11/27 Results.

11/27/17:

"Lorenzo-Kazakov at C.G.!":

There was just one session of GTA Monday Night Tennis at The Cedar Grove Courts as an impromptu full Challenge Match too place between "The Levitator" Levy Lorenzo and "RK Fire" Rafaelo Kazakov (as reported by Levy).  We now go to the lowdown from Levy.

I arrived at Cedar Grove around 8:20.  Mike Mole and Chris Barbieri were already playing Singles.  While I was parking in front of the courts, I did not notice Rafaelo Kazakov was already sitting on one of the benches waiting to get into the action.  We then went to Court Two and started hitting.  While doing so, in between I asked Mike and Chris if they would be willing to play Doubles with us.  They both agreed, but Rafaelo insisted on playing Singles with me so I accepted the challenge.  It was a pity that Mike and Chris left around 8:45 probably because they were already exhausted playing Singles.

The Cedar Grove Result:

3 out of 5 Sets Challenge Match:

Levy Lorenzo over Rafaelo Kazakov, 6-0, 6-4, 6-4, to successfully defend his # 10 Rank in the Intermediate Division!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I thank Levy for stepping up as the impromptu host and reporting this result in such a timely fashion.  I checked in with both Mole and Barbieri and Chris promptly responded that it was just a practice session between them…no actual sets were ever played.

Sincerely,
Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

11/26 Results.

11/26/17:

"Samara hosts 6 at AP, Riz hosts 25 at Bubble!":

There were three sessions of GTA Sunday Tennis and they were all the usual: the morning one at Albion Park in Clifton hosted by "Hollywood" Frank Samara and then the two late afternoon/early evening sessions at The Wayne Bubble for the two Night Owl groups which are hosted by "The Riz" John Rizzo.  First, we will detail all the comings and goings at Albion and then get all the scores from The Bubble.

Samara pulled up to the courts at Albion at 10:25 and nobody else was there.  Given the fact that the weather conditions were not much more favorable than they were a week ago (windy with temps in the lower to mid 40 degree range, but feeling ten degrees colder), Frank was facing the possibility of no session at all (as it was last Sunday...though he later found out that "Sue B. Newbie" Suzanne Bujara did show up and ended up hitting/practicing alone).

Not all that eager to step into the cold, Samara just sat in his car and waited for others to arrive.  At 10:40, Natalia "Nitro" Sout pulled up to the courts as well.  She then said that GTA Champion: "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes would also be on his way.

As Frank and Natalia made their way down the hill toward the courts, they soon saw that Suzanne had already made her way onto the South Court and was once again hitting alone.  Samara called her over to the North Court where they then had a hitting session featuring Frank and Suzanne going against Natalia.  This was nothing for the athletic and acrobatic Sout as she told them she had hit with Nate for five hours (5 to 10pm) on Friday night up at Cedar Grove!

Nate arrived at 11:05.  After a ten minute hitting session featuring the four of them, a Mixed Doubles One-Setter would soon be underway.  It ended up being much more competitive than expected.  During its duration, "Big George" Jorge Solano arrived at 11:40 and was soon practicing by himself on Center Court.  Samara told him that he would step off to let him get involved in the next One-Setter on the North Court.  And sure enough that happened right around 12:05 just as "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli was making his way down the hill for what would only be an extended cameo appearance (having just played a football game that featured eleven players).

Next to arrive at 12:15 was Sachiko "Sachi" Tokuda.  Samara then took her over to the South Court where they had a hitting session.  When the second Mixed Doubles One-Setter finished around 12:45, Tokuda took the place of Bujara for that next one as Suzanne left soon after.  There would end up being back-to-back One-Setters featuring Fernandes/Tokuda versus Solano/Sout.

Also, "The Scorpion Dragon" Dino Celis had arrived at 1:10 for what would also be strictly an extended cameo appearance.  And, thus, we only had six official competitors for the entire session.  When the fourth One-Setter of the day finished shortly before 2:15, Natalia was still ready for more...but all but Nate were ready to go.  So the two of them kept hitting while everyone else was departing as the temps took a turn for the worse once the sun ducked behind the clouds.  It had actually been quite a nice day for a while there when the sun was strong and the winds were kept down to a mild breeze.

The Albion Park Results:

Nathan Fernandes/Natalia Sout over Frank Samara/Suzanne Bujara, 7-6 (7-2)!  No Aces.  It went like this: Suzanne was broken at Love as Nate first hit a winning volley and then a winning roller over the net to make it Love-30 and then he made a great get/winner combo on Triple Break Point for the break and then Natalia held serve as she started off with an un-returned serve and then Frank hit a winner for 15-All and it then continued to be a point exchange like that all the way to Game Point as Frank also blew a volley along the way and then Nate hit a winning Backhand Volley to set up that Game Point and that was where Natalia hit a winning passing shot to secure her hold as her team got off to a 2-0 start!  Frank held in a struggle (Frank hit a sharply angled winner for 15-Love, but then Natalia hit a winning lob return for 15-All only to then have it go to Double Game Point and then get reduced to Deuce as Natalia hit another winning lob along the way and then it went to Break Point, 2nd Deuce, Game Point, 3rd Deuce, Break Point, 4th Deuce, Game Point and the hold...and once it went beyond Deuce, I could no longer remember who hit what winners where and when) to get his team onto the scoreboard and then Nathan was shockingly broken as Frank hit an excellent return winner for Love-30 which was where Nate hit a winning volley for 15-30, but then Suzanne hit a winner of her own to set up Double Break Point where Frank then hit another impressive winner to earn the break and level the set at 2-2!  Bujara was broken at Love again as Nate got things started with a winning drop shot volley and then it was all downhill from there and then Sout held again (Nate hit another winning volley and then Natalia hit a winner of her own to make it 30-Love, it then went to Triple Game Point, then Double Game Point where Natalia hit another winner to once again secure her own hold) to put her team up 4-2!  Samara also held again (back-to-back un-returned serves made it 30-Love, it then shifted to 30-All, but then went to Game Point and the hold) and then Fernandes was broken again (Love-15 shifted to 30-15 after Natalia made another winning passing shot, but then it shifted to Break Point right after Suzanne hit a mishit winner and then The Champ hit a rare Double Fault to break himself) to knot the score once more, this time at 4-4!  Sue B. Newbie was broken a third time (15-Love was where Nate hit a winning volley to make it 15-All, then a Double Fault made it 15-30 and then it was at Double Break Point where Frank blew what should have been a surefire volley winner, but he got a little too excited and whipped it into the top of the tape!) as her team fell behind at 4-5, but Nitro was finally broken (an un-returned serve made it 15-Love, but then Frank hit a winning return followed by a drop shot return from Suzanne and then a drop shot winner by Suzanne to make it Double Break Point and then came the break) to keep things alive at 5-5!  Hollywood held a third straight time (Triple Game Point where Frank blew his own chance at a Love hold by dumping a would-be drop shot winner into the net to make it Double Game Point, but then he redeemed himself with a winner for the hold) to put his team up this time around at 6-5 which caused The Champ to get up from off the proverbial canvas and have a Love hold as Natalia hit a passing shot winner for 30-Love and then Suzanne blew a volley on Triple Game Point and that had us headed for the Tiebreak!  In the Breaker: Suzanne was broken on her lone serve while Natalia held both of hers for a 3-0 lead.  Frank was then on service where the longest and best rally of the match ended with a surprise winner from Suzanne as Natalia seemingly swung at (and missed) it late perhaps thinking it was going to sail long (but it did not) and then he held his second as well to pull to 2-3.  But from there, Nate held the first of his two serves for 4-2 at the changeover and then his second was an un-returned one for a 5-2 lead.  Bujara was then broken on the first of her two serves for 2-6 and the first Match Point of the match where she then unceremoniously hit a Double Fault to break herself!  We played this one on the North Court from 11:15 to 11:59.

The Skinny: This was much more competitive than expected.  Natalia was on fire for much of the contest while Nate seemed to be shifted into a lower gear until his back was to the wall...which was where he became inspired to finally respond.  Frank once again played some high-quality tennis with just a few bad misses (similar to many recent outings...and yet another loss as well).  Meanwhile, Suzanne continues to gain confidence and show steady strides toward further improvement as her often aggressive strokes outnumbered her errors in this one.  It ended up being a lot of fun as it was more than a simple "walk in the park" for the now famous Nate/Nat combo.

Nathan Fernandes/Suzanne Bujara over Jorge Solano/Natalia Sout, 6-4!  No Aces.  This was also played on the North Court and it lasted from 12:06 to 12:46.  Nate and Suzanne were up 4-1, 4-2, 5-2 and then their lead was cut to 5-4 before they were finally able to shut the door.

Nathan Fernandes/Sachiko Tokuda over Jorge Solano/Natalia Sout, 6-3!  Jorge: 1 Ace on Sachiko.  The North Court hosted this one from 12:50 to 1:19.  Samara and Martinelli were in full "Heckler" mode in this one and the resultant hilarity often brought the players to a standstill...but in a good way.  There were a couple of times where Natalia could not get back up off the court!

Enjoying their role as hooligans just a bit too much, neither Frank nor Spin were looking to get involved in the next one...so it ended up being a Rematch One-Setter.

Nathan Fernandes/Sachiko Tokuda over Jorge Solano/Natalia Sout, 6-4!  No Aces.  And this one was also played on the North Court, from 1:22 to 2:13.

We now head up to The Wayne Bubble for the scores from John.

The Wayne Bubble Results:

The 3 to 5pm session:

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

John Rizzo/Sean McHugh over Vlad Smolyanskiy/Henry Mendoza, 6-1, 7-6 (7-1), as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 112 and # 113 Ranked Teams respectively!  No Aces.

Brenda Jordan/Jeanette Pegg over Kathy Sheldon/Marie Easton, 6-2!  No Aces.

Brenda Jordan/Marie Easton over Kathy Sheldon/Jeanette Pegg, 6-2!  No Aces.

Kathy Sheldon/Brenda Jordan over Marie Easton/Jeanette Pegg, 6-2!  No Aces.

John Rizzo/Sean McHugh leading Vlad Smolyanskiy/Henry Mendoza, 5-4 (Incomplete when the session ran out of time)!  No Aces.

Kevin Doyle and Robin Miller had a two hour long hitting session with one another.

The 6 to 8pm session:

Anish Mehta/Syed Rashid over Senthil Kumar/Frank Hohorst, 6-4!  Anish: 2 Aces on Senthil!

Senthil Kumar/Frank Hohorst over Anish Mehta/Syed Rashid, 6-3!  No Aces.    

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Tom La/Nick Caputo over Dennis Cabanatan/Ryan Sherry, 6-2, 7-5, to successfully defend their # 94 Rank in the Doubles Division!  In the process, Cabanatan/Sherry entered the division as the New # 114 Ranked Team.  No Aces. 

Dennis Cabanatan/Ryan Sherry over Tom La/Nick Caputo, 6-4!  No Aces. 

Tony Shiao/Arthur Fontanilla over John Rizzo/Rich Liu, 6-2!  No Aces.

Rich Liu/Arthur Fontanilla over Tony Shiao/Jordan Bachvaroff, 7-6 (7-3)!  No Aces.   

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:

Ryan Pienciak over Senthil Kumar, 6-0, 6-1, to successfully defend his # 2 Rank in the Advanced Division!  No Aces. 

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Ryan Pienciak/Ray Spadaro over Joe Rodrigues/Pranav Sinha, 6-3, 6-0, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 115 and # 116 Ranked Teams respectively!  No Aces.

Ryan Pienciak/Pranav Sinha over Joe Rodrigues/Ray Spadaro, 6-0!  No Aces.

Ray Spadaro/Frank Hohorst over Pranav Sinha/Syed Rashid, 6-2!  No Aces. 

Samara's Notes: I thank John for collecting all those scores and then reporting them in such a timely manner.

Sincerely,
Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

 

11/25 Results.

11/25/17:

"Gen-Mole 1-Setters at AP, Doinks hosts 7 at C.G.!":

There were two sessions of GTA Saturday Tennis: an afternoon one at the Albion Park Courts in Clifton featuring a couple "Battle of The Sexes" style Singles One-Setters between "Del Brotro" Mike Mole and "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan (as reported by Gen) and then an evening one that came together up at The Cedar Grove Courts with "The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan acting as the impromptu host.  We will first get the results from Gen and then turn this report over to Doinks.

The Albion Park Results:

Mike Mole over Genalin Capan, 6-4!  Mike: 3 Aces!  We played this one from 3pm to 3:30 (after having hit for 45 minutes from 2:15 to 3pm).

Genalin Capan over Mike Mole, 7-6 (7-4)!  Mike: 3 Aces (two of them in the same service game)!  We played this one from 3:30 to 4:30.

Gen's Notes: Mike was leading at 3-2, 4-2 and 5-2, then I held for 3-5.  Mike was broken on serve to get it closer for me at 4-5.  I was then down on my serve at 15-40 (Double Break Point), but I saved 4 Match Points to level it 5-All!  Then Mike held for 6-5 and I for held 6-6 to take us into the Tiebreak.

In the TB, I had leads of 3-0, 3-2, 4-2, 5-2, 5-3, 6-3, 6-4 and then finally 7-4 to win it!

Samara's Notes: That last one sounds like a definite Nominee for One-Set Singles Specialty Match of The Year at season's end.  I thank Gen for her very timely reporting.  We now go to Cedar Grove and let Doinks take it away!

The Cedar Grove Results:

Mike Kazlauskas/Doinks Srinivasan over Kris Srinivasan/Jorge Solano, 6-3!  Jorge: 1 Ace on Doinks.

Mike Kazlauskas/Doinks Srinivasan over Sairaj Srinivasan/Jorge Solano, 6-3!  No Aces.

Jordan Bachvaroff/Jorge Solano over Kris Srinivasan/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-2!  Jordan: 1 Ace on Doinks.

Jordan Bachvaroff/Doinks Srinivasan over Kris Srinivasan/Jose Gonzales, 7-5!  Jose: 1 Ace on Doinks.

At the beginning of the session, we saw Art Fontanilla and Jordan Bachvaroff just hitting with one another.  Gen also came and hit with our son Sairaj.

Samara's Notes: I thank Doinks for stepping up as the impromptu host and reporting these results in such a timely fashion.

Sincerely,
Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

 

11/24 Results.

11/24/17:

"Riz hosts 14 at Bubble, Scott-Rafaelo at C.G.!":

There were two somewhat unusual sessions of GTA Black Friday Tennis: the first was a morning session at The Wayne Bubble hosted by "The Riz" John Rizzo while the second was an afternoon session at The Cedar Grove Courts that came together as the result of an Open Challenge issued earlier that morning by "Ice Berg" Scott Bergenfeld.  The respondent was "RK Fire" Rafaelo Kazakov.  Bouncing back a bit, it should also be noted that "The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan also reported the results for which she was involved in up at The Bubble.

So first we will go to the scores sent in by John (along with a brief note from Doinks) and then to the report from Scott.

The Wayne Bubble Results:

2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Doubles Match:

Don Moya/Doinks Srinivasan over John Rizzo/Brenda Jordan, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, as both teams entered the Mixed Doubles Division as the New # 54 and # 55 Ranked Teams respectively!  No Aces.

Don Moya/Doinks Srinivasan over John Rizzo/Brenda Jordan, 6-1!  No Aces.  We used "No Ad" scoring in this set.

Samara's Notes: I presumed this was done in order to try to get it done in time (which they did) as Doinks noted they started this last One-Setter when there was only 24 minutes left in the session.

Dennis Cabanatan/David Caicedo over Anish Mehta/Levy Lorenzo, 6-3!  No Aces.

Senthil Kumar/Frank Hohorst over Nick Caputo/Alex Hohorst, 6-2!  No Aces.

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Senthil Kumar/Frank Hohorst over Levy Lorenzo/Dennis Cabanatan, 6-3, 6-0, to become the New # 76 Ranked Team in the Doubles Division!  No Aces.

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Anish Mehta/David Caicedo over Nick Caputo/Alex Hohorst, 6-4, 6-1, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 111 and # 112 Ranked Teams respectively!  No Aces.

Dennis Cabanatan/Frank Hohorst tied with Senthil Kumar/Levy Lorenzo, 3-3 (Incomplete when the session ran out of time)!  No Aces.

Anish Mehta/David Caicedo tied with Nick Caputo/Alex Hohorst, 2-2 (Incomplete when the session ran out of time)!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I thank John for collecting those results and then reporting them in a very timely fashion.  I also thank Doinks for her feedback as well.  We now go to Cedar Grove for the result from Scott.

The Cedar Grove Result:

3 out of 5 Sets Challenge Match:

Scott Bergenfeld over Rafaelo Kazakov, 6-2, 6-1, 6-0, to successfully defend his # 37 Rank in the Intermediate Division!  In the process, Kazakov moved out of the Non-Competing Men's Division and into the Intermediate Division as the New # 39 Ranked Player.  Scott: 4 Aces (1 in the 1st Set and 3 in the 2nd Set)!

The Great Scott Shout-Out: It was a pretty competitive match despite the score.  Rafaelo is very consistent and can place the ball well.  Sun glare was an issue for both of us.  All in all, it was a perfect fall afternoon for tennis.

Samara's Notes: I'm happy to see that Rafaelo answered the call and responded to Scott's Open Challenge.  I also thank Scott for reporting this result in such a timely fashion.

Sincerely,
Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

 

11/22 Results.

11/22/17:

"Riz hosts 8 at Bubble!":

There was just one session of GTA Wednesday Night Tennis as "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan reported that he saw nobody out on The Cedar Grove Courts around 9pm.  So that left just the regular Night Owls session up at The Wayne Bubble hosted by "The Riz" John Rizzo ("The Scorpion Dragon" Dino Celis also reported his result as well).

We will now go to the report from John!

The Wayne Bubble Results:

2 out of 3 Sets Women's Doubles Match:

Kathy Sheldon/Fadia Nicolas over Laurie Boughton/Jeanette Pegg, 6-0, 6-3, to successfully defend their #24 Rank in the Women's Doubles Division!  In the process, Boughton/Pegg entered the division as the New #26 Ranked Team.  Laurie: 1 Ace on Kathy in the 2nd Set! 

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Ryan Pienciak/Dino Celis over Mike Mole/John Rizzo, 6-2, 6-2, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 108 and # 109 Ranked Teams respectively!  No Aces. 

Ryan Pienciak/Dino Celis tied with Mike Mole/John Rizzo, 5-5 (Incomplete when the session ran out of time)!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I thank John for collecting all these scores and reporting them in a very timely fashion, as always.  It is much appreciated.  I thank the feedback from Kris and Dino as well.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

 

 

 

11/21 Results.

11/21/17:

"Kris hosts 5 at C.G., Riz hosts 17 at Bubble!":

There were two sessions of GTA Tuesday Night Tennis: "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan hosting the usual one at The Cedar Grove Courts and then the regular Night Owls session up at The Wayne Bubble hosted by "The Riz" John Rizzo.

We will first go to the report from Kris and then grab those Bubble scores from John!

There was a quiet session of GTA Tennis last night with a handful of players.  We were a late show, but the first to come were probably Nathan Fernandes and Natalia Sout who had a purposeful and meaningful session of drills that lasted the whole night.  I joined them around 8:30 and the drill session was more fulfilling than the match I got to play.

The Cedar Grove Results:

Rafaelo Kazakov/Doinks Srinivasan over Jordan Bachvaroff/Louise Bysiek, 6-3!  No Aces.

Jordan Bachvaroff/Rafaelo Kazakov over Kris Srinivasan/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-4!  No Aces.

Everybody held their serves in the first round of services and then they would all lose their serves in the second round of services.  This rhythm changed then to disrupt what looked to be the certain possibility of a Tiebreak.  Both Jordan and Rafaelo had their good moments.  For us, it was Doinks with spirited play.

With no winds, it was good to play tennis on a somewhat not-too-cold night.  Cheers!

Samara's Notes: I thank Kris for hosting that session and providing us with that report.  We now head up to Wayne to get the scores from John.

The Wayne Bubble Results:

Ryan Pienciak/Mike Sindler over Dennis Cabanatan/Alex Hohorst, 6-1!  No Aces.  

Syed Rashid/Arthur Fontanilla over Dennis Cabanatan/Tom La, 6-2!  No Aces. 

Ryan Pienciak/Nick Caputo over Tony Shiao/Lou La Forgia, 6-1!  No Aces.

Tony Shiao/Nick Caputo over Ryan Pienciak/Alex Hohorst, 6-0!  No Aces. 

Ryan Pienciak/Mike Sindler over Nick Caputo/Alex Hohorst, 6-0!  No Aces. 

Chris Chiaro/Frank Hohorst over Senthil Kumar/Joe Rodrigues, 6-4! No Aces.   

Chris Chiaro/Joe Rodrigues over Senthil Kumar/Frank Hohorst, 6-4!  No Aces.   

Joe Rodrigues/Tom La over Senthil Kumar/Frank Hohorst, 6-4!  No Aces.   

Chris Chiaro/Ryan Sherry over Anish Mehta/Alex Hohorst, 6-2!  Chris: 1 Ace on Alex. 

Chris Chiaro/Ryan Sherry over Anish Mehta/Pranav Sinha, 6-1!  Chris: 1 Ace on Pranav. 

Anish Mehta/Ryan Sherry over Lou La Forgia/Pranav Sinha, 6-4!  Anish: 2 Aces on Pranav! 

Pranav Sinha/Nick Caputo over Anish Mehta/Ryan Sherry, 6-2!  No Aces. 

Tony Shiao/Syed Rashid tied with Tom La/Arthur Fontanilla, 4-4 (Incomplete when the session ended at 11:20)!  No Aces. 

Samara's Notes: I thank John for collecting all these scores and reporting them in a very timely fashion, as always.  It is much appreciated.

 

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

 

 

 

11/19 Results.

11/19/17:

"Riz hosts 24 at Bubble!":

The usual morning session of GTA Sunday Tennis at Albion Park in Clifton did not occur even though the courts were very likely dry in time for the normal start (as the overnight rains had subsided early enough and the sun came out strong).  "Hollywood" Frank Samara figured it was not worth making the drive up there due to the severe winds.  The conditions definitely would not have been favorable for tennis.  And nobody reported any results from there, not did anyone reach out to him that morning stating that they were waiting there.

Of course, inclement weather does not affect what takes place up at The Wayne Bubble…so "The Riz" John Rizzo hosted the usual two Sunday sessions there that feature each of the Night Owls groups.

We go to those scores now!

The Wayne Bubble Results:

The 3 to 5pm session:

Brenda Jordan/Susan Senowitz over Kathy Sheldon/Dawn Peterson, 6-3!  No Aces.

Dawn Peterson/Susan Senowitz over Kathy Sheldon/Brenda Jordan, 6-0!  No Aces.

Kathy Sheldon/Susan Senowitz over Brenda Jordan/Dawn Peterson, 6-1!  No Aces.

John Rizzo/Jeanette Pegg over Marie Easton/Robin Wilson, 6-2!  No Aces.

Sean McHugh/Marie Easton over Kevin Doyle/Robin Wilson, 6-4!  No Aces.

Kevin Doyle/Vlad Smolyanskiy over Rafealo Kazakov/Sean McHugh, 6-4!  No Aces.

The 6 to 8pm session:

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Ryan Pienciak/Ryan Sherry over John Rizzo/Nick Caputo, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, to become the New # 81 Ranked Team in the Doubles Division!  No Aces.

Ryan Pienciak/Ryan Sherry over John Rizzo/Nick Caputo, 6-0!  No Aces.

Joe Rodrigues/Syed Rashid over Mike Sindler/Frank Hohorst, 7-6 (7-4)!  No Aces.

Mike Sindler/Frank Hohorst over Joe Rodrigues/Syed Rashid, 6-2!  No Aces. 

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Senthil Kumar/Tom La over Dennis Cabanatan/Ray Spadaro, 6-2, 6-0, to successfully defend their # 101 Rank in the Doubles Division!  In the process, Cabanatan/Spadaro entered the division as the New # 107 Ranked Team.  No Aces. 

Dennis Cabanatan/Tom La over Senthil Kumar/Dan Knitzer, 6-2!  No Aces.

Joe Rodrigues/Syed Rashid leading Mike Sindler/Frank Hohorst, 5-1 (Incomplete when the session ran out of time)!  No Aces.

Senthil Kumar/Dan Knitzer leading Dennis Cabanatan/Tom La, 3-2 (Incomplete when the session ran out of time)!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I thank John for collecting all these scores and reporting them in a very timely fashion, as always.  It is much appreciated.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

 

 

 

11/18 Results.

11/18/17:

"Kuzavas/Pillay-Liu/Sheldon at C.G.!":

There was just one session of GTA Saturday Tennis…a morning one at The Cedar Grove Courts that featured the GTA Mixed Doubles Championship Match as the reigning GTA Mixed Doubles Champions: "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas and "The Smackdown" Sally Pillay put their Titles on the line against the 2017 M-Dub Champs: "Richie Running Things" Rich Liu and "Killer Kat" Kathy Sheldon (as reported by Marijus).  We go to his report now.

The Cedar Grove Result:

GTA Mixed Doubles Championship Match:

Marijus Kuzavas/Sally Pillay over Rich Liu/Kathy Sheldon, 6-1, 6-0, to complete their second successful GTA Mixed Doubles Championship defense of their first reign!  Marijus: 2 Aces on Kathy; Sally: 1 Ace on Kathy; and Rich: 1 Ace on Sally!

The Super Mario Scoop: Despite the score, the match was fun and entertaining.  The temperature was below 40 degrees (when the match started around 11am) and it took us a while to warm ourselves up at first.  I think the weather conditions affected our opponents a bit more than it did us.  Rich was making perhaps more unforced errors than usual.  Kathy was solid.  Sally was good after she warmed up a bit.

The Consequences: Now Kuzavas/Pillay are free to defend their Titles against any team ranked in the Mixed Doubles Division at that particular time.  But it must also be said that they are under no obligation to do so for the balance of this season.  In fact, their next defense does not have to occur until the month of April 2018.

Samara's Notes: I thank Marijus for reporting this result in a very timely fashion and also providing his commentary (as he always does).  It is much appreciated.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

 

 

 

11/17 Results.

11/17/17:

"2nd Friday Night Bubble Party features 15 players (1 new)!":

There was just one session of GTA Friday Night Tennis as it was way too cold for outdoor tennis.  Instead, it was the second 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 just one shy of 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 8:15 to 10:15.  Of the fifteen official competitors, one of them was new and making his official GTA Debut (more on that later).

The first three people to arrive at 7:55: Samara, "The Levitator" Levy Lorenzo and "Fantastic" Fausto Murg all pulled into the parking lot at the same time.  Upon entering the lounge area, they found themselves surrounded by parents waiting to pick up their children from the group lesson that ends at 8pm.

At 8pm, Rizzo arrived as did most of the rest of the group.  The three late arrivals were "Hurricane" Jose Gonzales (at 8:20) and "Tireless" Tommy Reszkowski and "The Argentine Machine" Fernanda Toker (both together at 8:25).  The last action of the session lingered until about 10:25.

So now let's get to the action!

The Wayne Bubble Results:

Rich Liu/Fausto Murg over Levy Lorenzo/Fadia Nicolas, 6-2!  Rich: 1 Ace on Levy.  This was the first official action of the night to get underway at 8:20 on Court Four.  Not sure when it ended as it went right into another one where they switched the teams.  More on that one a bit later.

Jose Gonzales/David Ramirez over Jorge Solano/Dino Celis, 6-3!  Jose: 1 Ace on Jorge; and Jorge: 1 Ace on Jose!  It was the official GTA Debut of David Ramirez.  This was played on Court Two from 8:34 to 9:11.

The Skinny: Ramirez is friends with Solano and he was Jorge's guest this night.  He is a nice guy and a solid player.  Hopefully, we will see more of him in the future.

David Caicedo over John Rizzo, 6-4!  No Aces.  This was contested on Court Three from 8:36 to 9:14.

2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Doubles Match:
Tommy Reszkowski/Fernanda Toker over Frank Samara/Suzanne Bujara, 6-2, 6-0, to successfully defend their # 9 Rank in the Mixed Doubles Division!  Tommy: 3 Aces in the 1st Set (2 on Suzanne and 1 on Frank)!  We got this match underway on Court One at 8:35.

1st Set: Frank held serve (Frank hit a winner, an un-returned serve and another winner to make it Triple Game Point, it was then on Double Game Point where he hit another un-returned serve to secure the hold), Fernanda held (30-Love was where Frank hit a drop shot winner and then it went to 30-All in the point after that only to have Tommy hit a drop shot winner of his own to make it Game Point, then came Deuce and Game Point again where Fernanda hit an excellent passing shot winner to secure her own hold), but Suzanne was the first to be broken (Tommy hit a drop shot winner for Love-15, then Frank hit a drop shot winner of his own for 15-All, but then it was straight to Double Break Point where Tommy hit an emphatic Overhead Smash winner for the break) for 1-2.  Tommy held at Love as he started off with back-to-back drop shot winners and then nailed Suzanne with a corner Ace to set up Triple Game Point where he then hit a winning volley to secure his own hold for a 3-1 lead, but then Samara held again and this time it was at Love as an un-returned serve got the ball rolling and then another secured the hold to pull to 2-3!  But from there, Toker also held again (Love-15 shifted to 30-15 after Tommy hit a winning drop shot, then it went to 30-All where Tommy hit another big-time Overhead Smash winner to set up Game Point, it went to Deuce where an un-returned serve set up another Game Point and then came the hold), Bujara was broken again (Tommy hit a drop shot winner to make it Love-30, but then he blew an overhead to bring it to 15-30 which was where Fernanda hit a passing shot winner to set up Double Break Point where Tommy scored with yet another drop shot winner for the break) and Tireless Tommy then held a third straight time (started with a slice Ace onto the sideline against Suzanne, then it went to 15-All where Tommy made an astounding get that led to winning the point for 30-15 where Frank responded with a sharply angled return winner to make it 30-All, then came Game/Set Point where Tommy unleashed a big Ace up the T against Frank for the hold and the set) to get the initial set in his team's pocket at exactly 9:04.  One minute later, the next set was underway.

2nd Set: Frank was broken (Tommy hit a drop shot winner and Fernanda hit a passing shot winner no the way to Triple Break Point, Frank then scored with his most wicked winner of the night as he ran across the baseline and whipped a big-time forehand cross-court into the far corner to bring it to Double Break Point only to be outdone by a winning lob from Fernanda for the break), Fernanda held (an un-returned serve for 15-Love, then 15-All and a rare Double Fault for 15-30 which was where back-to-back un-returned serves set up Game Point, it went to Deuce, back to Game Point and then the hold), Suzanne was broken at Love as Tommy hit a return that rolled over the net to be a winner and that made it Love-30 and then on Triple Break Point he hit a drop shot winner for the break), Tommy held (an un-returned serve for 15-Love, then it was 15-All where back-to-back un-returned serves set up Double Game Point which is where Tommy blew a volley to cut his lead to Game Point and then he hit a Double Fault to make it Deuce, but then he hit an excellent Backhand Volley winner to set up yet another Game Point and then finally get the hold), Samara was broken at Love and then Toker held at Love as Fernanda hit a roller over the net that was a winner to make it 30-Love and then Tommy hit a crushing Overhead Smash winner to set up Triple Game/Match Point and then came the hold and the bagel set victory at 9:25!

The Skinny: Tommy and Fernanda were looking to play any team in order to remain active in the Mixed Doubles Division.  So it was Frank and Suzanne doing the good deed for the second time this week (they did the same on Sunday against GTA Champion: Nathan Fernandes and Natalia Sout).  Going into it, Samara/Bujara knew it was a mismatch...but playing a higher level of competition will be the best way for Suzanne to continue her improvement.  She had many rallies where she hit the ball aggressively...she just needs to develop more consistency and that will come with time.  Reszkowski is a perfect example of how persistence pays off in terms of improvement and he may very well be a deserving Nominee in the Most Improved Player of The Year award category at the end of the season.

Rich Liu/Fadia Nicolas over Levy Lorenzo/Fausto Murg, 6-3!  No Aces.  Not sure when this one got underway on Court Four, but it finished at 9:10.

Jorge Solano/Dino Celis over Levy Lorenzo/Rich Liu, 6-3!  No Aces.  Court Two hosted this one from 9:14 to 9:48.

Jose Gonzales/David Ramirez over Fausto Murg/Fadia Nicolas, 6-1!  Jose: 2 Aces on Fadia; and Fausto: 1 Ace on Jose!  This foursome faced off on Court Four from 9:14 to 9:45.  After taking a few couple minutes break to figure out what to do next, they then decided to play a Rematch One-Setter.

Jose Gonzales/David Ramirez over Fausto Murg/Fadia Nicolas, 6-2!  No Aces.  This was played on Court Four from 9:47 to 10:18.

Don Moya over David Caicedo, 6-1!  David: 1 Ace.  These two faced off on Court Three from 9:20 to 9:58.  Though the score appears to be lopsided, the rallies were hard-hitting and some where lengthy.  After this one ended and the Doubles One-Setter to be reported next had finished, first Don hit against Fernanda and then David hit against her as well.  The latter two started a One-Setter that would not be completed.  That partial score will end this report.  But first...

John Rizzo/Fernanda Toker over Tommy Reszkowski/Suzanne Bujara, 6-1!  Tommy: 1 Ace on Fernanda; John: 1 Ace on Suzanne; and Fernanda: 1 Ace on Suzanne!  This one lasted all of seventeen minutes (from 9:32 to 9:49) on Court One.  Rizzo was going to let Samara take his place for the next one, but Toker said she felt somewhat tired and opted out instead (before going to hit on Court Three).

John Rizzo/Tommy Reszkowski over Frank Samara/Suzanne Bujara, 6-0!  No Aces.  It went like this: Tommy held serve (Tommy hit a net-cord-aided drop shot winner for 15-Love, then hit a Double Fault for 15-All which was where he made a great get/winner combo and that soon sent the momentum to Double Game Point where an un-returned serve secured the hold), Frank was broken (an un-returned serve set up a 15-Love start only to then have it go straight to Double Break Point as John also hit a net-cord-aided drop shot winner along the way and then the break came after that), John held (John hit an excellent passing shot winner and Tommy hit a drop shot winner on the way to Triple Game Point, it was then Double Game Point where Tommy hit yet another drop shot winner), Suzanne was broken (15-Love then point for point to Game Point as John hit a winning return along the way and Suzanne hit an un-returned serve to set up that Game Point, but then it went to Deuce where John hit a winner for Break Point and then John hit another winner to get the break), Reszkowski held yet again (an un-returned serve for 15-Love where Frank scored with a great get/winner combo only to then have John blow a volley on the way to Double Break Point where Tommy dug himself out of that hold by first scoring with an un-returned serve which he then followed with a truly un-returnable serve to bring it to Deuce and it was then on Game Point where Tommy executed an excellent passing shot winner for the hold) and Samara was broken again (Frank made his greatest get/winner combo of the entire evening to make it 15-Love, but then he blew an overhead and so did Suzanne on the way to Double Break/Match Point, it was then on Break/Match Point where John ended matters with a passing shot winner to feed the opposition the latest bagel of the night!  This one took place on Court One from 9:50 to 10:14.

Jorge Solano/Rich Liu leading Levy Lorenzo/Dino Celis, 5-1 (Incomplete when they abided by the rules of the session and ended things at 10:15)!  No Aces.

Fernanda Toker leading David Caicedo, 3-0 (Incomplete and just a point away from going up 4-0 as this one was played on Court Three approximately from 10:10 to 10:25)!  No Aces.

After the session ended, seven of us (Samara, Rizzo, Celis, Liu, Caicedo, Reszkowski and Toker) all went to the nearby Taphouse Grille for food and drinks.  It was a fun way to end the evening.

All the best,
Frank Samara
gtasamara5@gmail.com

11/16 Results.

11/16/17:

"TMT Qtr part of 12 at C.G., 17 play at Bubble!":

There were two sessions of GTA Thursday Night Tennis as first it was the usual one at The Cedar Grove Courts which was somewhat co-hosted by "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan and "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan along with "The Smackdown" Sally Pillay giving details from the Main Event match in which she was involved – the continuation of the Tinseltown Memorial Tournament Quarterfinal where she teamed with GTA Women's Champion: Laura "The Aura" Gawley to take on "The Levitator" Levy Lorenzo and "The Icon" Nick Inciong.  And then "Hollywood" Frank Samara hosted the session at The Wayne Bubble featuring the Night Owls Group organized by "The Riz" John Rizzo. 

So we will first recap how the Cedar Grove session unfolded as reported by Gen (as she also relays info from Kris along the way) and then get the multi-layered recap from The Wayne Bubble.  We now turn it over to Gen.

When I arrived at Cedar Grove by 7pm, Nathan Fernandes and Natalia Sout were already out on Court Four practicing volleys.  Sally Pillay and Marijus Kuzavas pulled into the parking lot five minutes later.

Then, in a matter of minutes, we were joined by Jordan Bachvaroff, Nick Inciong and Levy Lorenzo.  The weather drastically changed from earlier in the day.  It was now windier and chilly.  The courts were covered with leaves and a few scattered areas of puddles with leaves on top that prevented them from drying up in time.

Once Laura Gawley arrived, they had to decide whether to play out the continuation of their "Battle of the Sexes" style Tinseltown Memorial Tournament Quarterfinal Match.  Then Kris Srinivasan arrived with both a squeegee and rake in tow.  He was followed in by the last two players for the night, Doinks Srinivasan and Rob Gawley.

Special thanks to Kris and Marijus for making the courts clean and playable.  Kris used the rake to clear the leaves while Marijus handled the squeegee to get rid of some of the puddles.  They did an awesome job in clearing the courts (3 and 4) which made it possible for the match to be played out this evening. The wind also subsided for the rest of the session.  The Main Event match was played on Court Four.

The Cedar Grove Results:

Jordan Bachvaroff/Doinks Srinivasan over Kris Srinivasan/Genalin Capan, 6-3!  No Aces.  We played on Court Three.

The following results were relayed to me by Kris.

Nathan Fernandes/Natalia Sout over Marijus Kuzavas/Kris Srinivasan, 6-3!  No Aces.  This was also played on Court Three.

The "Battle of Sexes" TMT Quarterfinal Match:
Laura Gawley/Sally Pillay over Nick Inciong/Levy Lorenzo, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4, to advance to the Semifinals of the Tinseltown Memorial Tournament!  Nick: 1 Ace on Sally in the 3^rd Set; and Sally: 1 Ace on Levy in the 3^rd Set!  This was played on Court Four.

Sally says: Since we started down 2-4 in the 2^nd Set and also navigating the colder climate, we decided to play a full 3^rd Set.  The ball seemed much heavier due to the conditions.  Needless to say Levy and Nick gave us a good challenge.  Nick's serves were great and he was very solid playing from the baseline.

Samara's Notes: Congratulations to the reigning GTA Women's Doubles Champions as they are the first female team to take out the guys in this first-ever "Battle of The Sexes" style Doubles Tournament.  I also want to say that I am impressed with all involved for opting to play a full 3^rd Set rather than go the 10-Point Super Tiebreak route.  I think that is the more suitable option (provided there is enough time to play it) in "To Be Continued" situations such as this.  For the ladies, their next opponents in the Semis will be the team otherwise known as The Foundation – Samara (that would be me…heehee!) teaming with "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli. 

The other still-pending (aka To Be Continued) TMT Quarterfinal features Gen and Doinks going up against Rizzo and "Richie Running Things" Rich Liu.  They have already had a few reschedules, but they hope to get this one done soon.

We now go back to Gen for the rest of what took place at Cedar Grove.

Doinks, Jordan, Rob Gawley and I took Court One and ended up just hitting since the condition of the court was not safe to play any official sets.  Eventually, once the TMT match concluded, Jordan and Rob were called over to Court Four.  Another "Battle of the Sexes" style One-Setter got started.  Doinks and I just stayed on Court One and practiced our volleys.

Nathan Fernandes/Natalia Sout leading Marijus Kuzavas/Kris Srinivasan, 2-1 (Incomplete when it started to rain…about 10 minutes before the lights would have gone out at 10pm)!  No Aces.  This was played on Court Three.

Laura Gawley/Sally Pillay leading Jordan Bachvaroff/Rob Gawley, 3-2 (Incomplete when it started to rain)!  No Aces.  This was played on Court Four.

Samara's Notes: I thank Gen for stepping up as host and providing us with this report…and I also thank both Kris and Sally for their contributions as well.

We will now detail what took place up at The Wayne Bubble.

Samara arrived at 9:05.  The situation for the Night Owls on Thursday nights is that two of the four courts are available at 9pm while the other two do not become available until 9:30.  So the two courts at each end, Courts One and Four, were occupied by others.

Already out on Court Two and still just hitting were "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak and Frank "Hydro" Hohorst going up against "The Artful Dodger" Arthur Fontanilla and "The Running Man" Ryan Sherry.  It would become an official One-Setter once it started at 9:14.

On Court Three, it was "King Crush" Chris Chiaro teaming with "The Lethal Lefty" Lou La Forgia as they were hitting against "Daddy O" Paul Daddio and "NC-17" Nick Caputo.  At 9:16, they officially got play underway as this would end up becoming an impromptu full 2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match with an additional One-Setter afterwards.

In the lounge area, Rizzo was already there along with "The Hit Man" Tom La, "Swinging" Syed Rashid and "The Adonis" Don Moya.

Next into the lounge area was "J-Rod" Joe Rodrigues at 9:10.  At 9:30, "The Webmaster" Senthil Kumar arrived.  And five minutes later, it was the last two arrivals of the evening – Dennis "The Menace" Cabanatan and Tony "Sure Shot" Shiao.  We had a total of 17 official competitors.

And here is how the action went down!

The Wayne Bubble Results:

Ryan Pienciak/Frank Hohorst over Arthur Fontanilla/Ryan Sherry, 6-1!  No Aces.  This one got going on Court Two at 9:14.  Not sure when it ended as it led to a Rematch One-Setter which we will get to a bit later in this report.

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Chris Chiaro/Lou La Forgia over Paul Daddio/Nick Caputo, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3, to successfully defend their # 6 Rank in the Doubles Division!  In the process, Daddio/Caputo entered the division as the New # 105 Ranked Team.  No Aces.  This match was played on Court Three.

The 1^st Set ran from 9:16 to 9:42.  Initially, they were planning to then just enter into a Rematch One-Setter as that got underway at 9:45.  When the sets were split and with no demand from anyone else to switch things up between the courts, they were then able to make it a full match.  While the score is not impressive, the rallies certainly were as they were both hard-hitting and dramatic.  This court featured the highest quality tennis of the entire session.  They would then play an additional One-Setter afterwards which we will get to a little later in this report.

Senthil Kumar/Joe Rodrigues over Tom La/Syed Rashid, 6-2!  No Aces.  Court Four hosted this foursome as this first one got underway around 9:40.  Not sure when it ended as they then switched up the teams and played another One-Setter which we will report in a short while.

John Rizzo/Dennis Cabanatan over Tony Shiao/Frank Samara, 7-5!  Tony: 2 Aces on John!  It went like this: Tony held serve (Frank hit a winning volley for 15-Love and then John hit a winning Overhead Smash for 15-All, a sideline Ace on John for 30-15, then 30-All, Game Point and the hold), John held at Love as he started things off with an un-returned serve and Dennis ended matters with a winning Backhand Volley, but Frank was the first to be broken (Tony hit an awesome Backhand Volley winner which was followed by an un-returned serve for 30-Love, it shifted to 30-All, then Game Point, Deuce, Game Point again where Dennis scored with a precise drop shot winner to make it 2^nd Deuce and then came Break Point where Dennis struck again – this time with a winning return for the break) for 1-2.  Dennis was also broken (two un-returned serves made it 30-Love, but then Frank hit a winning volley in the next point which shifted the momentum as it then went straight thru Break Point to the break), but then Shiao was also broken (started with another sideline Ace on John, it then went to 30-Love before shifting to 30-All as Dennis hit a dramatic winner along the way and then an un-returned serve set up Game Point, but then it went to Deuce, Break Point and the break) to fall to 2-3.  Rizzo was also broken (an un-returned serve for 15-Love and then Tony hit a whopper of an Overhead Smash winner for 15-All and then John blew a drop shot attempt to make it 15-30 which was where he then hit a rare Double Fault to set up Double Break Point and then came the break), but then Samara held (Love-15 went straight to Double Game Point where Frank made a great get/winner combo to secure his own hold) to take the first lead for his team since they were up after the first game…but now it was 4-3.  Cabanatan held (Frank blew a volley and then an un-returned serve made it 30-Love which was where Tony hit a well-executed drop shot return winner and the momentum soon shifted to 30-All, but then came Game Point and another un-returned serve to secure the hold) and then Sure Shot was broken again (Dennis hit a really nice Backhand Volley/drop shot winner combo for Love-15 and then it was off and running to Triple Break Point where Tony hit a net-cord-aided drop shot winner to make it Double Break Point which was where John hit a winning Overhead Smash to get the break) for 4-5.  The Riz was then broken again (Dennis first hit a powerful Overhead Smash winner and then followed that with another precision drop shot winner to make it 30-Love, but then that was where Frank hit a highly impressive winner of his own and the momentum soon shifted to 30-All, it was then Game/Match Point, Deuce and then the 2^nd Game/Match Point where Dennis blew an overhead to make it 2^nd Deuce and then he also blew a volley to set up Break Point and then came the break) for 5-5!  Hollywood was also broken (Tony hit a booming Overhead Smash winner for 30-Love only to then have the momentum shift straight to Break Point where Dennis hit a winner for the break) and then The Menace held again (an un-returned serve to go up 30-Love, then it was 30-15 was where John hit an excellent drop shot winner to then set up Double Game/Match Point, it went to Game/Match Point where Dennis hit a whipping winner to finally end this one on the 4^th M.P. overall) for the hard-fought victory!  We played this one on Court One from 9:45 to 10:24.

The Skinny: This was a topsy-turvy contest with quite a few lead changes and all four players having at least once blown a 30-Love lead on their service.  Dennis was quite likely to be the most impressive "winner-hitter" while his partner John was perhaps the most surprising get-maker of the bunch.

Arthur Fontanilla/Ryan Sherry over Ryan Pienciak/Frank Hohorst, 7-6 (7-5)!  No Aces.  This Rematch One-Setter ended around 10:20.  Art then left the session which cleared a path for Don to get involved in the official action.  But first…

Joe Rodrigues/Tom La over Senthil Kumar/Syed Rashid, 6-4!  No Aces.  Not sure when this one was finished on Court Four (as I was still all the way over on Court One).  I think Joe may have left after this one as I seem to recall seeing Senthil and Tom having a hitting session with one another while Syed sat and watched.  This One-Setter was the last official action of the night on that court.

Ryan Pienciak/Frank Hohorst over Tony Shiao/Ryan Sherry, 6-3!  Ryan S.: 1 Ace on Ryan P.!  This was played on Court Two from 10:26 to 10:56.

John Rizzo/Don Moya over Frank Samara/Dennis Cabanatan, 6-4!  No Aces.  Here's how it went down: Frank held (John hit a winner for Love-15, an un-returned serve made it 15-All, but then it was straight to Double Break Point as John hit a well-executed passing shot winner along the way, another un-returned serve made it Break Point, then came Deuce, Game Point and another un-returned serve to secure the hold), John held (John made an amazing get that led to him hitting an awesome winner just another shot later for 15-Love and then it went point for point until 30-All as Frank hit a mishit Overhead Smash winner, there was an un-returned serve and another dramatic drop shot winner from Dennis along the way and then it went to Break Point, Deuce, Game Point, 2^nd Deuce, Game Point again and then the hold…and I likely forgot who hit what winners after it went to Deuce), Dennis held at Love as Frank got it started with a winning volley and then three un-returned serves secured the hold, but Don was the first to be broken (15-Love shifted straight to Double Break Point as Don blew a volley along the way, but then an un-returned serve made it Break Point where Dennis scored with a scathing return winner for the break) for 1-3.  Samara was then broken (Love-15 then point for point to Break Point as there was an un-returned serve and a mishit volley winner from Don along the way) and then Rizzo held again (Don blew a volley for Love-15, but then three consecutive un-returned serves paved the path to Double Game Point, but then that was reduced to Deuce where Frank hit a drop shot winner to set up Break Point, then came 2^nd Deuce where Frank blew a volley to make it Game Point, it then went to 3^rd Deuce where John made a truly great get/winner combo to bring it back to Game Point and then the hold finally came) for 3-3.  Cabanatan also held again (Love-15 shifted straight to Double Game Point as Dennis executed yet another excellent drop shot winner and Frank hit a winning volley along the way and then Frank hit a winning Overhead Smash to secure his partner's hold), but then Moya also held (it was Love-15 where Frank badly blew a volley to make it 15-All and it was off and running to Double Game Point as Don made two awesome get/winner combos along the way along with an un-returned serve and then the hold came right after that) to knot the score once more at 4-4!  The Wood was broken again (started off with a rare Double Fault, it went to Love-30 where Don blew a volley to make it 15-30, it then went to Double Break Point, Break Point and the break), but The Riz held a third straight time (Dennis scored with both a wicked return winner and a walloping volley winner on the way to Triple Break Point, but then John fought back to Deuce with an un-returned serve along the way only to have it go back to another Break Point, then 2^nd Deuce, Game/Match Point, 3^rd Deuce, Break Point, 4^th Deuce and then the 2^nd Game/Match Point where Don scored with an emphatic volley winner to secure his partner's hold…and this is another game where I forgot some winners after it went to Deuce) to seal the deal on this one!  We played this one on Court One from 10:30 to 11:08.

The Skinny: John was the most worthy MVP in this one as he was never broken and really put forth an impressive effort throughout the contest.  His partner Don got stronger as the battle wore on…as he usually does.  Both Frank and Dennis lost a little of the focus each had in the previous One-Setter (where they were against one another) despite still having some quite nice moments as well.  It was another fun one as we ran into "overtime."  But there was still one more One-Setter lingering even longer.

Chris Chiaro/Lou La Forgia over Paul Daddio/Nick Caputo, 6-3!  Paul: 1 Ace on Lou.  This wrapped up the entire session as this one ended on Court Three at 11:11.  The high-intensity action never wavered as I was able to witness a few of the final rallies.  Nick really enjoyed the workout and the chance to slug it out with some other heavy hitters…and, of course, it was also a reunion with his fellow Secaucus High School alum, Lou.

Overall, it was a very solid session that went rather smoothly.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

 

 

 

11/15 Results.

11/15/17:

"Samara hosts 9 at C.G., then 12 play at Bubble!":

There were two sessions of GTA Wednesday Night Tennis as first it was the usual one at The Cedar Grove Courts, but this time hosted by "Hollywood" Frank Samara.  Then there was a somewhat concurrent (but running until later) session at The Wayne Bubble featuring the Night Owls Group organized by "The Riz" John Rizzo.  Samara went there solely to gather all the scores at that time as his playing services were not needed (they had an even amount of twelve competitors…plus, Frank was all "played out" from a full session at C.G. anyway).  Dino "The Dragon" Celis made a late cameo at Cedar Grove and then followed Samara to The Bubble to do the same there.

So we will first recap how the Cedar Grove session unfolded and then get the multi-layered recap from The Wayne Bubble.

Samara pulled into the lot at 6:55 to see the usual host, "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan", already out on Court Four hitting against both "The Bulgarian Bull" Jordan Bachvaroff and "Stealth" Omar Santos.  Courts One, Two and Three were all vacant.

Frank soon went out onto the court to take the side of Kris in the hitting session and within five minutes a Doubles One-Setter was underway.

The conditions were slightly chilly as the temps had dipped down into the 40 degree range having only been in the low 50's earlier in the day, but still they were quite reasonable for play as there was no wind at all to make things any worse.

While we were still playing, Doinks Srinivasan (aka "The Marathon Woman") made her way onto Court Three at 7:35.  She went through a stretching and limbering up session while waiting for her chance to play.

At 7:55, she was finally joined by "Del Brotro" Mike Mole for a fairly brief hitting/practice session.  I say "brief" because when the Doubles One-Setter on Court Four finally ended five minutes later (at 8pm), things got switched up with a nod to those who wanted to play Doubles and those who did not mind having a Singles hitting session.

So Doinks came over to Court Four while Jordan went over to Court Three to hit with Mike.  We game Mrs. Srinivasan her choice of partner.  The selection was her hubby Kris, Frank or Omar.  She opted to team with Samara…and, thus, the next Doubles One-Setter soon got underway.

Right around that same time, both the GTA Champion: "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes and Natalia "Nitro" Sout arrived at 8:05.  They sat on the bench for a bit before they were told by the twosome out on Court Three that they were welcome to join them for some Doubles.  After a fairly lengthy hitting session, the third Doubles One-Setter of the night got underway at exactly 8:28.

Prior to that, however, both "The Rogue" Rob Gawley and "Lady B" Louise Bysiek arrived at 8:15.  For Rob, it would only be a cameo appearance as he was in his work boots and not planning to play any tennis.  He left at 8:30.  Louise, however, was looking to play and had to wait a while as we know One-Setters always last long whenever someone is on their own and waiting to play…LOL!

So those were the nine official competitors we had throughout the session.  And Dino made his arrival at 9:25.

So let's get to the action!

The Cedar Grove Results:

Jordan Bachvaroff/Omar Santos over Kris Srinivasan/Frank Samara, 7-6 (7-4)!  No Aces.  It went like this: Kris was broken (Kris hit a passing shot winner for 15-Love, then went up 30-Love before a hard shift to Break Point as Jordan hit a vicious volley winner along the way, then it went to Deuce, back to Break Point and then the break), Jordan was broken (an un-returned serve for 15-Love where Frank hit a drop shot winner for 15-All and that was where back-to-back Double Faults brought it to Double Break Point where Frank hit a winning volley for the break), but Frank was the first to hold serve (Love-15 shifted straight to Double Game Point as Frank hit a passing shot winner and Omar blew an overhead along the way, but then Kris also blew an overhead to cut the lead down to Game Point, but then the hold came next) for 2-1.  Omar held as well (an un-returned serve for 15-Love and then it was point for point until 30-All which was where Kris hit a wicked return winner for Break Point, but then Omar responded with an impressive passing shot winner to make it Deuce, then came Game Point and another un-returned serve for the hold) and then Srinivasan was broken again (Kris blew a volley for Love-15 and then it went point for point to Break Point as Frank hit a winning Backhand Volley along the way, but then Omar hit an excellent drop shot volley winner for the break) to fall to 2-3.  Bachvaroff was also broken again (Love-15 was where an un-returned serve soon shifted the momentum to 30-15, but then Frank hit another of his sharp slice drop shot winners for 30-All and then a Double Fault set up Break Point where then another Double Fault caused the break) and then Samara held again (Love-15 then point for point to Break Point as Frank hit a precise passing shot winner along the way and then it would go to Deuce and then Game Point where Kris hit an emphatic Backhand Volley winner to secure his partner's hold) to reclaim the lead at 4-3.  Santos was broken (an un-returned serve for 15-Love and then a shift to 15-30 right after Frank hit a winning volley, then came 30-All and Break Point where Kris ended yet another game with an excellent passing shot winner) as his team fell to 3-5, but then The K Man was broken a third straight time (Jordan blew a volley for 15-Love, but then came the shift to Double Break Point as Jordan hit a winning drop shot volley for 15-All and then at 15-30 Kris thought he had an Ace on the T-line against Jordan only to have Jordan cite a ball mark just outside the line and we did a first serve play-over which did not go our way and it was then Double Break Point where Kris hit a vengeful drop shot winner to bring it to Break Point, but then came the break) to have his team's lead cut to 5-4.  The Bulgarian Bull finally held serve and it was at Love as he started off with an un-returned serve and also secured the hold with another un-returned serve to tie things up at 5-5!  Hollywood then had his third straight hold (Omar blew a volley to make it 30-Love and then an un-returned serve set up Triple Game Point and then that lead was reduced to Game Point, but then came the hold) to regain the lead for his team at 6-5.  Stealth was able to hold serve in a pivotal game (Love-15 then point for point until 30-All and along the way Kris made an awesome dig get/lob winner combo and then came a Double Fault to set up Break/Match Point which was where Kris blew what should have been an easy volley winner which now made it Deuce where Kris redeemed himself with a well-placed drop shot return winner to set up the 2^nd Break/Match Point and then came the 2^nd Deuce where Kris once again blew a volley and this time around it set up Game Point where Jordan hit a venomous volley winner to secure his partner's hold and force the Tiebreak) to extend the match!  In the Breaker: Kris held his lone serve, but then Jordan held both of his as Omar hit a passionate passing shot winner in the first one and Jordan hit a precise drop shot winner in the second and then Frank was broken on both of his serves as Kris blew a volley in the first one and then Omar scored with another passing shot winner to close out the second and give his team a 4-1 lead as he was about to go on serve.  He held the first of his two serves for 5-1 at the changeover and then he held his second as well to make it 6-1 which was the first Match Point in favor of his team, but the third MP overall.  Srinivasan then held both of his serves to save two Match Points to hand back to Bachvaroff a 6-3 lead and yet another Match Point.  He was broken on his first serve, but then held on his second to take the TB at 7-4 on the 6^th MP overall!  We played this on Court Four from 7pm to 8pm.  That is not an estimate…those are the exact start and stop times as this one was exactly one hour long!

The Skinny: Kris felt bad afterward as he felt he let down the team by not being able to hold serve while his partner held every time.  But, ultimately, the opposition mounted a spirited comeback and were worthy of the win here.  In a season filled with Doubles One-Setters with more impressive Tiebreak scores, I feel this one will fall short of an official Nomination for One-Set Doubles Match of The Year at season's end…but it should at least garner an Honorable Mention.

Kris Srinivasan/Omar Santos over Frank Samara/Doinks Srinivasan, 7-5!  No Aces.  Here's how it went down: Frank held (Doinks blew a volley for Love-30, but it shifted to 30-All right after Kris blew a volley and then that was where Kris scored with an excellent Backhand Volley/drop shot winner combo to set up Break Point where Frank hit a crushing Overhead Smash for Deuce and then Kris blew another volley to set up Game Point where the hold came via an un-returned serve) and then Omar was broken (Kris blew a volley for Love-15, but then Frank blew a volley for 15-All and then Frank redeemed himself with a winning return to shift the momentum to Double Break Point where Kris blew yet another volley to allow the break) for 0-2.  Doinks was broken at Love as Frank blew a drop shot attempt for Love-15 and then Omar scored with a drop shot winner followed by a winning lob in the next point to set up Triple Break Point and then came the break, but Kris was also broken (Frank hit a winning volley for Love-15, then an un-returned serve made it 15-All which was where Doinks hit a net-cord-aided return winner which then sent the momentum to Double Break Point, then it was Break Point where the break came) for 1-3.  Samara held yet again and this time it was at Love as it got started with a winning volley from Doinks for 15-Love and was closed out with an un-returned serve for a 4-1 lead, but then Santos held (30-Love where Frank hit another whopper of an Overhead Smash for 30-15, but then came Double Game Point and the hold) for 2-4.  Mrs. Srinivasan was broken again (Frankd made a great get/winner combo for 15-Love, but then Kris hit a whipping winner to shift the momentum which would carry all the way to Double Break Point where Omar blew a volley to make it Break Point which was where Kris scored with a winning volley for the break) and then Mr. Srinivasan finally held serve for the first time of the night (Frank whipped out his Windmill Overhead Smash for Love-15, but then back-to-back un-returned serves followed by a winning volley from Omar made it Double Game Point where Omar hit an even more impressive Overhead Smash winner to secure his partner's hold) to knot the score at 4-4!  Then, The Wood was broken for the very first time of the evening (Omar hit a drop shot winner for a Love-15 start which was where Frank made another nice get/winner combo for 15-All only to then have it go to Double Break Point as Kris hit a winning volley along the way, that was cut down to Break Point only to have Kris score with another winning volley for the break) as his team lost their lead for the first time in this one, but then Stealth was also broken (Kris blew a volley for Love-30 and then a Double Fault set up Triple Break Point where Doinks blew a volley to make it Double Break Point which was where Kris blew what should have been a sure volley winner to allow the break) to keep things alive at 5-5!  The Marathon Woman was broken yet again (down Triple Break Point, it was reduced to Break Point, but then came the break) for 5-6 and then The K Man held again (Omar hit a victorious volley winner for 15-Love and then followed that up with calling his partner's next serve long while Kris thought he had it off the service-line…Frank said it felt long, but could not see it and Doinks thought it might have been good but was also unsure…so we did a first serve play-over and that led to it being 15-All rather than going up 30-Love and then it went point for point as two blown volleys by Omar kept evening the score, but still it went to Game/Match Point, then Deuce and then it ended on the 2^nd Game/Match Point) to cap an impressive comeback!  This one was also played on Court Four and it lasted from 8:03 to 8:49.

The Skinny: Once again, Samara was impressive with his level of play…but it still did not result in a win.  Kris felt the momentum sway once they were finally able to break Frank for the first time and then Mr. Srinivasan was finally able to hold serve as well.  That gave him all the confidence he needed and he started getting a bit more zip in his shots.  Also, kudos must be offered to Omar who played some of the best tennis we have ever seen from him.  He received a call from home just prior to the last game and in his rush to get things done…he almost caused things to be undone with his jumping in on the long serve call and then blowing rushed volleys.  Sometimes the worst thing we can do is try to finish things fast…as it almost always leads to those very things going much longer!

Jordan Bachvaroff/Mike Mole over Nathan Fernandes/Natalia Sout, 7-5!  Mike: 2 Aces on Natalia!  They played this on Court Three from 8:28 to 9:13.  There were many hard-hitting and fast-paced rallies in this one.  From what I was able to see in the moments I could look their way, the "bullies" (said mostly in jest…LOL!) were targeting Natalia only to find she was more than up to the challenge as she sent those shots back with the same fire in which they were delivered and usually her patience and persistence paid off with her team coming out on top to take the point.  It just seems that there were not enough of those opportunities to come out in the lead in games overall.  Still, very good stuff here and their rallies were entertaining to watch whenever I could sneak a peek at them.

Kris Srinivasan/Doinks Srinivasan over Frank Samara/Louise Bysiek, 6-4!  Kris: 1 Ace on Louise.  The dirty lowdown: Kris held (Doinks hit a winner and then Kris hit a drop shot winner to make it 30-Love which was where Frank hit a victorious volley for 30-15 and then came a Double Fault for 30-All, next came Game Point, Deuce, Game Point again and then the hold), Frank was broken (Kris hit a sharp slice of a Backhand Volley winner for Love-15, it shifted to 30-15, then shifted again to Break Point and then came the break) and Doinks held (Kris hit a venomous volley winner for 30-Love, it went to 30-15 and then an un-returned serve set up Double Game Point where Kris hit yet another winning volley to secure his partner's hold) to take a 3-0 lead.  Louise held (an un-returned serve for 15-Love, a shift to 15-30 where Frank hit an impressive winner for 30-All, then Break Point, Deuce…and I could no longer remember who hit what winners in this one as it was all Game Points thru 3^rd Deuce and yet another Game Point and finally the hold) to get her team onto the scoreboard, but then Mr. Srinivasan held yet again (an un-returned serve for 15-Love, 15-All and then an Ace up the T on Louise for 30-15, Double Game Point and then the hold) to go up 4-1.  Samara finally held again (an un-returned serve for 15-Love, 30-Love, 30-15 and then Double Game Point where Frank hit a well-executed drop shot winner for the hold) to pull closer at 2-4.  Mrs. Srinivasan also held again (Love-15 shifted to 30-15 shifted again to Break Point, Deuce, Break Point, 2^nd Deuce where Frank blew a volley to set up Game Point and then came the hold, and I must say that was another game where I likely forgot some winners along the way) to take a fairly commanding 5-2 lead.  But Bysiek held yet again (15-Love then point for point until 30-All, Break/Match Point where Frank made a great dig-style get that kept the point alive and led to Deuce, Game Point, 2^nd Deuce, Game Point again and then the hold) and then The K Man was broken (started with a Double Fault, it shifted to 30-15 where Frank hit a winning Overhead Smash that led to the next shift to Break Point, then it was Deuce where Frank made a great get/winner combo to set up Break Point where Frank hit yet another winning Overhead Smash for the break) to have his team's lead cut to 5-4.  But then Hollywood was also broken (an un-returned serve for 15-Love, it shifted to 15-30 where another un-returned serve made it 30-All which was where Doinks made an awesome get/winner combo to set up Break/Match Point and then came the break) to end the match!  We played this one on Court Four from 8:52 to 9:36.

The Skinny: The story of the night continued through this one as Samara continued to play some of his best tennis in recent memory (Bysiek was stunned by many of his gets) only to end up in a losing cause.  Louise started off slow as she did not take much time to hit beforehand and all bundled up in a winter coat…her game was still somewhat cold.  But once she started to warm up, she was her usual return-making self as just about any shot hit her way would be sent back in proper fashion as she almost always manages to be one of the steadier players on the court.  The momentum just did not change hands soon enough in this one.  Eager for more action, all four wanted to play another.  It was decided we would forego the changeovers to save time.  Samara committed the games to memory to write down at the end.

Frank Samara/Louise Bysiek leading Kris Srinivasan/Doinks Srinivasan, 5-3 (Incomplete with Kris on serve and down Love-30 when the lights went off at 10pm)!  Kris: 1 Ace on Louise.  Here's how it was going: Kris was broken despite the Ace on Louise, Frank held and Doinks was broken for a 0-3 opening.  Louise was broken at Love, but Mr. Srinivasan was broken again for 1-4.  Samara was also broken and then Mrs. Srinivasan held to pull to 3-4.  Then, Bysiek had a Love hold for 5-3 and The K Man was on serve once again and down Love-30 when it was lights out and saved by the proverbial bell!

The Skinny: Kris took glee in the fact that Frank went winless for the night as his team was able to get the "F" out of Dodge just in time.  It was ironic that Samara's best on-court performance in perhaps two seasons went fruitless.  Bysiek also came on much stronger in this one as her warm-up continued here.  We had begun this one on Court Four at exactly 9:37…23 minutes was just not enough time to get it done.  A similar situation unfolded on Court Three.

Jordan Bachvaroff/Mike Mole leading Nathan Fernandes/Natalia Sout, 6-5 (Incomplete with Nate, I believe, on serve and down Love-30 when the lights went off at 10pm)!  No Aces.  They got this one underway on Court Three at 9:18 and that still was not enough time for a proper finish.  Honestly, I cannot recall if they also decided to forego the changeovers in their latter One-Setter.

From there, Frank and Dino both got into their cars around 10:05 and made it to The Wayne Bubble by 10:20.  Both had the chance to lounge on the couch in the waiting area and then Samara collected the scores as the various players made their way off the courts.

The Wayne Bubble Results:

2 out of 3 Sets Women's Doubles Match:

Kathy Sheldon/Fadia Nicolas over Dawn Peterson/Jeanette Pegg, 6-1, 6-2, as both teams entered the Women's Doubles Division as the New # 24 and # 25 Ranked Teams respectively!  No Aces.  Not sure when this one got underway, but it finished on Court Three at 10:30.

Vlad Smolyanskiy/Susan Koshy over Ted Cedroski/Sam Senowitz, 7-5!  No Aces (apparently).  This was played on Court One and then they switched up the teams for the next one.

Ted Cedroski/Susan Koshy over Vlad Smolyanskiy/Sam Senowitz, 6-3!  No Aces (apparently).  This one finished on Court One right around 10:35.  After this, they split into pairs with Ted and Vlad having a hitting session on Court One while Sam and Susan did the same on Court Three.

Don Moya over John Rizzo, 6-2!  No Aces.  They played on Court Four and this one likely ended around 10:25.  With Dino not dressed to play tennis, there was no opportunity for Doubles.  They started another Singles set with John leading 1-0, but then both decided to scrap it and call it a night.

Fadia Nicolas/Jeanette Pegg leading Kevin Doyle/Robin Wilson, 3-2 (Incomplete, interrupted by the end of the session)!  No Aces.  This one got underway on Court Two at exactly 10:34.

The Skinny: Kevin explained that due to the number of players, it left him with Marie on Court Two to have their own one-on-one hitting session for most of the night.  By the time the above Doubles One-Setter came together, it was too late to see it to its proper finish.

Samara's Notes: I thank John for hosting these sessions and also thank Kevin, Dawn, Kathy and Susan for offering up their scores as well.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

 

 

 

11/14 Results.

11/14/17:

"Riz hosts 17 at The Bubble!":

There was just one session of GTA Tuesday Night Tennis…even though it was a decent night weather-wise, no results were reported from Cedar Grove…so the lone session was the Tuesday night meet-up of the Night Owls Group at The Wayne Bubble hosted by "The Riz" John Rizzo.  As John had to gather many results, what follows is a simple reporting of the scores.

The Wayne Bubble Results:

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Tom La/Nick Caputo over Anish Mehta/Senthil Kumar, 6-4, 6-3, to successfully defend their # 93 Rank in the Doubles Division!  In the process, Mehta/Kumar entered the division as the New # 102 Ranked Team.  No Aces.

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Ryan Pienciak/Lou La Forgia over Chris Chiaro/Ryan Sherry, 6-3, 6-2, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 103 and # 104 Ranked Teams respectively!  No Aces. 

Tony Shiao/Syed Rashid over Dennis Cabanatan/Arthur Fontanilla, 6-4!  No Aces.

Dennis Cabanatan/Arthur Fontanilla over Tony Shiao/Syed Rashid, 6-2!  No Aces.

Paul Daddio/Alex Hohorst over Pranav Sinha/Frank Hohorst, 6-3!  No Aces.

Pranav Sinha/Frank Hohorst over Paul Daddio/Alex Hohorst, 6-4!  No Aces.

Paul Daddio/Alex Hohorst over John Rizzo/Frank Hohorst, 6-4!  No Aces.

Ryan Pienciak/Chris Chiaro over Lou La Forgia/Ryan Sherry, 6-2!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I thank John for collecting all these results and reporting them in a very timely manner.   

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

 

 

 

11/12 Results.

11/12/17:

"Samara hosts 8 at AP, Riz hosts 22 at Bubble!":

There were three sessions of GTA Sunday Tennis: the early morning one at The Albion Park Courts in Clifton hosted by "Hollywood" Frank Samara and then the two back-to-back late afternoon/early evening Sunday sessions for the two Night Owl groups up at The Wayne Bubble which are hosted by "The Riz" John Rizzo.

Let's first detail the comings and goings at Albion before getting the Bubble results from John.

The weather forecasts throughout the week left the scheduling of this Sunday session in some doubt as first it seemed like it may be too cold and then it seemed like it may get off to a rainy start or have rain be the cause of an early close if it rolled in too soon.  But as we approached the weekend, the forecasts improved enough for Samara to have the confidence in announcing the session.

At 9:45 on Sunday morning, Frank received a somewhat surprising text message from "Automatic" Anna Mazur who has not played with us for a short while.  She asked what time would he be getting there as she planned on coming as well.  His reply was that it would be slightly later than the 10:30 start time he had announced to the league the day before.

Sure enough, Samara rolled up to the courts at 10:40.  He found both "Vintage" Vinnie De Benedetto and Natalia "Nitro" Sout already there still waiting in their cars, unaware of the other's presence.  They both got out of their cars once Frank got out of his.

As the three of them headed down the hill toward the courts, "Sue B. Newbie" Suzanne Bujara used the far gate to get onto the courts.  And she would soon be followed through that gate by Mazur.

When the GTA Champion: "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes walked through that same gate (guess we can call it the South Gate as opposed to the North Gate) at 10:50, we now had a total of six competitors on hand.

Nate and Natalia started hitting with one another on the North Court while Anna and Suzanne began doing the same with each other on the South Court.  As it seemed that the Mixed Doubles Team partners (Fernandes and Sout) were in deep concentration during their hitting session, Samara and De Benedetto decided to head down to the South Court to offer up a Mixed Doubles opportunity to the ladies.  They were both happy to oblige.

At 11am, both "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli and "Fabulous" Fadia Nicolas made their way down the hill toward the courts.  Sensing the same sense of a full-on practice session on the North Court, The Doc instead decided to take Center Court with Fadia as they began a hitting session of their own.

Eventually, Spin and Fadia would be invited to take on the winners of that first Doubles One-Setter on South Court while the losers would figure out what they should do next.

That first One-Setter ended at 11:30 in favor of Vin and Anna.  Spin and Fadia were then called over to play with the winners while the losers, Frank and Suzanne, would then go over to Nate and Nat to see if they were up for some Mixed Doubles.  Sure enough, they were and everything went relatively smoothly from there.

We only had a total of eight official competitors.  Given how nice the conditions were (again, without any wind), all those in attendance were shocked by the amount of players we ended up having at the session...just a relatively light amount of eight altogether.  At 12:50, a mother and her three daughters took the South Court for a rather lengthy hitting session.

Time to get to the action!

The Albion Park Results:

Vinnie De Benedetto/Anna Mazur over Frank Samara/Suzanne Bujara, 6-2!  No Aces.  It went like this: Anna held serve (Suzanne scored with a nice passing shot winner for Love-15, 15-All and then two un-returned serves set up Double Game Point and then Vin ended an excellent and lengthy rally with a victorious volley to secure his partner's hold) and Frank was broken (Vin blew a volley for 15-Love, but then back-to-back blown volleys by Suzanne shifted the score to 15-30 which was where Frank hit an excellent passing shot winner for 30-All, but then Suzanne blew another volley to make it Break Point which was where Vin scored with an excellent passing shot return for the break) for 0-2.  Vin was broken (Frank hit a winning volley and then Anna blew a volley to make it Love-30, but then that was where Vin hit a passing shot winner for 15-30 and then Anna blew a volley to set up Double Break Point where Vin hit another passing shot winner to now make it Break Point which is where the break came next) to allow the opponents onto the scoreboard, but then Suzanne was also broken (Anna hit a winner for Love-30, then it went to Triple Break Point where Suzanne hit a winner to make it Double Break Point only to have Vin hit a passing shot winner to get the break) for 1-3.  Mazur held again (Anna blew a volley for Love-15, but then it went straight to Double Game Point with Vin hitting a winning volley followed by back-to-back un-returned serves and then the hold came after that) and then Samara was broken again, but this time at Love as Suzanne blew back-to-back volleys followed by a winning volley by Vin to set up Triple Break Point where he then hit a winning Overhead Smash for the break and a 1-5 score!  But De Benedetto was also broken again (Anna blew a volley and then Vin blew an overhead to make it Love-30, 15-30, Double Break Point and the break) to have his team's lead cut to 5-2 before Bujara was also twice broken with this time around being at Love as first Vin hit back-to-back winning volleys on the way to Triple Break/Match Point where Anna scored with a winning volley for the break and the win!  We played this one on the South Court from 11:05 to 11:30.

The Skinny: The difference here was the fact that Anna held serve twice while all of the rest of us were broken twice.  Mazur also seemed to play the cleanest tennis of the foursome.

2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Doubles Match:
Vinnie De Benedetto/Anna Mazur over Dan Martinelli/Fadia Nicolas, 6-2, 6-3, as both teams entered the Mixed Doubles Division as the New # 51 and # 52 Ranked Teams respectively!  Spin: 2 Aces on Anna (one in each set)!  They got this one underway on the South Court at 11:33 and what ended up becoming the 1st Set (rather than just a One-Setter) ended at 12:03.  After a slightly extended break, the 2nd Set got started at 12:08 and finished at 12:40.

2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Doubles Match:
Nathan Fernandes/Natalia Sout over Frank Samara/Suzanne Bujara, 6-1, 6-3, to successfully defend the # 4 Rank in the Mixed Doubles Division!  In the process, Samara/Bujara entered the Mixed Doubles Division as the New # 53 Ranked Team.  Suzanne: 1 Ace on Natalia in the 2nd Set.

1st Set: Frank was broken (Love-30 where Natalia blew a volley to make it 15-30 and then came a rally where Nate made two insanely great gets which led to Suzanne blowing a volley for Double Break Point, but then she had a moment of redemption with a nice passing shot winner for Break Point, but then came the break), Natalia held serve (Love-15 then point for point until 30-All as Frank had hit a drop shot volley winner along the way and then Natalia made an amazing get/winner combo for the mini-shift to Game Point which is where the hold came), Suzanne was broken (Frank first blew a volley and then Natalia hit a winning volley for Love-30, it went to Triple Break Point, then Double Break Point where Nate blew a volley to make it Break Point where Frank blew a volley to allow the break) and then Nathan held (Natalia hit a winning volley to make it 30-Love, but then the momentum shifted after she blew a volley and that took it all the way to Break Point, but then it went to Deuce, Break Point again, 2nd Deuce, Game Point and that was where the hold came) for a 4-0 lead.  Samara then held (Love-30, 15-30, Double Break Point was reduced to Deuce right after Frank hit a key passing shot winner and then it was Game Point where Suzanne hit a nice drop shot winner to help her partner hold) to get their team onto the scoreboard, but Fernandes replied with a Love hold as it started off with him hitting a passing shot winner and then an un-returned serve to get thing started and that game led to a commanding 5-1 lead.  Bujara was then broken again (Frank hit a winning volley for 15-Love, it shifted to 15-30 as Natalia hit a winner along the way, but then she blew an overhead to make it 30-All which was where Nate hit a winner to set up Break/Set Point, it went to Deuce, it then went to the 2nd Break/Set Point which is where it ended) to drop the initial set at exactly 12noon (we had begun this one on the North Court at 11:35).

With eight in attendance and everyone in action, we decided to make this a full match instead of just One-Setters.  When the other match on South Court came to end just three minutes later, Samara suggested to that foursome to also make it a full match and they agreed.  This next set began two minutes after the prior one had finished.

2nd Set: Nathan held (an un-returned serve for 30-Love, then Triple Game Point, Double Game Point where Nate blew a volley to reduce his lead to Game Point, but then came the hold), Frank held (Suzanne blew a volley for Love-15, but then it shifted straight to Double Game Point as Frank hit a wicked winner along the way and then Natalia blew a volley to allow the hold), Natalia held (Nate hit a nice passing shot winner for 15-Love, it then went to 15-All before going straight to Double Game Point where Nathan hit a vicious volley winner to secure his partner's hold) and then Suzanne held (Love-15, a super slow Ace against Natalia which seemingly had her frozen in space and time which then had us all hysterical and suddenly the score was 15-All, then it went to 15-30 before back-to-back un-returned serves set up Game Point where Frank hit the winning volley for to secure his partner's hold) as we were all on serve at 2-2.  Fernandes held again (Natalia blew a volley for Love-15 and then it went for point until 30-All as Nate hit a winner along the way and then Frank blew a volley for the mini-shift to Game Point where another un-returned serve secured the hold), but so did Samara as it started off being "The Frank Show" as he first scored with a sizzling passing shot winner, then an un-returned serve followed by an equally excellent passing shot winner to set up Triple Game Point which was where Nate hit back-to-back winners to reduce that lead to just Game Point where an un-returned serve to tie things again, this time at 3-3.  Sout then became the third player to hold twice and this time around it was at Love as she got it going with a solid winner to make it 30-Love, then it was Triple Game Point where Nate ended what very likely may have been the rally of the match with a winning volley) to put her team up 4-3 and then Bujara was the first to be broken this set (Love-15 then point for point until 30-All which was where Frank hit a precision-like passing shot winner for the mini-shift to Game Point, but that was where Nate hit an equally impressive winner to make it Deuce where a Double Fault set up Break Point and then came the break) to fall to 3-5 and then The Champ held a third straight time this set (an un-returned serve made it 15-Love, but then Natalia blew a volley on the way to 15-30 which was where Nate hit a whopper of a winner to make it 30-All where Natalia hit a winning volley to set up Game/Match Point) to get the "W!"  This match ended at 12:34.

The Skinny: In between sets, Nate and Natalia had one of many lengthy strategy sessions.  The conclusion of this one led to them taking opposite return-of-serve sides as Nate now returned from the Deuce court rather than the Ad court (and vice versa for Nat).  This switcheroo did not help as the 2nd set was actually closer than the first one.  It seemed to be a point well taken for the two of them as they returned to their more familiar return sides for the balance of the session.  It must also be said how much improvement Suzanne continues to make as she adds both consistency and aggression to her game.  She hung in many of the rallies while often targeted and she more than carried her load.

After the two matches concluded, both Vin and Fadia had to go.  So the original plan to have winners versus winners, Frank instead took the place of Vin in teaming with Anna to face Nate and Natalia.  It ended up being quite the match-up.

Frank Samara/Anna Mazur over Nathan Fernandes/Natalia Sout, 7-5!  No Aces.  Here's how it went down: Anna was broken (Nate hit a passing shot winner for Love-30, then Triple Break Point, Double Break Point and the break), Natalia was broken (15-Love then point for point until 30-All as Anna hit a Backhand Volley winner and Natalia hit a passing shot winner along the way and then Frank hit a winning return for the mini-shift to Break Point which is where the break came), Frank was broken (Frank hit an excellent Backhand Volley winner for 15+Love where Nate answered with an equally impressive winner to make it 15-All and then it was off and running to Double Break Point where Nate made a truly great get/drop shot winner combo for the break) and then Nathan was also broken (Love-30 shifted straight to 30-All after Anna blew a surefire overhead, but then came Break Point and a Double Fault to end the game) as nobody could hold serve at 2-2!  Mazur was the first to hold serve and she did it at Love as Frank hit a big-time Overhead Smash winner for 15-Love and it was off and running to Triple Game Point where Frank scored with another winner to earn the hold for his partner and put his team up 3-2!  Sout was then broken again (Love-15, 15-All and then onto Double Break Point as Frank hit a precision passing shot winner along the way) to fall to 2-4, but Samara was also broken again (15-Love then point for point to Game Point as Anna made a great get to start things off and then Frank hit a sick get/drop shot winner combo that found its way to the sideline not far from the net and then it spun its way to "Nowheresville" out of reach of Natalia and then on Game Point it was Nathan hitting a winning Backhand Volley to make it Deuce where Natalia then hit a drop shot winner to set up Break Point where Anna blew a volley to allow the break) to have his team's lead cut to 4-3.  Fernandes then held (Love-30 where Anna blew an overhead for 15-30, it then went to Double Break Point only to have Frank blow back-to-back volleys to bring it to Deuce and then it went to Game Point where Nate hit an emphatic passing shot winner for the hold) to knot the score once more, this time at 4-4!  Automatic Anna was then broken (it went 15-Love then point for point to Game Point as Nate hit a winning volley along the way and then Frank blew a volley to make it Deuce and then he blew yet another one to set up Break Point where an awesome rally ended with a well-placed passing shot winner by Anna to make it 2nd Deuce where Frank blew the easiest volley of the bunch...a sitter right at the net which he instead dumped into it off the frame of his racquet as he was seemingly spiraling out of control...and this made it Break Point and then came the break) as her team fell to 4-5 and trailing for the first time since they were down 1-2 earlier on in the set!  But then Nitro was broken at Love after Frank had a moment of redemption with a monster Overhead Smash to set up Triple Break Point and then came the break to keep things alive at 5-5!  Hollywood then held (Love-15 then point for point until 30-All as there was an un-returned serve and an excellent passing shot winner by Natalia along the way, but then there was the mini-shift to Game Point where Anna blew a volley to make it Deuce only to have Frank hit a wicked winner to set up Game Point once again where he finally got the hold) to reclaim the lead for his team at 6-5!  And then Nate the Great was broken (15-Love then point for point to Game Point as Frank blew a volley early on and then Anna had a point where she made several great gets and played awesome defense until her team took that one and then it went to Deuce where Frank made an amazing get that led to it becoming Break/Match Point and then came the break) as the onlookers were fairly stunned by what most would consider to be somewhat of an upset!  We played this one on the North Court from 12:47 to 1:41.

The Skinny: We all had our moments both good and bad, but I feel that Anna was the MVP of this match as she was the most steady of the bunch...yet she did not play it safe.  She often played with controlled aggression coupled with her usual passion (yes, the screams came out at the times when she was dismayed).  But the most shocking moment of emotion was at the congratulatory handshake at the net when Natalia suddenly blurted out: "Rematch!  I can't stand this!"

All agreed that they had time to play one more, but Samara made it very clear that it would be just that...a Rematch One-Setter as he did not have time to play a third set if this one went the way of Fernandes/Sout.  He was willing to forego the chance to make it a full match and possibly take the rank of the opposition if it was a straight-set win, but...at the same time...if the Samara/Mazur tandem won again, there would be no further chance for revenge for Natalia.

Nathan Fernandes/Natalia Sout over Frank Samara/Anna Mazur, 6-2!  No Aces.  The dirty lowdown: Anna was broken (Anna hit an awesome passing shot winner for 30-Love, but it shifted to 30-All as Natalia hit a winning drop shot return followed by an excellent volley winner by Nate, but then an un-returned serve made it Game Point, it then went to Deuce and Break Point where Nate hit another amazing volley winner, this time for the break), Natalia held (Frank hit a crushing Overhead Smash winner for Love-15, but then Natalia hit a winner of her own and the momentum ultimately shifted all the way to Double Game Point where Frank hit a drop shot winner and after taht it was Deuce where Nate made a great get/winner combo to set up Game Point and then came the hold), Frank was broken in a battle (15-Love then point for point to Game Point as Frank hit a laser-like passing shot winner along the way, but then came Deuce, Game Point again where Nate hit a winning volley for 2nd Deuce where an un-returned serve set up the 3rd Game Point only to then have it go to 3rd Deuce, Break Point and the break) and then Nathan held at Love as he first hit a winning drop shot volley which was then followed by back-to-back un-returned serves to set up Triple Game Point which was where Natalia made a truly sick get to help her partner get the Love hold as their team took a pretty commanding lead at 4-0!  Mazur then held (15-Love, 15-All then onto Double Game Point with an un-returned serve along the way and then Frank hit one of his trademark sharp-angled drop shot winners for the hold) to get her team onto the scoreboard only to have Sout have a Love hold as Anna first blew a volley followed by Frank blowing a volley to make it 30-Love and then on Triple Game Point it was Nate hitting a volley winner to lock down the hold and a 5-1 lead!  Samara responded with a Love hold of his own as Anna hit a very victorious volley for 30-Love and then perhaps the best rally of the match occurred on Triple Game Point and ended in favor of Samara/Mazur as they pulled to 2-5 and were starting to make it seem like perhaps a comeback was in the cards.  But then Fernandes seemingly found a way to shuffle that deck after first going down Love-15 after Frank hit a drop shot winner and then Nate fell further to Love-30 before reversing his fortunes all the way to Game/Match Point where he took care of his own business with a winning Backhand Volley to seal the deal!  We played this one on the North Court as well and it lasted from 1:45 to 2:15.

The Skinny: It certainly was a healthy measure of revenge for Fernandes/Sout as they came out on fire and only lost a little momentum as they neared the finish line.  The hole was too deep for Samara and Mazur to dig their way out of, though they fought valiantly right until the end.  And Natalia was able to go home happy as she indeed had a big smile on her face at the net this time around.

After everyone else left, Frank and Spin had a bull session that ran until 3pm.

We now turn this report over to The Riz for the results from The Bubble!       

The Wayne Bubble Results:

The 3 to 5pm session:

John Rizzo/Robin Wilson over Marie Easton/Jeanette Pegg, 6-0!  No Aces.

John Rizzo/Jeanette Pegg over Marie Easton/Robin Wilson, 6-0!  No Aces.

John Rizzo/Marie Easton over Robin Wilson/Jeanette Pegg, 6-1!  No Aces.

2 out of 3 Sets Women's Doubles Match:
Kathy Sheldon/Brenda Jordan over Susan Koshy/Susan Senowitz, 6-4, 6-4, as both teams entered the Women's Doubles Division as the New # 22 and # 23 Ranked Teams respectively!  No Aces.

Susan Koshy/Susan Senowitz over Kathy Sheldon/Brenda Jordan, 6-2!  No Aces.

Kevin Doyle/Vlad Smolyanskiy over Mike Lepak/Sean McHugh, 6-3!  No Aces.

Mike Lepak/Sean McHugh over Kevin Doyle/Vlad Smolyanskiy, 6-2!  No Aces.

John Rizzo/Robin Wilson leading Marie Easton/Jeanette Pegg, 2-1 (Incomplete when the session ran out of time)!

The 6 to 8pm session:

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:
Senthil Kumar/Tom La over Joe Rodrigues/John Rizzo, 6-4, 6-1, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 100 and # 101 Ranked Teams respectively!  No Aces.

Ryan Pienciak/Tom La over Senthil Kumar/Rich Liu, 6-3!  No Aces.

Ryan Pienciak over Rich Liu, 6-0!  No Aces.

Jordan Bachvaroff/Syed Rashid over Arthur Fontanilla/Ray Spadaro, 7-5!  No Aces.

Ryan Pienciak/Syed Rashid over Rich Liu/Ray Spadaro, 7-6 (7-1)!  No Aces.

Senthil Kumar/Joe Rodrigues leading John Rizzo/Tom La, 3-2 (Incomplete when the session ran out of time)!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I thank John for collecting all these results and then reporting them in a very timely manner.

All the best,
Frank Samara
gtasamara5@gmail.com