12/8/17:
"4th Friday Night Bubble Party has 16 players!":
There was just one session of GTA Friday Tennis and it was the fourth 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.) hosting it.
We need at least twelve competitors to make it worthwhile and we ended up, instead, with the ideal amount of 16 players (four courts with four players each). And it easily could have been 20 had we been willing to pull people off (but we don't do that when you pay $20 for two hours worth of action) as "The Adonis" Don Moya had started playing a One-Setter (only played one game once he noticed our 16th player had arrived).
"RK Fire" Rafaelo Kazakov had registered a day before, but did not arrive until 8:50 (the starting time is 8:15) and we already had a full boat of 16 competitors. While he initially did not understand how a late arrival could take his place, it was explained to him that those paying to play (and already out there) are counting on getting involved in official Singles or Doubles action (and not just a three-way hitting session). Late arrivals often lead to odd amount situations...so if we can get someone to even things out, we will do that for the benefit of all involved.
On top of all that, the two hosts (Samara and Rizzo) willingly sat out of this event to accommodate all the others. So, again, it very readily could have been a session featuring 20 players rather than just sixteen.
There was a humorous moment right at the beginning of the session as Rizzo announced who the foursomes would be on each court (as he had planned this earlier based pretty much on skill level and/or knowing which players would prefer to play Mixed Doubles).
When John told "Hurricane" Jose Gonzales that he would be on Court Four with "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak, "NC-17" Nick Caputo and "DC-10" David Caicedo (i.e. the court with the heavy hitters), Jose made a face that could only be described as being one of extreme disappointment.
The only problem was that he did it right in front of Ryan and Nick! Well, Mr. Pienciak immediately called him out on this and it became a running joke for the rest of the evening as Jose's new makeshift moniker became "The Face Maker!" It was even better when Gonzales later exclaimed (after a couple of sets) that he felt like he needed a pacemaker...yes, "The Face Maker" was in need of a pacemaker! LOL!
Well, all's well that ends well as they actually had some really solid action together and, ultimately, there were no hard feelings...at least, I think there weren't any...DOH!
And "The Scorpion Dragon" Dino Celis and "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli arrived together at 9:50 to make a late cameo appearance and then stayed on and hung out in the lounge area with Frank and John until the end of the session.
Let's get to the action!
The Wayne Bubble Results:
Mike Mole/Levy Lorenzo over Ray Spadaro/Fausto Murg, 6-2! No Aces. This one took place on Court One from 8:25 to 8:52.
Don Moya/Laurie Boughton leading Muhammad Haque/Dawn Peterson, 1-0 (Incomplete when Moya stepped off to allow Paul Mallick onto the court...which was Court Two...and this happened at 8:41, they had started this aborted set at exactly 8:33)! No Aces.
Samara's Notes: Due to the brevity of that would-be One-Setter (just one game), I have not included Mr. Moya in the overall count of competitors during the course of the session.
2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:
Ryan Pienciak/David Caicedo over Jose Gonzales/Nick Caputo, 6-4, 6-4, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 131 and # 132 Ranked Teams respectively! Jose: 2 Aces on Ryan (one in each set)!
The Skinny: This match got underway on Court Four at precisely 8:32. The 1st Set finished at 9pm and they soon launched into the next set. The entire match itself was over at 9:42. From there, they went into an additional One-Setter with the same two teams facing each other (we will offer up that score later in this report).
2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Doubles Match:
Tommy Reszkowski/Fernanda Toker over Rich Liu/Fadia Nicolas, 6-0, 6-4, to successfully defend their # 8 Rank in the Mixed Doubles Division! In the process, Liu/Nicolas entered the Mixed Doubles Division as the New # 56 Ranked Team. Tommy: 1 Ace on Rich in the 2nd Set.
The Skinny: They got it started at 8:38 on Court Three. Seventeen minutes later (at 8:55), the 1st Set was already in the books and Rich was ready to throw in the towel! But he got some encouragement from Rizzo and Samara sitting nearby in the lounge area and it became something of a different story in the 2nd Set as Liu/Nicolas jumped out to a 2-0 lead and then it went 2-1, 3-1 until it became tied up at 3-3. From there, the match shifted back into the favor of Reszkoswki/Toker as they went up 4-3 before it was knotted up once more at 4-4! The more experienced tandem of Tommy and Fernanda then took the last two games to close this one out at 9:32, but at least it was much more competitive and interesting in that last set. And that led to the same two teams facing off again in a subsequent One-Setter (which we will get to later).
Paul Mallick/Laurie Boughton over Muhammad Haque/Dawn Peterson, 6-2! Laurie: 1 Ace on Dawn! They played this one on Court Two from 8:45 to 9:27.
The Skinny: There was some desire to switch things up (in terms of players changing courts) between Courts One and Two, so we told the above foursome to just hit while waiting for the action to finish on Court One (to be detailed next) as that One-Setter was already at 5-4. Of course, whenever anyone is waiting for a set or match to be finished fast, The Murphy's Law of Tennis dictates that it will drag on as long as possible...as you can now see for yourself below.
Levy Lorenzo/Fausto Murg over Mike Mole/Ray Spadaro, 7-6 (9-7)! No Aces.
The Skinny: Levy and Fausto had been up 5-2. It was at 5-4 when Samara and Rizzo notified them that a switch would be made after the set ended. Next it was tied at 5-5, then Lorenzo/Murg went up again at 6-5. But then Mole/Spadaro won the next game which forced the Tiebreak!
In the Breaker: Ray was broken on his lone serve, while Fausto was broken on his first but held his second for a 2-1 lead. Mike held both of his serves to put his team up 3-2. Levy was broken on the first of his two serves for 2-4 at the changeover, but then he held his second for 3-4. Spadaro was broken on the first of his two serves to knot the score at 4-4, but then he held his second to go up 5-4. Murg was broken on the first of his two serves to go down 4-6 and set up Match Point (which I believe to be the first one of the entire set, though I'm not entirely sure...I did not see any when the score was at 5-4 prior to the TB). Fausto then held his second serve to pull to 4-6, but it was still the 2nd Match Point. Mole was broken on the first of his two serves for 6-6 at the second changeover and then he was broken again to lose the lead for his team at 6-7 to set up the 3rd Match Point which was the first one for the opposition. Lorenzo was broken on the first of his two serves for a 7-Up score, but then he held his second for an 8-7 lead which was now his team's 2nd M.P. and the 4th one overall. And then Spadaro was broken to end this Breaker in dramatic fashion at 9-7! This down to the wire struggle had begun on Court One at 8:53 and it finished at 9:40...actually not all that long for a confrontation so closely contested!
Samara's Notes: Given the fact that it had four Match Points and a 9-7 score, I think this may have a fairly solid chance at being a Nominee for One-Set Doubles Match of The Year at season's end.
From there, the switch was made with Levy and Ray being invited over to Court Two for some Mixed Doubles action while Paul and Muhammad would head to Court One for Men's Doubles.
Tommy Reszkowski/Fernanda Toker over Rich Liu/Fadia Nicolas, 6-0! Tommy: 2 Aces (one on each)! This one took place on Court Three and lasted from 9:35 to 9:55.
The Skinny: Tommy and Fernanda managed to feed Rich and Fadia a second bagel for the evening (I guess the chips and cookies in the lounge were not enough!), but this one lasted a bit longer and was a little more competitive than the 1st Set of the full match played earlier. From there, Tommy and Rich had a nice hitting session with one another.
Levy Lorenzo/Dawn Peterson tied with Ray Spadaro/Laurie Boughton, 5-5 (Incomplete when both teams were very respectful of the time parameters for the session and stopped this one at 10:16...it had begun on Court Two at exactly 9:43)! Ray: 1 Ace on Dawn; and Laurie: 1 Ace on Dawn!
Jose Gonzales/Nick Caputo over Ryan Pienciak/David Caicedo, 6-3! Jose: 1 Ace on David. Court Four hosted this foursome from 9:45 to 10:13.
Fausto Murg/Paul Mallick over Mike Mole/Muhammad Haque, 6-2! Fausto: 2 Aces (one on each)! They played this on Court Three from 9:45 to 10:27.
After the session ended, Samara, Rizzo, Mole and Liu went to the nearby Taphouse Grille for food and drinks.
All the best,
Frank Samara
gtasamara5@gmail.com
"4th Friday Night Bubble Party has 16 players!":
There was just one session of GTA Friday Tennis and it was the fourth 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.) hosting it.
We need at least twelve competitors to make it worthwhile and we ended up, instead, with the ideal amount of 16 players (four courts with four players each). And it easily could have been 20 had we been willing to pull people off (but we don't do that when you pay $20 for two hours worth of action) as "The Adonis" Don Moya had started playing a One-Setter (only played one game once he noticed our 16th player had arrived).
"RK Fire" Rafaelo Kazakov had registered a day before, but did not arrive until 8:50 (the starting time is 8:15) and we already had a full boat of 16 competitors. While he initially did not understand how a late arrival could take his place, it was explained to him that those paying to play (and already out there) are counting on getting involved in official Singles or Doubles action (and not just a three-way hitting session). Late arrivals often lead to odd amount situations...so if we can get someone to even things out, we will do that for the benefit of all involved.
On top of all that, the two hosts (Samara and Rizzo) willingly sat out of this event to accommodate all the others. So, again, it very readily could have been a session featuring 20 players rather than just sixteen.
There was a humorous moment right at the beginning of the session as Rizzo announced who the foursomes would be on each court (as he had planned this earlier based pretty much on skill level and/or knowing which players would prefer to play Mixed Doubles).
When John told "Hurricane" Jose Gonzales that he would be on Court Four with "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak, "NC-17" Nick Caputo and "DC-10" David Caicedo (i.e. the court with the heavy hitters), Jose made a face that could only be described as being one of extreme disappointment.
The only problem was that he did it right in front of Ryan and Nick! Well, Mr. Pienciak immediately called him out on this and it became a running joke for the rest of the evening as Jose's new makeshift moniker became "The Face Maker!" It was even better when Gonzales later exclaimed (after a couple of sets) that he felt like he needed a pacemaker...yes, "The Face Maker" was in need of a pacemaker! LOL!
Well, all's well that ends well as they actually had some really solid action together and, ultimately, there were no hard feelings...at least, I think there weren't any...DOH!
And "The Scorpion Dragon" Dino Celis and "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli arrived together at 9:50 to make a late cameo appearance and then stayed on and hung out in the lounge area with Frank and John until the end of the session.
Let's get to the action!
The Wayne Bubble Results:
Mike Mole/Levy Lorenzo over Ray Spadaro/Fausto Murg, 6-2! No Aces. This one took place on Court One from 8:25 to 8:52.
Don Moya/Laurie Boughton leading Muhammad Haque/Dawn Peterson, 1-0 (Incomplete when Moya stepped off to allow Paul Mallick onto the court...which was Court Two...and this happened at 8:41, they had started this aborted set at exactly 8:33)! No Aces.
Samara's Notes: Due to the brevity of that would-be One-Setter (just one game), I have not included Mr. Moya in the overall count of competitors during the course of the session.
2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:
Ryan Pienciak/David Caicedo over Jose Gonzales/Nick Caputo, 6-4, 6-4, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 131 and # 132 Ranked Teams respectively! Jose: 2 Aces on Ryan (one in each set)!
The Skinny: This match got underway on Court Four at precisely 8:32. The 1st Set finished at 9pm and they soon launched into the next set. The entire match itself was over at 9:42. From there, they went into an additional One-Setter with the same two teams facing each other (we will offer up that score later in this report).
2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Doubles Match:
Tommy Reszkowski/Fernanda Toker over Rich Liu/Fadia Nicolas, 6-0, 6-4, to successfully defend their # 8 Rank in the Mixed Doubles Division! In the process, Liu/Nicolas entered the Mixed Doubles Division as the New # 56 Ranked Team. Tommy: 1 Ace on Rich in the 2nd Set.
The Skinny: They got it started at 8:38 on Court Three. Seventeen minutes later (at 8:55), the 1st Set was already in the books and Rich was ready to throw in the towel! But he got some encouragement from Rizzo and Samara sitting nearby in the lounge area and it became something of a different story in the 2nd Set as Liu/Nicolas jumped out to a 2-0 lead and then it went 2-1, 3-1 until it became tied up at 3-3. From there, the match shifted back into the favor of Reszkoswki/Toker as they went up 4-3 before it was knotted up once more at 4-4! The more experienced tandem of Tommy and Fernanda then took the last two games to close this one out at 9:32, but at least it was much more competitive and interesting in that last set. And that led to the same two teams facing off again in a subsequent One-Setter (which we will get to later).
Paul Mallick/Laurie Boughton over Muhammad Haque/Dawn Peterson, 6-2! Laurie: 1 Ace on Dawn! They played this one on Court Two from 8:45 to 9:27.
The Skinny: There was some desire to switch things up (in terms of players changing courts) between Courts One and Two, so we told the above foursome to just hit while waiting for the action to finish on Court One (to be detailed next) as that One-Setter was already at 5-4. Of course, whenever anyone is waiting for a set or match to be finished fast, The Murphy's Law of Tennis dictates that it will drag on as long as possible...as you can now see for yourself below.
Levy Lorenzo/Fausto Murg over Mike Mole/Ray Spadaro, 7-6 (9-7)! No Aces.
The Skinny: Levy and Fausto had been up 5-2. It was at 5-4 when Samara and Rizzo notified them that a switch would be made after the set ended. Next it was tied at 5-5, then Lorenzo/Murg went up again at 6-5. But then Mole/Spadaro won the next game which forced the Tiebreak!
In the Breaker: Ray was broken on his lone serve, while Fausto was broken on his first but held his second for a 2-1 lead. Mike held both of his serves to put his team up 3-2. Levy was broken on the first of his two serves for 2-4 at the changeover, but then he held his second for 3-4. Spadaro was broken on the first of his two serves to knot the score at 4-4, but then he held his second to go up 5-4. Murg was broken on the first of his two serves to go down 4-6 and set up Match Point (which I believe to be the first one of the entire set, though I'm not entirely sure...I did not see any when the score was at 5-4 prior to the TB). Fausto then held his second serve to pull to 4-6, but it was still the 2nd Match Point. Mole was broken on the first of his two serves for 6-6 at the second changeover and then he was broken again to lose the lead for his team at 6-7 to set up the 3rd Match Point which was the first one for the opposition. Lorenzo was broken on the first of his two serves for a 7-Up score, but then he held his second for an 8-7 lead which was now his team's 2nd M.P. and the 4th one overall. And then Spadaro was broken to end this Breaker in dramatic fashion at 9-7! This down to the wire struggle had begun on Court One at 8:53 and it finished at 9:40...actually not all that long for a confrontation so closely contested!
Samara's Notes: Given the fact that it had four Match Points and a 9-7 score, I think this may have a fairly solid chance at being a Nominee for One-Set Doubles Match of The Year at season's end.
From there, the switch was made with Levy and Ray being invited over to Court Two for some Mixed Doubles action while Paul and Muhammad would head to Court One for Men's Doubles.
Tommy Reszkowski/Fernanda Toker over Rich Liu/Fadia Nicolas, 6-0! Tommy: 2 Aces (one on each)! This one took place on Court Three and lasted from 9:35 to 9:55.
The Skinny: Tommy and Fernanda managed to feed Rich and Fadia a second bagel for the evening (I guess the chips and cookies in the lounge were not enough!), but this one lasted a bit longer and was a little more competitive than the 1st Set of the full match played earlier. From there, Tommy and Rich had a nice hitting session with one another.
Levy Lorenzo/Dawn Peterson tied with Ray Spadaro/Laurie Boughton, 5-5 (Incomplete when both teams were very respectful of the time parameters for the session and stopped this one at 10:16...it had begun on Court Two at exactly 9:43)! Ray: 1 Ace on Dawn; and Laurie: 1 Ace on Dawn!
Jose Gonzales/Nick Caputo over Ryan Pienciak/David Caicedo, 6-3! Jose: 1 Ace on David. Court Four hosted this foursome from 9:45 to 10:13.
Fausto Murg/Paul Mallick over Mike Mole/Muhammad Haque, 6-2! Fausto: 2 Aces (one on each)! They played this on Court Three from 9:45 to 10:27.
After the session ended, Samara, Rizzo, Mole and Liu went to the nearby Taphouse Grille for food and drinks.
All the best,
Frank Samara
gtasamara5@gmail.com
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