for Double Break Point and then the break) to have his team's lead cut to 5-3, but then The Wood was broken once more (the second best rally of the match led to 15-Love, then 15-All and onto Double Game Point, reduced to Deuce, Break/Match Point, 2nd Deuce, it ended on the 2nd Break/Match Point) to take the loss!  We played this one on Court Three from 9:04 to 9:44.

Samara's Notes: Martinelli was still in gimpy mode, but was as game as ever.  The Gawleys often worked him over, but in a competitive manner (they didn't drop shot him to death).  This was actually a fun and competitive One-Setter.  The Foundation can hold their heads high as they more than held their own against one of the greatest Mixed Doubles teams that the GTA has to offer.

Senthil Kumar/Jorge Solano leading Dave Zhu/Santosh Reddy, 4-3 (and it was at Deuce when it became Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

Another steamy sauna-like night at Cedar Grove, but a whole lot of fun nonetheless.

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

 

 

 

 

7/27 Results.

7/27/17:               

"Ryan-Abhi, Sally-Christine part of 18 at C.G. as Samara hosts!":

GTA Thursday Night Tennis only took place at The Cedar Grove Courts.  For a while throughout the afternoon and into the evening, it increasingly seemed like a session would not be possible as there were dark skies and occasional bouts of drizzle.  Yet, it was never enough to make "Hollywood" Frank Samara (the host, filling in for usual Cedar Grove host - "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan) think that a session was out of the question.

Frank had the chance to head up to Cedar Grove early and he arrived at 6:15.  At that time, all four courts were vacant and he was the only car in the parking lot!  A few minutes later, an SUV pulled into the lot.  Since Samara did not recognize the vehicle, he remained seated in his car.

Another five minutes later (at 6:25), "Killer Kat" Kathy Sheldon found her place in the lot as well.  The other woman got out of her SUV and it turned out to be "Dominant" Dawn Peterson.  Another five minutes after that, "Kevlar" Kevn Doyle also arrived.

Frank decided to get out of his car to make it a foursome.  They promptly told him that "Bravo" Brenda Jordan was also on her way.  So Samara decided to just hit with them (the men hitting against the women on Court Four) until she arrived (which she did at 6:50).

But before that, "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak arrived at 6:45.  He was there to play his Grove Cup XX Round of 41 Match against "The Accelerator" Abhilash Gadi.  He went to Court Three to loosen up and practice his serve as he felt the match (set for a 7pm start) would be a no-go anyway due to the pending rains.

At 6:55, Frank decided to stroll over to Court Three to hit with Ryan.  Five minutes later, both "ME" Michel Encarnacion and "C.A.T." Christine Toth arrived separately.  Once Samara learned that Toth was there to play her GAH7 Quarterfinal against "The Smackdown" Sally Pillay, he decided to have Michel take his place in hitting against Ryan while he would go over to Court One to hit with Christine.

At 7:05, Gadi arrived and he took Encarnacion's spot on Court One (hitting against Pienciak) as Michel then headed to Court One to become part of that hitting session.

Five minutes later, Pillay showed up along with her hubby, "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas.  Hot on their tail in the lot was GTA Champion: "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes.  Sally came over to Court One to start hitting with Christine one-on-one while Frank headed over to Court Two along with Michel to hit with Nate and Marijus and then get a Doubles One-Setter going.

But when Samara saw "Latino Heat" Jose Gonzales pull into the lot at 7:15, he decided to let Jose take his place in the Doubles action over on Court Two while Frank would go ride the bench courtside alongside Court One to watch the ladies' action.

Next to show up at 7:30 was "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli.  He joined Samara on the bench, but they did not go into "Heckler" mode (kind of like "Beast Mode" except they get amped up with words rather than actions...LOL!).  Instead, they were good boys as they watched Sally and Christine battle.  They did engage in their usual "chat-a-thon", but they kept it quiet with only the occasional outburst from Spin as he egged the gals on to play harder (he was an impartial observer).

From 8:25 to 8:30, it was "Laidback" Laurie Boughton, "Salsa Picante" Edwin Ortega and "2 Tall" Dave Zhu arrived.  Some had to wait longer than others, but all would soon get involved in the action.

Tito "Touch" Castolo was the final arrival at 8:50.  And that gave us a total of eighteen offcial competitors for the night...pretty impressive when you consider how iffy the evening was weather-wise at the outset of the session.

Let's get to the action!

The Cedar Grove Results:

Kathy Sheldon/Dawn Peterson over Kevin Doyle/Brenda Jordan, 6-3!  No Aces.  This one got underway on Court Four at 6:55.  Not sure when it ended as it went right into this next one.

Kevin Doyle/Brenda Jordan over Kathy Sheldon/Dawn Peterson, 6-4!  No Aces.  This one finished at 8:35.

Grove Cup XX Round of 41 Match:
Ryan Pienciak over Abhilash Gadi, 6-2, 6-2, to successfully defend his # 17 Rank in the Intermediate Division while also advancing to the Round of 32 of the 20th Annual Grove Cup Tournament!  No Aces.  This was played on Court Three from 7:15 to 8:19.

Samara's Notes: Afterward, Ryan said the match was closer than the score indicates as Abhi had him running all over the place.  And Gadi gets to everything as he is one of the fastest players in the league!  The amazing thing is (as we learned from Abhi) that this was only his second full Singles match ever!  His first was against another tough customer, "Tailor Made" Raj Tailor, in the GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament earlier this season.

GAH7 Quarterfinal Match:
Sally Pillay over Christine Toth, 6-2, 6-3, to successfully defend her # 5 Rank in the Women's Division while also advancing to the Semifinals of the 7th Annual Gail-ann Hamilton Memorial Tournament!  No Aces.  This was played on Court One from 7:24 to 8:40.

Samara's Notes: I can attest to the fact that this was another match that was much closer than the score indicates as Spin and I watched a good portion of the 1st Set and we actually thought that Christine may have been on her way to pulling off the upset as she won many of the points.  She had the ability to control many of them.  She was moving Sally around the court and hit quite a few effective lobs that ended up becoming winners as they were so well-placed...deep at the baseline!  Pillay let a couple of them go and paid the price for doing so.  Sally was also perhaps a bit too aggressive early on as some of her attempted Overhead Smashes either went down into the net or sailed long.  Smackdown Sally must have turned things around after we left.

And Sally told me to note that she felt pretty much the same as what I just wrote above as she was very impressed with Christine's game and enjoyed the challenge.

Nathan Fernandes/Marijus Kuzavas over Jose Gonzales/Michel Encarnacion, 6-0!  No Aces.  Court Two hosted this bagel set from just 7:22 to 7:43!

Nathan Fernandes/Jose Gonzales over Marijus Kuzavas/Michel Encarnacion, 6-4!  Marijus: 1 Ace on Jose.  This was also played on Court Two, but lasted a bit longer...from 7:46 to 8:22.  Afterward, Marijus and Michel had a hitting session with one another.

Frank Samara/Ryan Pienciak over Dan Martinelli/Abhilash Gadi, 6-3!  No Aces.  It went like this: Ryan was broken (Love-30 shifted to 30-All with an un-returned serve along the way, then Break Point where Abhi hit a vicious volley winner for the break) and Spin held serve (15-Love, 15-All then onto Double Game Point, Game Point and the hold) to get off to a 2-0 lead.  Frank then held in a battle where he decided to forego trying to remember who hit what winners where and when (Love-15 shifted to 30-15, 30-All, Game Point, Deuce and then all Game Points to 3rd Deuce, another Game Point where Ryan had a vicious volley winner of his own to enable the hold) and then Abhilash was broken (Frank hit a victorious volley winner to set up Triple Break Point, but then Abhi had a net-cord-aided winner to make it Double Break Point, but then came the break) to level the score at 2-2.  Pienciak held at Love as he hit a drop shot winner and an un-returned serve on the way to Triple Game Point and then Frank hit a Statue of Liberty style volley that clipped the top of the tape and then descended to the court for a winner to enable the hold), but Martinelli held again (an un-returned serve for 15-Love, then 15-All before going straight to Double Game Point and the hold) to tie things up again, this time at 3-3!  From here forward, I stopped noting the winners as my hands were soaked with sweat from the high humidity.  Plus, I did it in the interest of saving time.  Samara held again (Love-15, 15-All, 15-30 and then straight to Game Point and the hold) while Gadi was broken again (Love-15 to 30-15, 30-All, Game Point, Deuce, Break Point and then a Double Fault to break himself) to fall to 3-5.  The Lumberjack then held again and it was also once again at Love as he put this one away on Triple Game/Match Point!  We played this one on Court Three from 8:24 to 9:01.

Samara's Notes: Spin was coaxed into playing as once again "The Noble Idiot" could not resist the temptation of playing nor letting the masses down.  His one condition was that he needed to team with the speedy Abhi as he could do most of the running.  And run he did as Gadi made several great gets along the way.  Martinelli played as well as a one-legged man could be expected to play.  While his mobility was severely limited, he was game enough to try to get to whatever he could and he swung away to try to end points whenever possible (some ended in his team's favor while others did not).  Ryan was doing his usual thing at the net.  He got off to a rough start with some failed volley attempts, but his game got cleaner as the contest grew older.  Samara was pretty much a cool customer throughout...far from perfect, but holding his own and doing his best not to sink his team's chances.

Dave Zhu/Michel Encarnacion over Edwin Ortega/Jose Gonzales, 7-5!  No Aces.  This one took got underway on Court Two at 8:35, but I never got to see when it ended.  Afterward, Edwin and Dave had a hitting session with one another.

Marijus Kuzavas/Sally Pillay over Nathan Fernandes/Laurie Boughton, 6-4!  No Aces.  This Mixed Doubles action occupied Court Four from 8:50 to 9:30.

Abhilash Gadi/Tito Castolo over Frank Samara/Ryan Pienciak, 6-2!  Abhilash: 1 Ace on Frank on Match Point!  Here's how it went down: Ryan held (Ryan had a monster Overhead Smash and Frank had a vicious volley winner on the way to Triple Game Point, it then went to Double Game Point before the hold), Tito held (Tito blew an overhead for Love-15, but then it shifted straight to Double Game Point as Abhi hit an amazing passing shot winner, Frank blew a volley and Abhi hit another winner and then came the hold), but Frank was the first to be broken (15-Love shifted straight to Double Break Point as Abhi hit two more winners along the way while Ryan blew a volley for the break) for 1-2.  Abhilash was also broken (Love-15, 15-All and then Tito blew a volley on the way to Double Break Point and then came the break) to level the score at 2-2.  But from there, Pienciak was broken (a Triple Game Point lead came crashing down to Deuce as Tito hit a winning volley and Frank blew a volley then when it was Deuce it was Frank blowing yet another volley to set up Break Point where Tito hit a successful volley winner for the break), Castolo held again (Tito hit a winning volley for 15-Love, 15-All and then straight to Double Game Point, but then a sharp-angle return winner from Ryan reversed the momentum and soon it was Deuce only to go to Game Point again and then the hold), Samara was broken again (back-to-back volley winners from Tito made it Love-30, but then Ryan had two consecutive winners to make it 30-All, but then it was Break Point where Tito hit one more volley winner for the break) and Gadi held (Frank blew a volley and then an un-returned serve led the way to Triple Game/Match Point where Abhi scored with a big-time Ace up the T-line against Frank to end this one in dramatic fashion) for a highly impressive victory!  We played this one on Court Three from 9:05 to 9:35. 

Samara's Notes: This One-Setter was even through the first four games because Tito had very little time to warm up...as such, he was off his game just a bit as he made some volley errors.  Once Tito Toca found his touch, everything reversed and suddenly Frank was the one without hand!  Meanwhile Abhi's level of play picked up as he now had a partner who was now doing more than just holding up his end of the bargain.  Once Gadi nailed that Ace to finish off the competition, he was done for the night as he wanted to make like Costanza and go out on a high note!

Nathan Fernandes/Sally Pillay over Jose Gonzales/Laurie Boughton, 6-3!  No Aces.  They played this one on Court Four from 9:33 to 9:54 and they saved time by foregoing the changeovers.

Ryan Pienciak/Tito Castolo over Edwin Ortega/Dave Zhu, 6-0!  No Aces.  This one took place on Court One and lasted from 9:39 to 9:55...just sixteen minutes for this late-night bagel.  They, too, decided to forego the changeovers in order to try to get this one done in time...and they did just that!

Overall, despite the very steamy conditions, it was quite the fun session...indeed!

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

 

7/26 Results.

7/26/17:               

"Dan-Omar, Jose-Randy, Joe-Lou, Nihar-William, Spin-Tommy, MXD2 Semi…!":

There were multiple sessions of GTA Wednesday Tennis with report contributions made by nine different "hosts" (I put that in quotes this time around as most were just reporting their own match, but still it is much appreciated)!  The usual host at Cedar Grove, "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan, did not host as he had to tend to family matters (though he did stop by to watch some of the action), but that did not prevent the day from being one of great progress as the GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament finally came to its conclusion while four of the Grove Cup XX Tournament matches were played as well.

So we're going to try to tackle all of this in chronological order…at least somewhat.  First, it was "The Speed Demon" Dan Praport and "Stealth" Omar Santos getting together at The Cedar Grove Courts in the afternoon for their Grove Cup XX Round of 32 Match with one another.

In the evening hours, "Latino Heat" Jose Gonzales and "Ravishing" Randy Doran faced off against one another in their Grove Cup XX Round of 41 Match at The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley.

Around the same time, "The Riz" John Rizzo hosted "The AM Rush" Anish Mehta as they squared off against each other in three separate Singles One-Setters.

And then it was back up to Cedar Grove in those later hours as "J-Rod" Joe Rodrigues and "The Lethal Lefty" Lou La Forgia faced off against one another in their Grove Cup XX Round of 32 Match.

Then, "The Annihilator" Nihar Panda and William "Bombs Away" Bobila played their long-awaited GTA Intermediate Invitational Final with each other while "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli went up against "Tireless" Tommy Reszkowski (new moniker comes courtesy of Spin) in their Grove Cup XX Round of 41 Match.  Both of these matches failed to go the distance as there were injury and/or ailment-related retirements in each one.

Plus, GTA Champion: "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes sent in additional results from that Cedar Grove session.

THIS JUST IN – It also turns out that the GTA MXD2 Mixed Doubles Semifinal Match was also played as it was Reszkowski doing double-duty as he teamed with "The Argentine Machine" Fernanda Toker to challenge "The Adonis" Don Moya and "J-Wow" Janice Wang.  Once Janice saw that this match went unreported, she immediately submitted the result.

So, first we go to The Praport Report of the first match of the day played in Cedar Grove.

The Cedar Grove Result: 

Grove Cup XX Round of 32 Match:

Dan Praport over Omar Santos, 6-2, 6-2, to successfully defend his # 14 Rank in the Advanced Division while advancing to the Round of 16 of the 20^th Annual Grove Cup Tournament!  No Aces.

The Praport Report: We met up at 2pm in Cedar Grove for our Grove Cup match.  The match took one hour and twenty minutes to complete.  Omar was saying after the match that he made too many unforced errors while I was very consistent.  It was fun playing with him again.

Samara's Notes: I thank Dan for submitting that result in a very timely manner (just shortly after the match ended).  Praport now has to wait for the winner of the Round of 32 Match between Panda and "Daddy O" Paul Daddio.

And now we head to Park Ave. in Nutley for the result from Jose.

The Park Ave. Courts Result:

Grove Cup XX Round of 41 Match:

Jose Gonzales over Randy Doran, 6-2, 6-3, to advance to the Round of 32 of the 20^th Annual Grove Cup Tournament!  This is not a rank defense for Gonzales as he is solely in the Advanced Division while Doran is solely in the Intermediate Division.  Jose: 4 Aces (two in each set)!

Jose has his say: Randy is a tough player.  He returns every ball and keeps the ball really low.  There were a lot of close games, but luckily I prevailed.

Samara's Notes:  I thank Jose for submitting that result in a very timely manner (like Dan, just shortly after the match ended).  Gonzales will now face "The Legendary" Chazz Weldon in the Round of 32.

We stay in Nutley, but now head over to The Nutley Tennis Club to get The Riz Report.

The NTC Results:

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

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

John Rizzo over Anish Mehta, 7-5!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I thank John for reporting those results in a very timely manner.  We now head up to Cedar Grove for the balance of the results.

The Cedar Grove Results:

Grove Cup XX Round of 32 Match:

Lou La Forgia over Joe Rodrigues, 5-7, 6-2, 6-0, to become the New # 18 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division while advancing to the Round of 16 of the 20^th Annual Grove Cup Tournament!  No Aces.

The Info from Joe: We started at 6pm and finished around 7:30.  Lou found his groove in the 2nd Set and didn't look back.  Best of luck to him in the tournament!

Samara's Notes: I thank Joe for submitting that result in a timely manner.  Now Lou will be waiting a while in the Round of 16 as two matches must first take place before an opponent reaches him.  In the Round of 41, it'll be Dennis "The Menace" Cabanatan taking on "Big George" Jorge Solano.  Then, the winner of that match faces Former GTA Champ: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro in the Round of 32.  And then that victor advances to meet La Forgia in the Round of 16.

Now we get the result submitted by William.

GTA Intermediate Invitational Final:

Nihar Panda over William Bobila, 6-1, 6-1 (William retired at 3-1), to win the 2017 GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament and successfully defend his # 6 Rank in the Advanced Division while also becoming the New # 2 Ranked Player in the Intermediate Division (and New Top Contender)!  Nihar: 1 Ace.

The Word from William: We played from 6:15 to 7:30pm.  Nihar played a solid and consistent game from start to finish.  Well done, no excuses and I congratulate him.  It's unfortunate not to be able to complete the Intermediate Final Match and I felt sorry to end this match in retirement.

In the beginning of the match, the score was 1-1 after Nihar held serve in a very long service game where I felt something like a shortness of breath.  I tried to slow down and hang on as normally I would recover (but not this time).  I really wanted to finish the match, but my concern was my history of health issues.

In this regard, I'm also forfeiting my Grove Cup Round of 32 Match versus Dean Delgado in the ongoing tournament.  I will just continue and finish my commitment to the M2 Men's Doubles Tournament with my partner, Fred Suba.  

Samara's Notes: First off, I thank William for submitting this result in such a timely manner.  Second, I'm sorry to see that it had to end this way.  Third, I congratulate Nihar on a very impressive run thru the entire tourney.

Now, we have a lot of consequences as a result of this result (the redundancy is fully intentional).  In addition to his Grove Cup Round of 32 Match against Paul Daddio, Nihar now is entitled to the next GTA Intermediate Title Match with the reigning Champ: "The Webmaster" Senthil Kumar.  That match can be played while the Grove Cup progresses and it should be played as soon as possible (i.e. as soon as it is mutually convenient for both participants).  Not only will Senthil's Title be on the line, but so will Nihar's rank in the Advanced Division.  That means each one is in somewhat of a challenger position in this next match.

Meanwhile, Delgado has just been given a bye into the Round of 16.  Even though William said he is "forfeiting the match" to Dean, the way we always handle such situations is that this is a withdrawal from the tournament as the match was never started.  So the rank of Bobila is not lost (i.e. up for grabs) in this situation.

That is the bad news for Delgado, but the good news is he advances further and now awaits the winner of the Round of 32 Match between "The Sultan of Swing" Raj Shah and "Teej" T.J. Shah.

And in the M2 Semi, the team of Bobila/Suba now faces the formidable tandem of "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas and "Big Kaz" Mike Kazlauskas.

We now go to the mutual reporting of Spin and Tommy on the match they had with one another.

Grove Cup XX Round of 41 Match:

Tommy Reszkowski over Dan Martinelli, 7-6 (7-5), 6-0 (Spin retired after the 1^st Set), to become the New # 40 Ranked Player in the Advanced  Division while also advancing to the Round of 32 of the 20^th Annual Grove Cup Tournament!  Spin: 1 Ace.

The Spin from Spin:  I met up with Tommy at 5:30 at Cedar Grove.  He was the first to arrive.  He was sprinting around the court while waiting for me.  In jest, I asked him if he was trying to intimate me as I approached the tennis courts.  We laughed a bit and then started our warm-up.  Kris came by to watch a bit of the action.  Joe Rodrigues and Lou La Forgia were also there getting ready for their match.  

With my serves working and Tommy's serve not finding the mark I was able to storm out to a commanding 4-1 lead.  However, in Game 6 things started to change.  Tommy cleaned up his serves and his entire game and started to run Spin around like a lunatic.  And run I did!  Soon it was 4-2, then 4-3.  On the changeover, I was sucking down air like a gazelle that had been chased by three lions!  Tommy, on the other hand, was as fresh as a daisy.  He was barely sweating and looked like he just got back from a stroll on the beach sipping a Pina Colada.  His moniker should be "Tireless" Tommy.  Somewhere in Game 8, I pulled my right hamstring.  It was not good, but it wasn't that bad either so we played on further.  Tommy made it 5-4 in his favor and then I made it 6-5 in my favor.  The set was knotted at 6-6 and it went to a Tiebreak.  It could have been a grand match indeed.  I decided to sit a little bit after that one hour set.  The "hammie" tightened up and I decided to retire.  Tommy was very good about all this.  He surely wanted to finish the match, but he was cool with any decision I would make.  In the end, I decided against being the "noble idiot" of the past and reluctantly packed it in for the night.  As I type this on Thursday morning, my decision was the correct one as I cannot fully extend my right leg.  It's good to see "Tireless" Tommy now in the Advanced Division.

Tommy's take: It was a tight match where it had actually been Spin having a four game to one lead over me.  Spin tweaked his hamstring late in the set and then after resting once the set was complete, he decided it was best that he not continue and retired giving me the match.

Samara's Notes: I thank both for their timely contributions to this report.  And while it is sad to see that Spin had to go out like that, I also recognize the fine effort from Tommy and congratulate him on his victory!  He is now one of those "bridge players" who finds himself in both divisions (Advanced and Intermediate) at the same time.  He now advances to the Round of 32 where he will find another friendly face (though in this case, it may be an imposing one): Marijus!

And now we let the reigning GTA Champ: Nate close out this report with the rest of the results.

Mike Mole/Guy Dupoux over Nathan Fernandes/Ray Spadaro, 6-4!  No Aces.

Mike Mole/Tito Castolo over Nathan Fernandes/Guy Dupoux, 7-6 (7-3)!  No Aces.

Nathan Fernandes/Jose Gonzales over Tito Castolo/Guy Dupoux, 7-5!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I thank Nate for sending in the rest of those results in a very timely manner.  And now we go to that late submission from Janice.

MXD2 Semifinal:

Don Moya/Janice Wang over Tommy Reszkowski/Fernanda Toker, 6-2, 6-3, to successfully defend their #6 Rank in the Mixed Doubles Division while also advancing to the Finals of the MXD2 Mixed Doubles Tournament!  No Aces (apparently).

Samara's Notes: I thank Janice for submitting that very important result.  She had assumed someone else would send it in…but history proves that it is usually up to the winners to report the scores (though there were a couple of sportsmanlike exceptions to that rule in this report).  Again, better late than never!  

This closes out an epic session (featuring 14 competitors) that rounded out an even more epic day…one of the most consequential days in the history of the GTA!  I once again thank all those that were a part of it and made sure everything was duly noted as appropriate.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

862-596-3354

7/25 Results.

7/25/17:               

"Mel/Chris/Kris/Gen host 18 at C.G.!":

There was just one session of GTA Tuesday Night Tennis at The Cedar Grove Courts, but it featured four different hosts!  In addition to the usual host, "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan; there were also reporting contributions made by "The Mel Man" Melvin Hyman, Former GTA Champ: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro and "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan.

Once again, Kris pretty much provided an overview, but he was unaware of the earlier action between Hyman and "Stealth" Omar Santos and left if up to Chris and Gen to directly provide their scores.

So first we will go to the results from Mel, then to Chris before we get to the overall report from Kris with some late scores from Gen at the end.

The Cedar Grove Results: 

Omar Santos over Melvin Hyman, 6-2!  Mel: 1 Ace.

Omar Santos over Melvin Hyman, 6-2!  Omar: 1 Ace.

The Mel Man delivers: It was closer than the score would indicate.  There were many long rallies and many close games.  Omar was just the stronger player today.

Samara's Notes: I thank Mel for sending those results in a very timely manner.  They had actually intended for it to be a full match, but since Santos is still in the active draw of the ongoing Grove Cup XX Tournament…it had to be divided into two separate One-Setters.

And now we grab some scores from Chris.

Chris Chiaro/Laura Gawley over Nathan Fernandes/Syed Rashid, 7-6 (8-6)!  Laura: 1 Ace on Nathan. 

Nathan Fernandes/Chris Chiaro over Dwight Thomas Sr./Dwight Thomas Jr., 6-1!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I thank Chris for sending in those scores in such a timely manner.  That first result seems like a potential Nominee for One-Set Specialty Doubles Match of the Year.  And that second result is quite an impressive victory over the ever-formidable Dwights!

And now we turn this report over to Kris where we will insert some scores from Gen toward the end.

It was a somewhat cooler night, but filled with hot GTA action on three of the four courts as one of the courts was occupied by different groups of non-GTA folks through the night.

Results are expected to come in from different players, and that's a healthy trend as more people are engaged in the process. 

The earliest match to commence for the evening (besides Santos-Hyman) was between Chris and Laura against Nate and Syed on Court 1 (already reported). Court 3 was occupied by non-GTA players involved in Singles.  

Jordan Bachvaroff and Arthur Fontanilla were hitting on Court 4 and as I approached with my son Sairaj, Arthur was vehement to play only Singles. So we took Court 2 (which was filled with debris) to warm up a bit and were joined by Lou La Forgia first and then Andrew Kroessler shortly thereafter.  Jordan and Art gave up their nice court only for other interlopers to grab for the rest of the night.

It was good to see the Dwights and they got into action right away after our match. 

Lou La Forgia/Andrew Kroessler over Kris Srinivasan/Sairaj Srinivasan, 6-3!  Lou: 1 Ace on Sairaj!

Lou was spot-on, but for us Sairaj was both brilliant and, at the same time, coming up with Double Faults and rushed shots that, in the end, reflected upon the results.  I did make crucial errors at the end but, overall, it was an engaging match.

Earlier, I got to see The Dwights battle Nate and Chris.  They started off nicely but, after the first game, Nate and Chris adjusted well to keep their opponents in check.  The Dwights, apparently were not aware of Nate's steady play and targeted him seeing his soft demeanor.  The lob over the charging bulls took the steam out of the bull fight and proved effective.  It must be noted that the Dwights haven't played for some time, but will be back in their groove after some regular playing time.

Samara's Notes: I thank Kris for that additional commentary.  We now go to Gen for a couple of results before we bounce it back to Kris.

Senthil Kumar/Mike Sindler over Ryan Pienciak/Genalin Capan, 6-4!  Ryan: 1 Ace on Mike.  We played this on Court 4 from 7:56 to 8:30.

Senthil Kumar/Doinks Srinivasan over Mike Sindler/Genalin Capan, 6-4!  Senthil: 1 Ace on Gen.  We played this on Court 4 from 8:33 to 9:10.

The next set below was getting underway on Court 4 at 9:15.

Samara's Notes: I thank Gen for her timely reporting as well as her details.  We now go to Kris once more.

Kris Srinivasan/Mike Sindler over Senthil Kumar/Doinks Srinivasan, 7-5!  No Aces.

Ryan Pienciak/Nick Inciong leading Dwight Thomas Sr./Dwight Thomas Jr., 5-4 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

It turned out to be a good night and Dino Celis made his way to oversee the proceedings and contribute with his tennis tips and we all engaged in some extended tennis talk.  Cheers!

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

 

Samara signing off!

7/24 Results.

7/24/17:               

"Kris/Spin/Chris host 18 (1 return) at C.G.!":

There was just one session of GTA Monday Night Tennis at The Cedar Grove Courts, but it featured three different hosts!  There was the usual host, "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan; frequent guest host, "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli; and occasional contributor, Former GTA Champ: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro.

Kris pretty much provided the entire overview, but we will add commentary and details from both Spin and Chris along the way.  So we will start with the intro from Kris and then go to the intro from Spin.

The K has his say: The highlight of the night was that we had a full session despite the drizzle at 7:45pm or so which lasted for 10 minutes.  We braved the somewhat wet and slippery conditions to soon make use of rain-free and dry courts thereafter.  It was also good to see Ray Jalil back in action as well as Greg Swierczek able to be fully involved in a Best of 3 Sets Doubles Match.

The Spin from Spin: The trip up to Cedar Grove got a bit sketchy as a bit of precipitation began to fall.  It was not even enough to flip on the windshield wipers, but the skies looked rather ominous as I approached.  When I arrived, two courts already had GTA action taking place on them.  Chris Chiaro and Mike Mole were seated at the benches.  The three of us decided to hit when a man from the past graced the courts with his presence.  It was Ray Jalil!  He stated he has been away for most of two years, but I could not confirm that.  I checked the GTA rankings and he is nowhere to be found so maybe he is right.

We decided to team Chris with Spin and Ray with Mike.  During the 1st Set it began to drizzle a tad harder.  Not enough to shut us down, but enough to get the courts a little wet.  By the middle of that set, the drizzle stopped and it was all clear after that.  After my arrival, Rob and Laura Gawley arrived followed by Doinks and Tito Castolo.  Threatening skies equal substantially lower turnouts, but the action was continuous and intense.

The Cedar Grove Results: 

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Jordan Bachvaroff/Greg Swierczek over Kris Srinivasan/Ray Spadaro, 7-5, 1-6, 6-4, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 66 and # 67 Ranked Teams repsectively!  Greg: 1 Ace on Ray in the 1^st Set; and Kris: 2 Aces on Greg in the 2nd Set!

The K has his say: It was a good match and Ray did very well for us.  Jordan was incredible with many gets and he had an outstanding night.  Greg was his usual self except the net play by all of us was below par.

Jordan Bachvaroff/Kris Srinivasan over Tito Castolo/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-1!  No Aces.

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Chris Chiaro/Dan Martinelli over Mike Mole/Ray Jalil, 6-4, 6-4, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 68 and # 69 Ranked Teams respectively!  It was the official GTA Return of Ray Jalil.  Ray: 1 Ace on Spin in the 1^st Set; and Mike: 1 Ace on Spin in the 2^nd Set!

The Spin from Spin:  Even with the slick courts, Chris and Spin went up 4-1.  At this point, Chris lost his vibration dampener and just like that Mike and Ray knotted the set at 4-4.  Chris and I took the last two games for the set.  The fine drizzle started right when we started the set and hung around until the 4th or 5th game.  The 2nd Set started differently, but ended the same way.  We exchanged games to get to 4-4 and then again took the last two games for a 6-4 win.  It looked like Ray enjoyed being back in the GTA fold.  Dino made an extremely late cameo, but stayed to the end.  

2 out of 3 Sets:

Sairaj Srinivasan/Kevin Doyle over Herb Reiner/Brenda Jordan, 6-2, 6-3!  No Aces.

The K has his say: Dino Celis made an extended cameo appearance and was able to enjoy the last part of the matches in session.  Overall, we got lucky to have a full session.  Cheers!

Samara's Notes: And now we grab two last scores from Chris.  And it should be said that Laura Gawley submitted the first one as well.

Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley over Chris Chiaro/Mike Mole, 6-3!  No Aces.

Chris Chiaro/Rob Gawley over Levy Lorenzo/Arthur Fontanilla, 6-2!  No Aces. 

Samara's Notes: I thank Kris, Spin, Chris and Laura for all stepping up and contributing to this report.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

862-596-3354

7/23 Results.

7/23/17:               

"Mike-Mike + 4 at AP, 4 at NTC, Andrew-T.J., Doinks-Janice, M2 Qtr + 4 at C.G.!":

There were three sessions of GTA Sunday Tennis: the usual morning one at The Albion Park Courts in Clifton and then two sessions that started late afternoon and went into the evening – The Nutley Tennis Club and The Cedar Grove Courts.

Before we get to the latter two, let's first discuss what happened at the early one.

Former GTA Champ: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro sent a text message to "Hollywood" Frank Samara at 9:15am asking if he would be hosting the usual GTA Sunday Tennis session at Albion Park in Clifton.  Thanks to Frank's handy-dandy and ever-reliable flip phone, he did not see this message until 11:45!  It was all good though as Chris assumed the hosting duties.  This was along with "Magic" Mike Mole submitting the result (along with commentary) of his Grove Cup XX Round of 41 Match against "MC Quick" Mike Carucci.

Samara was delayed and then sidelined with some other obligations.  When he saw the iffy, gray and cloudy skies and felt the stifling humidity in the air, he decided to take off for a rare Sunday at home.

"Sue B. Newbie" Suzanne Bujara said she had a chance to hit with Ryan and Rich.  I am assuming that is "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak and "Richie" Rich Liu, though I am not sure.  In the wake of Liu's loss to "Tailor Made" Raj Tailor, Rich said that playing in the GTA has already improved his game.  That is what we hope for all who join us.

So now let's get that result from Mike (as that was the first match to take place) and then list the additional scores sent in by Chris.

The Albion Park Results:

Grove Cup XX Round of 41 Match:
Mike Mole over Mike Carucci, 6-3, 6-0, to successfully defend his # 15 Rank in the Intermediate Division while also advancing to the Round of 16 of the 20th Annual Grove Cup Tournament!  No Aces.  The match started at 9:10 and ended at 10:15.

The Magic Memo: It was a good match.  He made me work for my shots.  Even though I think it has been a while since he played, he was getting everything back the way Nate (GTA Champion: Nathan Fernandes) always does. 

Samara's Notes: I thank Mike for his very timely reporting of that result.  And as for the other Mike, Mr. Carucci, he has earned the moniker of "Mr. Quick" as he does make many great gets.  If he could find the time to play more, he would continue to make even more improvement and start adding consistent hitting to his already solid get-making skills.  And next up for Mr. Mole in the Round of 32 will be Tony "Sure Shot" Shiao.

We now turn this report over to Chris for the rest of the results.

Chris Chiaro/Jose Gonzales over Dean Delgado/Mike Mole, 7-5!  Mike: 2 Aces on Jose!

Chris Chiaro/Jorge Solano over Dean Delgado/Jose Gonzales, 6-2!  Jose: 1 Ace on Jorge!

Samara's Notes: I thank Chris for his very timely reporting of those results.  We now head to NTC for The Riz Report.

The NTC Results:

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Paul Daddio/John Rizzo over Dan Hwang/Ray Spadaro, 6-0, 6-4, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 64 and # 65 Ranked Teams respectively!  No Aces.

Paul Daddio/Ray Spadaro over Dan Hwang/John Rizzo, 7-5!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I thank John for his very timely reporting of those results.  We now head up to Cedar Grove where we had so many contributors.  In addition to the overall host, "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan, we had direct reports submitted by his wife Doinks, "The A-Bomb" Andrew Troung, "Teej" T.J. Shah, "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas and "The Accelerator" Abhilash Gadi.  I will do my best to get all the comments in where they should be.

The Cedar Grove Results:

Grove Cup Round of 41 Match:

T.J. Shah over Andrew Truong, 2-6, 7-5, 7-5, to become both the New # 32 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division and the New # 13 Ranked Player in the Intermediate Division while advancing to the Round of 32 of the 20^th Annual Grove Cup Tournament!  Andrew: 2 Aces; and T.J.: 1 Ace!

The Teej says:  It was a close match throughout…it was good tennis all around!

A-Bomb's assessment: T.J. played very well, and stayed offensive throughout.  He is very solid from both wings. Congrats!

Samara's Notes: I thank both for their very timely reporting.  It sounds like it could be a possible Nominee for Intermediate Singles Match of The Year at season's end.  Next up for T.J. in the Round of 32 will be "The Sultan of Swing" Raj Shah!

The K has his say: It was a solid match with two players giving their all and, in the end, the one with the calmer demeanor prevailed.  After Andrew running through the 1st Set, it was a hard fight from the start of the 2nd Set until the end.  Both players deserve a good pat on their back for a well-played match.

Samara's Notes: We will now stay with Kris as he reports the match between his wife Doinks and "J-Wow" Janice Wang for the Quarterfinals of the 7^th Annual Gail-ann Hamilton Memorial Tournament.  We will then get some comments from Doinks as well.

GAH7 Quarterfinal Match:

Janice Wang over Doinks Srinivasan, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), to become the New # 2 Ranked Player in the Women's Division while also advancing to the Semifinals of the 7^th Annual Gail-ann Hamilton Memorial Tournament!  No Aces.

The K has his say: It was close to 5pm when Doinks got to play her match against Janice while it was T.J. against Andrew Troung at the same time.  Both these matches lasted for 2-1/2 hours as both were marathon battles that saw gutsy and determined play.  Kudos to all the players for their exceptional efforts!

As for Janice versus Doinks, it was a hard-fought win for Janice as it was not easy to shake Doinks off. Both sets saw extended rallies and multiple Deuce games.  After a tough 1st Set, Doinks slipped up quickly going down Love-3 before getting on board.  But again, she slumped to 2-5 with her back against the wall.  A spirited and aggressive comeback by Doinks showcased the shots she can make and it would go to the distance before Janice managed to triumph.  Doinks acknowledged that Janice was indeed a steady player throughout the match and had some exquisite backhand winners.  Congrats to Janice on a well-deserved win!  Doinks had multiple Break Point opportunities that she couldn't convert.  Self-belief will help Doinks progress significantly to supplement her skills and determination.

The details from Doinks: I think we started at 5:20 and finished around 7:30.  I came back from being down 2-5 in the 2^nd Set (and eventually forced the Tiebreak).  Janice is a tough cookie.  I had to hit good ground-strokes to force her to make errors.  Of course, she had great and lethal backhand winners.  In the end, the better player won.

Samara's Notes: As always, I thank Kris for hosting and providing us with such comprehensive commentary.  But I also thank Doinks for her very timely reporting along with her honest and sportsmanlike comments as well.

We now go to the M2 Quarterfinal Match where we will get comments from Marijus, Abhilash and Kris.

M2 Quarterfinal Match:

Marijus Kuzavas/Mike Kazlauskas over Chazz Weldon/Abhilash Gadi, 6-0, 7-5, to successfully defend their # 5 Rank in the Doubles Division while also advancing to the Semifinals of the M2 Men's Doubles Tournament!  Mike: 1 Ace on Chazz!

The Super Scoop from Mario: It was a good match.  After the 1st Set, we lost a bit of our concentration, started making errors and our opponents picked up their game.  At some point we were down 3-5 in the 2^nd Set, but somehow we managed to pull the set up and back in our favor.

Abhi gets gabby: We started at 7:40 and got done by 8:55.  In the 1st Set, Mike and Mario blew us away.  But in the 2nd Set, we came in hard and went down fighting.  All in all it was a great match and I was really happy to play with Chazz.  Good luck to Mike and Mario!

The K has his say: M&M started off on a rollicking way taking the 1^st Set in no time.  Yes, in a blink, they closed the set, serving well and imposing their will at the net.  Chazz and Abhi recovered well to take the fight to the "Towering Infernos".  We got to see Abhi playing aggressively with steady support from Chazz.  As they upped their game, M&M faltered somewhat…making errors at the net or when a weak volley was punished.  The result was a jump to a solid 5-3 lead for Chazz and Abhi before the giants woke up to dismantle them.

Samara's Notes: Next up for the team also known as The Lanky Lithuanians – the Pinoy Posse, aka William "Bombs Away" Bobila and Fred "Supa Dupa" Suba! 

And I thank all the above for their contributions to this report.  We now turn the rest of this report over to Kris.

2 out of 3 Sets:

Raj Shah/Rajan Shah over Kris Srinivasan/Sally Pillay, 7-5, 6-0!  No Aces.

We were mostly on the attack and consistent until we were up 5-2 before we started to disintegrate. A combination of silly errors on our part coupled with great shots from R&R resulted in a poor showing by us.  Rajan had some great gets and was steady along with Raj serving well and executing nice drop shots and overheads.  We let Raj hold his serve after being down Love-40 as we blew put-away points with smashing overkills!  The match even saw an attacking Sally falling facedown full-length trying to volley aggressively at the net.  It was a classic match where we were exceptional in losing during would-be winning moments. 

Marijus and Sally played a match against Rob and Laura and then Doinks and Sally followed suit after that with just a hitting session against Rob and Laura.

Samara's Note: I am assuming that was just a One-Setter between the Gawleys and Marijus/Sally.  And since nobody reported it, it'll have to remain as unofficial.  We now go back to Kris for one more score.

Raj Shah/Kris Srinivasan over Chazz Weldon/Abhilash Gadi, 6-3!  No Aces.

Abhi was brilliant in this set and Chazz had his own sweet moments getting Raj down the line on at least two occasions.  Raj still had his magic to counter effectively, however.

It turned out to be an eventful and meaningful night of GTA Tennis with intense action.  Cheers!

Samara's Notes: As always, I thank Kris for being the host with the most up at Cedar Grove.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

862-596-3354

7/22 Results.

7/22/17:               

"Riz hosts 4 at NTC, Kris/Nate host 8 at C.G.!":

GTA Saturday Tennis took place at two locations: one at The Nutley Tennis Club as "The Riz" John Rizzo acted as host and the other at The Cedar Grove Courts as both "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan and GTA Champion: "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes reported results from there.

Since the NTC action took place just a bit earlier, we will go to The Riz Report first.

The NTC Results:

3 out of 5 Sets:

Don Moya/Janice Wang over John Rizzo/Alfred Chen, 6-3, 0-6, 6-0, 6-4!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I thank John for reporting that result in a very timely manner.  We now head up to Cedar Grove and let Kris begin the festivities.

The great part of Saturday was mostly a drill and hitting session with limited players on the courts.  We did get to play a match.  Dino Celis kicked off the evening session with solid drills and exercises for us. The cross-court exchanges between Doinks and I was rapid-fire and an exhilarating session that helped our feet move well.

The Cedar Grove Results:

2 out of 3 Sets:

Kris Srinivasan/Levy Lorenzo over Jordan Bachvaroff/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-2, 7-5!  Jordan: 1 Ace on Kris in the 2nd Set!

The 2nd Set turned out to be the more compelling and close one.  We survived a very slight drizzle, but the last part of the evening did get to see the courts getting wet.  That didn't deter Nate and Natalia Sout from hitting the balls non-stop.  Earlier in the evening, Nate and Natalia teamed up to play against Jose and Syed. I believe they played a couple of sets.

Samara's Notes: I thank Kris for reporting that result…and also offering up that segue.  So, now we go to Nate as obviously these results are being reported in an order that is not chronological.  Highly illogical!  LOL!

2 out of 3 Sets:
Jose Gonzales/Syed Rashid over Nathan Fernandes/Natalia Sout, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: This one sounds like it could be a possible Nominee for Specialty Doubles Match of the Year at season's end.

Samara's Notes: I thank both Kris and Nate for reporting those results in a very timely manner.

Samara signing off!

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

 

7/21 Results.

7/21/17:               

"Tailor-Liu at PAC, Kris-Ralph part of 21 at C.G. as Samara hosts!":

There were two sessions of GTA Friday Night Tennis: One at The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley featuring the Grove Cup XX Round of 41 Match between "Tailor Made" Raj Tailor and "Richie" Rich Liu (as reported by Raj) and the other at The Cedar Grove Courts featuring the Grove Cup XX Round of 32 Match between "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan and "The Headhunter" Ralph Bernard with "Hollywood" Frank Samara hosting the overall session.

We will first go to The Raj Report from Nutley and then detail all the comings and goings up at Cedar Grove.

The PAC Result:

Grove Cup XX Round of 41 Match:
Raj Tailor over Rich Liu, 7-6 (7-5), 7-5, to successfully defend his # 7 Rank in the Intermediate Division while also advancing to the Round of 16 of the 20th Annual Grove Cup Tournament!  Raj: 3 Aces in the 1st Set!

The Raj Report: This one went back and forth and over again...making for a good match.  In the 1st Set, I was up 4-1 (and already hit my 3 Aces), but Rich rallied back after switching his racket to go up 5-4.  We ended up playing a Tiebreak where I won it, 7-5.  The 2nd Set was more of the same.  I went up 4-1 and Rich rallied back to tie it up 5-5, but I pulled it off to win it, 7-5.

Rich has good game and he played better as both sets aged...and I once again had many unforced errors.  Hopefully, my game gets better in time for my next match.

Samara's Notes: I thank Raj for reporting this result in such a timely manner.  I congratulate him on a very hard-fought victory.  I also offer hearty kudos to Rich on an excellent effort against a tough player.  Next up for Raj in the Round of 16 is Former GTA Champion: "Instant" Moka Pathan!

And now here's how things unfolded up at Cedar Grove.

Samara pulled into the parking lot at 6:55 just as GTA Champion: "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes was pulling in behind him.  Upon stepping out of his car, Frank rapidly realized it was another hot, humid and sticky evening.  Yet, some in attendance later said it was a better night than some of the previous evenings this past week.

Out on Court One was the in-progress Grove Cup XX Round of 32 Match between Kris and Ralph. 

On Court Two, "The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan and "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan were having a hitting session with one another while "The A-Bomb" Andrew Troung (atop a hoverboard), "The Sultan of Swing" Raj Shah and his young son Armaan were on that court watching the action.  It was strictly a cameo appearance for The Shahs as Papa Raj was in his street clothes and ended up leaving soon after.

On Court Three, "The Ambidextrous Machine" Herb Reiner and Miroslav "Mirav" Glavic were having their usual hitting session (they ended up leaving at 7:15).

And on Court Four, "Magic" Mike Mole and "The Secret Weapon" Sairaj Srinivasan had a hitting session that soon turned into a Singles One-Setter.

At 7pm, "The Bulgarian Bull" Jordan Bachvaroff did a quick drive-by through the parking lot.  He never came back for the rest of the night.

At 7:05, "Stingray" Ray Spadaro arrived.  He and Nate then headed over to Court Two to see if they could join the ladies for some Mixed Doubles action.  But when Srinivasan-Bernard finished just four minutes later, Kris wanted to shift some things around to make sure everyone would be competing in fairly balanced matches.

When the Doubles One-Setter featuring Kris and Ray versus Nate and Doinks got underway on Court One, Andrew took the place of Doinks on Court Two in the hitting session against Gen.

At 7:20, "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak arrived.  His timing was perfect as Mole had just finished his One-Setter against Sairaj on Court Four.  The young Master Srinivasan left the session...so that left Frank and Mike to hit against Ryan while they waited for a fourth to arrive.

And that fourth party would be "The Olympian" Marie Salamon when she arrived at 7:35.  Just as she was getting into the hitting session with the three guys on Court Four, both "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli and Natalia "Nitro" Sout arrived separately at 7:40.

This gave Samara the idea to step off the court and let Natalia take his place for some Mixed Doubles action while he and The Doc could step into their usual role as The Hecklers at courtside.  Mike and Natalia versus Ryan and Marie would end up becoming a full 2 out of 3 Sets Match.

And the hitting session on Court Two between Andrew and Gen would soon lead to two separate Singles One-Setters being played between them.

"Latino Heat" Jose Gonzales arrived at 7:45.  He hung around The Hecklers for a while before trying to see where he might be able to fit in next.

It was a little after 8pm when Jose would end up teaming with Kris to take on The Hecklers...err...The Foundation (aka Spin City)...otherwise known as Samara/Martinelli on Court One.

"2 Tall" Dave Zhu was next to arrive at 8:10.  He had to wait until almost 8:30 before he could finally see some action as he took the place of Spin in teaming with Frank to face Kris and Jose.

At 8:35, "The Art Font" Arthur Fontanilla was invited over to a vacant Court Two by Samara and he soon started practicing his serve.  Within the next five minutes, The Gawleys (Rowdy Rob and Laura the Aura) and "The Levitator" Levy Lorenzo all arrived.  After socializing for a while on the bench alongside Court Four, they eventually found their way to Court Two for some Doubles action with Fontanilla.

At 8:50, the final and 21st official competitor of the night arrived.  It was Tito "Touch" Castolo.  Also arriving at that time to make an extended cameo appearance was "Coach" Dino Celis.  He was quite pleased to learn that his latest protege', Kris, was successful earlier in the evening.

Now let's get to the scores!

The Cedar Grove Results:

Grove Cup XX Round of 32 Match:
Kris Srinivasan over Ralph Bernard, 7-5, 6-3, to successfully defend his # 15 Rank in the Advanced Division while also advancing to the Round of 16 of the 20th Annual Grove Cup Tournament!  No Aces.  Hitting beforehand started on Court One around 5:30.  Kris said the match started exactly at 5:38.  It ended at 7:09.

Samara's Notes: According to Kris, he was up 4-2 in the 1st Set only to drop the next three games and find himself down 4-5!  He fought back and then took the next three games to take the set.  He then jumped out to a 4-0 lead (seven straight games overall) in the 2nd Set and had the point (not sure if it was Game Point or Break Point) to go up 5-0 when he got tight and that opened the door for Ralph to rebound and take a game.  Up 5-1, Srinivasan had Match Point only to have Bernard save it and get to 2-5 and then 3-5 before The K Man could finally put it away.  Overall, however, Kris said that he felt relatively calm and remained confident throughout the match that he could remain in control.  And that is pretty much how it played out in the end.  I offer hearty congratulations to Kris as this is a very impressive victory, in my opinion.

Andrew Truong tied with Sairaj Srinivasan, 2-2 (Incomplete when Andrew felt he was getting overheated and decided to quit)!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: Andrew told me (as well as Kris) that he was willing to forfeit the entire set over to Sairaj.  It really does not matter much in an impromptu One-Setter.  Had this been a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match or Tournament Match, such a scenario may have been considered.

Sairaj Srinivasan over Mike Mole, 6-2!  No Aces.  Not sure when this one began, but it ended on Court Four at 7:20.

Samara's Notes: Looks like many players should be relieved that young Sairaj decided not to enter the Grove Cup Tournament.

 

Kris Srinivasan/Ray Spadaro over Nathan Fernandes/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-3!  No Aces.  They played this one on Court One from 7:15 to 7:55.  Afterward, Ray felt like "one and done" was enough for him due to the extreme heat and humidity.

2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Doubles Match:
Ryan Pienciak/Marie Salamon over Mike Mole/Natalia Sout, 7-5, 6-2, as both teams entered the Mixed Doubles Division as the New # 42 and # 43 Ranked Teams respectively!  Mike: 1 Ace on Ryan in the 1st Set (this was right after Ryan playfully taunted Mike...LOL!).  This foursome faced off on Court Four from 7:50 to 9:15.

Andrew Truong over Genalin Capan, 6-0!  Andrew: 1 Ace.  Not sure when this actually got underway on Court Two because at first it was a lengthy hitting session.  I'm also not certain when it ended as it went right into this next one.

Andrew Truong over Genalin Capan, 6-4!  Andrew: 1 Ace; and Gen: 1 Ace!  This one finished at 8:20.

Kris Srinivasan/Jose Gonzales over Frank Samara/Dan Martinelli, 6-1!  No Aces.  It went like this: Kris held serve (back-to-back winning Overhead Smashes by Jose made it 30-Love, it shifted to 30-All, then Game Point and the hold), Frank was broken (Jose hit a scorching return winner for Love-15, then Frank hit a winner for 15-All only to then have Kris hit a winning volley for 15-30, it was then Double Break Point where Kris blew an overhead to make it Break Point, but then Jose hit a winning volley for the hold) and Jose held (Jose hit a winner and then followed that with an un-returned serve for 30-Love, it shifted to 30-All as Spin made a great get along the way, but then Kris hit a winning volley to set up Game Point which was where he finished things off with an awesome Backhand Volley winner for the break) for a relatively quick 3-0 lead!  Spin held (Love-15 shifted to Double Game Point as there was an un-returned serve, a blown volley by Jose and a winning volley from Frank along the way and then The Doc secured his own hold with an amazing get/winner combo which may have been the play of the match) to get his team onto the scoreboard, but from there Srinivasan held again (an un-returned serve for 15-Love and he was off and running to Triple Game Point with yet another un-returned serve along the way, the lead was then cut down to Double Game Point only to have Kris hit a winning lob to secure the hold), Samara was broken again (Jose hit a net-cord-aided return winner for Love-15, it then went to Love-30, 15-30 where Jose hit a winning Overhead Smash to set up Double Break Point, then it was Break Point where Jose hit a winning volley for the break) and then Gonzales held again (Love-15 shifted to 30-15 as Kris hit a winning volley along the way, it was then 30-All and then on Game/Match Point it would be an un-returned serve to seal the deal) to get the win!  We played this one on Court One from 8:02 to 8:25.

Samara's Notes: Kris was still flying high from his big win earlier in the evening and pairing him with an on-point Jose was the recipe for success as both played some of their best tennis here.  Meanwhile, the team that once rightfully earned the moniker of The Foundation just continues to crumble into a bigger pile of rubble (some might suggest rubbish) as Father Time is starting to slap them around just a bit.

Kris Srinivasan/Jose Gonzales over Frank Samara/Dave Zhu, 6-3!  No Aces.  Here's how it went down: Frank held (Jose hit a wicked winner for Love-15, but then an un-returned serve and a sizzling winner from Frank reversed the course all the way to Double Game Point and then came the hold), Kris held at Love as he hit a winning volley to set up Triple Game Point and then Dave blew a volley to allow the hold, but Dave rebounded with a hold of his own (Love-15 quickly shifted to Double Game Point as he hit an un-returned serve along the way and then Frank sealed the deal for his partner with a winning Backhand Volley) and then Jose held (an un-returned serve for 15-Love, 30-Love, 30-15, then Double Game Point where Jose hit a winning Overhead Smash to secure his own hold) as we were all on serve at 2-2.  Samara was the first to be broken (Dave hit a winning volley for 15-Love and then it was point for point to Game Point with an un-returned serve along the way, but then Dave blew a volley to set up Deuce where Dave then blew an overhead attempt to make it Break Point where Jose then scored with a blistering return winner down the Doubles Alley for the break), but Srinivasan was also broken and this was at Love as Dave hit a net-cord-aided winner to get things rolling and then Jose blew a volley on Triple Break Point for the break as were now tied up again, this time at 3-3!  Zhu was broken (30-Love shifted to Break Point as Jose hit a winning lob and then he hit winning Overhead Smash and then Kris hit a winning lob and then Kris would hit a winning volley to get the break), but Gonzales held again (back-to-back un-returned serves made it 30-Love which was where Dave hit a big-time return winner for 30-15 only to have Kris hit a winning Overhead Smash to set up Double Game Point and then Kris hit the replay button as he did it again...another Overhead Smash winner...to secure his partner's hold) to take a 5-3 lead.  The Wood was broken yet again (Kris blew a volley to make it 15-Love, but then things quickly shifted to Double Break/Match Point as Dave also blew a volley and then Kris hit a Backhand Volley that turned into a net-cord-aided winner along the way and that seemed to be the momentum killer...even though it did go to Break/Match Point before this one finally ended) to take the loss!  We also played this one on Court One and it lasted from 8:28 to 9pm.

Samara's Notes: This one felt a lot closer than the previous One-Setter as 2-Tall Zhu came into it with a fresh burst of energy.  But Kris and Jose were both still riding high and getting things done properly.  In the end, they were just too much for the tandem of Frank and Dave.

Genalin Capan over Doinks Srinivasan, 8-6!  No Aces.  Gen was up 4-0 and then Doinks took three straight games to make it 4-3 only to have Gen take the next two games to close it out at 9pm on Court Three (they started it at 8:30)!

Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley over Levy Lorenzo/Arthur Fontanilla, 8-6!  Arthur: 3 Aces (2 on Rob and 1 on Laura)!  On Court Two, they decided to do this one "old school style" by playing out the games rather than go to the Tiebreak.  They began this on at 8:50.  Not sure when it ended as they went right into another one which we will get to a little later.

Dan Martinelli/Tito Castolo over Kris Srinivasan/Dave Zhu, 6-4!  No Aces.  Down 3-5, Kris was on serve and it was a battle as it went from Break/Match Point to Deuce, back to 2nd Break/Match Point, then to 2nd Deuce, back to 3rd Break/Match Point, then to 3rd Deuce, Game Point and the hold as Kris let out a primal scream during his elation in a moment of pure survival, but it was short-lived as Tito then held at Love to finish this one in time as it ended at 9:55!  They had begun this one on Court One at exactly 9:08.

Jose Gonzales/Genalin Capan over Frank Samara/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-0!  No Aces.  The dirty lowdown: Gen held (Frank hit a winning drop shot volley to set up Love-30 only to have Jose hit the same type of shot for 15-30 and then came an un-returned serve on the way to Game Point which is where Jose blew an overhead to make it Deuce, but then it went to Game Point again and then the hold), Frank was broken (15-Love shifted to Double Break Point, it went to Break Point but then came the break), Jose held (Love-30, 15-30, Double Break Point cut down to Deuce, Break Point, 2nd Deuce, Double Fault for Break Point, 3rd Deuce and then all Game Points all the way to 6th Deuce, one more Game Point and then the hold...and I could no longer remember who hit what winners where and when in this one), Doinks was broken (Frank hit a winning volley for 15-Love, but then Jose hit an emphatic Overhead Smash winner for 15-All and then it was on the way to Double Break Point where Frank hit another winning volley to make it Break Point, but then came the break), Capan held again (Triple Game Point got cut down to Game Point as Doinks made an amazing winner along the way, but then came the hold before the opposition could bring it to Deuce) and then Samara was broken again (an un-returned serve and then a net-cord-aided winner from Doinks made it 30-Love only to have it go straight to Break/Match Point as Gen hit a winning Overhead Smash along the way and then came the break and crushing loss) as he and his partner were forced to eat a late-night bagel!  We played this on Court Three from 9:10 to 9:40.

Samara's Notes: Gen was already exhausted and hoping to go home when she got coaxed into doing one more as we needed a fourth.  On paper, it should have been lopsided in favor of Frank and Doinks as they were the fresher pair.  But Jose was still on a roll (playing some of his best tennis over the course of the entire evening) and that was enough to motivate Capan to lift her level higher despite no longer having much spring in her step.  It really did not matter as she got the job done with her shot-making (as did Gonzales).  Meanwhile, Samara and Srinivasan made too many foolish unforced errors as each was desperate for their first win of the night.  Sometimes, desperation is a proper motivating factor.  Other times, it is just more fuel for the fire as you're already going down in flames...and that was the case here.

Nathan Fernandes/Natalia Sout over Ryan Pienciak/Marie Salamon, 6-3!  No Aces.  Court Four hosted these four as they played this one from 9:20 to 9:50.  Afterward, it led to a hitting session with Nate and Ryan on one side and Jose and Natalia on the other.

Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley leading Levy Lorenzo/Arthur Fontanilla, 4-1 (Incomplete when they decided to stop it exactly at 9:59...just a couple of seconds away from lights out at 10pm)!  No Aces. 

From there, it turned into a mass social gathering as there were various conversations throughout the area…some were still on the courts (now in darkness) while others were on the benches or in the parking lot itself.  It was a very fun session despite the sauna-like atmosphere.

 

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

862-596-3354