9/22/18:
"Anish-Ralph in VP, 4 play in MP, Mixed Dbls Titles, Laurie-Natalia + 4 at C.G.!":
There were three official sessions of GTA Saturday Tennis…as long as we can consider the Cedar Grove session as one long extended one from morning until night. If we do that, we will place it third (to keep things simple) with the first one (also in the morning) being a Singles Challenge Match that took place in Verona Park between buddies "The AM Rush" Anish Mehta and "The Headhunter" Ralph Bernard (with Anish reporting).
The second was the new weekly tradition of having a morning session at Mountainside Park in Montclair (with Laurie "L-Boogie" Boughton reporting).
Then at Cedar Grove we had the long-awaited GTA Mixed Doubles Championship Match as the GTA Mixed Doubles Champions: "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas/"The Smackdown" Sally Pillay put their Titles on the line against the 2018 MXD2 Champs: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro/Laura "The Aura" Gawley (with Laura reporting). This, too, got underway in the morning.
This extended session then moved into the afternoon with a Women's Singles Challenge Match featuring Boughton putting her rank on the line against Natalia "Nitro" Sout (as reported by Nat). And then in the evening there was further action as reported by "The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan.
So we first go to Verona, then to Montclair and we end up at Cedar Grove (starting in the morning and ending in the evening)!
The Verona Park Result:
2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:
Anish Mehta over Ralph Bernard, 6-4, 6-1, to successfully defend his # 8 Rank in the Advanced Division! Anish: 1 Ace!
The AM News: Ralph was interested in playing an official Challenge Match. We started at 9:30am. The conditions were tough as Verona Park, in the morning, is a challenging place to play because of the sun glare and the shade from the trees. It was also a windy morning. We also had a lot of stray balls from other courts. I was leading Ralph 5-1 in the 1st Set before he started cleaning up his game to reach 5-4 and get back on serve. I squeezed out a break in the final game. I was able to break early in the 2nd Set and didn't lose focus despite the challenging conditions. I'm sure we'll play under better conditions soon.
As mentioned, I wouldn't recommend Verona Park in the fall in the mornings. It is too difficult if it's a sunny day. Options are limited, though, because high school tennis and other adult programs are now taking place at a lot of courts.
Samara's Notes: I thank Anish for reporting in a timely manner (as he did for Friday night as well, again, that was my fault) and I also congratulate him on an impressive victory!
We now go to Laurie's report from Montclair (another location no longer recommended as a site for Saturday morning play…oh well!).
The Mountainside Park Results:
2 out of 3 Sets Women's Doubles Match:
Dawn Peterson/Kathy Marabondo over Laurie Boughton/Suzanne Bujara, 6-2, 6-1, to successfully defend their # 20 Rank in the Women's Doubles Division! In the process, Boughton/Bujara entered the division as the New # 22 Ranked Team. No Aces.
Samara's Notes: I thank Laurie for her timely reporting…much appreciated! Now we head to Cedar Grove.
The Cedar Grove Results:
GTA Mixed Doubles Championship Match:
Chris Chiaro/Laura Gawley over Marijus Kuzavas/Sally Pillay, 6-1, 6-1, to become the New GTA Mixed Doubles Champions! No Aces.
The Lowdown from Laura: Chris and I finally were able to play Marijus and Sally this Saturday morning! After many rainouts, we finally got a beautiful day! We started playing at approximately 11:10 and played until about 12:45! Sally held her serve in the 4th game and Marijus held his serve in the 2nd Set! They were a lot of fun to play against, as always! Luckily for us, we were a bit more consistent today! Chris was very steady and was aggressive at the net!
Chris Chiaro/Laura Gawley over Marijus Kuzavas/Sally Pillay, 6-4! Marijus: 1 Ace on Chris!
The Lowdown from Laura: We then played a One-Setter for fun. Doinks and Kris came over to watch for a little while. We finished at 1:20.
Samara's Notes: I thank Laura for her very timely reporting and I also congratulate her and Chris for a surprisingly dominant victory!
The Consequences: As Former Champs, Marijus and Sally are entitled to the first rematch. If Chris and Laura manage to emerge victorious once more, they will then be asked to refrain from defending their Titles until a winning team emerges from the upcoming M-Dub Mixed Doubles Tournament.
2 out of 3 Sets Women's Challenge Match:
Natalia Sout over Laurie Boughton, 6-1, 6-2, to become the New # 7 Ranked Player in the Women's Division! Laurie: 2 Aces!
The Stats from Nat: Laurie was very gracious to except my challenge. It was easy to schedule the match and fun to play. Laurie came up with a lot of great shots. I was just lucky today.
Samara's Notes: I thank Natalia for her timely reporting and congratulate her on an impressive victory! We now turn this report over to Doinks for the rest of what happened at C.G.
2 out of 3 Sets Women's Doubles Match:
Doinks Srinivasan/Susan Koshy over Kathy Sheldon/Brenda Jordan, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, to become the New # 12 Ranked Team in the Women's Doubles Division! It was also the official GTA Return of Susan Koshy. No Aces.
Samara's Notes: I thank Doinks for her very timely reporting as well. It turned out to be quite the historic day at Cedar Grove.
Sincerely,
Frank Samara
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