8/29 Results.

8/29/18:

"Just the W2 Semi at C.G.!":

As the heat-wave conditions continued and many of our players were again attending the US Open in the evening hours, the turnout remained very light for GTA Wednesday Night Tennis.  Laura "The Aura" Gawley reported the result of the last of the two W2 Women's Doubles Tournament Semifinal Matches.  We turn this report over to her now.

The Cedar Grove Result:

W2 Semifinal Match:

Natalia Sout/Laura Gawley over Janice Wang/Fernanda Toker, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1, to become the New # 5 Ranked Team in the Women's Doubles Division while advancing to the Finals of the W2 Women's Doubles Tournament!  No Aces.

The Lowdown from Laura: The match lasted from 7:20 to 9:20 (two hours)!  We had a lot of long rallies.  Janice and Fernanda were very consistent from the start!   I think we got more consistent in the 2nd Set. We were up 5-0 when they were able to break me! 

Samara's Notes: I thank Laura for her very timely reporting…it is always appreciated!

The Consequences: And now Natalia and Laura advance to the Finals where they will face the tough tandem of "The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan and "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan.  It should be quite a match!

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

 

 

 

8/28 Results.

8/28/18:

"Just 4 play at C.G.!":

Between the heat-wave conditions and many of our players attending the US Open in the evening hours, turnout was very light for GTA Tuesday Night Tennis.  "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak reported the following full Men's Doubles Match result.  We turn this report over to him now.

It was a hot one, but we still got a little tennis in and it went as follows...

The Cedar Grove Result:

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Ryan Pienciak/Adam Pienciak over Tito Castolo/Thomas Lee, 6-3, 6-3, to successfully defend their # 5 Rank in the Doubles Division!  In the process, Castolo/Lee entered the division as the New # 72 Ranked Team.  No Aces.

The Ryan Report: In the 2nd Set, we were down 0-3 (and two breaks) before taking six games in a row to win it!

Samara's Notes: I thank Ryan for his very timely reporting…it is much appreciated!

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

 

 

 

8/27 Results.

8/27/18:

"7 play at PAC, Jordan-Edwin, Marijus-Moka part of 17 at C.G.!":

There were two sessions of GTA Monday Night Tennis and they pretty much ran at the same time.  One was at The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley as "TNT" Tim Nguyen provided the report from that location.  The other was the usual one at The Cedar Grove Courts and it featured the last of the four "Grove Cup 21" Quarterfinal Matches as "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas faced off against "Instant" Moka Pathan (with both reporting).  There was also a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match between "The Bulgarian Bull" Jordan Bachvaroff and "Salsa Picante" Edwin Ortega (with Jordan reporting).  Other report contributors from that session are "Bravo" Brenda Jordan, "The Webmaster" Senthil Kumar and "The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan.

We now turn this report over to Tim who not only brings the scores, but plenty of details as well.  And after that, we will head west to Cedar Grove for the rest.

It was another very uneventful evening at the PAC. Rich Liu initiated the call earlier in the day and stated that he would be there around 7:30pm and so if anyone is available, they can join him.  Arunraj Nair and I arrived a little earlier in the evening around 6:45pm and we took the last court on the end and soon after Randy Doran arrived and joined us.  Eventually, there were around 10 of us came and we took up 3 courts.  The evening was humid, hot and sweaty after several plays that made some of the guys change their shirts several times.

The Park Ave. Courts Results:

Arunraj Nair over Tim Nguyen, 7-5!  No Aces.

Arunraj and I braved the humidity and played a Singles One-Setter.  It was fun and competitive.  I came on strong this time leading him 2-0.  He came back, but eventually I led 4-3.  We battled on and evened out at 5-5, but then he finally won (after so much sweat). Great play, Arunraj! 

Santosh Reddy/David Wong over Tim Nguyen/Arunraj Nair, 6-3!  No Aces.

Tim Nguyen/Arunraj Nair over Santosh Reddy/David Wong, 6-2!  No Aces.

Rich Liu over Dan Knitzer, 6-0!  No Aces.

Rich Liu/Dan Knitzer leading Tim Nguyen/Santosh Reddy, 5-4 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

The last Doubles One-Setter was somewhat exciting, but incomplete due to the lights going out at 10pm.  Rich/Dan lead over Tim/Santosh, 3-0. They must have felt that they would bring home the set easily.  Rich was somewhat feeling overconfident, but wait….Tim/Santosh fought back to even it at 3-3!  The battle went on and the score settled at 4-4, and eventually Rich/Dan lead over Tim/Santosh at 5-4 when Tim/Santosh got the advantage on the final ball.  The last ball went to Tim's side and then the lights went completely dark!

Dan, Rich, and Santosh had several very nice serves (I call it thunder serves!). Santosh was in control on his end the entire time and was able to successfully defend some of Rich and Dan's strong hits.   It was great everyone!

Samara's Notes: I thank Tim for his very timely and comprehensive report.  It is much appreciated.  We now go to Cedar Grove.

The Cedar Grove Results:

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:

Jordan Bachvaroff over Edwin Ortega, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, to successfully defend his # 12 Rank in the Advanced Division!  No Aces.

The Gist from Jordan: It was a great, tough match!  Edwin played really well and it was ridiculously hot and humid, but it was a great workout!  We started at 5pm.

Samara's Notes: I thank Jordan for reporting in such a timely manner and I also congratulate him on a hard-fought victory.

"Grove Cup 21" Quarterfinal Match:

Marijus Kuzavas over Moka Pathan, 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-2, to successfully defend his # 5 Rank in the Advanced Division while advancing to the Semifinals of the 21st Annual Grove Cup Men's Singles Tournament!  Marijus: 6 Aces!

The Scoop from Super Mario: Match lasted from about 6:40 to about 9:20.  1st Set went 1-3, 3-4, 4-5, 5-6, 7-6.  I broke Moka in first game of the match, but was struggling with my second serve a bit in the beginning of the match and got broken twice.  Somehow I was able to get the break back and hang on till Tiebreak although every game was a struggle.

The 2nd Set went 1-1, 2-4, 3-5, 4-6.  This set we pretty much held our serves throughout except for Game 5 when I was broken.  I did not succeed in breaking him back this time, thus set went to Moka.  The 3rd Set went 3-0, 4-1, 6-2.  This time I was able to hang on to my serves and got a couple breaks.  We opened new balls for this set, so perhaps this helped me out.  This was a great fun match in warm and very humid conditions.  Moka was giving me a lot of trouble with his excellent passing shots when I was charging the net.  He had a number of great drop shots as well.

Moka's Brew: I want to thank Marijus for a great match as he was the better player and deserving winner.  His serving was at its peak.  I actually think he had way more than 6 Aces (at least 10+) and so many more serves where I could barely get a racquet on them.  I wish Marijus the best of luck against Paul Daddio in the Semis.

Samara's Notes: I thank both for their very timely and detailed reporting.  I congratulate Marijus on a hard-fought and impressive victory while I also offer up hearty kudos to Moka for a spirited effort. 

The Consequences: As Moka referenced, one Semi sees Marijus take on Paul Daddio (I think this is rematch from the Semis of last year's Grove Cup, though I could be wrong) while the other Semi sees the reigning GTA Doubles Champions have to face one another - Ryan Pienciak versus Nick Caputo!  Both matches look to be great ones.

3 out of 5 Sets Women's Doubles Match:

Dawn Peterson/Michele Panzitta over Brenda Jordan/Kathy Marabondo, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4, to successfully defend their # 21 Rank in the Women's Doubles Division!  Michele: 2 Aces on Kathy! 

 

The Brief from Brenda: It was a hot muggy night and the bugs were out in full force, but it was still good to be out and playing.

 

Samara's Notes: I thank Brenda for her timely reporting and admire the stamina of all four ladies involved in this match.

 

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Senthil Kumar/Guy Dupoux over Jordan Bachvaroff/Mike Mole, 6-1, 7-5, to become the New #67 Ranked Team in the Doubles Division!  No Aces.

 

Abhilash Gadi/Guy Dupoux over Senthil Kumar/Rob Gawley, 6-2!  No Aces.

 

Frank Hohorst/Doinks Srinivasan over Tito Castolo/Mostafa Hussaini, 6-3!  No Aces.

 

Samara's Notes: I also thank Senthil and Doinks for their timely contributions to this report.

 

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8/26 Results.

8/26/18:

"2 play at PAC, 8 play at AP, 8 play at C.G.!":

"Hollywood" Frank Samara was finally able to host the usual GTA Sunday Tennis session at Albion Park in Clifton this week while "TNT" Tim Nguyen was unable to host the recent morning session he has begun helming at The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley.  There was, however, a small session of two players there who engaged in quite the Singles One-Setter (report provided by Carl "Buster" Brownson).  And then there was the usual evening session at The Cedar Grove Courts with the contributors from that session being "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan, "NC-17" Nick Caputo and "The Riz" John Rizzo.

We will start this report with how things unfolded in Clifton, then grab the score from Carl in Nutley and then got to Cedar Grove for the rest.

Let's turn this report over to Tim right now!

When "Hollywood" Frank Samara pulled up to the curb on the street looking down at Albion Park, he noticed both "The Scorpion Dragon" Dino Celis and "Sensei Sachi" Sachiko Tokuda getting out of their respective cars.  As Frank soon stepped out of his, he was not alone...as he had his daughter Angie and son Dante with him as well.  Soon, all five made their way down the hill toward the courts.  And just as they all were about to converge upon the North Court, "The Shade Shark" Suzanne Bujara was heading to the courts from the other side of the park to join them.

 

At first, it looked like it may lead to a Mixed Doubles situation...but Suzanne kindly opted to hit with Angie and Dante on Center Court (as she has done in the past) while Frank was hitting against both Dino and Sachiko.  This scenario did not play out all that long as both "The Webmaster" Senthil Kumar and "The Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli made their way down to the courts around 11am.

 

Around 11:10, "The Dark Knight" Dan Knitzer also joined us.  Initially it was going to be (at Frank's suggestion) the two Dans (Knitzer and Martinelli) facing off against Dino and Senthil...but Spin decided it best to opt out of such action while he still recovers physically.  So The Doc told The Wood to take his place on the North Court while he backed up the young Samaras in hitting against the ladies, Suzanne and Sachiko, on Center Court.

 

Also around this time (11:20), four outsiders arrived to play some Mixed Doubles on the South Court.  And while they were nice people to interact with, it was some of the most heinous Mixed Doubles action you would ever want to see.  Actually, you were all better off not seeing it.  They left at 12:50.

 

As it turns out, we only had one more player on the way..."The Legendary" Chazz Weldon who arrived at noon.  So we never needed more than two courts anyway.  While it was a somewhat weak session attendance-wise, it was a very fun one.  Likely the combination of not having a Sunday session at Albion for so long and the likelihood of some of our players being away for vacation the last week of August led to the less than normal turnout. 

 

The weather was great (sunny and a little over 80 degrees with a near constant breeze) and so was the action...so let's get to it!

 

The Albion Park Results:

 

Dino Celis/Senthil Kumar over Dan Knitzer/Frank Samara, 6-4!  No Aces.  I did not write notes on the changeovers since my notebook and tennis bag were still over near Center Court, so I memorized all the following: Frank held at Love, Senthil held (Triple Game Point, Double Game Point and the hold), Dan held (30-Love, Double Fault for 30-15, Double Game Point and the hold), but Dino was the first to be broken (15-Love went straight to Double Break Point, then Break Point and the break) for 1-3.  Samara was also broken (Love-30 shifted to 30-All, but then came Break Point and the break), but then Kumar was broken at Love for 2-4.  Knitzer then continued the trend of servers getting broken, but it was a bit of a battle (Love-15 then point for point to Break Point, Deuce, Break Point, 2nd Deuce, Double Fault for Break Point and then the break) until Celis was able to reverse that trend with a hold (15-Love then point for point until 30-All, Break Point, Deuce, Game Point and the hold) to knot the score at 4-4!  Hollywood was broken again (Love-30, 15-30, Double Break Point and the break), but The Webmaster rebounded with a hold (15-Love then point for point to Game/Match Point, Deuce, the 2nd Game/Match Point and the hold) for a nice comeback victory as his team took the last four straight games!  We played this one on the North Court from 11:25 to 11:57.

 

The Skinny: For a while, the Slice and Dice attack of Samara and Knitzer (aka Slice Samara and Danny Dice) was working well against Celis and Kumar.  But then errors started to creep into the games of both Dan and Frank.  Knitzer tried to take the blame for the loss (due to his two Double Faults), but Samara would not allow it as he admitted to his own share of mistakes in the collapse as well.  And, of course, Dino and Senthil deserve some credit as they had some zip on their shots and their level of consistency increased as the One-Setter grew older.

 

Dan Martinelli/Sachiko Tokuda over Frank Samara/Suzanne Bujara, 6-4!  Spin: 1 Ace on Suzanne!  Here's how it went down: Suzanne was broken (15-Love, 15-All then onto Double Break Point, a rebound to Deuce, but then a Double Fault for Break Point and then the break), Sachiko was broken (Love-15 shifted to 30-15 shifted again to Break Point and then the break), but Frank was the first to hold (Triple Game Point, Double Game Point and the hold) for 2-1.  Spin also held (Love-15 went straight to Double Game Point where a service-line Ace against Suzanne sealed the deal), but so did Bujara (30-Love, 30-15, Double Game Point, Game Point and the hold) for 3-2.  Tokuda held at Love, but a rather proud Spin (who had some nice gets and winners in this one) said "it was my game!"  So they leveled it once again, this time at 3-3.  Samara held again (exactly like his partner's previous service...30-Love, 30-15, Double Game Point, Game Point and the hold) to put his team back up, 4-3.  But from there, Martinelli also held again (15-Love, 15-All then onto Double Game Point and the hold), The Shade Shark was broken (30-Love shifted to 30-All, Game Point, Deuce, Break Point and the break) while Sensei Sachi held again (30-Love, 30-15, Double Game/Match Point and the hold) for the win!  We played this on Center Court from 12:02 to 12:45.

The Skinny: While Martinelli rightfully deserved the credit for the work he did to enable his partner Tokuda to hold at Love, that last hold she had in the final game was "her game" as she really came thru with some well-placed winners.  The good news for Spin is his mobility is finally starting to return to him, though he still has a way to go.  Also, after this one, Suzanne and Sachiko hit with each other all the way to 1:20.

Dino Celis/Senthil Kumar over Dan Knitzer/Chazz Weldon, 6-3!  No Aces.  This one was played on the North Court from 12:05 to 12:40.

 

Senthil Kumar/Frank Samara over Dan Knitzer/Chazz Weldon, 6-3!  Senthil: 1 Ace on Chazz!  The breakdown: Dan held (30-Love, 30-15, Double Game Point, Double Fault for Game Point, Deuce, Game Point and the hold), Frank held (Love-15, 15-All then onto Double Break Point, a rebound to Deuce, Game Point and the hold), but Chazz was the first to be broken (Love-15 then point for point to Break Point and the break) for 1-2.  Senthil was also broken (Triple Game Point got reduced to Deuce, then a Double Fault set up Break Point and then came the break), but then Knitzer was broken (Love-15, 15-All, Double Fault for 15-30, Double Break Point and the break) for 2-3.  Samara held again (Love-15 shifted to 30-15 shifted again to Break Point, then Deuce and all Game Points until 3rd Deuce, Break Point, 4th Deuce, Game Point and the hold) while Weldon was broken again (30-Love went straight to Break Point and the break) to fall to 2-5.  Kumar was also broken again (Triple Break Point where a T-line Ace against Chazz made it Double Break Point, but then came the break) to have his team's lead cut to 5-3.  But then The Dark Knight was also broken again (30-Love went straight to Break/Match Point and the break) to take the loss!  We played this one on the North Court from 12:57 to 1:37.

 

The Skinny: Once Dino said he was done for the day, the guys informed Frank to come back over to the North Court as his playing services were needed.  As Samara headed toward the court, he heard someone ask (he was not sure who it was) Senthil why he has not registered for the upcoming East-West Challenge.  Kumar's reply about Team East was that they don't have any good players...not realizing that Knitzer is their top-ranked player.  While we all got a good laugh about it, the flippant remark did serve to add some spice to the proceedings...though it was still all in good fun.

 

But the light response to the registration request for the EWC has made Samara change his mind about participating in it.  Not only will he now join Team West, but he will also be the Team Captain as he feels it may be necessary to motivate others to follow his lead into the event.  Chazz has said he will consider it, but has yet to confirm at the time of this writing.

 

At this time, everyone was ready to head for the hills (literally) and call it a day...except for Dan and Chazz who stayed behind to play a Singles One-Setter.

 

Chazz Weldon leading Dan Knitzer, 5-2 (Incomplete when Dan became fatigued at 2:23...they had begun this one on the North Court around 1:40...perhaps as late as 1:45)!  No Aces.

 

The TDK Replay: Chazz rushed out to a 4-0 lead, proving good defense beats bad offense (perhaps I should resign myself to being a full-time pusher?).  He was returning my serves excellently while also refusing to make any mistakes. From "no man's land," he found great angles. Down 1-5 on my serve, I declared I'd play only one more game, win or lose. I won, so we stopped playing with Chazz up 5-2 and due to serve.

 

Samara's Notes: Chazz had also reported it to me, but thought he was only up 4-2.  I am going to trust Dan's word on this as I believe this set of circumstances likely etched its way into his brain more than it did to Mr. Weldon's. 

 

Again, all in all it was a very fun session. 

We now head east just a bit for the lone result from Nutley.

The Park Ave. Courts Result:

Carl Brownson over Muhammad Haque, 10-9 (7-5)!  Carl and Muhammad: 1 Ace each!

Funny score explanation: Muhammad and I got to 6-All and decided to play it out as a win-by-two games set instead of going to a Tiebreaker - at least that's what we decided until we got to 9-9 and reconsidered our life choices…LOL!  We then decided to play the Tiebreaker after all. The score was 7-5 in the Breaker.  It was a hard-fought set as Muhammad had come back from 3-5 down in the set and then from 1-5 down in the Tiebreak before I was able to close it out.

Muhammad had to go at that time. We may try to finish it out and make it an official two of three sets sometime soon.  To Be Determined!

Samara's Notes: My two cents is that they should just let it stand "as is."  It has a shot at being a Nominee for One-Set Intermediate Singles Match of The Year at season's end.  It also proves the two of them should face off again, but this time in a new full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match.  I thank Carl for his timely and detailed reporting.

We now head west and into the evening to go to Cedar Grove for the rest!  Gen will start the report.

The Cedar Grove Results:

2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Doubles Match:

Kris Srinivasasn/Doinks Srinivasan over Mike Mole/Genalin Capan, 6-1, 6-3, to become the New # 7 Ranked Team in the Mixed Doubles Division!  Kris: 1 Ace on Mike! 

Gen's Notes: We played from 7:12 to 8:06.  In the 1st Set, the Srinivasans took a commanding lead of 5-0 before Mike got us on the board for 1-5 (no bagel!).  The 1st Set was quick as it only took 20 minutes.  In the 2nd Set, we were tied up until 3-All.  Then the Srinivasans took the next three straight games for the win!  Doinks did a very nice job with some aggressive plays at the net.  Kris was serving well.  Mike and I had a slow start and both of us were having an off day. Congrats to Kris and Doinks Srinivasan for an impressive win tonight!

Doinks Srinivasan/Genalin Capan over Jay Phoenix/Diane Raum, 6-2!  No Aces.  We played from 8:10 to 8:34.

Jay Phoenix/Diane Raum over Kris Srinivasan/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-4!  No Aces.  

On Court There, there was some Men's Doubles action involving Chris Chiaro, John Rizzo, Nick Caputo and Frank Hohorst.

Samara's Notes: I thank Gen for her timely reporting…I congratulate the Srinivasans on an impressive victory…and getting back to Gen, I thank her for setting up the next part of this report.

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Nick Caputo/Frank Hohorst over Chris Chiaro/John Rizzo, 6-3, 6-7 (7-5), 6-1, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 69 and # 70 Ranked Teams respectively!  No Aces.

The NC-17 Screening: We had some good Doubles.  The courts were pretty quite on a humid night.  The match went the full three sets and it featured great points. 

Samara's Notes: I thank Nick for his timely reporting.  John had reported the same, but without any comment.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

gtasamara5@gmail.com

 

8/25 Results.

8/25/18:

"Only 4 play at Cedar Grove!":

Despite the absolutely beautiful weather this Saturday, there was only a small session of GTA Saturday Tennis featuring four players at Cedar Grove.  "Kevlar" Kevin Doyle sent in the following results.

The Cedar Grove Results:

Kevin Doyle/Robin Wilson over Matt Fortunato/Brenda Jordan, 6-3!  No Aces.

Matt Fortunato/Brenda Jordan over Kevin Doyle/Robin Wilson, 6-2!  No Aces.

Kevin Doyle/Robin Wilson tied with Matt Fortunato/Brenda Jordan, 5-5 (Incomplete)!  No Aces.

The Kevlar Commentary: We played from 11am until 1:40. It was intended to be a full match.  We were tied up 5-5 in the would-be 3rd Set when Brenda had to leave to attend a birthday party. It was a beautiful day and the tennis was really fun.

Samara's Notes: I thank Kevin for his timely and comprehensive report.  It is greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
Frank Samara
gtasamara5@gmail.com

8/24 Results.

8/24/18:

"2 play at VP, Keith-Carl part of 8 (2 return) at PAC, Tony-Dino at VP, 7 play at C.G.!":

There were four official sessions of GTA Friday Tennis: there was an early morning one in Verona Park as "Kaptain" Keith Lewkowitz responded to the Open Challenge issued by "The Headhunter" Ralph Bernard and they played a couple of One-Setters (with both reporting); the next one was at the Park Ave. Courts in Nutley with Lewkowitz in action again, this time against Carl "Buster" Brownson in a full Challenge Match in the late afternoon (with Keith reporting), but then "TNT" Tim Nguyen acted as the host for the balance of the session as it lasted into the evening; the next one was in Verona Park again, but in the evening as Tony "Sure Shot" Shiao and "The Scorpion Dragon" Dino Celis also had a Challenge Match (with Tony reporting); and then there was the usual one at the Cedar Grove Courts with "The Webmaster" Senthil Kumar and "The Riz" John Rizzo both reporting.

Let's go to Verona first, then to Nutley, then back to Verona and then finally to Cedar Grove!

The Verona Park Results:

Ralph Bernard over Keith Lewkowitz, 6-3!  Ralph: 1 Ace!

Ralph Bernard over Keith Lewkowitz, 6-3!  Ralph: 1 Ace!

The Kaptain's Re-Kap: Ralph has sensational ground strokes, hitting the corners and lines with consistency.  He is clearly worth his high ranking in the Advanced Division.  I, having lost, walk away feeling like I gave a spirited effort and have my head held relatively high.  I simply lost to a more talented player and I can live with that.  Compete and shake the hand of the man that beat me, and today Ralph clearly did that.

The Ralph Report: We just played a couple of One-Setters, it was not a match.  Keith was nice enough to come to Verona Park.  I never met Keith before, he responded to an open invite I sent out for Singles.  Good guy!  

Samara's Notes: I thank both for their timely and comprehensive reporting.  Let's now move into the evening hours and head east to Nutley.

The Park Ave. Courts Results:

 

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:

Carl Brownson over Keith Lewkowitz, 6-4, 6-1, to become the New # 32 Ranked Player in the Intermediate Division!  Carl: 6 Aces!

 

The Kaptain's Re-Kap: The 1st Set was relatively close, but the 2nd Set was completely one-sided. 

 

Samara's Notes: Again, I thank Keith for his timely and comprehensive reporting.  He had quite the busy day!  We now turn this report over to Tim for the moment.

I arrived at the Park Ave. Courts around 6:30pm while Keith Lewkowitz and Carl Brownson had been there since 4:30 and were about to finish their match by then.  They were kind enough to stay and rally with me until other players arrived around five minutes later.  Keith Lewkowitz was a marathoner that night as he was relentless, tireless, played on and off, and stayed until we closed out at almost 10pm (9:55 when we left the courts).  The weather was perfect that evening. 

Tim Nguyen/Arunraj Nair over Dhaval Fitter/Matt Aery, 6-3!  No Aces.  It was the official GTA Return of Matt Aery.

Rich Liu/Tim Nguyen over Keith Lewkowitz/Danny Pareskeva, 6-0!  No Aces.  It was the official GTA Return of Danny Paraskeva.

Rich Liu/Keith Lewkowitz over Tim Nguyen/Arunraj Nair, 6-2!  No Aces.

Rich Liu over Tim Nguyen, 6-1!  Rich:  2 Aces (maybe more)!

Samara's Notes: I thank Tim for often stepping up as the host at the Park Ave. sessions.  He always provides a comprehensive report that paints the picture of how events transpired in Nutley.

 

We now head back to Verona now for a Challenge Match that took place in the evening. 

 

The Verona Park Results:

 

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:

Tony Shiao over Dino Celis, 6-3, 6-3, to successfully defend his # 8 Rank in the Advanced Division!  Tony: 2 Aces in the 2^nd Set!

 

The Sure Shot from Shiao: We met at 8pm to play a match.  My plan was to go big and deep on my forehands to take time away from Dino to set up his shots.  It seemed to work in the 1st Set, but I was also surprised at how well he was able move and to reach some would-be winners in the 2^nd Set.  We had many relentless rallies where we both gave it our all.  His crosscourt forehands were on point with some seriously acute angles that just touched the white lines.

 

After about an hour of play we decided to play a One-Setter which was as follows…

 

Dino Celis over Tony Shiao, 7-6 (7-2)!  No Aces.

 

The Sure Shot from Shiao: It was a close one.  It's always a pleasure playing against Dino and my game is well-suited for his hard-hitting strokes.  I am looking forward to another match in the near future!

 

Samara's Notes: I thank Tony for the timely and comprehensive report…and also congratulate him on an impressive victory.

Time to head north just a bit to Cedar Grove for the rest of what took place on Friday night!

The Cedar Grove Results:

2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Gender Doubles Match:

Senthil Kumar/Arthur Fontanilla over Don Moya/Janice Wang, 6-3, 6-2!  No Aces.  In the process, Kumar/Fontanilla entered the Doubles Division as the New # 68 Ranked Team.  Moya/Wang got to renew their activity in the Mixed Doubles Division.

 

2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Doubles Match:

John Rizzo/Janice Wang over Scott Bergenfeld/Natalia Sout, 6-2, 7-5, to successfully defend their # 33 Rank in the Mixed Doubles Division!  In the process, Bergenfeld/Sout entered the division as the New # 47 Ranked Team.  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I thank both Senthil and John for contributing to this report in such a timely manner.  As always, it is greatly appreciated!

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com  

 

 

 

 

8/23 Results.

8/23/18:

"12 play at C.G.!":

There was just one official session of GTA Thursday Night Tennis and it was at the Cedar Grove Courts where the contributors to this report were "Vivacious" Vivian Lee, "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan, "The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan and Laura "The Aura" Gawley.  It seems as if it was something of a Ladies Night up there.

Let's get to the action!

 

The Cedar Grove Results:

Frank Hohorst/Rose Inciong over Leo Victor/Vivian Lee, 6-3!  No Aces.

Frank Hohorst/Vivian Lee over Leo Victor/Rose Inciong, 6-1!  No Aces.

Viv's View: The highlighted was Frank's soft touch and short angle shots.

Doinks Srinivasan/Genalin Capan over Fadia Nicolas/Arlene Hyde, 7-6 (7-5)!  No Aces.

Gen's Notes: Fadia and Arlene jumped out to an early 3-0 lead and then we tied it up 3-3.  There was an exchange of breaks for 4-4.  Then it was neck and neck to bring us to the Tiebreak.  The TB played out like this, in our favor...3-0, 3-1, 4-2, 5-2, 5-3, 5-4, 6-4, 6-5 and then 7-5 on the 2nd Match Point!

Fadia Nicolas/Arlene Hyde over Doinks Srinivasan/Genalin Capan, 6-2!  No Aces. 

Gen's Notes: Fadia and Arlene once again jumped out to a 3-0 lead, but this time around it went 3-1, 4-1, 4-2, 5-2 and 6-2.

The Details from Doinks: After our second One-Setter with Fadia and Arlene, we had Rose Inciong join us for a set. 

Doinks Srinivasan/Rose Inciong over Fadia Nicolas/Arlene Hyde, 7-5!  No Aces.

2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Doubles Match:

Mike Mole/Laura Gawley over Senthil Kumar/Janice Wang, 6-4, 6-1, as both teams entered the Mixed Doubles Division as the New # 45 and 46 Ranked Teams respectively!  No Aces. 

Senthil Kumar/Laura Gawley over Kris Srinivasan/Janice Wang, 6-2!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I thank everyone who reported results from this session in such a timely manner.  As always, it is greatly appreciated. 

 

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com   

 

 

 

 

8/22 Results.

8/22/18:

"3 play at PAC, Adam-Ryan in RP/BP, 16 play at C.G.!":

There were three (four?) official sessions of GTA Wednesday Night Tennis.  The first was at The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley ("TNT" Tim Nguyen did the reporting from there).

The second featured the third of the four "Grove Cup 21" Quarterfinal Matches to be played.  This one was between brothers "The Apex Predator" Adam Pienciak and "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak (with both reporting along with a point-by-point breakdown contributed by spectator, "The Riz" John Rizzo).  "The Brothers" began their match at Rose Park in Woodland Park, but when the lights failed to come on there…they had to take their action over to Brookdale Park in Bloomfield instead.

And the third was the usual evening session at The Cedar Grove Courts where the Main Event ended up being a Mixed Doubles Challenge Match as "NC-17" Nick Caputo/Fadia "Finesse" Nicolas ended up putting their team rank on the line against "Tireless" Tommy Reszkowski/"The Argentine Machine" Fernanda Toker (with both Nick and Fernanda reporting).  Other contributors to this report from that session are "Bravo" Brenda Jordan, "Killer Kat" Kathy Sheldon, "Chito" Nick Inciong, "The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan, "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan and "The Webmaster" Senthil Kumar.

Let's first go to the report from Nutley, than the dual "Brothers" report from Woodland Park and Bloomfield, and then the multi-layered recap from Cedar Grove!                                                    

The Park Ave. Courts Results:

 

Edgar Valencia over Tim Nguyen, 6-3!  Edgar: 3 Aces!

 

Tim Nguyen leading Rich Liu, 1-0 (Incomplete when the rain came)!  No Aces.

 

Tim's Up: We didn't think it was going to rain in Nutley, but it did after all. Edgar Valencia and I managed to play a One-Setter, but when Rich Liu and I started that second One-Setter, we got caught in the soaking rain around 8:10pm!  Rich thought it was going to be just a few passing raindrops, but it came down hard around 8:10 and we had to vacate the courts almost immediately.  I got the advantage in while the rain poured down before we had to vacate the court!

 

Samara's Notes: I thank Tim for his timely and comprehensive report…much appreciated!  We now head to Woodland Park where the match location will then shift to Bloomfield (Brookdale Park).

 

The Rose Park/Brookdale Park Result:

"Grove Cup 21" Quarterfinal Match:

Ryan Pienciak over Adam Pienciak, 7-5, 6-3 (Adam had to retire while at 3-3 and down 15-40 on serve due to cramping which may have been due to dehydration), to become the New # 2 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division while advancing to the Semifinals of the 21st Annual Grove Cup Men's Singles Tournament!  Ryan: 2 Aces in the 1^st Set!

 

The Riz Rundown of the Points and Games:

 

6:53pm start of 1^st Set - Game 1, 0-15 0-30 0-40  break 1-0 Ryan; Game 2, 0-15 15 all 30-15 Double Fault for 30-30 30-40 Break 1-All; Game 3, 0-15 15-15 30-15 40-15 40-30, 2-1 Adam; Game 4, 0-15 15-15 30-15 30-30 30-40 break, 3-1 Adam; Game 5, 15-0 15-15 15-30 15-40 30-40, Break 3-2 Adam; Game 6, 0-15 0-30 15-30 30-30 30-40 40-40 Ad-In, Game, 3-All; Game 7 at 7:13, 15-0 30-0 40-0 40-15 Game 4-3; Game 8 at 7:17, 0-15 15-15 30-15 30-30 40-30 Game 4-All, Game Point when a soft first serve missed; Game 9 at 7:21, Double Fault for 30-30 30-40 Break, 5-4 Ryan, Game 10 at 7:24, 0-15 0-30 15-30 15-40 30-40 Break 5-5; Game 11 at 7:27 30-15 30-30 30-40 Break 6-5 Ryan; Game 12 at 7:32, 15-30 to 15-40 Ace for 30-40. 40-40 another Ace for Ad-In and Game/Set Point, 7-5 the 1st Set for Ryan.

7:38 start of 2^nd Set - Game 1, 15-0 30-0 40-0 Game 1-0 Adam; Game 2,  15-0 30-0 30-15 40-15 40-30 40-40 Ad-Out, Deuce, Ad-Out 2-0 Adam, then…

8:13 resumes at Brookdale Park - Game 3, 0-15 0-30 0-40 15-40 30-40 Break, 2-1 Adam; Game 4, 15-0 15-15 30-15 30-30 30-40, Deuce, Ad-In, Deuce, Ad-In, Deuce, Ad-In, Game 2-2; Game 5 at 8:20,  15-0 30-0 30-15 40-15 40-30 Deuce, Ad-In, Deuce, Ad-Out, Deuce, Ad-Out, Deuce, Ad-In, 3-2 Adam; Game 6 at 8:27 15-0 30-0 30-15 40-15 Adam cramps, takes break from 8:29 to 8:31, then 40-30 and Game 3-3; Game 7 at 8:31 0-15 15-15 15-30 15-40, Adam retired and forfeits the balance of the set for 6-3!

The Ryan Report: We started hitting at 6:30 at Woodland Park.  I won the first set 7-5.  Adam was up 2-0 in the 2nd Set when we realized the lights were not going to come on and it was getting pretty dark by then.  We traveled to Brookdale Park to continue.  I broke back and then it was 2-2, then 3-3.  At that point, Adam started cramping up badly.  He has been doing the Keto diet and not eating any carbs…so his body just kind of gave out on him.  We talked about continuing the match another time, but Adam feels the same thing would happen again.  He prefers to withdraw from the match and take it easy for a bit.  I hate to win this way, but I also don't want him to get hurt trying to play when he shouldn't be.

From the AP: It's a real shame because it was shaping up to possibly be an epic match.  My body just doesn't have the fuel it needs to play competitive Singles at this point.  The only positive is that I am down 15 pounds since 8/3! 

All of that being said…Ryan played very well and had a solid strategy to make me play a type of tennis that was out of my comfort zone.  I will be cheering on "Team Pienciak" in the next round!

The Ryan Report: Haha!  "Solid strategy" = "moon-ball central!"  I was trying to bore him to death!

 

From the AP: Call it whatever you want…it wasn't not working!  Haha! 

Samara's Notes:  Hey brothers (it doesn't seem quite right calling a couple of white guys that), thanks for the result and the details.  Sorry to hear of the unfortunate ending.  In the GTA, you forfeit out the balance of the games....so the 2nd Set will go down as a 6-3 score, but we will note where the injury/retirement/forfeit took place as well.

Adam, all is not lost for you...because as soon as you feel up to it, you need to resume your GTA Championship Match with GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro.  Ryan, when the time is right…I will get you and your Semifinal opponent on the same e-mail to facilitate scheduling that match.  Congratulations!

I thank both brothers and The Riz for their very timely reporting.

The Consequences: Just one "Grove Cup 21" Quarterfinal left to be played – "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas versus "Instant" Moka Pathan!  And then we are onto the Semifinals!

Time to head west just a bit to recap all that took place at Cedar Grove.

The Cedar Grove Results:

 

2 out of 3 Sets Women's Doubles Match:

Kathy Sheldon/Kathy Marabondo over Brenda Jordan/Dawn Peterson, 6-4, 6-3, to become the New # 2 Ranked Team in the Women's Doubles Division!  No Aces.

The Chat from Kat: The wind was ferocious in the 2nd Set and it definitely was a factor!  Thankfully, we persevered!  Nice playing by all!

Samara's Notes: It should be noted that Brenda reported the same.  Congratulations to "Team Kathy" for making a big splash in the ranks of the Women's Doubles Division! 

2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Doubles Match:

Tommy Reszkowski/Fernanda Toker over Nick Caputo/Fadia Nicolas, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, to become the New # 3 Ranked Team in the Mixed Doubles Division!  Tommy: 1 Ace on Fadia!

The NC-17 Screening: Fernanda and Tommy challenged Fadia and me in Mixed Doubles.  It was a great 3 Set Match with awesome long points.  They are a tough tandem and compliment each other very well.  Fadia and I won the 1st Set, then lost the 2nd and 3rd.  It was very fun tennis with cool people. 

Toker's Take: We played for two hours and 15 minutes (7:10 to 9:25).  It was a lot of fun playing them.  The best game was in the 3rd Set.  They were up 3-2 and Nick was serving.  We had at least 12 Deuce before we broke him to make it 3-3.  After that, we had the momentum.

Samara's Notes: I thank both Nick and Fernanda for their very timely and detailed reporting.  We don't have a Most Improved Mixed Doubles Team of The Year Award at the end of the season, but if we did…Tommy and Fernanda would be in the lead for it right now.  First, it was their win over "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes/Natalia "Nitro" Sout which surprised some.  And now this win here may be even more impressive.  It is further evidence of just how much Tommy has improved…and why he is a leading contender for an award we actually do have at the end of the season – Most Improved Player of The Year.

 

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Senthil Kumar/Nick Inciong over Mike Mole/Kris Srinivasan, 6-3, 6-2, to become the New # 57 Ranked Team in the Doubles Division!  Kris: 1 Ace on Senthil!

Senthil Kumar/Doinks Srinivasan over Kris Srinivasan/Natalia Sout, 6-3!  No Aces.

Senthil's Two Cents: Doinks won, not me.  I was just standing around!  LOL!

The Details from Doinks: Thanks to Nick C. and Mike M. for giving up their spots to allow Natalia and me to play.  I got there late...a little past 9pm.

Thomas Lee/Dawn Peterson over Frank Hohorst/Brenda Jordan, 6-3!  No Aces.

Frank Hohorst/Brenda Jordan over Thomas Lee/Dawn Peterson, 6-2!  No Aces.

The Brief from Brenda: We would have played a Tiebreak, but the lights were about to be going out at any second!

 

Samara's Notes: I thank everyone for their contributions to this report.  It is much appreciated. 

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

 

   

 

 

 

 

8/21 Results.

8/21/18:

"4 play (1 New) at NTC, 8 play at C.G.!":

There were two official sessions of GTA Tuesday Tennis: the first one was an impromptu afternoon session at Nutley Tennis Club as "Dynamic Dee" Denise Savino needed a fourth player for Doubles, so she invited "Hollywood" Frank Samara who actually had the opportunity and time to take her up on her offer (a rare moment, indeed!); and the second one was the usual evening session up at The Cedar Grove Courts with the contributors from that session being "The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan and "J-Rod" Joe Rodrigues.

Let's first go to how the NTC session came about and then we will get the results from Cedar Grove!

I received a text from "Dynamic Dee" Denise Savino around 12:30 or so stating she needed a fourth player for some Doubles action at Nutley Tennis Club and wanted to know if I was available.  The match would start at 2:30.  Her timing was perfect as she caught me at a rare available time (well, by 2:30 I would be available).  So, I replied that I could be the fourth.  I assumed it was for Mixed Doubles.  Turns out once I arrived at NTC a little before 2:10, I would be in "the Charlie position" going up against three angels (i.e. ladies).  I would team with Dee against "Fiery" Sue Fredericks and her friend, Linda Feldman (who I had never met before).

I already knew what a crafty lefty Sue was...well, Linda was pretty much her equal except for being a "righty."  She was also just as nice and pleasant to play with...and it all made for a fun match.

The NTC Result:

2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Gender Doubles Match:

Frank Samara/Denise Savino over Sue Fredericks/Linda Feldman, 6-1, 4-6, 6-1!  No Aces.  It was the official GTA Debut of Linda Feldman.  In the process, Samara/Savino entered the Mixed Doubles Division as the New # 44 Ranked Team while Fredericks/Feldman entered the Women's Doubles Division as the New # 22 Ranked Team.

We hit it around for close to ten minutes and got the match underway on Court One (aka The Show Court) at 2:40.  I did not note the games on the changeovers.  I actually had all the games memorized for the first two sets, but once we went into that 3rd Set...it was like the slate was wiped clean.  Here is what I still remember about the match.  Sue served first and held and then we took the next six games for the 1st Set and I held serve in my first two service games (remember that).  That initial set ended at 3:05.  We took about a two minute break before the next set and then Sue and Linda changed up their return of service sides...which seemingly worked wonders for them.

In the 2nd Set, it was game for game with us (Dee and I) either having a one game lead or having it all tied up before Linda held serve in a 5 Deuce game to go up 4-3.  They would then go up 5-3 before we won more game to make it closer before going down when I was broken at Love for the set to level the match!  I also had two prior breaks of my serve earlier in this set (both were on Break Point and the second time around I was up Game Point before it went to Deuce, Break Point and the break).  This set ended at 3:55.  We took a slightly longer break after this set (probably three to four minutes before heading into the deciding set).

We jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the 3rd Set until I was broken yet again (I had a Game Point lead only to go to Deuce, Break Point and then getting broken) to cut our team's lead to 3-1.  At this moment, Denise says to me, "I think you like getting broken."  My reply was, "yes, broken by women...the story of my life!"  The ladies enjoyed this, but for our opponents it would be their last source of enjoyment as we won the remainder of the games and it was Sue broken for the loss (Triple Break/Match Point, Double Break/Match Point, it finally ended on Break/Match Point) at 4:25.

Samara's Notes: It really ended up being a fun match to play and I am glad that Denise took a chance on inviting me to play as it was a rare occasion where I had a window of opportunity to take a break from my usually rigorous routine.  I think it was the first time I had played in over two weeks!  Without looking back thru all the recent Results reports, the last time I played may have been the BBQ/Tennis Party event at NTC.

I would have to say that Denise was the MVP in this one as earlier in the day she had played three sets of Doubles up at Packanack Lake in Wayne (so she had a total of six sets of tennis within a rather short time period).  The ladies on the other side of the net wisely singled her out in many of the points, but Dynamic Dee was more than up to the challenge.  And I was the main culprit for the letdown in the 2^nd Set.  In the 1^st Set, I caught our opponents off guard with my slice and dice game.  Then, they adjusted somewhat and I got a little sloppy.  In the 3^rd Set, I both caught my second wind and regained my focus.  Sue and Linda were a joy to play with and I hope we see more of them in the future.

We now shift west (and go from afternoon to evening) to Cedar Grove for the rest!

The Cedar Grove Results:

Mike Sindler/Doinks Srinivasan over Adam Pienciak/Rose Inciong, 6-4!  No Aces. 

The Details from Doinks: Thanks to Adam for joining in so we could play a set of Doubles.

Jordan Bachvaroff/Don Moya over Joe Rodrigues/Rose Inciong, 6-1!  No Aces.

 

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Joe Rodrigues/Don Moya over Jordan Bachvaroff/Mike Mole, 6-2, 6-3, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 65 and # 66 Ranked Teams respectively!  Don: 1 Ace on Mike in the 2^nd Set!   

Samara's Notes: I thank Doinks and Joe for sending in these results.  Always appreciated!

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com  

 

 

 

 

8/20 Results.

8/20/18:

"10 play (2 New, 1 Return) at PAC, M2 Final part of 25 at C.G.!":

There were two official sessions of GTA Monday Night Tennis...a night that we should call "Major Monday, Part Two" as it was the conclusion of one big match that started two weeks ago on a Monday…plus much more took place on this particular evening!  The two sessions pretty much ran at the same time, so I am going to just report Nutley first and then Cedar Grove last (as we usually do).

The first one was at The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley and it featured the official GTA Debuts of two new players…and with report contributions coming in from "TNT" Tim Nguyen, "SWAT" Rich Liu and "Eddie Money" Edgar Valencia (Edgar has had so many monikers just this season, I figured I would toss in a new one).

And then we had the usual evening session at The Cedar Grove Courts which featured the conclusion of the M2 Men's Doubles Tournament Final Match between the teams of "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas/"Big Kaz" Mike Kazlauskas and GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro/"Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes (with all four reporting).  "Ice Berg" Scott Bergenfeld, "Bravo" Brenda Jordan, "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan, "J-Rod" Joe Rodrigues, "The Riz" John Rizzo, "The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan and "Stealth" Omar Santos are all the other contributors to this report from that session.

Let's now get to all the epic action…and we start in Nutley!  Where we will have Tim start that portion of the report.

 

David Soto is now in the GTA.  He is a regular player with Rich Liu and the group at PAC.  Dave has been rallying with the group for some time now. 

 

We had a nice turnout this night.  Arunraj Nair arrived at the PAC around 6:15pm and soon after I arrived as well.  We rallied a little while and then a Singles One-Setter started between us.  And then the rest of the crew trickled in around 7pm to 7:30.  There were ten of us out on the courts at any one time and we took three of the four courts there on a beautiful Monday night after a rainy Sunday.

 

The Park Ave. Courts Results:

 

Arunraj Nair over Tim Nguyen, 6-2!  No Aces.

 

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:

Tim Nguyen over David Soto, 6-0, 6-1, to successfully defend his # 18 Ranked Player in the Intermediate Division!  David Soto made his official GTA Debut as the New # 43 Ranked Player in the Intermediate Division.  No Aces. 

 

Fausto Murg/Arunraj Nair over Tim Nguyen/David Soto, 6-1!  No Aces.

 

David Soto/Arunraj Nair over Tim Nguyen/Fausto Murg, 6-1!  No Aces.

 

Samara's Notes: I thank Tim for his timely and detailed reporting.  Next we go to a result from Rich and then a couple scores from Edgar after that.

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Rich Liu/Richard Bollon over Fausto Murg/Arunraj Nair, 6-3, 7-6 (7–2), as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 63 and # 64 Ranked Teams respectively!  It was the official GTA Return of Richard Bollon.  No Aces.

The Rich Recap: It was a fun match.  Fausto was really playing well blasting some serious forehand shots while Arun was good at the net.  But our team came through for a "W!"

Samara's Notes: I also thank Rich for his timely reporting.  It seems Team Two Rich was just a bit too much for Fausto and Arun.  And now Edgar will close out the Nutley portion of this report.

Randy Doran/Lisa Brady over Edgar Valencia/Arthur Fontanilla, 6-4!  No Aces.  It was the official GTA Debut of Lisa Brady.

Edgar's Editorial: We were down 0-4, but we crawled back to 4-5 until they won.  Lisa Brady is a revelation!  She's very steady at the net and has good shot selections.   She can kick ass at the net!  As usual, Ravishing Randy did his usual thing with excellent placement shots.  Art and I were making wild shots and hitting double faults…until we got a little more serious.

Edgar Valencia/Arthur Fontanilla over Randy Doran/Lisa Brady, 6-3!  No Aces.

Edgar's Editorial: Art and I decided to cool down and we got ahead 4-1.  My first serves were working and Art had a couple of backhand winners.  We had a couple of exciting volley exchanges at the net.  Everybody was moving!

Samara's Notes: I thank Edgar for his timely and detailed reporting.  Rich also reported how impressive Lisa was…and how they suggested she make her way to Cedar Grove to challenge some of the GTA's top-ranked ladies.

We now go west to Cedar Grove for the rest!

The Cedar Grove Results:

M2 Final Match:

Chris Chiaro/Nathan Fernandes over Marijus Kuzavas/Mike Kazlauskas, 6-7 (7-3), 7-5, 5-7, 6-3, 6-3, to become the New # 2 Ranked Team in the Doubles Division, the next Top Contenders and the 2018 M2 Champs!  No Aces (apparently…though doubtful with Mike and Marijus both involved).

Mike's Minutes of The Match: The 3rd Set resumed (from two weeks ago) as we started off down 3-4 with Marijus serving.  He held serve, Nate held serve and I held serve for 5-5.  Then, I think we broke Chris to go up 6-5 and Marijus served it out for 7-5.

The 4th Set started out on a high note for us as we broke Nate in the first game for 0-1…then it all went downhill from there.  My serve was broken, 1-1, Chris held his and Marijus serve was broken for 1-3.  We were not able to catch up after that and the set ended, 6-3 in their favor. 

In the 5th Set, I remember we were down 0-3 to start.  We were down two breaks of serve for the most of the set.  Down 2-5, we broke (Nate's?) serve to have a chance to extend the set and match...however, I was not able to serve it out.  We were down Love-40 and then were able to come back to 30-40, but then we missed the last shot!  Congrats to Nate and Chris, great match!

More from Marijus: It was a tough match as the total time probably 4.5 hours.  After the restart, Mike and I started off well and took the 3rd Set, but after that our serve quality went down somewhat and they took advantage of that.

Nate's Notes: They saved a total of four Match Points before we were able to close it out for the win.  Total playing time was almost 5 hours over the course of two days!  It was a great match against two tough competitors.  Marijus and Mike both hit big and serve even bigger!  Chris played like the reigning Champ that he is.  Glad to get the win.  Frank, thanks for following up (to keep the rescheduling going) and for your recommendation about not scrapping the first two sets (as was once considered). 

The Champ chimes in: Not sure of the Aces. 

Samara's Notes: I thank all four for their timely and detailed contributions to this report.  I congratulate Chris and Nate on an impressive victory, but also offer kudos to Marijus and Mike on a fine and spirited effort.  It is interesting to note that if they kept it to the original 2 out of 3 Sets format, Kuzavas/Kazlauskas would have won the match and remained the # 2 Team and Top Contenders.  But all four agreed to extend this match to a 3 out of 5 Sets as I believe both sides feared going back to a 3^rd Set that hung with a 4-3 balance.  If either team got off to a slow start, it could have been a wrap quite quickly.  The extension was fair to both parties. 

And even though those last two sets have a 6-3 score, this match may still have a shot at being a Nominee for Doubles Match of The Year at season's end given its historical significance and its marathon-like nature.

So now Chiaro/Fernandes have to face the reigning GTA Doubles Champions: "NC-17" Nick Caputo and "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak.  That should be one hell of a match! 

We now go to the rest of the scores where there often were overlaps in the reporting…and I have done my best to restore some sort of chronological order to them, but really cannot be completely accurate in that regard.  We will first go to a report from Scott as I assumed he started his action (soon to be aborted) early in the session.

I attempted to play Jordan in a Best of Five Sets Singles Challenge Match, but I had to resign in the 1st Set down 0-3.  I don't think I even got more than one point off of Jordan.  I'm not sure what came over me.  I felt extremely light-headed, dizzy, and weak throughout my legs.  I sat down for five minutes or so and had trouble getting off the court.  I was able to make it home, eat some food and relax.  I thought maybe my sugar level was low, but I am not entirely sure.  I feel better today (Tuesday morning), but I am still a little sluggish.  I am going to take it easy the next few days and see what happens.

Samara's Notes: I thank Scott for reporting this.  I have not heard from Jordan, but I doubt he would want to take a forfeit victory under such circumstances…especially considering how early on it was in the would-be match.  I am just going to consider it as an abandoned partial result.  I also wish Scott well in his recovery and hope it is only a minor situation…a freak occurrence.  It was not all that hot that evening, so I doubt it was heat exhaustion…but it still could have been dehydration if he did not drink enough fluids.

Brenda Jordan/Michele Panzitta over Kathy Sheldon/Dawn Peterson, 6-4!  No Aces.

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

The Brief from Brenda: We didn't play a 3rd Set or a Super Tiebreak because people had been waiting a while to play.

Samara's Notes: I thank Brenda for her timely reporting and respect the considerate action that all four ladies took in this situation…it is greatly appreciated!  We now grab a score from Omar.

Mike Mole over Omar Santos, 7-5!  No Aces.

Jordan Bachvaroff/Joe Rodrigues over Sally Pillay/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-1!  No Aces.  We played this one "Battle of The Sexes" style. 

Samara's Notes: I thank Joe for reporting that result (so did Doinks).  We will go back to more scores from Joe, but I want to briefly turn this report over to Gen right now.

When I arrived at CG around 7pm, all four courts had GTA play in progress.  On Court One, it was the Ladies Doubles (the two One-Setters already reported above), Court Two had the conclusion of the M2 Men's Doubles Tournament Final, Court Three had the "Battle of The Sexes" One-Setter (reported just above) and Mike Mole and Omar Santos had just finished their One-Setter on Court Four (also reported above) which allowed Jay Phoenix, Natalia Sout and I (along with Mike) to start the following One-Setter.

Jay Phoenix/Natalia Sout over Mike Mole/Genalin Capan, 7-6 (7-2)!  No Aces.  We played from 7:12 to 8:10 on Court Four.

John Rizzo/Doinks Srinivasan over Jorge Solano/Genalin Capan, 7-6 (8-6)!  John: 2 Aces on Jorge!  We played this one from 8:17 to 9:40 on Court Four.

The Riz Report: Our set lasted over hour!  Doinks and I were able to save 2 Match Points!

Samara's Notes: I thank all three (Gen, John and Doinks) for reporting this result.  It may have a shot at being a Nominee for One-Set Mixed Doubles Match of The Year at season's end.  We now go back to a couple more scores from Joe before we have Doinks report the last incomplete result of the night.

Joe Rodrigues/Tito Castolo over Jordan Bachvaroff/Senthil Kumar, 6-3!  No Aces.

Senthil Kumar/Joe Rodrigues over Jordan Bachvaroff/Jorge Solano, 6-3!  Jordan: 3 Aces (2 on Senthil and 1 on Joe)!

Senthil Kumar/Edwin Ortega tied with Don Moya/Doinks Srinivasan, 4-4 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: Once again, I thank everyone for their timely and comprehensive reporting.  It is all greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com  

 

 

 

 

8/19 Results.

8/19/18:

"Just 5 play in C.G.!":

GTA Sunday Tennis was once again (for an unprecedented time, historically speaking) messed with by Mother Nature.  Early rain prevented "Hollywood" Frank Samara from hosting the usual morning session at Albion Park in Clifton.  This is likely to be the first season in the history of the league where more Sundays had no morning action rather than actually having any action on the courts.  The rain did give way sometime in the afternoon which enabled a small evening session at The Cedar Grove Courts.  "The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan submitted the scores from that session.

The Cedar Grove Results:

Kris Srinivasan/Laura Gawley over Frank Hohorst/Doinks Srinivasan, 7-5!  No Aces.

Frank Hohorst/Laura Gawley over Senthil Kumar/Doinks Srinivasan, 7-5!  No Aces.

Kris Srinivasan/Frank Hohorst over Senthil Kumar/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-3!  No Aces.

The Details from Doinks: Thanks to Laura, Frank and Senthil for coming out last night.  Also, Mike Sindler came, too, while the first One-Setter was in progress and left 10 minutes before Senthil arrived.

Samara's Notes: I thank Doinks for her timely and detailed reporting.  Sometimes it is just bad timing when someone arrives (like Mike Sindler above).  I always feel like many don't give the situation enough time (especially if they drive to a session from somewhat far away) as usually soon after that person leaves, a court or playing opportunity opens up right after their exit.  Oh well!

Best wishes,
Frank Samara

8/18 Results.

8/18/18:

"Daddio-Bachvaroff in Caldwell!":

There was just a small window of opportunity for some GTA Saturday Tennis in the early afternoon hours and, thankfully, "Daddy O" Paul Daddio and "The Bulgarian Bull" Jordan Bachvaroff were able to take advantage of it and play their "Grove Cup 21" Quarterfinal Match in Grover Cleveland Park in Caldwell.  I thank Paul for reporting the following result.

The Grover Cleveland Park Courts Result:

"Grove Cup 21" Quarterfinal Match:
Paul Daddio over Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-1, 6-3, to successfully defend his # 3 Rank in the Advanced Division while advancing to the Semifinals of the 21st Annual Grove Cup Men's Singles Tournament!  No Aces.

The Dilly-O from Daddy O: We played at Grover Cleveland Park from 1 to 3pm.  The conditions were sunny, hot and hotter!  Jordan really stepped up his game and consistency in the 2nd Set as he pushed me in many long points.  It was a fun match as both of us got a great workout.

Samara's Notes: I thank Paul for his timely and detailed reporting.  I also congratulate him on a very impressive victory.  He is now the second player into the Semis with just two Quarterfinal Matches remaining.  I also offer kudos to Jordan for a fine run thru this tourney.

Sincerely,
Frank Samara

8/16 Results.

8/16/18:

"14 play at C.G.!":

There was only one session of GTA Thursday Night Tennis and it was the usual one in the evening at The Cedar Grove Courts.  Perhaps I should not use the word "usual" as it seems those there felt it was so underwhelming, it was not even worth reporting the results from it.  "The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan was the only one to initially report a result and then she tipped me off as to who else I should chase down to get the rest.  It seems it was a lackluster session at best.  The other eventual contributors to this report were "J-Rod" Joe Rodrigues, "The Riz" John Rizzo, "The Accelerator" Abhilash Gadi and Natalia "Nitro" Sout.  I do sincerely thank them for finally putting all the missing pieces into the puzzle.

The Cedar Grove Results:

Joe Rodrigues/Tito Castolo over Jordan Bachvaroff/Mike Mole, 7-5!  No Aces.

The Gist from Joe: Jordan and Mike were leading 5-2 when Tito and I stormed back based on some great net play by Tito!

Mike Mole/Janice Wang over Joe Rodrigues/Rose Inciong, 6-3!  No Aces.

 

Mike Mole/Janice Wang over Joe Rodrigues/Rose Inciong, 6-1!  No Aces.

Nathan Fernandes/Natalia Sout over Mike Mole/Janice Wang, 6-3!  No Aces.

Abhilash Gadi/Arthur Fontanilla over John Rizzo/Nick Inciong, 6-4!  No Aces. 

The Accelerated Report: It was really humid, so we played only one set.  After that, Arthur and I hit around for about 30 mins.

And we now let the one who got the ball rolling, Doinks, finish this report.

Tom La and I were the last ones to arrive at Cedar Grove and three of the four courts already had Doubles in progress.  We started hitting for about 30 minutes and then he suggested that we play a One-Setter.

Tom La over Doinks Srinivasan, 6-2!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: Thanks to Doinks for her timely and detailed reporting.  If it wasn't for her, I would have likely assumed nothing had ever taken place at Cedar Grove this Thursday night.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

gtasamara5@gmail.com

8/15 Results.

8/15/18:

"Gadi-Caputo in VP, W2 Semi part of 18 at C.G.!":

There were two official sessions of GTA Wednesday Night Tennis.  The first was in Verona Park and featured the first of the four "Grove Cup 21" Quarterfinal Matches to be played.  This one was between "The Accelerator" Abhilash Gadi and "NC-17" Nick Caputo (with both reporting). 

The second was at The Cedar Grove Courts and it featured the first of the two W2 Semifinal Matches to be played as it was a battle between the teams of Fadia "Finesse" Nicolas/"The Archetype" Arlene Hyde and "The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan/"The S Bomber" Genalin Capan (with Gen reporting).  Other contributors to this report from that session are the GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro, "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan and Diane "The Bomb" Raum.

Let's first go to the dual report from Verona and then the multi-layered recap from Cedar Grove!          

The Verona Park Result:

"Grove Cup 21" Quarterfinal Match:

Nick Caputo over Abhilash Gadi, 6-1, 6-2, to become the New # 5 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division while advancing to the Semifinals of the 21st Annual Grove Cup Men's Singles Tournament!  Abhilash: 1 Ace!

The NC-17 Screening: The match lasted just over an hour.  Abhi is a good young player with very quick feet and solid skills.  He simply needs to play more and attack more.  Great guy!

The Accelerated Report: Nick was very good with his serve and volley.  He was hitting his shots with precision, making it really hard to score points against him.  He had a good overall game with few errors and I clearly lost to a much better player!  After the match, he was also kind enough to give me advice on how to improve my game. 

Nick - Thank you for being a great sport and I'll implement your advice going forward. 

Frank - Thanks for having me be a part of this tournament.  It definitely helped me improve my game. 

Samara's Notes: I thank both for their very timely reporting.  I congratulate Nick on yet another impressive victory!  And kudos to Abhi who had a great run thru this tourney! 

The Consequences: Caputo is now the first player into the Semis.  His dominant run thru the Grove Cup so far begs the question: "Who is going to stop this guy?"  The answer just may be: nobody!  Is Nick on a run to not only win The Cup, but then go onto win the GTA Championship as well?  Time will tell!

Time to head north just a bit to recap all that took place at Cedar Grove.  I doubt I am getting this right chronologically, so we will just have Gen start the reporting as the W2 Semi was the Main Event of the evening…and then we will list everything else after that.

The Cedar Grove Results:

W2 Semifinal Match:

Doinks Srinivasan/Genalin Capan over Fadia Nicolas/Arlene Hyde, 6-4, 6-4, to become the New #7 Ranked Team in the Women's Doubles Division while advancing to the Finals of the W2 Women's Doubles Tournament!  No Aces.

Gen's Notes: We played this one from 7:24 to 9pm.  Each set was about 45 minutes long.  It was a pretty tight match until the very end.  In the 2nd Set, we had the lead at 5-1.  We started with an exchange of breaks (with Arlene and Doinks serving) for 1-1.  Fadia was then broken on serve and I held to go up 3-1.  Arlene was again broken and then Doinks held for a commanding lead at 5-1 by taking four straight games.  Then Fadia held for 2-5.  I was broken for 5-3.  It was a battle on Arlene's service game that went to multiple Deuces (at least 6 or 7 Deuces).  We had our chances with 2 or 3 Match Points, but could not convert.  Arlene and Fadia were persistent and got the much needed hold to stay in the match for 4-5.  The momentum shifted with their team now having taken three straight games.  Doinks was now on serve and we fell behind in the count down Love-40 (Triple Break Point)!  We battled back to bring it to Deuce and then finally closed it out on the 4th Match Point!

 

Samara's Notes: I thank Gen for her timely and detailed report.  I also congratulate her along with Doinks on an impressive victory!  On paper, this was a match that could have gone either way.  And even though it was a straight sets affair, it still has a chance at being a Nominee for Women's Doubles Match of The Year at season's end.

Chris Chiaro/Scott Bergenfeld over Mike Mole/Jay Phoenix, 6-2!  No Aces.

Chris Chiaro/Scott Bergenfeld over Jordan Bachvaroff/Mike Mole, 6-4!  Chris: 1 Ace on Mike!

Kyle Eng/Janice Wang over Chris Chiaro/Kathy Marabondo, 6-4!  No Aces.

Scott Bergenfeld/Kyle Eng over Jordan Bachvaroff/Kris Srinivasan, 6-2!  No Aces.

Dawn Peterson/Diane Raum over Thomas Lee/Marie Salamon, 6-4!  No Aces.

 

Andrew Kroessler/Dawn Peterson over Kris Srinivasan/Diane Raum, 7-6 (7-3)!  No Aces.

 

Kris Srinivasan/Diane Raum leading Andrew Kroessler/Dawn Peterson, 5-0 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

 

Samara's Notes: I thank everyone for their contributions to this report.  It is much appreciated. 

 

Sincerely,

Frank Samara