9/28 Results.

9/28/17:

"Gen hosts 2 at AP, Nick/Spin host 8 at C.G.!":

There were two sessions of GTA Thursday Night Tennis: an early evening one at The Albion Park Courts in Clifton hosted by "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan as she first had a hitting session and then a Singles One-Setter with "Del Brotro" Mike Mole; and then the usual evening one at The Cedar Grove Courts where "The Icon" Nick Inciong and "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli acted as the impromptu hosts and promptly sent in their results.

Let's first go to Clifton!

The Albion Park Result:

Mike Mole over Genalin Capan, 6-2!  Mike: 1 Ace on the very first serve!

Gen's Notes: We hit for about an hour.  The One-Setter lasted from 5:40 to 6:10.  We both held and that was followed by an exchange of breaks for 2-2.  Then, Mike took the next four games for the win.  Actually, Mike wanted a chance to serve again...so the unofficial result would be 7-2!

Samara's Notes: I thank Gen for sending in that result along with her commentary in a very timely manner.   

We now go to Cedar Grove for the rest of the scores.

The Cedar Grove Results:

Nick Inciong/Fadia Nicolas over Tito Castolo/Louise Bysiek, 6-4!  No Aces.

Nick Inciong/Fadia Nicolas over Tito Castolo/Louise Bysiek, 6-3!  No Aces.

Nick's Notes: These were played as One-Setters.

Kris Srinivasan/Dan Martinelli over Nathan Fernandes/Mike Sindler, 6-4!  No Aces.

Kris Srinivasan/Dan Martinelli over Nathan Fernandes/Mike Sindler, 6-1!  No Aces.

Kris Srinivasan/Dan Martinelli tied with Nathan Fernandes/Mike Sindler, 5-5 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

The Spin from Spin: These were all played as separate One-Setters.

Samara's Notes: I thank both Nick and Spin for stepping up to take responsibility for their results and then send them in…in a most timely fashion.  And I guess the windy conditions blew away many other would-be competitors as the turnout was surprisingly light for a Thursday night in Cedar Grove.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

 

 

 

9/27 Results.

9/27/17:

"Samara hosts 5 at PAC, 26 play (3 new, 1 return) at C.G.!":

There were two sessions of GTA Wednesday Night Tennis: one at The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley hosted by "Hollywood" Frank Samara and the other at The Cedar Grove Courts which had six different sources reporting results - "Ice Berg" Scott Bergenfeld, "The Levitator" Levy Lorenzo, "The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan, "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas, GTA Champion: "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes and usual host, "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan (who will tidy it all up in a bow).

And even though the Cedar Grove session was the one to get started earlier, we will first detail the Nutley session as the Cedar Grove session was truly epic and deserves to close the show.

So it is off to Nutley we go!

When Samara pulled into the parking lot off of Park Ave. at 7:35, he saw that all four courts were full.  The only familiar face was that of "Richie" Rich Liu out on Court Two, but he was with someone that Frank did not recognize.

Sitting on the bench outside the fence alongside Court One was "The Hit Man" Tom La.  Frank greeted him, but before sitting down he called out to Liu to see if they wanted two more for Doubles.  Rich then explained that he had planned on playing a full Singles Match with this mystery man.

While waiting, Tom called Dennis "The Menace" Cabanatan to see if he wanted to join us.  It seemed that Dennis was leaning toward heading up to Cedar Grove.  Meanwhile, Samara was fielding text messages from "MC Quick" Mike Carucci (who said he should arrive by 8:30) and "The Riz" John Rizzo (who was interesting in attending if he was needed and only once a court became available).

Well, Court Four did become available at 7:50, so Frank sent a reply to John telling him it would be worthwhile to make the trip from Clifton.  Five minutes later, Court One opened up as well...so Samara and La opted to take that one instead (better lighting, more convenient location).

Then, Frank and Tom entered into a hitting session with one another.  Court Three soon cleared as well.  So now it was just Courts One and Two with any action on them.

Rizzo pulled into the lot at 8:10 and soon took Tom's side in hitting against Frank.  Ten minutes later and after Liu was done playing his non-GTA opponent, he shifted over to Court One for some Doubles.  At exactly 8:23, we had a Doubles One-Setter underway with Rich joining Tom to face Frank and John.

As promised, Carucci arrived precisely at 8:30.  He was odd man out for a while as he sat on the bench alongside Court One watching the action.  He would not have to wait too long, however, for someone to hit with as "The Renegade" Joe Renga.  The two of them went down to Court Three to have a little bit of separation from the official Doubles action taking place on Court One.

When the first Doubles One-Setter finished exactly at 8:53, there was some confusion as to who would compete in the next one.  Rizzo was satisfied to be "one and done" as this was his first action out on a hard court since much earlier in the season (another nickname for The Riz is "Clay Boy" as he competes almost exclusively on the red clay courts of Nutley Tennis Club...until the indoor season at The Wayne Bubble begins, of course...than he transforms into the "Bubble Boy"...LOL!).

La said he was also feeling somewhat sore.  Renga was happy to practice his serve all the way over on Court Four.  Meanwhile, Samara was dealing with a semi-emergency (or, so it seemed at the time) as he found out his ceiling had a leak in his living room at home.  He had to engage in some text messages back and forth with a couple of the members on the church committee (he lives in an apartment on church property...they function as landlord and super in a somewhat quasi fashion) to make sure they would handle the situation.  

During this time period, the two guys still eager to play more (Carucci and Liu) first started hitting against one another and then it led to a half-set (a third of a set, perhaps?) which was won by Mike, 2-1.

Finally, Frank had handled all the B.S. while Tom was talked into going back out there for one more while John was content to watch and occasionally act as the lone "Heckler."

Rizzo got to see quite a battle as the second One-Setter was quite intense in nature (the first one was also quite good).  Yet, it was also a lot of fun.  John and Joe stayed right until the end of the night...a night that was as sticky and steamy as...well, a steam bath!

The Park Ave. Results:

Tom La/Rich Liu over Frank Samara/John Rizzo, 6-3!  No Aces.  It went like this: John held at Love as Frank and John each hit winners and then an un-returned serve set up Triple Game Point which ended with an excellent get/winner combo by John, Rich held serve (back-to-back un-returned serves followed by a winning volley by Tom set up Triple Game Point where a Double Fault made it Double Game Point only to have Tom hit another winning volley to secure his partner's hold), Frank held (15-Love then point for point to Game Point as Rich hit two winning Overhead Smashes along the way, but then Tom blew an overhead to set up Game Point and then Rich blew an overhead to allow the hold) and Tom held at Love as Rich hit a winning Overhead Smash, Tom hit a winner and Rich hit a winning volley along the way and we were all on serve at 2-2.  Rizzo was the first to be broken as he got off to a 15-Love start only to have Rich hit a winning Overhead Smash and Tom hit a blistering volley winner on the way to Double Break Point where Tom hit yet another blast of a volley winner for the break and then Liu held again (Love-15 shifted straight to Double Game Point as Rich hit a winning Overhead Smash along the way and an un-returned serve sealed the deal) to go up 4-2.  Samara held again as well (an un-returned serve followed by a blown overhead by Tom made it 30-Love which was where Rich hit a scorching return winner for 30-15, but then came Double Game Point and another un-returned serve to secure the hold) to pull to 3-4, but from there La also held again (Love-15 shifted straight to Double Game Point as Rich hit a winning Overhead Smash along the way, then a Double Fault made it Game Point, it went to Deuce and Game Point again where a truly un-returnable serve locked down the hold) and then The Riz was broken again in the best game of the set (an un-returned serve followed by a winning lob from John made it 30-Love, it then shifted to 30-All where another un-returned serve set up Game Point, then Deuce where Tom hit a drop shot winner to make it Break/Match Point where Frank made a great get/winner combo to bring it to 2nd Deuce, it then went to the 2nd Break/Match Point which was where John hit a precise passing shot winner to make it 3rd Deuce which was where Frank came up short on a drop shot attempt which set up the 3rd Break/Match Point where Tom hit a big return winner for the victory) to end the match!  We played this one on Court One from 8:23 to 8:53.

The Skinny: Considering it had been quite some time since he had been out on a hard court, Rizzo moved well and had many moments to be proud of in this one.  Meanwhile, La and Liu gelled well as both like to finish points off up at the net with dramatic Overhead Smashes and swinging volleys.  Samara (as well as The Riz) often surprised the opposition with his get-making ability.  Frank did himself in when trying to be too precise when attempting to end points rather than play them out and let the adversaries do themselves in instead.  All in all, it was a good one that felt closer than the score indicates.

Tom La/Rich Liu over Frank Samara/Mike Carucci, 6-4!  No Aces.  Here's how it went down: Mike held serve (started with a Double Fault and then back-to-back un-returned serves made it 30-15 and then another Double Fault made it 30-All where Frank hit a killer drop shot winner to set up Game Point which was then an excellent rally where Mike's last get made the difference in getting the point and taking the game), Rich held at Love as Tom made a great get/volley combo and followed that with a drop shot volley in the next point and then Frank was the first to be broken in a true battle of a game as 15-Love shifted to 15-30 as Rich hit a passing shot winner along the way and then came another shift to Game Point where Tom hit a winning volley to make it deuce and then it was all Break Points all the way to 3rd Deuce where Tom hit a winning return to set up another Break Point and then came the break...and I likely forgot some winners during that lengthy game) for 1-2.  La held (15-Love shifted to 15-30 shifted again to Game Point, then Deuce and it was all Game Points to 3rd Deuce, Game Point again and then the hold and at this time I decided to forget about noting who hit what winners in the interest of saving time) and Carucci was broken (30-Love, Double Fault for 30-15, Double Game Point cut down to Deuce, Game Point again, 2nd Deuce, Break Point and the break) to fall to 1-4.  Liu was also broken as he started off with a Double Fault, the game shifted to 30-15 where two more Double Faults caused the shift to Break Point and then came the break and then Samara held (Love-15 then point for point until 30-All, Game Point and the hold) to pull to 3-4.  La was broken (15-Love, Double Fault for 15-All, 15-30, 30-ALl, Break Point where Frank hit a crucial drop shot winner which felt like a momentum-shifter) to knot the score at 4-4!  Well, the momentum did shift...back in favor of the original leaders of the set as MC Quick was broken again and this time it was at Love as he hit a Double Fault on Triple Break Point and then Richie Rich held (15-Love, 15-All and then onto Double Game/Match Point which was set up by a winning mishit volley from Tom and then came the hold) for a hard-fought victory!  This was also done on Court One and it lasted from 9:15 to 9:50.

The Skinny: In the games where I failed to note who hit what winners, the recap is that Tom and Rich continued to do what they both do best...finish off points at the net with winning volleys and Overhead Smashes.  Mike is one of the faster players in the league and he put that on full display with several great gets...including one where he ended up on his knees near the net hitting a sick volley winner which angled its way into the Doubles Alley and then off the court out of the reach of the opposition.  Samara seemed a little extra motivated by his speedy partner as he did his own thing in the get department.  This one was a whole lot of fun and we felt fortunate to get it done on time as it felt like we were closer to the 10pm cut-off time than we actually were.

We now will detail all that took place up at Cedar Grove.  And we will try to do it in chronological order as much as possible.

The Cedar Grove Results:  

Jordan Bachvaroff/Moka Pathan over Edwin Ortega/Scott Bergenfeld, 6-2!  No Aces.  It was the official GTA Return of Scott Bergenfeld.

The Skinny from Scott: No one responded to my e-mail (the Open Challenge for a Singles Match).  I went to the courts at 6:30 and hit with Jordan for half an hour.  Then we played the Doubles One-Setter.

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Levy Lorenzo/Tito Castolo over Dennis Cabanatan/Arthur Fontanilla, 6-2, 6-2, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 82 and # 83 Ranked Teams respectively!  Arthur: 1 Ace on Tito in the 1st Set; Dennis: 1 Ace on Levy in the 2nd Set; and Levy: 1 Ace on Arthur in the 2nd Set!

When the Levy Breaks: Dennis and Arthur thought they would annihilate us.  Before we started the 1st Set, they asked us if we were sure we wanted to play together.

Samara's Notes: Seems the elder Filipinos had their way with the somewhat younger Filipinos...LOL!  I thank Levy for submitting that result in a very timely manner.  I also thank Scott for his earlier contribution. 

Nathan Fernandes/Lou La Forgia over Chris Chiaro/Moka Pathan, 6-1!  No Aces.

Nathan Fernandes/Lou La Forgia over Chris Chiaro/Moka Pathan, 6-1!  No Aces.

Nathan Fernandes/Chris Chiaro over Jordan Bachvaroff/Bhumin Desai, 6-2!  No Aces.  It was the official GTA Debut of Bhumin Desai.

Samara's Notes: Those first two are not duplicated in error...the first two One-Setters were a "ditto" type situation.  I thank Nate for reporting those results in such a timely way.

Marijus Kuzavas/Laurie Boughton over Bhumin Desai/Sally Pillay, 6-2!  No Aces.

Edgar Valencia/Dan Knitzer over Jordan Bachvaroff/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-2!  No Aces.  It was the official GTA Debut of Dan Knitzer.

Lou La Forgia/Doinks Srinivasan over Marijus Kuzavas/Sally Pillay, 6-3!  Marijus: 4 Aces (3 on Lou and 1 on Doinks); and Sally: 1 Ace on Doinks!

Lou La Forgia/Doinks Srinivasan leading Marijus Kuzavas/Sally Pillay, 6-5 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I thank both Marijus and Doinks for that last batch of results...all of which were submitted in a timely fashion.

And now we will let The K take it away for the balance of this report.

It was a very busy night in Cedar Grove as it was packed with GTA action.  As much as I wanted to get an early start, it wound up being at the later stages of prime time.  All the courts were occupied by almost all our players.  Court 3 had three players only having a hitting session.  So I let Doinks be the fourth and soon enough they played Doubles.  That would give me a chance to chill out and gnash on an apple.

Court 1 saw Erdem Alpay playing a Singles One-Setter against Nirav Desai, both of whom are part of Bergen Tennis Club.  After their match, I had a chat with both of them and incidentally welcomed Nirav to the GTA.  Both of them couldn't play or hit more with us as Erdem hurt his elbow and Nirav had to go.

Court 3 was intense with Nate and Lou taking on Chiaro and Moka.  Court 4 was equally intense with Marijus pairing up with Laurie Boughton against his wifey, Sally and Bhumin.  I believe Bhu got invited to our group by Sally and Marijus.  Bhu sure had some nice booming serves and looked like a solid player. Marijus was simply fantastic at the net and he showed he was the boss to all those shots that Sally threw at him.

Samara's Notes: It was actually Arthur who brought Bhu to the courts.  Now back to Kris we go.

Once Court 1 freed up, I got to work a bit on my serves.  In less than a minute, Natalia Sout joined me.  We did notice two people by the court side of Court 4.  It turned out to be Fernanda Toker and Tommy Reszkowski.  They had apparently come here with the intent of playing a full match against me and Doinks.  With Doinks in action in the adjacent court, Natalia was game to team up with me for what would have been a full match.

Erdem Alpay over Nirav Desai, 6-3!  No Aces.  It was the official GTA Debut of Nirav Desai.

Kris Srinivasan/Natalia Sout over Tommy Reszkowski/Fernanda Toker, 7-6 (7-2)!  Kris: 1 Ace on Fernanda!

Kris Srinivasan/Natalia Sout tied with Tommy Reszkowski/Fernanda Toker, 4-4 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

We had started our match about 8:15 and couldn't wrap it up in its entirety. In what would have been the 1st Set (now a stand-alone One-Setter), it was a close match for the first half, going neck and neck.  The night was extremely humid and it affected Natalia big-time right from the get-go.  After a couple of games, she looked like she may faint and she found it hard to play her aggressive shots.  I insisted that she drink water and hydrate herself well and not to worry about the points.  To her credit, she pulled herself up well and showed the Olympian stuff in her.  On the other side, we had the other lady as fresh as a daisy with her partner as fit as a fiddle.  I was as cool as a cucumber at least for most part of the match and it turned out to be exciting one.  Fernanda, as usual, was as steady as a rock with some amazing gets and consistent play.  Tommy was brilliant at the net playing aggressive shots and overall playing a very competitive match.  Despite her low energy because of the humidity, Natalia played with high intensity and showed her absolute commitment and involvement.  We were up 5-3 before a superb comeback by Fernanda and Tommy to take the next three games.  Under pressure, we showcased our steely determination to win the next game and put away the TB handsomely.

With big momentum and mojo on our side, we won the first two games in the would-be 2nd Set rapidly.  But Tommy would do well to break that momentum with some attacking shots to go up quickly 40-15 before his serves let him down a bit as he would soon face Break Points...6 of them and he survived all of them to eke out a hold.  Soon, it was 2-All before we ramped up our game and took it to 4-2!  We made crucial errors that deprived us of going up 5-2 and again, in the last game of the night, as I made tactical errors invading into Natalia's territory to intercept the balls that pretty much were played to her all night long.  Fittingly, Fernanda won the last point as the lights went out to make it 4-All.  It was a great and intense match that saw all the players doing well and having plenty of moments to cherish.

Samara's Notes: While it is a shame this match did not get to see its proper finish, that would-be 1st Set may now end up becoming a Nominee for One-Set Mixed Doubles Match of The Year at season's end.  We now turn it over to Kris again.

Doinks teamed up with Lou to play against the formidable Marijus and Sally.  Doinks said that Lou was brilliant, unleashing his lethal weapon.  He was terrific in serving and his ground-strokes were spot-on.  Lou specifically did tell Doinks that she was amazing and played exceptionally well.  They won the first One-Setter easily, leading with big margin before a comeback.  So it was in the second One-Setter leading 6-5 and Doinks serving 30-All when the lights went off where Lou and Doinks were shy of two points in beating Marijus and Sally in a full match and clinching the number uno spot.  The number one team did have many unforced errors, but did well to stage a comeback at the right time.

Samara's Notes: For the record, this would have been a Non-Title Match for a couple of reasons.  One, Lou and Doinks are not yet ranked as a team in the Mixed Doubles Division, so they cannot take a shot at the GTA Mixed Doubles Championship.  Second, Marijus and Sally have been instructed to first defend their Titles against Former Mixed Doubles Champ: Tito Castolo and a partner of his choosing.  If they get past them, then they must wait to face the team that will emerge as the winners from the upcoming M-Dub Mixed Doubles Tournament.  Had Lou and Doinks emerged victorious in a full match, they would have entered the Mixed Doubles Division as the New # 2 Ranked Team (i.e. Top Contenders) and they would also then have a guaranteed shot at the Titles in their future. 

OK, now we go back to Kris one last time.

Earlier in the evening, Doinks paired up with Jordan to play against Edgar Valencia and Dan K from The Nutley Crew.  It was a winning night for Edgar.

In the midst of our match entered "The Dragon" Dino Celis.  He did have the company of "Rowdy" Rob Gawley for some time before Rob buzzed off on his bike.  All in all, an intense and humid night packed with action.  Cheers!

Samara's Notes: I thank Kris for being "the host with the most" up at Cedar Grove.  And I again thank all the others who contributed to this report as well...and I welcome all the new players as we have two groups making their way into the GTA - Bergen Tennis Club and the Nutley Meet-Up Crew.

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

 

9/26 Results.

9/26/17:

"Brenda/Kris host 18 at C.G.!":

There was just one session of GTA Tuesday Night Tennis and it took place at The Cedar Grove Courts with "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan acting as host, but "Bravo" Brenda Jordan also reported a result that occurred in the earlier part of the evening…hot on the heels of The Pickle Ballers leaving the courts at 7:30.  So we will start with the match that she was involved in and then turn this report over to Kris.

Let's get the scores!

The Cedar Grove Results:

2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Doubles Match:

Frank Hohorst/Brenda Jordan over Chris Barbieri/Fadia Nicolas, 6-3, 6-2, as both teams entered the Mixed Doubles Division as the New # 44 and # 45 Ranked Teams respectively!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I thank Brenda for reporting that result in such a timely manner.  We now let The K take it away!

I was quite a late arrival again, but the session was jam-packed with all the courts put to good use by the GTA contingent.  Court 1 was in play as it featured a lengthy hitting session amongst Dino Celis, Guy Dupoux, Levy Lorenzo and Edwin Ortega.

Court 2 saw an active and well-contested match between Nathan Fernandes/Laura Gawley against Nick Inciong/Rob Gawley.  There were plenty of rallies and a great tussle between Nick and Laura with Nate and Rob doing their bit whenever the ball came to them.

Court 3 was busy with the above Mixed Doubles Match between Fadia and Chris Barbieri against Brenda and Frank Hohorst.  It was good to see Brenda after quite some time. Once they finished their match, they were replaced by a fresh set of four players that included me and also featured Joe Rodrigues, Tito Castolo and my wife Doinks.

Court 4 was busy with a Doubles Match as well featuring Mike Sindler, Syed Rashid and company.

Nathan Fernandes/Laura Gawley over Rob Gawley/Nick Inciong, 6-4!  No Aces.

It certainly was a good match.

Kris Srinivasan/Joe Rodrigues over Tito Castolo/Doinks Srinivasan, 7-6 (7-3)!  Kris: 1 Ace on Doinks!

It was a superb comeback set for us being down 1-5 and we barely survived the Match Point against us.  Thanks to Joe for going full-throttle on his serve to win the desperate point that would keep us in the game and set.  It was remarkable from thereon to almost win 6 games in a row.  Down 5-6, Doinks was serving at Love-40 but managed to survive all three Match Points (courtesy of Joe) to tie up the set 6-All and take it to the TB!  We were in full control as we cruised to the finish line easily.  Tito was superb in some of his placements.  Doinks was overall consistent and the highlight was Joe's signature return of serves with his forehand slap that drives you nuts.

Samara's Notes: This seems like it could be a possible Nominee for One-Set Specialty Doubles Match of The Year at season's end.  And now we go back to Kris.

There was a bit of a commotion outside the fence as we got to see the grand appearance of Spin (aka Dan Martinelli) who chose to chill out and didn't get to play.  After some friendly banter with the folks on the sidelines, he made an early exit to tend to his pressing matters.

Levy Lorenzo/Guy Dupoux over Edwin Ortega/Dino Celis, 6-1!  No Aces.

Syed Rashid/Fadia Nicolas leading Mike Sindler/Chris Barbieri, 6-5 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

Mike and Chris apparently escaped defeat narrowly as Fadia and Syed were shy of just a point to clinch the set!

Tito Castolo/Doinks Srinivasan tied with Kris Srinivasan/Joe Rodrigues, 3-3 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

Good fight from "The Titan" Tito and Doinks as they asserted themselves well after their earlier loss. They could have potentially gone up 4-2, but Joe would have none of that.  Joe was pretty good in getting to most of Tito's drop shots, raging in like a bull and whacking the ball on the run.

I am sure I may be missing some results of matches that had taken place earlier in the evening and also while I was immersed in my own match, but the atmosphere was great and the courts were buzzing with GTA action.  Cheers!

Samara's Notes: First, I want to thank Kris for hosting the session and gathering all the results that he did.  If anything else went unreported, that is on the participants and not him.

Second, I think Kris is becoming the new "moniker maker" as first he gave Dino Celis the nickname of "The Dragon" and now that is the one that Dino wants to run with going forward.  And I am sure Tito will feel the same about "The Titan."

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

862-596-3354 

 

 

9/25 Results.

9/25/17:

"Spin hosts 5 at C.G.!":

There was just one session of GTA Monday Tennis and it took place at The Cedar Grove Courts with "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli acting as host.

Let's get the scores!

The Cedar Grove Results:

Art Fontanilla/Justin Berardo over Dan Martinelli/Dennis Cabanatan, 7-5!  Justin: 1 Ace on Dennis.

The Spin from Spin: We were up 4-1 and rolling, but Art found his game and amped it up with some screaming forehand shots.  Justin hit the angles and made great gets to come back from "nowheresville" to take the set. 

Kris Srinivasan/Justin Berardo over Dan Martinelli/Dennis Cabanatan, 6-4!  No Aces.

The Spin from Spin: After that first One-Setter, Art was done for the evening.  Kris happened to pull up like the proverbial White Knight in his white Nissan and we convinced him to get tennis ready and play a set.  Soon after, he arrived and it was game on!  They dominated us early, but Dennis and I mounted a little bit of a comeback the make the score a bit more respectable.  

Samara's Notes: I thank Spin for acting as the impromptu host and sending in these results along with his commentary in such a timely manner.   

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

862-596-3354 

 

 

9/24 Results.

9/24/17:

"The Monk Memorial takes place at AP, C.G.! NTC, C.G. - Pt. 2!":

GTA Sunday Tennis officially got underway at 10:15am in Albion Park in Clifton (though the host,  "Hollywood" Frank Samara arrived at 10am and nine other players...six of them registered for the Monk Memorial Men's Doubles Tournament...were there before he arrived) and everyone left the park soon after 12:15 as the Clifton half of this event did not go nearly as long as expected (more on that later).  At the same time, a concurrent session featuring the other half of this event was going on at The Cedar Grove Courts hosted by "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan.

And then there was an early evening session at The Nutley Tennis Club hosted by "The Riz" John Rizzo and a later evening session at Cedar Grove hosted by "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli.  But first, let's get to how the tournament events unfolded at Clifton and then at Cedar Grove.

This tournament has become an annual tradition that serves to kick off the fall portion of each tennis season, but today the weather thought it was July 24th rather than September 24th as it was fully sunny with temps starting out around 80 degrees and hitting a peak temperature of 90 degrees!

When Samara arrived at the courts, he saw that all three were full.  This was a good thing, however, as he had six of the seven registered players there already holding two of the courts.  And he was confident that his good buddy, Dan Martinelli, was only running a little late as he was likely coming to the courts fresh off of getting out of church.

"The Acclerator" Abhilash Gadi was hitting against "Vintage" Vinnie De Benedetto on Center Court while "The Levitator" Levy Lorenzo and "MC Quick" Mike Carucci were doing the same on the South Court.

"The Hit Man" Tom La was sitting on the sidelines near the fence between those two courts while "Stingray" Ray Spadaro was sitting on the bench alongside the North Court where "Bee Gee" Brad Gero was playing tennis with his two sons, Alex and Steve.  It seemed the three were taking turns facing one another in half-sets.

And the fact that they had  the North Court while we would be relegated to Center Court and the South Court would not prove to be an issue as Spin had wrench to repair the low net on Center Court, plus…

The good news was that with eight players forming four teams, we only needed two of the three courts for the featured event of the day which was the Monk Memorial Men's Doubles Tournament.  For most of the past week, it was planned to be a 16-Man/8-Team Event with half of it being contested at AP (for many years prior it had been contested at Robin Hood Park in Clifton, aka RHP, until last season when it moved to Albion) while the other half would simultaneously take place at Cedar Grove.

Once Spin arrived at 10:10, Samara sent a text message to "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan who was running the Cedar Grove half of the event to inform him that the Clifton portion had its eight competitors and was moving forward with the tourney.  Soon after, Kris sent a reply stating the same situation existed there.

So we were off and running in both locations!  With all eight promised participants in attendance, we next headed into the lottery portion of the event as we would have the four highest ranked players (based on the current GTA Rankings) pick the names of the four lowest ranked players that were written on raffle tickets and then placed in the bottom of a plastic bag (sorry, no hat!).

Frank was the highest ranked player, so he drew first.  He had Spin hold the bag to ensure all was on the up and up.  The raffle ticket he removed had the name "Vin" on it.  This meant that the already established and high-ranking team of Samara/De Benedetto would now be competing in this tourney.

It created an interesting situation.  If they were defeated in straight sets, they would lose their rank to that team.  If the sets were split, however, and a 10-Point Super Tiebreak was needed to decide the winner...then Frank and Vin would be eliminated if they lost, but they would retain their rank as rank cannot be won or lost in a match that does not go the full three sets (unless it is a straight-set match, of course).

Levy was the next highest ranked player, so he drew next (with Frank now holding the bag).  His raffle ticket said "Mike" which meant  his partner would be Carucci.

Next to choose was Spin and he got a ticket that said "Tom" as in Tom La.

And then Abhi would be left with the ticket that was remaining in the bag.  The name on that last ticket was "Ray"…so he got Ray Spadaro. 

The initial match-ups, the Semifinals of Albion (which would be considered as Quarterfinals in the overall Monk Memorial Tournament), were determined by the seeding of the team captains.  With Samara the highest of the four, his team would face the lowest ranked captain Gadi's team.  And that left the other two teams to meet in the other Albion Semi/Monk Memorial Quarter - Lorenzo/Carucci vs. Martinelli/La.

All four teams seemed evenly balanced.  The Samara/De Benedetto tandem had the most experience teaming together, but their opponents featured a pairing of vast Doubles experience in Spadaro coupled with a player who is arguably the fastest in the league, Gadi.

Speaking of speed, Carucci always has to be in the conversation of swiftest competitors in the league and he was also aligned with a very experienced Doubles player in Lorenzo.  Their opponents, Martinelli and La, both exhibit a solid balance of experience and speed.  One could argue that Spin and Tom may have been the most evenly paired tandem of the four teams.

To save time, the 8-Man/4-Team format was presented to the league right with the provision that if the first two sets were split, a 10-Point Super Tiebreak would be played in lieu of a full 3rd Set to also not make everyone play too many sets of tennis in one day.  This would hold true for both rounds in each location's Semifinal and Final.

Only the overall Final of the Monk Memorial Tournament (i.e. the Albion winners versus the Cedar Grove winners) would need to be a full 2 out of 3 Sets Match where a 3rd Set would have to be played if the first two sets were split.  The 10-Point STB would no longer be an option.

When "Lean Daddy" Dean Delgado arrived at 10:35 and soon got involved in some Doubles action with the Gero family (Big Daddy Brad and his two sons, aka The Gero Brothers), it led to us having a total of twelve official competitors at Albion Park. 

Let's first get to the tourney action that took place at AP, then the Non-Tourney full 2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match featuring Dean and Brad versus Alex and Steve (as The Cedar Grove half of the action will be detailed later in this report).

The AP Results:

Albion Semifinal/Monk Memorial Quarterfinal:
Dan Martinelli/Tom La over Levy Lorenzo/Mike Carucci, 6-0, 6-1, as both teams entered the Doubles Division while Martinelli/La advanced to the Albion Final/Monk Memorial Semifinal!  Tom: 1 Ace on Levy in the 1st Set.  They played this on the South Court from 10:20 to 11:15 (with the 1st Set ending exactly at 10:43 and the next set starting a few minutes later after an extended water break).

The Skinny: When Tom approached Frank soon after Samara's arrival, he informed the host that he would need to leave around 12:30.  Frank warned him that it could cause a possible forfeiture situation as the e-mails about this tourney all along stated that players may possibly be needed to play all the way until 2pm.  Well, it seems that La (along with Martinelli) was properly motivated to make fast work of Lorenzo and Carucci.  On paper, this seemed like it would be a closer contest.  Spin said that Levy seemed to be having an off day while Mike exhibited usual speed in his get-making, but also lacked a bit of consistency.

Albion Semifinal/Monk Memorial Quarterfinal:
Frank Samara/Vinnie De Benedetto over Abhilash Gadi/Ray Spadaro, 7-6 (8-6), 7-5, to successfully defend their # 3 Rank in the Doubles Division while also advancing to the Albion Final/Monk Memorial Semifinal!  In the process, Gadi/Spadaro entered the division.  No Aces. 

1st Set: Frank was broken (Love-15 shifted to Double Game Point which was then reduced to Deuce and then it was all Game Points until 3rd Deuce where Ray hit a winner to set up Break Point and then came the break...the length of this game caused me to forget the previous winners along the way) and Ray held serve (a winning Overhead Smash by Abhi followed by an un-returned serve which was then followed by a blown volley from Frank set up Triple Game Point, it then went to Double Game Point where Ray hit an amazing winner to secure his own hold) for a 2-0 lead.  Vin held (Frank blew a drop shot attempt for Love-15 and then it was point for point until 30-All where Vin hit a winning lob to make it Game Point and then came the hold) to get his team onto the scoreboard, but Abhi also held (15-Love, Double Fault for 15-All and then point for point to Game Point which came right after Ray hit a winning lob of his own and then Vin blew a volley to allow the hold) for 3-1.  Samara held (Vin blew a volley for Love-15 which was where Frank hit a highly impressive drop shot winner for 15-All and then it was off and running to Double Game Point where Ray hit a winning Overhead Smash to cut that lead to Game Point, but then came the hold) to pull to 2-3, but Spadaro held again (Ray hit a drop shot winner for 15-Love, it was 15-All where an un-returned serve got the ball rolling to Double Game Point and then came the hold) and then De Benedetto was broken (Love-15 shifted to 30-15 as Vin made an awesome get/winner combo along the way, but then it shifted to Break Point as Frank blew an overhead attempt along the way, it went to Deuce and then Break Point again where Abhi executed an emphatic Overhead Smash winner for the break) to fall to 2-5!  Gadi was broken (Frank blew a volley and then Abhi hit what could only be described as a get/volley winner which demonstrated both his foot and hand speed to go up 30-Love, it was then 30-15 where an un-returned serve set up Double Game/Set Point which was then reduced to Game/Set Point and then it was Deuce where Ray blew a volley attempt to set up Break Point where Vin hit a vicious volley winner for the break) and then Hollywood held again (Vin hit another volley winner for 15-Love, but then Frank blew what should have been a surefire volley winner to make it 15-All only to then redeem himself with back-to-back un-returned serves to go up Double Game Point which was where Ray hit a victorious volley to reduce the lead to Game Point, but then came the hold) to pull to 4-5!  Stingray was finally broken (Frank blasted an overblown attempt at an overhead to make it 15-Love and then it went point for point to Game/Set Point which came right after Vin blew a lob attempt, but then it went to Deuce, Break Point and the break) to level the set at 5-5 and then Vintage Vinnie held (Abhi blew a lob attempt for 15-Love, but then Vin did the same for 15-All and then it went point for point to Game Point as both players had similar unforced errors along the way and then came the hold) to take the first lead for his team at 6-5!  The Accelerator also held (Abhi blew a drop shot attempt and then Frank hit a drop shot winner to make it Love-30, but then it shifted straight to Game Point as first there was a truly un-returnable serve which was followed in the next point by Abhi hitting a winning roller over the net and then he hit another winner to set up Game Point and then came the hold) to again tie things up and force the Tiebreak!  In the Breaker: Frank held his lone serve and then Ray held both of his serves, first by hitting a winning lob and then hitting an awesome winner right onto the sideline and then Vin held the first of his two serves but was broken on his second for 2-3.  Abhi hit a Double Fault on his first serve for 3-3 at the changeover, but was then able to hold his second to take a 4-3 lead.  Samara hit an un-returned serve to make it 4-4, but was then broken on his second as Ray hit a sizzling passing shot winner to give himself a 5-4 lead as he was about to go on serve.  Spadaro then held his first serve to make it 6-4 and Set Point where he was then broken for 6-5, but it was still Set Point for his team with service returning to De Benedetto.  He held that first serve for 6-6 at the second changeover and then Frank hit a drop shot winner to secure the hold of Vin's second serve to set up 7-6 and the very first Set Point for his team this set!  Gadi was then broken to drop the set with a TB score of 8-6!  We had begun this initial set at 10:15 and it ended exactly at 11:18...one hour and three minutes!  The other tournament match had already been concluded by this time!  After a two minute break, we began the next one.

2nd Set: Ray was broken at Love as Frank hit a winner and a winning drop shot return along the way, Frank was broken (Love-15, 15-All then onto Double Break Point, then Break Point where Vin hit a winner for Deuce, but then came another Break Point and then the break), but Abhi was the first to hold serve in this set (he started with a Double Fault, but then it was straight to Double Game Point as Ray first scored with an awesome winner which was then followed by a winning volley and then Abhi hit an amazing winner of his own to lock down his own hold) to go up 2-1!  Vin was broken (Vin blew a volley for Love-15, but then Ray blew an overhead for 15-All only to then have it go right to Double Break Point where Ray scored with a drop shot winner for the break) to fall to 1-3, but Spadaro was broken again and this time it was at Love as Frank opened the game with a winning volley and then Vin hit an excellent passing shot winner to set up Triple Break Point where Frank hit another winner for the break to pull to 2-3.  But Samara was also broken again (Abhi made a great get/winner combo and then followed with another winner in the next point to make it Love-30 which was where Ray blew a volley for 15-30 only to have Vin blow an overhead to set up Double Break Point and then came the break) and then Gadi held again (Love-15 went straight to Double Game Point as Ray hit a winning volley along the way and then the hold came as the result of a truly un-returnable serve) as his team once again took a seemingly commanding 5-2 lead!  But then De Benedetto held at Love as his partner took over the game with a winner followed by a surprising get/winner combo and then a nice passing shot winner for the hold, Stingray was broken at Love as Vin hit a winning volley and then another winner along the way and then Frank hit a winning drop shot return for the break and then The Wood held at Love as his team had just taken twelve straight points to level the set at 5-5!  The Accelerator was then broken (Vin blew a volley and then Abhi made another signature get/winner combo to go up 30-Love only to have it all slip away as Frank hit a winning Overhead Smash on the way to Break Point where he then scored with a laser-like passing shot winner down the Doubles Alley which led to him hitting an emphatic fist pump) to fall to 5-6 and then Vintage Vinnie held again as Frank followed up with an almost equally impressive passing shot winner (when compared to the previous one...and it was similar in nature as it was another slice backhand sailing thru the Doubles Alley) and then in the rally of the match it was Frank making a few inspired gets that led to the point and then Vin hit a winner to set up Triple Game/Match Point and then it went to Double Game/Match Point where Frank may have made his best get/winner combo of the match to end it in exciting fashion as his team took five straight gets for the double-dip comeback victory as they truly earned their moniker, The Gravediggers!  This set (and match) ended at 11:56.

The Skinny: Samara/De Benedetto saved 3 Set Points prior to the Tiebreaker in the 1st Set and then another 2 SPs in the TB (for a total of five) before ultimately taking it on their very first opportunity.  The 2nd Set comeback may have had less drama in terms of Set and/or Match Points, but the atmosphere was seemingly more intense.  When they were once again down 2-5, Tom could be overheard saying to Vin at the sidelines that the lengthy match (and perhaps lack of lead) was due to his partner Frank's screw-ups.  Much like George Costanza, Samara hears everything!  This got him amped up and then came the twelve point run to level the set.  In fact, the opposition only won two more points the entire set!  But all four players earned rightful accolades over the course of this match.  Abhi may have locked down the unofficial title of "fastest player in the GTA" during this battle.  Fresh off of a season of cricket where his team made a very impressive run to the Quarterfinals of a league-wide tourney that had over 100 teams (thus, getting to the final eight is quite the achievement), we will now start seeing much more of Mr. Gadi for the balance of this season.  What Ray may lack in mobility, he more than makes up for with excellent volleys and sharp-angled returns.  Vin's game is similar to Spadaro's as both of these crafty veterans are truly impressive at finishing off points once they get stationed at the net.  Even though this was a straight-set affair, this marathon two-setter stands an excellent chance at becoming a Nominee for Doubles Match of The Year at season's end.

Let's get back to the beginning where Tom had said he would need to leave by 12:30.  Vin then said he would need to leave by 1pm.  It seemed like La may have had a change of heart as the now-fresh tandem (after a lengthy rest) he had with Martinelli was looking to pick the bones of the deservedly exhausted team of Samara and De Benedetto.  Frank would have willingly played on, but not in a scenario where the match would potentially had to be cut short by the pending exits of either Tom or Vin.  Thus, it was mutually agreed upon to play the Albion Final/Monk Memorial Semifinal the following Sunday at Albion at 10:30.

Just a couple of minutes after 12noon, Frank sent a text to Kris to let them know they had the option of not playing that location's Final as it would only be fair to inform them that we were no longer doing it at Albion.  Samara also thought to forward that same message to Mrs. Srinivasan (aka Doinks, "The Marathon Woman") just in case Kris was engrossed in the action on the court and unable to see the message.

Well, as it turns out, Doinks was out of town and the gang played on up at Cedar Grove and entirely executed their portion of the tourney.  Before we get to all that, there is one more match to report from Albion.     

Non-Tournament/2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:
Dean Delgado/Brad Gero over Steve Gero/Alex Gero, 6-1, 7-5, as both teams entered the Doubles Division!  Dean: 2 Aces on Steve!   They got this one underway on the North Court around 10:40, but not sure when it ended as I was still busy competing in my match.  All I know is it ended after the Martinelli/La versus Lorenzo/Carucci match had finished, but they were done before our match concluded.

We now will detail all that took place up at Cedar Grove.  We let The K Man take it away!

It was a beautiful day with the gorgeous sun out and it felt pretty good like we were in the thick of Summer. It sure was a superb day for our Monk Memorial Men's Doubles Tournament.  We had planned on getting eight players, a decent number even though it was not a big turnout like we were used to in the past.  The question was whether the eight who committed will turn up for the tournament.

Melvin Hyman had ruled himself out earlier in the week and Edgar Valencia was potentially going to be running late.  So we had Jay and Sairaj, my sons, as a back-up plan and I truly appreciate their willingness to help out as they lost some of their usual snooze time.

Our players were a committed lot, showing up on time with some of them like Ralph Bernard, Rich Liu, Senthil Kumar and Kevin Doyle leading the pack.  Special thanks to Senthil for accepting my last minute invitation and making it a worthwhile tournament.

Samara's Notes: I thank Senthil as well as he had told me at the end of the week that he, like Mel, was also feeling under the weather.  Now we go back to Kris.

The top four guys had their blind pick of who would play with them.  Ralph, Senthil, Kris and Edwin, in that order, picked Edgar, Rich, Frank and Kevin respectively.  It was game on from 10:15 with Team 1 taking on Team 4 and Team 2 clashing with Team 3.

The Cedar Grove High School Coach was involved in his usual Doubles Match with his pals on Court 3 and there was a Singles Match on Court 2 that involved non-GTA folks.

Cedar Grove Semifinal/Monk Memorial Quarterfinal:
Ralph Bernard/Edgar Valencia over Edwin Ortega/Kevin Doyle, 6-4, 6-0, to advance to the Cedar Grove Finals/Monk Memorial Semifinals as both teams entered the Doubles Division!  Edwin: 1 Ace on Edgar!

Apparently, the 1st Set was close.  And even though the 2nd Set score looks one-sided, they were playing for a while engaging in long rallies.  Kevin did say he was feeling a little rusty and even though he didn't want to play, he did it for all Frank Samara does for the league.  I should thank Kevin for committing to play.  He is a very steady player who makes a fine effort with his diligent play.  It looked like both Ralph and Edgar were in an attacking mode.

Cedar Grove Semifinal/Monk Memorial Quarterfinal:
Kris Srinivasan/Frank Hohorst over Senthil Kumar/Rich Liu, 5-7, 6-2, 10-4 (STB), to advance to the Cedar Grove Finals/Monk Memorial Semifinals as both teams entered the Doubles Division!  Frank: 1 Ace on Rich in the 1st Set!

It turned out to be a great match overall and it certainly didn't look like we had a shot in the beginning.  We know how effective Senthil can be and he ended up with a terrific partner in Rich.  Rich had great serves, but his ground-strokes were superb and his return of serves were amazing.  I was lucky to get Frank, who is a solid player with great serves, free-flowing shots and who is quite deft at the net.  I was the odd man out whose play would decide the result…or so it looked.  We were on serve the first four games before Frank was broken.  He was serving beautifully from the Deuce court, but was finding it hard to get his serves going from the Ad court.  We were down 3-5 when we dug in hard to tie the match at 5-All.  We lost the next game in a jiffy and couldn't take the 1st Set to the distance as we missed our opportunities.

The 2nd Set turned the match on its head in our favor as we won the first four games and just missed out on winning the fifth.  Frank was sharp and played smart tennis.  We were broken in the fifth game and then an immediate hold for the opposition made it 4-2 in our favor when suddenly one wondered if the momentum had shifted.  But we pressed on and tied the match winning the next two games and the set.  We were on cruise control for the most part in the Super Tiebreak and we came out unscathed.  It was a good match all in all.  Rich probably got a bit anxious to put away the match in the 2nd Set.  The extra pressure he put on himself worked against him.  Senthil was pretty steady holding his serves until he faltered a bit in the 2nd Set and in the STB.  Frank was our Ace as he has winning ways about him.  He has a great temperament and plays purposefully.

Cedar Grove Final/Monk Memorial Semifinal:
Kris Srinivasan/Frank Hohorst over Ralph Bernard/Edgar Valencia, 6-3, 6-2, to advance to the Finals of the Monk Memorial Tournament!  Frank: 1Ace on Ralph in the 2nd Set!

Both Ralph and Edgar had attacking shots in the beginning and looked threatening.  But Frank is a cool cat and was adept in taming them with his consistent play.  Once again, his serves were great and he also showed variety in his play.  Ralph did have some sweet shots, especially the screaming one bisecting both of us and a super backhand shot down the line that any hapless foe could only watch rooted on the ground.  Edgar was attacking at the net, but we got wise to that.  He had a mixed bag trying to attack down the line,  but was overcooking his shots.

We played our first match between 10:15 and 11:55. The second one was from 12noon to 1:15 to wrap up an exciting tourney of tennis. Spin did come to see the last part of the morning session.

And, yes, we did have another session in the evening with Spin getting into action once again and acting as the host.  He was brilliant like he was well-rested for a few days, exhibiting boundless energy!  The highlight indeed was the official on-court return of "The Dragon" Dino Celis, wielding his Federer racquet as he was brilliant with his serves and ground-strokes.  His mobility is not there yet, but his balance was good.  He was well-supported by Ryan. 

The evening session was exciting with high energy action.  Jordan Bachvaroff was serving superbly.  It was a mixed bag for him at the net, but he still could count on his ground-strokes.  Jose Gonzales was serving well, but got injured in the midst of our match.  Mike Kazlauskas was serving bombs and putting away the games on his serves with disdain.  Arthur Fontanilla was amazing in his ground-strokes and was very consistent with his topspin shots, both backhand and forehand.  All in all, it was an eventful Sunday packed with GTA action.  Cheers!

Samara's Notes: OK, so you all got the tease for the later session in the evening.  I wholeheartedly thank Kris for managing that half of the tourney so successfully.  And before we go to Spin's report of that later session, we stay chronological and first go to The Riz for his report from NTC.

The NTC Results:

Mike Mole/Dan Hwang over John Rizzo/Alfred Chen, 10-8!  No Aces.  We played out the games, no Tiebreak.

Alfred Chen/Rich Liu over Mike Mole/Dan Hwang, 6-4!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I thank John for reporting those results in a very timely manner.  And now we let Spin close out this report.

A text message from Kris and then one from Dino got me in my car to head up to Cedar Grove on this steamy, sultry September evening.  When I arrived, Dino was practicing his serve while Kris, Ryan Pienciak, Jordan Bachvaroff and Jose Gonzales were involved in a One-Setter (Kris gave me the score and I will lead with that).  I went over to practice my return game and soon after I was summoned to be the fourth when Jose left.

Mike Kazlauskas/Arthur Fontanilla over Jose Gonzales/Kris Srinivasan, 6-4!  Jose: 2 Aces (one on each); and Kris: 1 Ace on Mike!

Ryan Pienciak/Dan Martinelli over Jordan Bachvaroff/Kris Srinivasan, 7-5!  No Aces.

The Spin from Spin: This set was close all the way through and could have gone either way.  Ryan's serve was on fire.  It was a fun set even though the air was thick as a brick.

Ryan Pienciak/Dino Celis over Jordan Bachvaroff/Kris Srinivasan, 6-2!  It was the official GTA Return of Dino Celis.  Dino: 1 Ace on Kris on his very first serve!

The Spin from Spin: It was the long-awaited return to official action for Dino.  His serves were spot on…well-placed and well-paced.  He actually got an Ace on his very first serve!  His mobility, understandably, was limited.  He was about as mobile as a goldfish in a bowl of molasses.  In the first three games, he was as rusty as the Tin Man in "The Wizard of Oz" before Dorothy and the Scarecrow oiled him up.  After that, Ryan and Dino never looked back as Kris and Jordan had trouble keeping the balls on the court and out of the net.

Samara's Notes: I thank Spin for doing double-duty on such a hot day and then putting on his host hat as well.  It is also good to see Dino sticking his toe back in the water and getting back into the official action.  When we add the two Cedar Grove sessions together, they had a total of 15 official competitors throughout the entire day and night…quite impressive on such a scorcher!

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

9/23 Results.

9/23/17:

"Chiaro-Daddio at PAC, just hitting at C.G.!":

There were two sessions of GTA Saturday Tennis: a morning one at The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley featuring the Grove Cup XX Semifinal Match between "King Crush" Chris Chiaro and "Daddy O" Paul Daddio; and then an evening one at The Cedar Grove Courts where "The Mel Man" Melvin Hyman said that, as far as he knew, there was just some practice hitting.

Let's first get the big result!

The Park Ave. Result:

Grove Cup XX Semifinal Match:

Paul Daddio over Chris Chiaro, 6-7 (7-5), 6-2, 6-1, to become the New # 2 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division while advancing to the Finals of the 20^th Annual Grove Cup Tournament!  No Aces. 

The Dilly-O from Daddy O: The match was played at The Park Ave. Courts from 11:30 to 1:45.  The heat was intense and the wind was blowing pretty constantly from one end to the other, making shot selection completely different depending on your side of the court.  I would say the wind helped my type of game over Chris's more and more as the match went on.  Chris has outstanding shots and can run almost everything down.  This match was closer than the last two sets indicate as the wind and heat took a toll on both of us. 

The Scenario from Chiaro: Yeah, the match was good.  Congratulations to Paul!  He was definitely the much steadier player.  As Paul said, the heat was brutal and the wind was even worse.  Any sort of pace put on the ball sent the ball flying!  With that being said though, Paul played great and full credit goes to him. 

The Consequences: Now Daddio waits for the winner of the other Semi – "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak versus "The Sultan of Swing" Raj Shah.

Samara's Notes: I thank both for sending in the result along with their commentary in a very timely manner.  And I congratulate Paul on a very impressive victory.

We now go to Cedar Grove for a brief report from Mel.

It was a spirited hitting session that I had with Natalia Sout and Jose Gonzales.  There were no matches Saturday night that I'm aware of, but I don't usually stay past 7:30.

Samara's Notes: I thank Mel for keeping me in the loop.  As nobody else reported any matches from that evening, I have to assume he is correct in his assumption. 

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

862-596-3354 

 

 

9/22 Results.

9/22/17:

"14 play (1 new, 2 return) at C.G.!":

There was just one session of GTA Friday Night Tennis at The Cedar Grove Courts and multiple sources reported results from the outing: "Killer Kat" Kathy Sheldon, "The Olympian" Marie Salamon, "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan and "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak.

Let's get the scores!

The Cedar Grove Results:

Laurie Boughton/Arlene Hyde over Kathy Sheldon/Michele Panzitta, 7-6 (7-5)!  No Aces.  It was the official GTA Return of Arlene Hyde and the official GTA Debut of Michele Panzitta.

Kathy Sheldon/Michele Panzitta over Laurie Boughton/Arlene Hyde, 6-3!  No Aces.

The Kat's Meow: Just those two sets would have been a long match.  It was very good competition and close.  Glad to have these two ladies in the league.

Samara's Notes: I thank Kathy for the clarification on those two scores.  I second her opinion on welcoming both ladies to our league.  Arlene previously competed in some GTA action (though she was likely unaware of it at the time) when I included her in results from when I played at Marie Salamon's Indoor Group (at Fair Lawn Racquet Club) Season Ending Party last spring.  I am glad Marie brought both of them to Cedar Grove and I welcome to them to our mailing list as well. 

The first of those two One-Setters could very likely be a Nominee for One-Set Women's Doubles Match of The Year at season's end.  And now we go to Marie for another result.

2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Doubles Match:

Tito Castolo/Arlene Hyde over Jose Gonzales/Marie Salamon, 6-4, 7-5, as both teams entered the Mixed Doubles Division as the New # 52 and # 53 Ranked Teams respectively!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I thank Marie for her timely reporting of that result.  And now we go to Gen for the score of another full Mixed Doubles Match.

2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Doubles Match:

Kris Srinivasan/Genalin Capan over Dennis Cabanatan/Minnie Cabanatan, 6-2, 6-3, as both teams entered the Mixed Doubles Division as the New # 54 and # 55 Ranked Teams respectively!  It was the official GTA Return of Minnie Cabanatan.  Kris: 3 Aces on Minnie; and Gen: 1 Ace on Minnie!  They played this match from 8:56 to 9:52.

Gen's Notes: I was impressed with Minnie's level of play (especially her two-handed forehand) considering the fact that Minnie does not get to play all that much tennis.  The match was a lot of fun.

Samara's Notes: I thank Gen for her very timely reporting.  I'm also very happy to see that Minnie is back in action in the GTA.  We now go to Ryan for the last two scores of the evening.

Arthur Fontanilla/Erdem Alpay over Ryan Pienciak/Laurie Boughton, 7-5!  No Aces.

Ryan Pienciak vs. Arthur Fontanilla, tied at 5-5 (Incomplete, we stopped at 9:57 before the lights would go out at 10pm)!  No Aces.  I had been down 1-5, but came back to tie it up before we stopped.

Samara's Notes: I thank Ryan for sending in these results in a very timely manner. 

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

862-596-3354 

 

 

9/21 Results.

9/21/17:

"Phoenix-Ortega, Wang-Toker part of 26 at C.G. as Samara hosts!":

There was just one session of GTA Thursday Night Tennis and it occurred at The Cedar Grove Courts.  "Hollywood" Frank Samara ended up arriving earlier than expected to host of the session (6:30 instead of 7pm).  Upon his arrival, he soon found out from "Salsa Picante" Edwin Ortega that he had just missed by a bit the first big match of the night as Ortega had faced Jay "The Rising" Phoenix in a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match. 

Also there at the time was "The Bulgarian Bull" Jordan Bachvaroff and "GDP" Guy Dupoux.  And out on Court One were "King Crush" Chris Chiaro and "Instant" Moka Pathan doing battle in what would be the first of two Singles One-Setters between them.

The other major match of the evening (which had been announced to the league earlier in the day) was another 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match as "J-Wow" Janice Wang would be facing "The Argentine Machine" Fernanda Toker.  It was set to have a starting time of 8pm.

Wang arrived early at 6:45 and Samara instructed her to hold Court Four for their upcoming match.  Meanwhile, "Big George" Jorge Solano had arrived five minutes earlier.  It was his first appearance at the courts in over a month as he has been nursing a knee injury.  He was coming to play on this night to test out the healing process/progress.

So on Court Three, we soon had Jordan and Jorge hitting against Frank and Guy and it eventually led to quite the Doubles One-Setter.

And then the arrivals just kept on coming: "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli at 7:05, "The Hit Man" Tom La at 7:10 and "JB Smooth" Justin Berardo who would all end up on Court Three in a hitting session together while waiting for a fourth player to arrive.

Toker also arrived somewhat early for her match as she got out onto Court Four around 7:25 and then entered into a lengthy hitting session against Wang.  I estimate their match began a bit early, possibly around 7:45 (I could not check exactly when as I was still in the midst of an epic Doubles One-Setter).

Arriving at the same time as Fernanda was "The Queen of Controversy" Louise Bysiek who became the fourth player on Court Two.

At 7:30, "The Levitator" Levy Lorenzo made his way out onto Court One just after Chiaro and Pathan had finished their action against one another.  Both were exhausted and sat on the sidelines recuperating and talking to each other.  Neither was interested in playing further at that time (and Chris would leave soon after).  So Levy took the opportunity to fix the net on Court One as he tied up the gaping holes that were just underneath the tape across the top.  Thanks to Levy for the handiwork and repair!

At 7:45, "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak and Frank "Hydro" Hohorst both arrived and made their way to Court One to hit with Lorenzo.  Having now recuperated, Pathan returned to the court to make it a foursome and that led to some official Doubles action there as well.

And still more were on the way: GTA Women's Champion: Laura "The Aura" Gawley at 7:50, "The Art Font" Arthur Fontanilla at 7:55, "Tireless" Tommy Reszkowski at 8pm (strictly to make an extended cameo appearance and watch the Wang-Toker match), Tito "Touch" Castolo at 8:05 and "Rowdy" Rob Gawley at 8:10.

Laura chose to watch the Wang-Toker match for a while, but the rest did not have to wait too long to get involved in some official action. 

We still were not done as a bit later it was "EA Sports" Erdem Alpay and his son (I believe he said his name is Ahmed) around 8:20, "Laidback" Laurie Boughton at 8:25, Dupoux returned at 8:30 (as he had to leave right after the conclusion of the earlier Doubles One-Setter to go pick up his wife) and "The Adonis" Don Moya also arrived at that time (strictly to make an extended cameo appearance and watch the balance of the Wang-Toker match), GTA Champion: "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes at 8:40 and the "First Couple of Cedar Grove" – "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan and "The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan came across the street at 8:55.

As far as competitors go, they were the last arrivals of the evening and we ended up with a very impressive total of 26 official competitors for the night.  This last group experienced a bit of a logjam situation due to the high number of players there and the Women's Singles Match running long on Court Four.  But there were no complaints as many were willing spectators for the Wang-Toker marathon.

And then "Dynamo" Dino Celis arrived at 9:30 to strictly make a cameo appearance and see the balance of the action for the session.

In the past, it has often been said that Samara's presence as host serves to boost the attendance numbers somewhat...he usually defers to good weather or other outside circumstances that serve to contribute to the overall turnout.  Despite some humidity, it was a nice night and a great one for GTA Tennis…regardless of the reasons why so many decided to show up on this particular occasion.

Let's get to the scores!

The Cedar Grove Results:

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:

Edwin Ortega over Jay Phoenix, 7-6 (11-9), 6-4, to become the New # 20 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division while also successfully defending his # 3 Rank in the Intermediate Division!  Edwin: 2 Aces in the 2^nd Set.  They played this one on Court Four.  Not sure when it began, but Edwin said it likely finished somewhere around 6:20.  Sounds like it may have an outside shot at being considered as a Nominee for Intermediate Match of The Year at season's end.

Chris Chiaro over Moka Pathan, 6-0!  No Aces.  They played this one on Court One.  Not sure when it got underway or when it ended as it went right into this next one.

Moka Pathan over Chris Chiaro, 6-4!  No Aces.  Also, really do not know when this one finished as there was so much action…just trying to get the results was a trying task!

Jordan Bachvaroff/Jorge Solano over Frank Samara/Guy Dupoux, 7-6 (7-3)!  Guy: 2 Aces (one on each)!  It went like this: Jordan held serve (Love-30 and then three consecutive un-returned serves set up Game Point where Frank hit a winner to bring it to Deuce, but then a winning volley from Jorge set up Game Point and then came the hold), Guy was broken (Love-15, Frank hit another winner to make it 15-All, a Double Fault for 15-30, a big sideline Ace against Jordan to make it 30-All, but then came Break Point and the break), Jorge held (an un-returned serve for 15-Love, a shift to 15-30 and then two more un-returned serves shifted it to Game Point where Guy made an excellent Overhead Smash winner to make it Deuce, but then came Game Point again and another un-returned serve for the hold) and then Frank was broken (15-Love then point for point to Game Point, Deuce, Game Point, 2^nd Deuce, Break Point which was then the rally of the match which ended with an excellent and well-placed winner from Jorge for the break) as his team found themselves down 0-4!  It should be noted that in that last game, I could no longer keep remembering or noting who was hitting what winners as I had to write down so many other details from the other courts during the changeovers.  I just focused on very key moments from there forward.  Bachvaroff was broken (15-Love then point for point until 30-All, Break Point and the break) to allow the opposition onto the scoreboard, but then Dupoux was broken again (15-Love went straight to Double Break Point where a truly un-returnable serve brought it down to Break Point, but then came the break) to fall to 1-5!  Solano was broken as well (15-Love and then straight to Double Break Point and then the break) and Samara held (Triple Game Point, Double Game Point and the hold) to pull to 3-5.  The Bulgarian Bull was broken again (Love-15 then point for point to Break Point and then the break) and GDP held (started with a big-time Ace up the T against Jorge and then back-to-back winning Overhead Smashes from Frank led to Triple Game Point, then came Double Game Point and the hold) to level matters at 5-5!  Big George was broken again (Love-15, 15-All where winners from Guy in back-to-back points soon set up Double Break Point and then a Double Fault caused the break) to lose the lead for his team, but Hollywood was also broken (Love-30 shifted to 30-All, then came Break Point and the break) as we were now headed for the Tiebreak!  In the Breaker: Jordan held his lone serve, Guy held both of his serves and then Jorge held the first of his two serves but was then broken on the second one for 2-3.  Frank was broken on the first of his two serves for 3-3 at the changeover and was then broken again after what may have been the best play of the entire match…an excellent get into a drop shot volley by Jordan for 3-4 and then Bachvaroff followed that with an un-returned serve for 5-3.  He then held his second serve as well to go up 6-3 and set up the very first Match Point of the match with service returning to Dupoux.  That point went to the opposition for a 7-3 TB score!  We played this on Court Three from 7pm to 8:01…exactly one hour and one minute long!

The Skinny: In a season filled with more impressive Tiebreak scores and multiple Match Points, this one will likely have to settle for an Honorable Mention rather than an official Nomination for One-Set Doubles Match of The Year at season's end.  Afterward, Jordan had a fairly long hitting session with Arthur Fontanilla while waiting for the next Doubles match-up to be made.

Tom La/Louise Bysiek over Dan Martinelli/Justin Berardo, 6-4!  Spin: 1 Ace on Louise!  Court Two hosted this one from 7:30 to 8:13.

Ryan Pienciak/Levy Lorenzo over Moka Pathan/Frank Hohorst, 6-1!  No Aces.  This one took place on Court One and lasted from around 8pm to only 8:15 (it was likely longer than fifteen minutes as it very well may have started a few minutes before eight)!

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:

Fernanda Toker over Janice Wang, 6-1, 4-6, 6-0, to become the New # 3 Ranked Player in the Women's Division!  No Aces.  This one got underway on Court Four somewhere around 7:45.

The Skinny: In the 1^st Set, Fernanda was up 4-0 when Janice finally got on the scoreboard only to get blanked again for the rest of the set.  The 2^nd Set was at 2-2 before Toker went up 4-2 only to have Wang take four straight games to take the set and level the match.  The 3^rd Set, obviously, was all Fernanda as she proved why she has earned the "Argentine Machine" moniker by simply outlasting an opponent half her age!  The 1^st Set finished at 8:25, the 2^nd Set ended exactly at 9:18 and the 3^rd Set and match was over and done at 9:48!  The match was very likely over two hours long!

Samara's Notes: To be fair, the 2^nd Set was during the height of activity in and around the courts as Fernanda was quite obviously distracted and frustrated with all the players heading into or off of the courts and the "levity lounge" atmosphere from the bench alongside Court Four.  But that should not also detract from the fact that Janice has excellent game…especially her lethal two-handed backhand down the line.  She just needs to get a bit more consistent and develop some additional stamina and she will truly be a threat to anyone in the Women's Division.  

Tito Castolo/Arthur Fontanilla over Jordan Bachvaroff/Jorge Solano, 7-5!  Arthur: 1 Ace on Jorge.  This took place on Court Three and lasted from 8:14 to 9:09.

Ryan Pienciak/Frank Hohorst over Levy Lorenzo/Laura Gawley, 6-3!  Laura: 1 Ace on Ryan!  Court One hosted this one from 8:18 to 8:56.

Rob Gawley/Justin Berardo over Tom La/Louise Bysiek, 6-1!  No Aces.  This foursome faced off on Court Two from 8:25 to 8:55.

Rob Gawley/Justin Berardo over Nathan Fernandes/Laurie Boughton, 6-4!  No Aces.  Also played on Court Two, it lasted from 9pm to 9:40.

Frank Hohorst/Erdem Alpay over Kris Srinivasan/Levy Lorenzo, 6-3!  No Aces.  It was the official GTA Return of Erdem Alpay.  This took place on Court One as it began at 9:04 and ended at 9:35.

Guy Dupoux/Laura Gawley over Ryan Pienciak/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-2!  Guy: 1 Ace on Ryan.  They battled on Court Three from 9:15 to 9:35.

Ryan Pienciak/Laura Gawley over Guy Dupoux/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-1!  No Aces.  They switched up the teams on Court Three as this one lasted from 9:37 to 9:57.

Arthur Fontanilla/Erdem Alpay leading Kris Srinivasan/Tito Castolo, 4-2 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.  This one had begun on Court One at 9:40.

Nathan Fernandes/Dan Martinelli tied with Frank Hohorst/Laurie Boughton, 2-2 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.  This one got underway on Court Two at 9:45.

After lights out at 10pm, there was a lot of chit-chat among various pairings or groupings from the still rather large contingent hanging around…and it likely lasted until 10:30 or so.  And Erdem's son was so eager to hit some balls, he and his dad had a hitting session on Court One in the dark!  Oh, what a night! 

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

 

 

 

9/19 Result.

9/19/17:

"Gawley-Mazur at C.G.!":

There was just one session of GTA Tuesday Tennis at The Cedar Grove Courts and it occurred during the morning hours while it was still sunny and dry (albeit humid) outside as GTA Women's Champion: Laura "The Aura" Gawley put her Title on the line against the 2017 GAH7 Champ and Top Contender: "Automatic" Anna Mazur.  Both reported the result (along with their commentary) shortly after the match had ended.

As Hurricane Jose had his say later in the day by bringing rain and even heavier winds in the late afternoon and evening hours, this morning result was the only official action of the day.

So we now get the score and opinions from both Laura and Anna!

The Cedar Grove Result:

GTA Women's Championship Match:

Laura Gawley over Anna Mazur, 6-1, 7-5, to complete her fourth successful GTA Women's Championship defense of her first title reign!  Anna: 1 Ace in the 1^st Set on Set Point!

Chat from The Champ: We started warming up at 11:15 and started at 11:30.  After closing out the 1^st Set with an Ace, the 2nd Set started off great for me!  I was up 5-1 and had 3 Match Points!  Anna was able to win that game and, at 5-2, things started to turn around.  Anna started hitting short balls, pulling me into the net and hitting passing shots.  It was very effective.  I started to get very frustrated (with myself), but at 6-5 I was able to break her and win the set (and match) at 7-5.  She played a very solid game in the 2nd Set.  We had a lot of long rallies and I was getting quite winded.  I can see how she wears people down with her steady play.  The match ended at 12:55.

The Automatic Annotation: It was a great match.  She is an amazing player.  She doesn't have any weak sides.  She plays smart and has an excellent volley and net game.  It was a great experience to play her and I would love to play her again sometime.

Samara's Notes: I thank both of them for reporting in such a timely fashion.  I congratulate Laura on such a hard-fought victory.  And I also offer kudos to Anna for such a fine performance.  Nobody has tested Gawley so thoroughly thus far in the GTA.  Mazur now firmly places herself back in the conversation about contention for the Most Improved Women's Player of The Year (along with Natalia "Nitro" Sout). 

The Consequences: Now Gawley is free to defend her Title against any lady ranked in the Top 10 of the Women's Division (not the Non-Competing Women's Division).  She is only obligated, however, to defend it once in the month of October.  Any additional defenses are optional.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

862-596-3354 

 

 

9/18 Results.

9/18/17:

"Mehta-Shah part of 8 at C.G.!":

There was just one session of GTA Monday Night Tennis at The Cedar Grove Courts, but it featured the last of the four Grove Cup XX Quarterfinals as "The AM Rush" Anish Mehta and "The Sultan of Swing" Raj Shah got together to play their match.  And then GTA Champion: "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes sent in the balance of the results.

Let's get to the scores!

The Cedar Grove Results:

Grove Cup XX Quarterfinal Match:

Raj Shah over Anish Mehta, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), to become the New # 5 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division while also advancing to the Semifinals of the 20^th Annual Grove Cup Tournament!  Anish: 1 Ace in the 1^st Set.

The Sultan Swings: We scheduled our match for Monday night (rather than Tuesday night as originally planned due to Hurricane Jose) and got together around 6:20pm at Cedar Grove.  We started around 6:45 and I believe ended around 8:45. 

I thank Anish for making an adjustment by meeting a night earlier since he is going out of town later this week.  It was a very tough match as we both are nursing injuries (his back and my knee), but once the adrenaline kicked in…both of us gave it our competitive best. 

He's a very quick player and gets to everything and on any given night the win could have gone either way.  I will let Anish add any additional commentary on the match. 

The AM News: We ended up playing on this night due to the storm - I wouldn't have been able to do Thursday and I was going to be gone for the next two weeks.  So it was either do it now or default. 

I was up 6-2 (the 1^st Set) and then 3-0 in the 2^nd Set, but I expended a lot of energy to get to that point (especially the third game).  I couldn't keep up that level and I ended up losing the next 8 games in a row as Raj kept up his consistency.  After being down 0-2, I managed to crawl back to serve for the match at 5-4 in the 3^rd Set.  However, we were both hurt by then and I didn't have much left on my serve (I also got tight again).  Raj continued to play a smart match and won it in the Tiebreak.  His knee injury never stopped him from running difficult balls down, so hopefully it won't be a factor in the next match.

Samara's Notes: I thank both of them for adjusting their schedules to get this match played in a timely fashion.  I appreciate the detailed commentary they both offered here.  And I congratulate Raj on a very hard-fought victory.  In fact, it may end up being a Nominee for Singles Match of The Year at season's end.

We now go to Nate for the rest of the scores.

Chris Chiaro/Ray Spadaro over Nathan Fernandes/Frank Hohorst, 6-4!  No Aces.

Chris Chiaro/Ray Spadaro over Nathan Fernandes/Frank Hohorst, 6-4!  No Aces.

Nathan Fernandes/Levy Lorenzo over Dennis Cabanatan/Frank Hohorst, 6-3!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I also thank Nate for reporting in such a timely fashion.  Those first two scores are not a duplicated typo.  It was a ditto-like repeat performance (the second one of the first one).

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

862-596-3354 

 

 

9/17 Results.

9/17/17:

"Samara hosts 17 at AP, Rich-Keith at PAC, Spin hosts at C.G.!:"

There were three sessions of GTA Sunday Tennis: the usual morning session at Albion Park in Clifton with "Hollywood" Frank Samara hosting; an early evening session at The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley featuring a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match between buddies "Richie" Rich Liu and "Kaptain" Keith Lewkowitz (as reported by Rich); and a late evening session at The Cedar Grove Courts where "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli was the impromptu host that featured five players, but no official action.

The humid conditions which began midway through the past week continued right into this Sunday and once they were coupled with the sun, it was no mercy, baby!  It felt more like mid-July or mid-August rather than mid-September.  Still, that did not seem to dampen the spirits of the competitors of this fine league as we ended up with an impressive total of 17 competitors at the Albion session.

When Samara pulled up to the courts a little early at 10:50, he found that two of those competitors were already competing as it was "The Headhunter" Ralph Bernard and "Magic" Mike Mole (who earned yet another new moniker during the session...more on that later) facing off on the North Court in Singles action.  The night before (Saturday) in Cedar Grove, Bernard beat Mole in straight sets to take his rank.  This time around, the two agreed to meet early for what turned out to be a couple of One-Setters where they decided to forego the changeovers (likely to save energy rather than save time...also, the sun had yet to come out early in the session, so the sun was not yet a factor).

Center Court (whose net has now sunk far too low at this point...likely at the hands of some punk kids!) was vacant, but on the South Court there was a young mom with her very young son (four or five years old, perhaps).  When she soon saw that we had four more competitors heading down the hill to the courts, she was nice enough to pack up her stuff, pick up her kid and head to the park.  It is rare to find people this considerate nowadays and I thanked her for her thoughtfulness.

The foursome making their way to the courts was William "Bombs Away" Bobila (who overcame some health issues as of late), Sachiko "Sachi" Tokuda, "Fabulous" Fadia Nicolas (who likes her new moniker, but also feels unworthy of it) and "The Queen of Controversy" Louise Bysiek (who continues to maintain a peaceful presence at our courts, but I have been hearing many voices of concern since it was first announced that she is back on the scene).

At 11am, hot on their heels were "Vintage" Vinnie De Benedetto, "Sue B. Newbie" Suzanne Bujara and "The Webmaster" Senthil Kumar all also heading onto the courts.  With Bernard and Mole already into the second of their back-to-back One-Setters, the situation was quite ideal, actually.

We had four ladies in attendance (often a rarity and especially at a Sunday session) for some Women's Doubles action on the South Court while the four guys could play Men's Doubles on Center Court.  Samara offered up the possibility of a full 2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match to the opposition (Kumar/Bobila), but only if others did not show up along the way.  If later competitors would have to wait long, that idea would be scrapped in favor of just a One-Setter (or perhaps two depending upon the timing of the other arrivals).  All were on board with this idea.

At 11:20, "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli made his way down the hill toward the park and was soon joined by GTA Champion: "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes who had walked across the other side of the park to get to the courts.  They sat together by the fence to watch the action while they waited their turn to get involved in some of it.

After Ralph and Mike took a bit of a breather after the conclusion of their second One-Setter, they called out the invite to Nate and Spin to head over to the North Court for some Doubles.  This made it seem like a full match may have a chance at fruition on Center Court.  Yet, that lengthy 1st Set was still raging on at the time.

When "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas and "The Smackdown" Sally Pillay arrived together at 11:55, said plans for a full match on Center Court were scrapped.  As it turned out to be an epic One-Setter, the four competitors were happy to have it be just that when it ended exactly at 11:58.  As the losers who should have been winners (three blown Match Points!), Frank and Vin stepped off like Costanza getting that dismissive directive from hunky "Tonay!"

The winners, Senthil and William, held court to face the New GTA Mixed Doubles Champions: Kuzavas/Pillay!  And the scenario was also ideal for the other four ladies to make it a full match on the South Court.

"Latino Heat" Jose Gonzales (maybe he will soon want to be called "Hurricane Jose"...hmm) arrived at 12:05.  He waited on the bench alongside the North Court with Frank and Vin while waiting to get involved in the action.  That opportunity arose when he had the chance to replace Spin in the next Doubles One-Setter on that very court.

The Doc was more than happy to sit alongside Hollywood and Vintage Vin and reform the squadron known as The Hecklers.  It soon became a scene of many one-liners and astute (or is that asinine? LOL!) observations.

At 12:45, "Dynamo" Dino Celis came down with a bucket of balls to the one entrance to the courts while The Inseparable Cousins ("Teej" T.J. Shah and "Ragin" Rajan Shah) made their way to the other entrance.

Very quickly, things shook out again so that nobody was left waiting all that long as Ralph and Jose soon headed home.  That left the North Court for a hitting session between Nate and Dino while Mike and William willingly watched as both felt exhausted at that time (Bobila would soon head home as well).

On Center Court, Marijus and Sally were now facing Senthil and Suzanne.  The four ladies had long left the South Court by this time.  That left The Shahs of Sunset to do battle with Spin and Vin...and later The Foundation (Samara/Martinelli).

The last official action of the day ended at exactly 2:12.  There was then a bull session featuring Frank, Spin, Dino, Nate and Mike that lasted until 2:35 until all decided to head home due to the high humidity.

Overall, the session truly could not have flowed and functioned any better considering we had 17 competitors over the course of it.  Nobody had to wait long and when they did, they were more than happy to do so.  It was also quite nice to have access to the nearby bathroom as organized Little League (perhaps Farm League) Baseball caused the door to be unlocked and wide open.  All in all, it was good times had by all!

The Albion Park Results:

Mike Mole over Ralph Bernard, 6-2!  Mike: 1 Ace.  Not sure when they had begun this one on Court One, but it ended exactly at 10:52.  Three minutes later, they decided to run it back.

Mike Mole over Ralph Bernard, 7-6 (7-5)!  No Aces.  This one finished at 11:40.  Some in attendance questioned why this was not a full match, but I understand the difference if that was not agreed upon at the outset.  They decided to forego changeovers in both sets, though they did switch court sides leading into the second one.  If you do not come into it with a full match mentality, it is then somewhat unfair to insist it was a full match just because one guy took it in what would be straight sets.  Hopefully, the two of them will play a full and proper rematch in the near future.

Senthil Kumar/William Bobila over Frank Samara/Vinnie De Benedetto, 7-5!  William: 1 Ace on Vinnie (on the very first point of the match)!  It went like this: William held serve (started off with a big Ace up the T on his very first serve in what was a "First In" situation and it caught Vin off-guard, but it was fair and it was followed by an un-returned serve for 30-Love, 30-15, Double Game Point where Vin hit a winning drop shot volley for Game Point, but then another un-returned serve secured the hold), Frank held (Vin hit a vicious volley winner for 30-Love, it was Triple Game Point where William hit a wicked Backhand Volley winner for Double Game Point, but then an un-returned serve secured the hold), Senthil held (a truly un-returnable serve for 15-Love, a Double Fault for 15-All which was where William hit a winning volley for 30-15, Double Game Point, Game Point and the hold), but Vinnie was the first to be broken (Love-30, an un-returned serve for 15-30, Double Break Point and the break) for 1-3.  Bobila was broken (30-Love where William blew an overhead attempt for 30-15, Double Game Point, Double Fault for Game Point, Deuce where Senthil blew a volley to make it Break Point which Frank then ended with a drop shot winner for the break) and then Samara held again (an un-returned serve followed by a victorious volley from Vin made it 30-Love, but that was where Senthil hit an awesome Backhand Volley winner for 30-15, then it went to Double Game Point where William had a winning volley of his own for Game Point, but then came the hold) to level things at 3-3.  Kumar was broken (15-Love, Double Fault for 15-All where Vin hit a winning volley for 15-30, then it was 30-All where Frank whipped out a big-time Windmill Overhead Smash winner to set up Break Point, it then went to Deuce, Break Point, 2nd Deuce, Break Point and the break) and then De Benedetto held (15-Love then point for point until 30-All, Break Point, Deuce and then all Game Points through to 3rd Deuce, another Game Point and the hold...and I could no longer remember who hit what winners where and when in this lengthy game!) to take a 5-3 lead for his team!  Bombs Away Bobila then held at Love as Senthil hit a winning volley, there was an un-returned serve, another winning volley from Senthil and then Senthil hit an impressive passing shot winner to secure his partner's hold as they pulled to 4-5!  Next came the most pivotal game as Hollywood hit an un-returned serve, followed by an impressive "revenge" passing shot winner against Senthil (who scored the previous game-closer against him) and then another un-returned serve to set up Triple Game/Match Point.  Frank then called out that score to the opposition, but said as Triple Game/Set Point as the idea of a full match was possibly still in play.  When he asked them if it should be Match Point, they said they planned on taking the game to Deuce!  Sure enough, Senthil hit a winning volley to then make it Double Game/Match Point.  He then hit another winning volley to cut it down Game/Match Point.  Frank then blew a quasi-overhead attempt to have his service reduced to Deuce.  It then went to Break Point and the break for 5-5!  The Webmaster then had a Love hold that got started off with a winning Overhead Smash from William as their team had just taken nine straight points off the opposition for a 6-5 lead!  Vintage Vinnie was now on serve and announced he would soon end that streak.  And it did end as Senthil blew a volley attempt by dumping it into the net to offer up a 15-Love lead for the opposition.  But that would be about it as a Double Fault made it 15-All, it then went to 15-30 where another Double Fault set up Double Break/Match Point which would be ended by a winner from William for a highly impressive comeback...taking 13 of the last 14 points for the win!  We played this on Center Court from 11:11 to 11:58.

The Skinny: In a season of so many Tiebreak One-Setters, I doubt this will be a Nominee for One-Set Doubles Match of The Year at season's end...but it definitely deserves an Honorable Mention!  The funny thing is that when I told Senthil and William to team together against Vin and me, they thought they had the unfair advantage and that they should be split up instead.  That was all it took to rile Vin up (in a good way, of course) and it set the tone for a very competitive yet fun One-Setter. 

2 out of 3 Sets Women's Doubles Match:
Fadia Nicolas/Louise Bysiek over Sachiko Tokuda/Suzanne Bujara, 6-3, 6-1, as both teams entered the Women's Doubles Division as the New # 9 and # 10 Ranked Teams respectively!  No Aces.  This match was played on the South Court.  After a ten minute hitting session, the 1st Set officially got underway at 11:15 and ended at 11:55.  There was a brief hitting session between Fadia and Suzanne while both Louise and Sachiko took a breather in the high heat and humidity.  The 2nd Set then lasted from 12:05 to 12:43.

Ralph Bernard/Mike Mole over Nathan Fernandes/Dan Martinelli, 6-4!  No Aces.  This was played on the North Court from 11:48 to 12:19.  I started paying particular attention to it (from the bench alongside the court) when Fernandes/Martinelli were up 4-3 and Spin was about to serve.  He ended up being broken for 4-4, Mike held serve and then Nate was broken on Break/Match Point to end it.

Senthil Kumar/William Bobila over Marijus Kuzavas/Sally Pillay, 6-4!  No Aces.  Center Court hosted this one from 12:07 to 12:50.  Senthil and William jumped out to a 4-0 lead before Marijus and Sally bounced back to level it at 4-4.  Just as the opposition were finding their footing, Kumar and Bobila righted their ship to take the last two games and go out as a team as two-time winners on the day!

Nathan Fernandes/Jose Gonzales over Ralph Bernard/Mike Mole, 6-0!  No Aces.  They played this on North Court from 12:23 to 12:48.  I think, by this time, Ralph and Mike were both quite exhausted.  You then bring in a fresh Jose (who was very much on the money in this one) and team him with The Champ...and it was a recipe for disaster!

 

The Skinny: The Hecklers (in this case, Frank, Spin and Vin) had a lot of fun during this one.  Mole, who recently returned from a visit to his native Argentina, was in rare form from a comedic standpoint.  It has taken a few seasons for Mike to finally show us his lighter side.  He has one of the deeper voices in the league (though not when Nate took a shot at him right at the net and he let out a squeal much like a teenage girl would when being advanced upon by a man like Spin…yeah, that's right! LOL!).  He often sounds like Sylvester Stallone when he says "thanks, bro" and "sorry, bro."  And all that has led to his latest moniker: "Del Brotro!"  LMAO!

T.J. Shah/Rajan Shah over Dan Martinelli/Vinnie De Benedetto, 6-3!  No Aces.  South Court hosted this one from 12:51 to 1:23.  Team 130 (aka Spin and Vin, so named for their combined age of 130 years old!  Spin at 62 and Vin at 68!) jumped out to a 3-1 lead before The Shahs had the sun go down on their senior opponents by taking five straight games for an impressive comeback victory!  Vin hobbled home after this one as Spin then enlisted his Foundation partner Frank to take his previous partner's place.

Marijus Kuzavas/Sally Pillay over Senthil Kumar/Suzanne Bujara, 6-1!  No Aces.  They played this one on Center Court from 12:53 to 1:16.  After this one, Marijus shifted over to the North Court to go solo in hitting against both Nate and Mike while Sally was talking to Suzanne.  Once Pillay joined Kuzavas for one more One-Setter over on the North Court, Dino offered up a training session to Suzanne on Center Court.

Marijus Kuzavas/Sally Pillay over Nathan Fernandes/Mike Mole, 6-3!  No Aces.  This one was played on the North Court from 1:25 to 1:55.

Frank Samara/Dan Martinelli over T.J. Shah/Rajan Shah, 6-4!  No Aces.  The dirty lowdown: T.J. was broken (Love-15, 15-All where Frank hit a winner for 15-30, Double Fault for Double Break Point, an un-returned serve for Break Point and then the break), Frank was broken at Love as the game was book-ended by a raging return winner from Rajan at the outset and then a drop shot winner by Rajan for the break and then Rajan was the first to hold serve and this was also at Love as he started off with a winner followed by an un-returned serve as The Shahs had just taken eight straight points from The Foundation!  Spin was determined to end this and end it he did by starting off with an un-returned serve for 15-Love, it went to 30-Love which was where Rajan hit a winner for 30-15 and then came a Double Fault for 30-All where Rajan hit another winner to set up Break Point, but then another un-returned serve made it Deuce, it went to Game Point, 2nd Deuce, Break Point where Frank made a great get/winner combo to bring it to 3rd Deuce, then came Game Point and the hold to level things at 2-2!  Teej was broken (an un-returned serve for 15-Love, then came the rally of the match up until that point for 15-All which was where Spin made an amazing get/winner combo for 15-30 and then it was Double Break Point where Frank hit a wicked winner of his own for the break) and then Samara held at Love as he started things off with an un-returned serve, hit a wild net-cord-aided winner which stunned T.J. and set up Triple Game Point which was then followed by another un-returned serve to secure the hold and put his team up 4-2!  Ragin' Rajan was then broken (T.J. hit a very impressive volley winner and that was followed by back-to-back un-returned serves to set up Triple Game Point to only watch that lead wither in the humid conditions as it soon became Deuce before they knew what had hit them and then it went to Break Point, 2nd Deuce, Game Point, 3rd Deuce, Game Point, 4th Deuce, Break Point and the break...and I must admit to not remembering who hit what winners where and when once we went to Deuce) to fall to 2-5!  Martinelli was then broken (Frank blew a volley and then T.J. scored with a scorching return winner to make it Love-30, but then Frank had an awesome get/winner combo of his own for 15-30, but then it went to Double Break Point where Rajan walloped a winner for the break) and T.J. held (Love-30 shifted straight to Game Point as there was an un-returned serve, a winner from T.J. and then a winner from Rajan along the way and then came the hold) to pull to 4-5 and put some pause and pensive pondering proclivities into the thoughts of the team otherwise known as Spin City!  Then came the man known also known as The Wood to the rescue as Rajan blew a drop shot attempt for 15-Love, Spin made another outrageous get/winner combo for 30-Love, Rajan responded with another roaring return winner to make it 30-15 where Frank electrified the scene with a sizzling get/passing shot winner combo to set up Double Game/Match Point and then Rajan book-ended this game with another blown drop shot attempt to allot the hold and take a tough loss!  We played this one on the South Court from 1:27 to 2:12.

The Skinny: This one was a whole lot of fun as The Foundation finally rebounded from some pitiful performances as of late.  The Shahs also made it a lot more interesting with their near comeback toward the end.  I also must say that T.J. and Rajan are two really good guys with a great sense of humor as they never get offended by the often obnoxious antics of the always sophomoric (sometimes moronic) fiends known as The Foundation!

We now take this report to Nutley to get the result from Rich.

The Park Ave. Result:

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:

Keith Lewkowitz over Rich Liu, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, to become the New # 34 Ranked Player in the Intermediate Division!  Rich: 1 Ace in the 1^st Set.

The Richie Rich Report: Kapt. Keith and I had a great match in Nutley.  We met up around 5:15pm and decided to play on the far court where there was a little bit of shade.  The weather was sunny and muggy.  Muggy was right as both of our T-shirts were soaked by the end of the match!  Keith caught the attention of the female tennis players next to us as he was changing his shirt afterwards…haha!

The sets were quite competitive as both Kaptain Keith and I were both serving well.  Not sure if our serves have improved or perhaps our ability to return serves has declined.  In the 1st Set, we basically each held our service games till the end when Keith elevated his game and won the set at 6-4.  The 2^nd Set was similar with many long rallies that totally wore me out, but still I took it at 6-4.  By then, it was almost 7pm and we decided to play a 3^rd Set to make it a full match.  Keith then dominated that set to take it 6-3 and win the match.  Then we went to get some food and cold drinks at the local Nutley Diner (which I highly recommend, by the way).

Samara's Notes: I definitely appreciate the timely reporting and the detailed commentary from Rich.  I also congratulate Keith on a hard-fought victory (especially under those steamy conditions).  Yes, I have witnessed firsthand how the ladies swoon over Kaptain Keith.  Also, I agree with Rich on his assessment of the Nutley Diner (though I prefer the Tick Tock Diner in Clifton).

We now head up to Cedar Grove to get the last word from Spin (he always likes getting in the last word…LOL!).

A cool but humid night leads to The Furious Five taking over the courts at C.G.!!!

Upon my reluctant arrival to The Cedar Grove Courts (I was rather beat up from the Albion Park session earlier in the day), I saw a sprinkling of orange cones on Court 3.  That meant only one thing…that former "Coach" Dino Celis and Natalia were engaged in a training session.  Court 4 presented us with two interlopers who actually did not stay all that long.  

Ryan Pienciak was "The Lonely Boy" practicing his serve on Court 1.  Court 2 was devoid of action and would stay that way thoughout the evening.  Ryan and I decided to have a rather engaging hitting session.  Ryan had sent out an e-mail to the league earlier in the evening and it later (around 9:30) served to produce the arrival of his buddy, Tony Shiao.  

No actual official action took place as we were content to just hold a massive practice session.  Kudos to Natalia…because she was the only one who engaged in tennis action the entire time!  Dino had her play a practice set (a scrimmage of sorts) first against Ryan and then myself.  When Tony arrived, he and Ryan took to Court 4 to hit amongst themselves.  

Shortly after the lights went out, Kris Srinivasan arrived to get the scoop on the evening's festivities.  The post-tennis conversation lasted until around 10:30 when Natalia, Kris, Dino and I called it a night.

Samara's Notes: I appreciate the update from Spin as it painted the picture of just how things were up at Cedar Grove.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

862-596-3354