11/10/17:
"1st Friday Night Bubble Party features 16 players!":
There was just one session of GTA Friday Night Tennis as it was way too cold for outdoor tennis. Instead, it was the first-ever GTA Friday Night Tennis Party at The Wayne Bubble with both "Hollywood" Frank Samara (in terms of reporting the results for the GTA) and "The Riz" John Rizzo (coordinating the registration efforts, booking the courts, supplying the food and beverages, etc.).
We needed at least twelve competitors to make it worthwhile and we ended up with the ideal amount of 16 players (four players for each of the four courts) instead. Had the attendance sheet reached 18, both Rizzo and Samara said they would have willingly sat out to let the others play for the entire amount of booked time which was from 8 to 10pm.
Actually, the group before us (which is lessons for children) had the courts booked until 8pm. Around 7:45, they condensed their session from all four courts to just using Courts Three and Four. But we held off on taking Courts One and Two (a crowd had already started gathering by 7:45 or so...and I did not note the time of the arrivals as I usually do) out of respect to the fact that those courts were technically still theirs until 8pm.
Somewhat disrespectfully, members of that group hung out on Court Three until 8:10...until we made it painfully obvious that we would now be taking over that court as well (as we had already sent our players out onto the other three).
It was not a major problem as we were then able to have all four courts until 10:10 as a result (manager in charge that night...and also a player in our session, "The Adonis" Don Moya was able to authorize Rizzo's request as it was only fair).
Going forward, we will likely book the courts for these parties (which will continue as it was a total success with many stating they plan on becoming regulars for these sessions) from 8:15 to 10:15 as it is simply more realistic to acknowledge the fact that a group as large as this children's lesson group is will need some time to get off the courts. And since they want to get every minute's worth by playing right up until 8pm, we will not then be able to immediately take over those courts.
Other than that minor hiccup, everything went swimmingly and much fun was had by all.
So now let's get to the action!
The Wayne Bubble Results:
2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:
Ryan Pienciak/Levy Lorenzo over Jorge Solano/Ryan Sherry, 6-1, 4-6, 6-1, to successfully defend the # 42 Rank in the Doubles Division! In the process, Solano/Sherry entered the division as the New # 99 Ranked Team. Ryan: 5 Aces on Jorge (2 in the 1st Set, 3 in the 2nd Set)!
The Skinny: This was the first action of the night to officially get underway as the match started at exactly 8:19 on Court Two. The 1st Set ended at 8:44. The 2nd Set (which was at first just intended to be a Rematch One-Setter) began two minutes later and ended at 9:20. Once Samara heard that the first two sets were split and they were no heading into a third, he suggested making it a full match...which ended at 9:47.
Jose Gonzales/Rich Liu over Nick Caputo/Laurie Boughton, 6-4! No Aces. Court Three hosted this one from 8:22 to 8:57.
2 out of 3 Sets Women's Doubles Match:
Janice Wang/Natalia Sout over Fadia Nicolas/Dawn Peterson, 6-1, 6-0, as both teams entered the Women's Doubles Division as the New # 20 and # 21 Ranked Teams respectively! No Aces.
The Skinny: They got this one underway on Court Four at exactly 8:23. The initial set ended at 8:51. The 2nd Set (originally just intended as a Rematch One-Setter) got going at 8:53 and ended precisely at 9:27.
While all this other action had gotten underway, Samara, Rizzo and Moya found themselves waiting in the lounge area for the late arrival of "Fantastic" Fausto Murg. Once they knew for sure that he was on his way, the three of them took Court One for a hitting session where it was Don flying solo hitting against both Frank and John.
When Fausto finally arrived at 8:50, it looked like it would be Rizzo/Moya versus Samara/Murg. But just as that was about to get started, the One-Setter on Court Three (Gonzales/Liu vs. Caputo/Boughton) ended.
In an attempt to balance things out as best as possible, John and Don headed over to Court Three to take on Jose and Nick while Rich and Laurie headed over to Court One to play with Frank and Fausto (with Liu teaming with his buddy Murg to take on Samara and Boughton).
Jose Gonzales/Nick Caputo over John Rizzo/Don Moya, 6-1! No Aces. Court Three hosted this one from 9:04 to 9:28.
Rich Liu/Fausto Murg over Frank Samara/Laurie Boughton, 7-5! Rich: 1 Ace on Laurie. It went like this: Frank was broken (15-Love shifted to 15-30 where Laurie hit a killer volley winner for 30-All, it then went to Break Point where Rich hit a volley winner of his own for the break), Fausto held serve (an un-returned serve followed by a winning Overhead Smash by Rich made it 30-Love, it went to 30-15, then Double Game Point where another un-returned serve secured the hold) and Laurie was broken (Love-15 and then back-to-back Double Faults set up Triple Break Point where Fausto hit the winning volley for the Love break) to be down somewhat quickly at 0-3! Rich was also broken (an un-returned serve for 30-Love and then a winning volley from Frank for 30-15 followed by a Double Fault to make it 30-All, it then went to Game Point, Deuce, Break Point and the break) and then Samara held (Rich hit an awesome Overhead Smash winner for Love-15 and then it was point for point until 30-All with an un-returned serve along the way and then Frank made a great get/volley winner combo for the mini-shift to Game Point where he followed that with a similar get/volley winner to secure his own hold) to pull to 2-3. Murg held again (an un-returned serve for 30-Love, 30-15, Double Game Point and then another un-returned serve to lock down the hold) and Boughton was broken again (Rich hit a winning volley for Love-15, an un-returned serve made it 15-All, but then Rich and Fausto both had winning volleys on the way to Double Break Point where Rich had yet another winning volley for the break) to fall to 2-5. But Liu was also broken again (Fausto hit a Backhand Volley winner for 15-Love, but then Frank answered with a big-time Overhead Smash winner for 15-All, then there was a Double Fault for 15-30, it then went to Double Break Point, Break Point and the break) and then Hollywood held again (an un-returned serve for 15-Love, then 15-All where Laurie hit a winning volley which was followed by another un-returned serve to set up Double Game Point, but that would soon get reduced to Deuce as Fausto hit a vicious volley winner along the way, but then a bounce back to Game Point which ended with Frank's laser-like passing shot winner past Fausto at the net and down the Doubles Alley for the hold) to pull to 4-5! Fantastic Fausto was broken for the first time (Double Fault for Love-30, an un-returned serve for 15-30, Double Break Point and another un-returned serve to make it Break Point, but then came the break) to level things at 5-5, but then Strutting Suge was broken a third straight time (Love-30 shifted to 30-All right after Laurie made an amazing get/winner combo, but then came Break Point and the break) to fall to 5-6. The pressure was riding on "Richie Running Things" as he had yet to hold serve up until that point, but hold he did as he started off with a sideline Ace on Laurie, then it was 15-All where he hit a Double Fault to make it 15-30 and then it went to Double Break Point only to then reverse momentum to Deuce as Fausto hit another venomous volley winner along the way and then it was Game/Match Point where Rich had a missile-like passing shot winner of his own for the hold and the victory! We played this one on Court One from 9:04 to 9:49.
The Skinny: This one started off looking like we may be headed to Bagelsville, but we bounced back and made it interesting. For a time there, Laurie was a virtual wall at the net. Rich and Fausto had their moments both good and bad, but mostly impressive throughout the contest. As for myself, I was pretty much on the entire time and Laurie liked the way I was owning the Doubles Alley with my backhand slices...not all of which were outright winners, but often drew the error from Fausto who had positioned himself at the net. This one was a lot of fun, but Boughton had to bounce and Samara had some other matters to tend to...which left Liu and Murg both behind to face each other in Singles. But first...
John Rizzo/Fadia Nicolas over Don Moya/Janice Wang, 6-4! Don: 1 Ace on Fadia. This Mixed Doubles One-Setter took place on Court Three from 9:29 to 10:09. It was a bit of an upset. Moya said afterwards that he was just finally starting to find his rhythm that late in the session, but it came a bit too late to salvage this set.
Nick Caputo/Natalia Sout over Jose Gonzales/Dawn Peterson, 6-3! Jose: 2 Aces on Natalia. More Mixed Doubles action, this time on Court Four as it lasted from 9:31 to 9:53.
Ryan Pienciak leading Ryan Sherry, 5-4 (Incomplete when they decided to end it after the ninth game had ended at 10:17 as they had been told to wrap it up around 10:15)! No Aces. This one got underway on Court Three at exactly 9:49. Sherry gave a strong showing here, but it should also be noted that Pienciak was feeling exhausted having played so much indoor tennis in a relatively short span.
Fausto Murg over Rich Liu, 6-1! Fausto: 1 Ace on a second serve! Court Four hosted this one from 9:51 to 10:18. This was a very impressive outing for Murg who is looking to make the move out of the Non-Competing Men's Division and into the ranked divisions (Advanced, Intermediate or both) in the near future. Both competitors figure to be regulars at these Friday Night Party sessions and Rich hopes to recruit more of the gang from the Nutley Meet- Up Group along the way.
After the session, four of us (Samara, Rizzo, Liu and "DC-10" David Caicedo who lives fairly nearby and came to meet us...he had a prior commitment that kept him from playing at the session) went to the nearby Taphouse Grille for food and drinks...it is a nice place.
There was only one last-minute cancellation and that was "The Headhunter" Ralph Bernard. I do not mention it to make him look bad in any way as we all sometimes have last minute curveballs thrown our way. I bring it up, though, to mention that if and when this happens...the policy will be no more non-paid reservations from any individual who had to cancel that late in the day...because it potentially opens up a bad can of worms with planning and outlaying the costs of booking the courts for one Mr. Rizzo.
Going forward, Ralph (and any others like him in the future) will have to make prepaid reservations. And if they need to cancel again, they will just have a credit until the next time they actually can play.
All the best,
Frank Samara
gtasamara5@gmail.com
"1st Friday Night Bubble Party features 16 players!":
There was just one session of GTA Friday Night Tennis as it was way too cold for outdoor tennis. Instead, it was the first-ever GTA Friday Night Tennis Party at The Wayne Bubble with both "Hollywood" Frank Samara (in terms of reporting the results for the GTA) and "The Riz" John Rizzo (coordinating the registration efforts, booking the courts, supplying the food and beverages, etc.).
We needed at least twelve competitors to make it worthwhile and we ended up with the ideal amount of 16 players (four players for each of the four courts) instead. Had the attendance sheet reached 18, both Rizzo and Samara said they would have willingly sat out to let the others play for the entire amount of booked time which was from 8 to 10pm.
Actually, the group before us (which is lessons for children) had the courts booked until 8pm. Around 7:45, they condensed their session from all four courts to just using Courts Three and Four. But we held off on taking Courts One and Two (a crowd had already started gathering by 7:45 or so...and I did not note the time of the arrivals as I usually do) out of respect to the fact that those courts were technically still theirs until 8pm.
Somewhat disrespectfully, members of that group hung out on Court Three until 8:10...until we made it painfully obvious that we would now be taking over that court as well (as we had already sent our players out onto the other three).
It was not a major problem as we were then able to have all four courts until 10:10 as a result (manager in charge that night...and also a player in our session, "The Adonis" Don Moya was able to authorize Rizzo's request as it was only fair).
Going forward, we will likely book the courts for these parties (which will continue as it was a total success with many stating they plan on becoming regulars for these sessions) from 8:15 to 10:15 as it is simply more realistic to acknowledge the fact that a group as large as this children's lesson group is will need some time to get off the courts. And since they want to get every minute's worth by playing right up until 8pm, we will not then be able to immediately take over those courts.
Other than that minor hiccup, everything went swimmingly and much fun was had by all.
So now let's get to the action!
The Wayne Bubble Results:
2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:
Ryan Pienciak/Levy Lorenzo over Jorge Solano/Ryan Sherry, 6-1, 4-6, 6-1, to successfully defend the # 42 Rank in the Doubles Division! In the process, Solano/Sherry entered the division as the New # 99 Ranked Team. Ryan: 5 Aces on Jorge (2 in the 1st Set, 3 in the 2nd Set)!
The Skinny: This was the first action of the night to officially get underway as the match started at exactly 8:19 on Court Two. The 1st Set ended at 8:44. The 2nd Set (which was at first just intended to be a Rematch One-Setter) began two minutes later and ended at 9:20. Once Samara heard that the first two sets were split and they were no heading into a third, he suggested making it a full match...which ended at 9:47.
Jose Gonzales/Rich Liu over Nick Caputo/Laurie Boughton, 6-4! No Aces. Court Three hosted this one from 8:22 to 8:57.
2 out of 3 Sets Women's Doubles Match:
Janice Wang/Natalia Sout over Fadia Nicolas/Dawn Peterson, 6-1, 6-0, as both teams entered the Women's Doubles Division as the New # 20 and # 21 Ranked Teams respectively! No Aces.
The Skinny: They got this one underway on Court Four at exactly 8:23. The initial set ended at 8:51. The 2nd Set (originally just intended as a Rematch One-Setter) got going at 8:53 and ended precisely at 9:27.
While all this other action had gotten underway, Samara, Rizzo and Moya found themselves waiting in the lounge area for the late arrival of "Fantastic" Fausto Murg. Once they knew for sure that he was on his way, the three of them took Court One for a hitting session where it was Don flying solo hitting against both Frank and John.
When Fausto finally arrived at 8:50, it looked like it would be Rizzo/Moya versus Samara/Murg. But just as that was about to get started, the One-Setter on Court Three (Gonzales/Liu vs. Caputo/Boughton) ended.
In an attempt to balance things out as best as possible, John and Don headed over to Court Three to take on Jose and Nick while Rich and Laurie headed over to Court One to play with Frank and Fausto (with Liu teaming with his buddy Murg to take on Samara and Boughton).
Jose Gonzales/Nick Caputo over John Rizzo/Don Moya, 6-1! No Aces. Court Three hosted this one from 9:04 to 9:28.
Rich Liu/Fausto Murg over Frank Samara/Laurie Boughton, 7-5! Rich: 1 Ace on Laurie. It went like this: Frank was broken (15-Love shifted to 15-30 where Laurie hit a killer volley winner for 30-All, it then went to Break Point where Rich hit a volley winner of his own for the break), Fausto held serve (an un-returned serve followed by a winning Overhead Smash by Rich made it 30-Love, it went to 30-15, then Double Game Point where another un-returned serve secured the hold) and Laurie was broken (Love-15 and then back-to-back Double Faults set up Triple Break Point where Fausto hit the winning volley for the Love break) to be down somewhat quickly at 0-3! Rich was also broken (an un-returned serve for 30-Love and then a winning volley from Frank for 30-15 followed by a Double Fault to make it 30-All, it then went to Game Point, Deuce, Break Point and the break) and then Samara held (Rich hit an awesome Overhead Smash winner for Love-15 and then it was point for point until 30-All with an un-returned serve along the way and then Frank made a great get/volley winner combo for the mini-shift to Game Point where he followed that with a similar get/volley winner to secure his own hold) to pull to 2-3. Murg held again (an un-returned serve for 30-Love, 30-15, Double Game Point and then another un-returned serve to lock down the hold) and Boughton was broken again (Rich hit a winning volley for Love-15, an un-returned serve made it 15-All, but then Rich and Fausto both had winning volleys on the way to Double Break Point where Rich had yet another winning volley for the break) to fall to 2-5. But Liu was also broken again (Fausto hit a Backhand Volley winner for 15-Love, but then Frank answered with a big-time Overhead Smash winner for 15-All, then there was a Double Fault for 15-30, it then went to Double Break Point, Break Point and the break) and then Hollywood held again (an un-returned serve for 15-Love, then 15-All where Laurie hit a winning volley which was followed by another un-returned serve to set up Double Game Point, but that would soon get reduced to Deuce as Fausto hit a vicious volley winner along the way, but then a bounce back to Game Point which ended with Frank's laser-like passing shot winner past Fausto at the net and down the Doubles Alley for the hold) to pull to 4-5! Fantastic Fausto was broken for the first time (Double Fault for Love-30, an un-returned serve for 15-30, Double Break Point and another un-returned serve to make it Break Point, but then came the break) to level things at 5-5, but then Strutting Suge was broken a third straight time (Love-30 shifted to 30-All right after Laurie made an amazing get/winner combo, but then came Break Point and the break) to fall to 5-6. The pressure was riding on "Richie Running Things" as he had yet to hold serve up until that point, but hold he did as he started off with a sideline Ace on Laurie, then it was 15-All where he hit a Double Fault to make it 15-30 and then it went to Double Break Point only to then reverse momentum to Deuce as Fausto hit another venomous volley winner along the way and then it was Game/Match Point where Rich had a missile-like passing shot winner of his own for the hold and the victory! We played this one on Court One from 9:04 to 9:49.
The Skinny: This one started off looking like we may be headed to Bagelsville, but we bounced back and made it interesting. For a time there, Laurie was a virtual wall at the net. Rich and Fausto had their moments both good and bad, but mostly impressive throughout the contest. As for myself, I was pretty much on the entire time and Laurie liked the way I was owning the Doubles Alley with my backhand slices...not all of which were outright winners, but often drew the error from Fausto who had positioned himself at the net. This one was a lot of fun, but Boughton had to bounce and Samara had some other matters to tend to...which left Liu and Murg both behind to face each other in Singles. But first...
John Rizzo/Fadia Nicolas over Don Moya/Janice Wang, 6-4! Don: 1 Ace on Fadia. This Mixed Doubles One-Setter took place on Court Three from 9:29 to 10:09. It was a bit of an upset. Moya said afterwards that he was just finally starting to find his rhythm that late in the session, but it came a bit too late to salvage this set.
Nick Caputo/Natalia Sout over Jose Gonzales/Dawn Peterson, 6-3! Jose: 2 Aces on Natalia. More Mixed Doubles action, this time on Court Four as it lasted from 9:31 to 9:53.
Ryan Pienciak leading Ryan Sherry, 5-4 (Incomplete when they decided to end it after the ninth game had ended at 10:17 as they had been told to wrap it up around 10:15)! No Aces. This one got underway on Court Three at exactly 9:49. Sherry gave a strong showing here, but it should also be noted that Pienciak was feeling exhausted having played so much indoor tennis in a relatively short span.
Fausto Murg over Rich Liu, 6-1! Fausto: 1 Ace on a second serve! Court Four hosted this one from 9:51 to 10:18. This was a very impressive outing for Murg who is looking to make the move out of the Non-Competing Men's Division and into the ranked divisions (Advanced, Intermediate or both) in the near future. Both competitors figure to be regulars at these Friday Night Party sessions and Rich hopes to recruit more of the gang from the Nutley Meet- Up Group along the way.
After the session, four of us (Samara, Rizzo, Liu and "DC-10" David Caicedo who lives fairly nearby and came to meet us...he had a prior commitment that kept him from playing at the session) went to the nearby Taphouse Grille for food and drinks...it is a nice place.
There was only one last-minute cancellation and that was "The Headhunter" Ralph Bernard. I do not mention it to make him look bad in any way as we all sometimes have last minute curveballs thrown our way. I bring it up, though, to mention that if and when this happens...the policy will be no more non-paid reservations from any individual who had to cancel that late in the day...because it potentially opens up a bad can of worms with planning and outlaying the costs of booking the courts for one Mr. Rizzo.
Going forward, Ralph (and any others like him in the future) will have to make prepaid reservations. And if they need to cancel again, they will just have a credit until the next time they actually can play.
All the best,
Frank Samara
gtasamara5@gmail.com
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