10/10/17:
"Riz hosts 3 at NTC, Nate-Ryan part of 21 at C.G.!":
There were three sessions of GTA Monday Tennis: the first two were a combination of a mid-afternoon one and then an early-evening one at Nutley Tennis Club both hosted by "The Riz" John Rizzo and the second one was the usual evening session at The Cedar Grove Courts hosted by "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan featuring the Main Event – GTA Championship Match as GTA Champion: "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes put his Title on the line against 2017 Grove Cup Champ/Top Contender: "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak (both reporting their own score and providing commentary). We also had results contributions from "The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan and "The Lethal Lefty" Lou La Forgia.
Let's first get The Riz Report from Nutley and then The K-Man's recap (with many assists along the way) from Cedar Grove!
The NTC Results:
John Rizzo over Fernanda Toker, 6-3! No Aces.
Fernanda Toker over John Rizzo, 6-1! No Aces.
Fernanda and I both had a last minute change of schedules and were able to play a couple sets around lunchtime. The session, however, lasted until around 3pm. And then my next session got underway at 5pm.
Anish Mehta over John Rizzo, 6-3! No Aces.
Anish Mehta over John Rizzo, 6-1! No Aces.
Samara's Notes: I thank John for his very timely reporting. We now turn this report over to Kris.
It was a packed session this Tuesday night after a slight overstay by The Picklers. Both Nate and Ryan were raring to get started for their crucial GTA Championship Match. They did get it underway close to 7:45pm on Court 4.
There was Doubles between Justin Berardo/Chris Barbieri against Jordan Bachvaroff/Edwin Ortega on Court 3. David Caicedo, who has played in Nutley, was waiting by the sidelines to make his debut in Cedar Grove. I got to hit with him on Court 1 along with Natalia Sout with Jose Gonzales joining us soon after.
As T.J. Shah came and waited by the bench, I teamed him up with David to enable them play a Doubles Match. Before long, Laura and Rob Gawley came and whisked Lou La Forgia from the sidelines to occupy Court 2. We had more players coming in as the night progressed. It was all GTA in action on all four courts.
The Cedar Grove Results:
GTA Championship Match:
Nathan Fernandes over Ryan Pienciak, 6-2, 6-1, to complete his second successful GTA Championship defense of his first reign! Ryan: 1 Ace in the 2nd Set!
Nate's Notes: Ryan played a good match and had an excellently placed Ace down the T. He made me work for every game and I'm glad to have come through this match in straight sets.
The Ryan Report: Nate is too tough! I was cycling through strategies every few games, hoping something would work, but nothing did. It was a decisive and impressive win!
The K has his say: It was a clinical performance by Nate against the rising star. He had a clear plan, was quite composed and executed his strategy well. It didn't look like he ever had turn to Plan B. His slices were effective, and he almost always approached the net behind his dipping slices to Ryan's backhand. There were a few nice lobs by Ryan over Nate to win some points.
Ryan started well holding the very first game of the match, with an easy Love game. That promising start was a brief one, however, as Nate silenced him slowly and systematically. There were a few close games, but the cries of frustration were one-sided. A resigned Ryan did resort to a more defensive/long rallies approach, but the mental damage had already been done. Despite the loss, Ryan deserves full credit for his incredible success and a dream journey to win the Grove Cup. As for Nate, he proved to have what it takes to be at the very top.
The Consequences: Now that Fernandes has disposed of his Top Contender, he is free to defend the GTA Championship against any contender ranked in The Top 10 of The Advanced Division. He is, however, not under any obligation to do so until the month of April of 2018 as he has already met his October rank/title defense requirement as this is the last month we do a Rank Defense Review. Title and rank defenses become optional in November, December and March. The next Rank Defense Review will not be until the end of April 2018.
Samara's Notes: I thank both Nate and Ryan for their very timely reporting and I also congratulate Nate on a very impressive victory. This match made two things very clear – Ryan is still the deserving lead contender for the Most Improved Player of The Year award at season's end…but Nate is also the man to beat (and maybe it is already too late for that) for the overall Player of The Year award.
We now turn this report back over to Kris.
T.J. Shah/David Caicedo over Jose Gonzales/Natalia Sout, 6-4! No Aces.
David was solid while we were warming up and Jose was quite impressed. It looked like they had a great match. David was not sure of the score, but hopefully the one reported here is right.
Lou La Forgia/Laura Gawley over Kris Srinivasan/Rob Gawley, 6-2! No Aces.
Rob asked for a good challenge and he got one! Both Lou and Laura were sharp and their opponents were skewed in their shot making. After the initial hiccup, we did much better…but the expected result was always in the cards. This took place between 8pm and 8:25pm. The match on the adjacent court also started at 8pm and finished by 8:30.
With the GTA Championship Match already done and dusted, Court 4 freed up. David couldn't stay long, so after determining who the next players were going to be, I suggested a "Battle of the Sexes" One-Setter. And I'm glad I did as I was seconded by Spin because it turned out to be a classic one and an encouraging one for the forthcoming Tinseltown Memorial Tournament.
Laura Gawley/Natalia Sout over Kris Srinivasan/Dan Martinelli, 7-6 (9-7)! Kris: 1 Ace on Laura!
It was an epic match that lasted for an hour and fifteen minutes or so with a dogged battle between the two teams. It started off even for a short stint as the match leveled at one game apiece. It is when the match turned on its head as the ladies seemed to hold a racquet with a whiplash to seize the lead. They were on the money as they piled on more misery to the men winning three games in a row and were leading handsomely. There was plenty of chatter from the sidelines with "The Hecklers" in cahoots with the ladies. The ladies were emboldened as more hecklers started to sprout.
With a dire situation at hand, the men resorted to their best weapon. They upped their intensity to extreme levels as they made heavy progress in their comeback. And come back they would to level the match at 4-All! Suddenly, the spectators had become quiet, engrossed in the match. There were incredible rallies, great shots and gets made by both teams. Both Laura and Natalia were brilliant and steady. Spin was outstanding, a "die hard" player, who gave it all. He always does, but he was all over the court, with attacking shots, incredible gets, superb serves and even some rare net play. He was a bundle of energy and enthusiasm. The highlight was probably one of the rallies that endured 50 plus shots, coming off the racquets of all the players with the ball seeming all over the court on both sides, with some "ooh" and "ah" moments. An incredible rally it was, for some of the shots were fast-paced and some had to be dug out from close to the net, and we marched along relentlessly! It was good stuff for the audience to savor and acknowledge its appreciation at the conclusion of the point.
The ladies were dominant again to go up 5-4, but a steely Spin would have none of that as he served with great pomp and show. He added to his superb serves a nice drop shot to level the match at 5-All. The reigning queen would ensure the lead for her team as we once again had our backs against the wall. A good hold with a timely Ace (by me) meant a Tiebreak.
We were cruising up 4-1 before a nice comeback by the ladies with a few sloppy shots from us to take them to 5-4. We survived the next point, but the ladies would have the first shot at taking the match at 6-5. We dug in hard and earned our first MP at 7-6. It wasn't over as the ladies showed they are a fighting breed as they went on to take us out with a thumping volley winner from Laura. It was a solid match and a fun one. I said last night that I was happy for the ladies. Indeed, I was! They were the worthy winners and we were the perfect gentlemen...:-). It was truly an epic match that concluded on Court 4 at 9:52!
Samara's Notes: Not only was this one of the finest moments for Kris on the court, but it may very well be his best reporting ever as it is more than colorful and comprehensive. I truly get the feel of the match from this write-up. This is a certain Nominee for One-Set Doubles Specialty Match of The Year. We now go back to Kris for some more.
Dino Celis got to serve and hit the ball with me for about six minutes until the mandatory conclusion (i.e. lights off at 10pm).
We now go back to some results that were taking place earlier in the evening while I was otherwise occupied. First, there is one where Lou provided some feedback.
Lou La Forgia/Rob Gawley over Dennis Cabanatan/Tito Castolo, 6-0! No Aces.
The Lowdown from Lou: We broke Tito twice and Rob had a couple of down-the-line winners and a bunch of nicely played shots over the course of this One-Setter. I was a bit surprised that we won so convincingly. Rob played very well as most of the shots were hit to him throughout the set. It is always a pleasure and a lot of fun playing with Rob.
Jordan Bachvaroff/Edwin Ortega over Justin Berardo/Chris Barbieri, 6-4! No Aces.
Edgar Valencia/Chris Barbieri over Jordan Bachvaroff/Edwin Ortega, 7-6 (7-4)! No Aces.
The two above One-Setters were intense and featured plenty of great shots.
Ryan Pienciak/Edwin Ortega over Justin Bachvaroff/Edgar Valencia, 6-3! Justin: 1 Ace on Edwin!
Dennis Cabanatan over Tito Castolo, 7-6 (7-5)! No Aces.
This was a classic Singles One-Setter to conclude the night on Court 2.
Samara's Notes: This seems like it could be a possible contender for One-Set Singles Match of The Year at season's end. And now Doinks submits two more to close out the results.
Levy Lorenzo/Doinks Srinivasan over Justin Berardo/Laurie Boughton, 6-3! No Aces.
Levy Lorenzo/Doinks Srinivasan tied with Justin Berardo/Laurie Boughton, 6-6 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)! No Aces.
Samara's Notes: I thank Doinks for reporting those two scores and I also thank Lou for his feedback earlier. We now go back to Kris for one more word.
It turned out to be amazing night of high-wire tennis. Cheers!
Samara's Notes: I thank Kris for hosting and always reporting in such a timely manner. It is much appreciated. And first there was Steely Dan…and now there is Steely Spin…LOL! All in all, good stuff!
Sincerely,
Frank Samara
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