8/16/17:
"Toker-Pyatski in B.F., 5 at NTC, 4 at PAC, Mole-Kaz, MXD2 Semi + at C.G. as Kris hosts!":
There were four sessions of GTA Wednesday Night Tennis and they all got started around the same time: "The Argentine Machine" Fernanda Toker and "LP" Lena Pyatski got together at courts in Ridgefield Park to play their GAH7 Quarterfinal Match against one another (as reported by Fernanda); "The Riz" John Rizzo hosted a session at The Nutley Tennis Club that ended up having a surprise co-host, "Hollywood" Frank Samara…who then went on to host an impromptu session at The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley where he did not play, but noted the action of the four guys there led by "Richie" Rich Liu; and the usual evening one at The Cedar Grove Courts hosted by "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan and the Double Main Event was the Grove Cup XX Round of 16 Match between "Magic" Mike Mole and "Big Kaz" Mike Kazlauskas (Mole also sent in this score along with some commentary) and then the MXD2 Semifinal Match featuring GTA Women's Champion: Laura "The Aura" Gawley and "Rowdy" Rob Gawley going up against "The Smackdown" Sally Pillay and "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas (Marijus also sent in this score along with additional details and commentary and then Laura provided some commentary as well).
So we will first go to Ridgefield Park for the result from Fernanda, then Samara's dual report about NTC and PAC in Nutley and then we will turn this report over to Kris with the contributions from Mole and Kuzavas along the way.
The Ridgefield Park Result:
GAH7 Quarterfinal Match:
Fernanda Toker over Lena Pyatski, 6-0, 6-0, to successfully defend her # 4 Rank in the Women's Division while also advancing to the Semifinals of the 7th Annual Gail-ann Hamilton Memorial Tournament! No Aces.
Toker's Take: We played from 6:50 to 8:05. There were some long rallies that I had to end with a drop shot most of the time because she is a very consistent player and she hardly makes any mistakes.
Samara's Notes: Fernanda now advances to the Semis where she will face Sally Pillay. The other Semi will feature Janice Wang versus Anna Mazur.
The NTC Results:
Don Moya/Janice Wang over John Rizzo/Tom La, 6-3! John: 1 Ace on Janice! John and Tom won the first nine points to jump out to a 2-0 lead, but then errors crept into their game…particularly Tom who had a service game with 3 Double Faults in it. Needless to say, Mr. Rizzo was not too pleased by that! LOL! This was played on Court Three from 7pm to 7:30.
Frank Samara/Tom La over Don Moya/Janice Wang, 6-4! No Aces. We decided to forego the changeovers as we got started at 7:35 (again, on Court Three) as we were concerned about the rapidly fading daylight. So I memorized the flow of the games and wrote them down as soon as we finished, which was precisely at 8:04. It went like this: Janice held serve (Love-15 shifted to 30-15, 30-All, Game Point and the hold), Tom held (Triple Game Point, Double Game Point and the hold), but Don was the first to be broken (30-Love shifted straight to Break Point and the break) for 1-2. Frank was also broken (Love-15, 15-All then straight to Double Break Point and the break) for 2-2, but then Wang was broken (15-Love, Double Fault for 15-All, 15-30, 30-All, Break Point and the break) for 2-3. La was also broken (Love-15, 15-All then straight to Double Break Point and the break) to even things again at 3-3, but then Moya was broken again (started with a near ace on Frank as it kicked off the service line and just nicked the frame of Frank's racquet and then he went up 30-Love once again only to then go to 30-15, hit a Double Fault for 30-All, then it went to Break Point, Deuce, Break Point, 2nd Deuce, Break Point and finally the break) and then Samara held (started with a Double Fault and then had a near ace on Don as he had a revenge service line jammer to make it 15-All and it was off and running to Game Point and the hold) to take a 5-3 lead! J-Wow held (Love-15 then point for point until 30-All, mini-shift to Game Point and then the hold) to pull to 4-5, but then The Hit Man held in a battle (15-Love, Double Fault for 15-All and then point for point to Game/Match Point where Janice hit a short shot to Frank at the net which should have been an easy put-away volley for Samara, but in his quest to hit it so short and precise so that nobody could even attempt a get on it…he completely whiffed on it instead and that made it Deuce! It then went to Break Point, 2nd Deuce and then they finally sealed the deal on the 2nd Game/Match Point) to earn a hard-fought victory! John wondered why Tom could not have played as well in the first One-Setter, but obviously the less pressure situation of teaming with Frank worked wonders for his game…LOL!
After leaving NTC around 8:15 or so, I had to go to Shop Rite for a few items. Leaving there around 8:40, I did not want to go home yet (plus nothing was perishable).
In that moment, it occurred to me that we have heard nothing from "The Nutley Crew" in quite some time. So I decided to take a drive over to the Park Ave. Courts.
I arrived at 8:45. Sure enough, there was four of the guys out on Court Two. On one side of the net it was "Richie" Rich Liu and Edgar "Valentino" Valencia (who I had never met before, but have seen his pictures on Facebook). On the other side of the net it was "Fantastic" Fausto Murg with a gentleman I had not seen before.
The mystery man turned out to be Arunraj Nair who his already on our ranks. Once I got to see him play, I gave him the moniker of "The Net Minder" as he is a hawk at the net with his volleys and overheads. But that led to the guys also calling him "The Net Master" and "The Net Monster."
When I arrived, Liu/Valencia were already up a set (which they won 7-5) and then had a 2-0 lead in the 2nd Set. I won't say anything more about the score until we get to the result in just a bit.
But on a changeover, I asked Rich why we haven't heard from him in so long. I wondered if something had happened (or if someone had said something) to offend him or one of the others.
Rich insisted that was not the case. They just started playing in Nutley again and he wasn't aware of the fact that I would also want the results when they were solely within "The Nutley Crew."
I told him that I now consider them to be as much a part of the league as anyone else. What I did not say, but it is in the same vein is that once we bring you into the GTA...it is like tag and you're "it!" And you can be "it" as long as you like. And then you can tag others as well. And if you do not want to be "it" anymore, well that's fine, too.
Anyway, Rich was happy to hear that I consider them to be as essential as anyone else and he said they will start reporting their results more frequently going forward.
I then stuck around for the balance of the match...and I certainly was glad I did!
The PAC Result:
2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:
Fausto Murg/Arunraj Nair over Rich Liu/Edgar Valencia, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4, to become the New # 41 Ranked Team in the Doubles Division! Edgar: 4 Aces on Fausto in the 1st Set! Arunraj: 1 Ace on Edgar in the 2nd Set; and Fausto: 1 Ace on Edgar in the 3rd Set.
Upon Samara's arrival at 8:45, Liu/Valencia already had the 1st Set in the bag and had a lead of 2-0 in the 2nd Set. If you take "the cup is half full" approach to life, Frank was a good luck charm for Murg/Nair. If you believe that "the cup is half empty", then Samara must have been the equivalent of a black cat stalking the sideline as far as Rich and Edgar was concerned as Fausto and Arunraj then took six straight games to win the 2nd Set and level the match and then won a seventh for a 1-0 lead in the 3rd Set!
That set went to 1-1 and 2-2 before Murg/Nair jumped out to a somewhat commanding 5-2 lead. Arunraj was now on serve and quickly put his team up at Triple Game/Match Point only to see it get saved for Double Game/Match Point and then that was saved for Game/Match Point. Well, make that three saved M.P.'s in a row as it then went to Deuce, Break Point and the break to have his team's lead cut to 5-3! Edgar then held on Double Game Point to pull to 4-5. And then Fausto was on serve in an absolutely incredible game as he jumped out to a Double Game/Match Point lead only to have it saved for Game/Match Point and then that was saved for Deuce. The rest of the game went like this: the 6th Game/Match Point, 2nd Deuce, Break Point, 3rd Deuce, the 7th Game/Match Point, 4th Deuce, the 8th Game/Match Point, 5th Deuce, an Ace on Edgar to set up the 9th Game/Match Point, 6th Deuce, Break Point, 7th Deuce, the 10th Game/Match Point, 8th Deuce, Break Point, 9th Deuce, the 11th Game/Match Point and finally the hold! This set began at 9:05 and ended at 9:50 on Court Two.
Samara's Notes: I was very happy I decided to swing by the Park Ave. Courts as this would have been a result that would have likely fallen through the cracks into "unofficial oblivion." I would also like to think that my presence stirred both of the teams to compete at a higher level as there was a lot of hard hitting and great get making involved in this encounter. I have seen the big forehand of Rich before. I've noted the heavy topspin shots of Fausto in the past. But this was my first time seeing Edgar with his big serve and equally solid forehands. And Arunraj is a veritable force at the net. He loves being there and is quite comfortable snapping off volleys and overheads at the ready. I do believe this will likely be a Nominee for Doubles Match of The Year at season's end.
During the above match, I received a text message from "Magic" Mike Mole which featured the result of his Grove Cup XX Round of 16 Match against "Big Kaz" Mike Kazlauskas.
The Cedar Grove Results:
Grove Cup XX Round of 16 Match:
Mike Kazlauskas over Mike Mole, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1, to become the New # 9 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division and to successfully defend his # 11 Rank in the Intermediate Division while also advancing to the Quarterfinals of the 20th Annual Grove Cup Tournament! Kaz: 5 Aces!
The Mole Memo: We played from 6:30 to 8:15. Mike's serves were on fire! He was getting all of his first serves in and hitting very consistent shots. And then in the 2nd and 3rd Sets, I was making way too may errors. Overall, it was a great match!
Samara's Notes: I thank Mr. Mole for his very prompt reporting. I also congratulate Big Kaz on his very impressive victory. He is now just the second player to advance to the Quarters of the Cup. We now go to Kris for his opinion on the match and then the MXD2 Semi will follow with the breakdown from Marijus and the additional commentary from Kris once again (as well as Laura's).
And then Kris will provide the rest of this report's content.
The K has his say: It was a match that started off on a good note, but then fell apart as it progressed. Mole has been outstanding and punishing these days and it showed clearly in the 1st Set. As luck would have it, Mole broke his racquet strings and the substitute racquet didn't seem to have the same "magic." He started hitting long and the deep topspin shots were missing the mark time and time again. Kaz, on the other hand, got into a good rhythm as his booming serves gave him the momentum. He kept his cool to plug off the points on a regular basis to seal the match.
It was another beauty of a night for tennis, notwithstanding the humidity and our players took full advantage of it. There were matches of consequential significance and other fun matches that lit up the night with non stop action.
MXD2 Semifinal Match:
Marijus Kuzavas/Sally Pillay over Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley, 6-4, 6-4, to become the New # 4 Ranked Team in the Mixed Doubles Division! Marijus: 6 Aces (1 Ace on Rob in the 1st Set and 5 Aces on Laura, 2 in the 1st Set and 3 in the 2nd Set)!
The Super Mario Memo: The 1st Set went 1-0, 3-1, 4-3 and 6-4 in our favor. It was a bit of an up and down set. We kept going up in score, but they kept getting back until finally we managed to close it up. The 2nd Set went 3-0, 5-2 and 6-4 in our favor. This time we went up big a couple of times in the set, but again the Gawleys kept fighting back…until again we managed to close it down. They are a very tough, very strategic team that gives us a lot of trouble every time we play them. So we are happy things went our way this time.
The Aura's Oration: They were very tough on this night. Sally was very steady and Marijus was relentless with his hard serving and forehand ground-strokes. They were solid at key moments which gave them the advantage. They are always fun to play! Best of luck to them in the Finals!
Samara's Notes: They now await the winner of Nathan Fernandes/Natalia Sout versus Don Moya/Janice Wang. And now Kris adds his two cents on this one…and then follows up with the balance of the session.
The K has his say: The Mixed Doubles Semifinals lived up to its reputation by producing a well-contested and hard-fought match. Marijus was especially brutal with his serves, and together with Sally, they had notched up their level of play big time this year. The result was the reversal of last year's win by Rob and Laura over them. Rob and Laura played gamely despite the undercurrent feeling of getting a pounding from the big man.
It was another beauty of a night for GTA Tennis, notwithstanding the humidity, and our players took full advantage of it. There were matches of consequential significance and other fun matches that lit up the night with non-stop action.
Kris Srinivasan/Dan Martinelli over Sairaj Srinivasan/Ray Spadaro, 6-3! No Aces.
Spin started off the proceedings on a solid note and we lost our winning momentum only on our serve. Sairaj had a mixed game. Ray was doing his best to hold down the fort, but was unfortunate to miss out on some points that should have been winners.
2 out of 3 Sets:
Mike Sindler/Arthur Fontanilla over Jordan Bachvaroff/Dawn Peterson, 6-1, 6-4! No Aces.
They played for a while and the 2nd Set was a close affair.
Dave Zhu/Ray Spadaro over Senthil Kumar/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-3! No Aces.
Kris Srinivasan/Dan Martinelli over Mike Kazlauskas/Mike Mole, 7-5! Kaz: 1 Ace on Spin!
This started off on a note that Kaz would get to regret later...:-). At the start to decide the teams, Kaz said that he should team up with Spin and remarked his reasoning to do so was to ensure Mole would at least get a win for the night (he had just beaten Mole in the Grove Cup Singles Match). Incidentally, when Kaz called us out to play Doubles after his match, I sensed he had won...:-).
Kaz started off well, totally relaxed and that was reflected in his booming serves. It looked like we were in for a good pounding. But Spin had other ideas! He went crazy with his own serves…and compete, he did! He held his service games comfortably. I was the first to be broken, but Spin continued to hold his services to keep us in the match. The brute force of his shot whizzing past Big Mike Kaz at the net to hold his serve was a thing of beauty (and joy for us)! After being in the match at a balance of sorts, we soon found ourselves down 3-5. It was then we got the reprieve we needed most. The return of a big serve from Big Mike by Spin hit the net-cord and it tipped over just inside the corner of the other side. Luckily, it didn't go out. This made the score Deuce and I had some nice backhand returns to Big Mike's serve that were like drop shots to mess up the big man. Inch by inch, we closed in on the score to tie the game first, take the lead next and then seal the set and match much to the delight of Spin! It turned out to be a great match and an exciting one at that!
"Battle of the Sexes" One-Setter:
Laura Gawley/Sally Pillay over Marijus Kuzavas/Rob Gawley, 7-6 (8-6)! Marijus: 1 Ace on Sally!
This was another close match that went the distance. The women had three Match Points in the Tiebreak only to lose them all and make it 6-6 at the second changeover! The TB ultimately ended with a Double Fault on the 4th Match Point! Doinks and I can be blamed to some extent as we crossed over at this crucial juncture…:-). Still, we can't take away the credit from the ladies as their exceptional play carried them through…and I thought the men were magnanimous, too...:-).
Samara's Notes: This sounds like a possible Nominee for One-Set Specialty Doubles Match of The Year at the end of the season. And now we go back to Kris for his final word.
It was another great night of GTA Tennis, followed by the usual tennis talk…but also more about flying, cruises and high anxiety! Cheers!
Samara's Notes: It sounds like it was a conversation focused on the many neuroses of a man called Spin…LMAO!
I could not fit it in the subject line, but there were seventeen official competitors over the course of the session. I thank Kris for hosting up at Cedar Grove and always submitting these results in such a timely manner. Thanks to Mike, Marijus and Laura for submitting their results and/or commentary directly as well.
Sincerely,
Frank Samara
862-596-3354
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