5/26/18:
"2 Matches in MP, 1 Match TBC in AP, 2 Matches part of 9 at C.G., 4 at NTC!":
There were four sessions of GTA Saturday Tennis: the first was a morning one at Mountainside Park in Montclair as "The Dark Knight" Dan Knitzer answered two Open Challenges at once (one issued by "The Headhunter" Ralph Bernard and the other issued by Carl "Rusty" Brownson…I give him that temporary nickname as it is both his current status and also a play off of his last name…and he was making his official GTA Debut in that match). Dan played these matches back-to-back (quite impressive!) Ralph provided the write-up for the first one while both Dan and Carl contributed for the second encounter.
The second session was also in the morning hours and it featured a would-be Challenge Match as "SWAT" Rich Liu answered the Open Challenge issued by "The Bachelorette's Prize" Scott Manrose as they played in Albion Park in Clifton (with both reporting), but the excessive heat caused them to split sets and leave it as a "To Be Continued" type situation as both parties seem agreeable to finishing it at a later date.
Then the next session of the day also got started in the morning and then went thru the day at the Cedar Grove Courts and it started off with a Challenge Match between "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas and "Del Brotro" Mike Mole (as reported by both), then there was the middle of the session (as being reported by "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan) and later there was another Challenge Match between "Salsa Picante" Edwin Ortega and Jay "The Rising" Phoenix (with Edwin reporting).
The last session of the day took place in the evening at Nutley Tennis Club as "The Riz" John Rizzo hosted a full Doubles Match and reported it.
Let's first go to Montclair for the results from Ralph, Carl and Dan, and then we'll go to Clifton for the result from Scott and Rich, and then get the rest of the scores (starting with both full Challenge Matches) from Cedar Grove and finally the result from NTC.
Before we get to the two match results from Mountainside Park, I feel it is only fair to let Ralph tell his side of the story in terms of what transpired with Tony "Sure Shot" Shiao one day earlier.
Ralph's Rebuttal: In my defense (which was never given a chance to be mentioned in your initial report), Tony and I originally agreed to a 1:30 starting time and then we wound up starting it closer to 3pm as he had to work later then he thought. I had to be somewhere by 3:45 all along. I was hopeful we would be able to finish a full match, but our 1st Set went long. I, of course, offered to finish later that day or the next day, but Tony wasn't available. I am more than willing and ready to finish the match!
Samara's Notes: As they say, "there are always two sides to every story." I would suggest, at this point, that they just let it stand as an epic One-Setter. If the two were to play again, they should just start fresh…especially given the fact that it is lopsided. Had they split sets and only had a deciding 3rd Set yet to be played, it may have been worth continuing.
And now for the scores!
The Mountainside Park Results:
2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:
Ralph Bernard over Dan Knitzer, 6-3, 6-2, to successfully defend his # 6 Rank in the Advanced Division! Ralph: 4 Aces; and Dan: 1 Ace!
Ralph's Review: It was good as we were both playing pretty well, so there was no frustration…just good tennis. We played from 9:30 till 11am.
2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:
Dan Knitzer over Carl Brownson, 6-1, 6-1, to successfully defend his # 6 Rank in the Intermediate Division! In the process, Brownson made his official GTA Debut as the New # 53 Ranked Player in the Intermediate Division. Carl: 2 Aces!
Carl's Commentary: We started a little after 11am. Dan crushed me (he kindly said it felt closer). There were, in fact, lots of Deuce games. My "effectively wild" strategy leaned more toward wild than effective on this occasion. Dan's spin shots were killing me, and I sprayed probably fifteen forehands down the line long. Still, it felt great to be out there shaking off the rust.
I look forward to entering the rankings in the second division (i.e. the Intermediate Division), playing some more matches and getting into proper match form. Great match, Dan!
Dan's Reply: Yes, there were many long games. Let's do it again soon.
Samara's Notes: I thank all three for their timely reports, but truly offer major kudos to Dan for responding to two Open Challenges and then taking them on back-to-back! Very impressive!
We now head north to Albion Park in Clifton.
The Albion Park Result:
2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:
Rich Liu tied with Scott Manrose, 6-1, 5-7 (To Be Continued)! No Aces.
The Manrose Presentation: Rich responded to my Open Challenge. We met up at 11. After the first two sets, we were both exhausted as the sun was beating down on us…so we decided to play the tiebreaking 3rd Set some other time. I think Rich is better than me, but we had some good rallies. Rich, please feel free to add any commentary.
The Rich Report: Thanks, Scott, for taking the time to play me. For me, it's always exciting to play a Challenge Match. Scott is fun to play with. Let's finish the match soon. Scott was able to make very good returns and, as a result, we had some long rallies which really wore me out. We played for like almost two hours counting a few breaks. As he kept getting the ball back, I eventually made many errors while trying to finish off the point, costing me many games. It was a great workout. I look forward to playing Scott again.
Samara's Notes: I thank both of them for their timely reporting and also hope they get the chance to finish this match as soon as possible.
We now dip south a bit for all that took place at Cedar Grove, starting with the two Challenge Matches.
The Cedar Grove Results:
2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:
Marijus Kuzavas over Mike Mole, 6-2, 6-0, to successfully defend his # 4 Rank in the Advanced Division! Marijus: 2 Aces!
The Mole Memo: Marijus was too good! I couldn't get into a rhythm.
The Scoop from Super Mario: We started around 10:20 when it was already hot and getting hotter. The match lasted till about 11:40. It was a good match with lots of Deuces in many of the games. Mike was playing well...just perhaps some unforced errors from him pushed the balance of the match in my favor.
Samara's Notes: I thank both for their timely reporting and congratulate Marijus on a very impressive victory. We now let Gen briefly take over this report.
It was an early session of GTA Saturday Tennis at Cedar Grove with seven players braving the heat. Fadia Nicolas was the final arrival.
I got there at noon. I then joined Sally Pillay and Doinks and Kris Srinivasan for a One-Setter while Marijus and Mike took a much needed break and rest after they finished their Singles Challenge Match that had started earlier in the high heat and humidity. It was sunny and there was no shade on the courts.
Kris Srinivasan/Sally Pillay over Doinks Srinivasan/Genalin Capan, 6-2! Kris: 1 Ace on Doinks! We played this one from 12:15 to 12:40 on Court Four.
Kris Srinivasan/Fadia Nicolas over Mike Mole/Genalin Capan, 6-4! Fadia: 1 Ace on Mike! We played from 12:43 to 1:25 on Court Four.
It was a heated session in terms of both the weather and the playing conditions on the courts. The GTA "peanut gallery" (aka Doinks, Sally, and Marijus) were on the sidelines as they provided some very entertaining commentary which made playing in this heat bearable and a lot of fun. We ended the session by 1:30pm.
Samara's Notes: I thank Gen for her timely reporting of those results along with her commentary. We now go to Edwin for his score.
2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:
Edwin Ortega over Jay Phoenix, 6-2, 6-4, to successfully defend both his # 17 Rank in the Advanced Division and his # 3 Rank in the Intermediate Division! No Aces.
The Scoop from Salsa: We agreed to play a full Challenge Match on such a blistering afternoon (what were we thinking?!?!) and said we would meet at 4pm. After a warm-up, the match started around 4:20 and ended around 5:30 (I think...it was too hot to remember accurately!).
Samara's Notes: I thank Edwin for his timely reporting and congratulate him on an impressive victory.
We now shift east to Nutley for The Riz Report from NTC.
The NTC Results:
3 out of 5 Sets Doubles Match:
Alfred Chen/Frank Hohorst over Senthil Kumar/John Rizzo, 7-5, 7-5, 6-3, to become the New # 4 Ranked Team in the Doubles Division! No Aces.
The Riz Report: We came back from being down 1-5 in the 1st Set and led 5-3 in the 2nd Set, but couldn't close either set out. Alfred played the best of everyone.
Samara's Notes: I thank John for his very timely reporting. It is truly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Frank Samara
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