8/30/17:
"8 play (1 new) at PAC, 21 play at C.G.!":
There were two sessions of GTA Wednesday Night Tennis: one at The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley as once again "the three-headed monster" of "Hollywood" Frank Samara, "Kaptain" Keith Lewkowitz and "Richie" Rich Liu acted as the hosts (with Frank reporting); and then the usual one at The Cedar Grove Courts where we received results (and sometimes commentary) from seven different competitors – usual host "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan, his wife Doinks (aka "The Marathon Woman"), GTA Champion: "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes, Jay "The Rising" Phoenix, "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak, "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli and "The Webmaster" Senthil Kumar.
We will first detail the comings and goings in Nutley before heading up to Cedar Grove.
When Samara pulled into the parking lot at 7:35 and started heading toward the courts at Park Ave. in Nutley, he noticed all four were taken. Lewkowitz and Liu had their crew on Court Three as they had just started a Doubles Match and also had two more guys waiting on the sidelines.
Involved in the match, it was Rich teaming with "The Speed Demon" Dan Praport to take on Keith and Arunraj "Air" Nair. As this got underway, Samara had the chance to greet Edgar "Valentino" Valencia and a new player - "ADP" Austin DePol.
The two guys who had been playing on Court One were nice enough to walk two courts over to tell us they were done as there was already a couple waiting on the bench outside the courts looking to play as well.
So Samara, Valencia and DePol headed over to Court One at 7:45 as Edgar was eager to start hitting with Austin while Frank got caught up on writing the way the festivities were unfolding.
Just five minutes later, Joe "Renegade" Renga made his way onto Court One and now we had our second foursome for some tennis. And that was as many players as we ever would get...eight! And eight is great as nobody ever had to sit out and the action kept going and flowing all night long!
Let's get to that action right now!
The Park Ave. Courts Results:
3 out of 5 Sets Doubles Match:
Dan Praport/Rich Liu over Keith Lewkowitz/Arunraj Nair, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1, to become the New # 45 Ranked Team in the Doubles Division! Arunraj: 1 Ace on Dan in the 1st Set. This got started at 7:35 on Court Three. Before the start of the 3rd Set, they shifted from Court Three to Court Four once that court became available. The match ended at 9:15.
Frank Samara/Edgar Valencia over Joe Renga/Austin DePol, 6-2! Edgar: 1 Ace on Joe; Frank: 1 Ace on Joe; and Austin: 1 Ace on Edgar! It was the official GTA Debut of Austin DePol. During the changeovers, I wrote notes (but not the winners...save a couple key moments) of how the games flowed. And here they are now: Austin was broken at Love after a Double Fault set up Triple Break Point, Edgar was broken (started with a slow and short Ace on Joe and he was off an running to Triple Game Point, but then that lead was cut down to Game Point and then a Double Fault made it Deuce and then another Double Fault set up Break Point and then came the break), but Joe was the first to hold serve (Love-15 shifted to 30-15, Double Fault for 30-All, Game Point and the hold) for a 2-1 lead. Frank held (started with a corner Ace on Joe and was full steam ahead to Triple Game Point, the hold came on Double Game Point) and then DePol was broken again (Frank hit his patented Windmill Overhead Smash winner for Love-30, but that was where a sideline Ace made it 15-30 and then Frank blew what would have been a sure Overhead winner to level the game at 30-All only to then have it go to Break Point and the break) for 2-3. Valencia held at Love and then Renga was broken (Love-30, 15-30, Double Break Point and the break) to fall to 2-5. Samara then held again (Love-15 shifted to 30-15, 30-All, Game/Match Point, Deuce, it ended on the 2nd Game/Match Point) to get the win! We played on Court One from 8:07 to 8:34 and then we decided to switch the teams.
Frank Samara/Austin DePol over Edgar Valencia/Joe Renga, 6-0! Austin: 1 Ace on Joe; and Edgar: 1 Ace on Frank! Here's how it went down: Edgar was broken at Love, Frank held serve (30-Love, 30-15, Double Game Point and the hold), Joe was broken at Love as he hit a Double Fault to set up Love-30 and then another one on Triple Break Point to break himself, Austin held (started with a Double Fault, then he hit a big service-line Ace against Joe for 15-All and then he was off and running to Double Game Point where Frank hit another Windmill Overhead Smash to get the hold), Valencia was broken again (hit a Double Fault for Love-30, it was Triple Break Point where he hit a big Ace up the T against Frank to cut the deficit to Double Break Point, it then went to Break Point, Deuce, Break Point again and then the break) and Samara held again (30-Love, 30-15 where Austin whipped out an even bigger Windmill Overhead Smash to set up Double Game/Match Point and then came the hold) to serve some late night bagels to Edgar and Joe! This one was also on Court One and it lasted from 8:36 to 8:56.
Edgar Valencia/Austin DePol over Frank Samara/Joe Renga, 6-0! Edgar: 3 Aces (2 on Joe and 1 on Frank); and Austin: 1 Ace on Joe! The dirty lowdown: Edgar held serve at Love as he started off with a sideline Ace on Joe and ended the game with a big corner Ace against Frank, Frank was broken (15-Love then point for point until 30-All, Break Point and the break), Austin held (started with two Double Faults, it then shifted to 30-All where he hit a sideline Ace on Joe to set up Game Point, but then he hit a Double Fault for Deuce, then came Game Point, 2nd Deuce, Game Point and the hold), Joe was broken at Love after he hit a Double Fault on Triple Break Point, Valencia held again (30-Love shifted to 30-All where Frank blew what looked to be a sure thing of an overhead to set up Game Point, then came a Double Fault to make it Deuce which was where he scored with a big corner Ace against Frank to set up another Game Point and then came the held) and Samara was broken again and this time at Love (Edgar hit a precise drop shot winner which was just beyond Frank's reach...Edgar was surprisingly impressed with Frank's speed and get-making ability as just about all other drop shots failed against him...but it was this last one from Edgar that set up Triple Break/Match Point...and then came the break) as it was his turn to eat a late night bagel along with Joe's second helping! This one was also on Court One and it lasted from 8:58 to 9:20.
Samara's Notes: This was my first time playing with and/or against Edgar and now I have seen firsthand the big serves and forehands that everyone who has played with him before mentions. He is a very nice guy and was highly complimentary of me the entire evening. Austin is also an extremely nice guy who also comes loaded with a big serve and forehand...but add to that a lot of height and reach and very fast hands at the net where he is quite comfortable hitting volleys. I met Joe on Monday and he is somewhat newer to tennis than the rest of us. I sound like a broken record here where I also talk about how nice he is...but also he is looking to play more and more people and is willing to learn all he can. It was a fun bunch of Doubles One-Setters.
Arunraj Nair over Keith Lewkowitz, 6-2! Arunraj: 1 Ace. These two played on Court Two from 9:10 to 9:35. Keith, despite the loss, was like a kid in a candy store as he was so very happy to finally get the chance to play some Singles. He said it felt so much better and was a much greater workout than playing Doubles. If he had the choice (i.e. the court space), he may never play Doubles again! LOL!
Dan Praport over Rich Liu, 6-4! No Aces. This battle took place on Court Four from 9:12 to 9:44. Rich had a 4-2 lead only to watch it vanish as the ever-pesky Speed Demon continued to make amazing gets which forced Liu to start hitting shots just slightly past the lines. Rich's steady improvement was on display here.
Arunraj Nair leading Keith Lewkowitz, 3-2 (Incomplete when they decided to cut it short at 9:50 so as to not be out there in the darkness when the lights go out at 10pm. It got underway on Court Two at exactly 9:39)! No Aces.
All in all, it was quite the session! Now let's take it up to Cedar Grove!
And now we head up to Cedar Grove for the report from multiple sources (I cannot even begin to tell you who sent in which scores as many of them overlap one another…it will usually only be noted when some level of commentary was provided)…so here we go!
The Cedar Grove Results:
Nathan Fernandes over Senthil Kumar, 6-0! No Aces.
Nate's Notes: The reigning GTA Intermediate Champ had some great approach shots, volleys and overheads, and plays the game so intelligently.
Jay has his say: Around 7:30, I watched Nate play Senthil in a One-Setter. I was fascinated by their match because they have a similar style of play, with lots of slices and approach shots. Nate just did everything better. I then stepped up to play Nate in a one-setter (which follows).
Nathan Fernandes over Jay Phoenix, 6-0!! No Aces.
Nate's Notes: Jay made some incredible gets in this set and it's always great to see the passion with which he plays every single point.
Jay has his say: I tried to beat Nate by putting pace on my shots. Nate, however, absorbed that pace and placed his shots wherever he wanted to, either with a drop shot or with a deep low-skidding slice. Nate is not only the fastest and most consistent player in our league, but he has the best drop shot I have ever seen. He won dozens of points against both of us with that shot.
Jay Phoenix/Ralph Bernard over Levy Lorenzo/Tito Castolo, 7-6 (9-7)! No Aces.
Samara's Notes: I thank Nate and Jay for submitting those results and providing their commentary. That last one sounds like it could possibly be a Nominee for One-Set Doubles Match of The Year at season's end. And we still have a couple more scores from Nate which follow now.
Ryan Pienciak/Raj Shah over Nathan Fernandes/Natalia Sout, 7-5! Raj: 2 Aces (one on each)!
Nate's Notes: A sorry serving display by yours truly didn't help our cause one bit, but a lot of credit goes to Natalia who kept us afloat with some great gets, lobs and piercing angled ground-strokes. Raj displayed his touch of seasons past and Ryan displayed flashes of that aggressive brilliance which has helped him rise to # 3 in the GTA Rankings.
Nathan Fernandes/Natalia Sout over Ryan Pienciak/Raj Shah, 6-3! No Aces.
Nate's Notes: Despite the constant barbs and taunting of "Team Double R", "moi" was able to get two service holds. Natalia played another solid set while the banter on the other side of the net had us in splits at times. If the GTA ever holds a comedy night for charity - it should be called "Let's rally to serve" and one wouldn't have to look too far for an opening act!
Samara's Notes: I thank Nate for his colorful commentary. Ryan sent in the same scores sans comments. Mr. Pienciak also submitted an additional result.
2 out of 3 Sets:
Ryan Pienciak/Raj Shah over Arthur Fontanilla/Natalia Sout, 6-1, 6-1! No Aces.
Samara's Notes: I also thank Ryan for that last one. And now we go to Senthil for a similar 2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Gender Doubles Match.
2 out of 3 Sets:
Senthil Kumar/Laura Gawley over Dennis Cabanatan/Rob Gawley, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2! Dennis: 1 Ace on Senthil!
Samara's Notes: We now go to results from Doinks, Spin and Kris in that order.
Frank Hohorst/Doinks Srinivasan over Kris Srinivasan/Laurie Boughton, 6-2! No Aces.
Moka Pathan/Dan Martinelli over Ray Spadaro/Frank Hohorst, 7-6 (7-2)! No Aces.
The Spin from Spin: Frank and Ray started off playing flawless tennis. Up 2-0, they were dominating the net area of the court and hitting un-returnable angle shots. The pace on Moka's strokes did not faze them at all. Spin did not warm up and it showed. Frank's net play was a thing of beauty. My lack of service holds almost cost us the set. Ray and Moka were very steady throughout the set. Somehow, we found our footing in the Tiebreaker and went up early and never looked back.
Frank Hohorst/Doinks Srinivasan over Dan Martinelli/Laurie Boughton, 6-2! Spin: 1 Ace on Frank.
The Spin from Spin: This set was just plain old fun. Laurie was…well, Laurie…enjoying every minute of the set. I was as boisterous as ever. I even asked Frank if he was OK with my antics. He assured me he was having fun. I was getting on Doinks' nerves as on two or three occasions my shots went wide and she could not return them shouting out, "Ah come on!" I also sent a rocket past her that caused her to move off the net for the balance of the match. I think everyone had a good time.
Frank Hohorst/Doinks Srinivasan leading Dan Martinelli/Laurie Boughton, 5-0 (Incomplete went the wind blew out the candles, i.e. the lights went off at 10pm)! No Aces.
Kris Srinivasan/Ralph Bernard tied with Levy Lorenzo/Tito Castolo, 6-6 (6-6), Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm! Just possibly two points away from a full conclusion...what a shame! No Aces.
Samara's Notes: I thank everyone for their contributions to this report…even if, at times…like it was for Monday night, there was some duplication (or even triplication) of the same results. I'd rather have more than nothing at all.
Sincerely,
Frank Samara
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