10/14/18:
"M-Dub Parts 2 and 3 - Nutley and C.G., 5 at NTC, Nat-Laurie at C.G.!":
There were four sessions of GTA Sunday Tennis and the first two of them largely focused on the ongoing M-Dub Mixed Doubles Tournament. The portion that we have been calling, "Cedar Grove, Part 2" actually got underway second as the "Nutley, Part 3" section started almost an hour earlier at The Park Ave. Courts. Then there was a late afternoon/early evening session at Nutley Tennis Club hosted by "The Riz" John Rizzo (perhaps the last of this season). And finally there was a late match at Cedar Grove as Natalia "Nitro" Sout put her rank on the line against Laurie "L-Boogie" Boughton (who had already competed in the Nutley portion of the M-Dub and played a full Singles Match against "The Shade Shark" Suzanne Bujara).
So we will first go to the dual report from Boughton and "TNT" Tim Nguyen to see how everything went down in Nutley. We will then go to Cedar Grove as "Hollywood" Frank Samara will fully detail how it all unfolded up there. We will then end up back in Nutley, but this time at NTC for those scores as supplied by John. And then we bounce back to Cedar Grove one last time for the last result of the night (as reported by both Laurie and Natalia).
We have a lot to get to…so let's get to it!
The PAC Results:
The following teams came together via the blind lottery draw process.
M-Dub First Round One-Set Eliminator:
Rich Liu/Kazumi Otake over Tom La/Suzanne Bujara, 6-0! No Aces. It was the official GTA Debut of Kazumi Otake.
M-Dub First Round One-Set Eliminator:
Patrick Hsu/Juliet Wallace over Tim Nguyen/Laurie Boughton, 6-3! No Aces. It was the official GTA Debut of both Patrick Hsu and Juliet Wallace.
M-Dub First Round One-Set Eliminator:
Muhammad Haque/Takako Teto over Sam Wong/Kathy Marabondo, 7-6 (7-5)! No Aces. It was the official GTA Return of Takako Teto.
M-Dub "Nutley section" Semifinal:
Rich Liu/Kazumi Otake over Sam Wong/Kathy Marabondo, 6-3, 6-3, to advance to the Nutley Finals portion of the M-Dub Tournament as both teams entered the Mixed Doubles Division! No Aces.
M-Dub "Nutley section" Semifinal:
Patrick Hsu/Juliet Wallace over Muhammad Haque/Takako Teto, 6-3, 6-4, to advance to the Nutley Finals portion of the M-Dub Tournament as both teams entered the Mixed Doubles Division! No Aces.
The Lowdown from Laurie: The new players who came into this tourney (Kazumi, Juliet and Patrick) did not realize there would be a further commitment beyond this day. As such, they wanted to try to play the Final the same day…but we were also running out of time as the day was growing long. All four (including Rich) were eager to play a One-Setter only as the Final for the day...they did not want to do a full 2 out of 3 as one person felt they simply could not do it.
I clearly indicated that I highly doubted you would agree to that. I couldn't reach you by phone as you were playing, soooooooooooooo…all four agreed they wanted to play the One-Setter…even with the warning/disclaimer from me that if you agreed, fine...but all who knew you said we HIGHLY DOUBTED it would fly...and, if not, no cigar! :) But I said at least they'd get a "practice" set in to see the opponents' "style" before they met again formally. Now here it is…
Patrick Hsu/Juliet Wallace over Rich Liu/Kazumi Otake, 6-4! Patrick: 1 Ace on Rich!
Samara's Notes: OK, so here is the situation. We cannot allow a One-Setter to be the Final for this location. For one, it just goes against the rules of all past GTA tournaments. Two, it is unfair to all the other teams in the other sections of this year's tourney. You simply do not escalate to a full match in the Semifinal Round of this section of the event and then backslide to a One-Set Final.
Having said all that, however, this does not have to be a practice set. It could be the 1st Set of a full Final…and since this is only the Final for this location, not the overall tournament, if the 2nd Set falls in favor of Liu/Otake, they would only need to play a 10-Point Super Tiebreak after that to determine the winner.
I understand that the new players are unsure of their availability going forward (and I will e-mail all four parties separate from this Results report), but it does not have to take place next Sunday at the Park Ave. Courts in Nutley. The balance of this match can be played anywhere and at a mutually convenient time for all four parties involved.
If Hsu/Wallace simply cannot continue this match, however, then they would be forced to forfeit the balance of it to Liu/Otake. And in the GTA, that would mean a final score of 6-4, 0-6, 0-6…or flip that to it being 4-6, 6-0, 6-0, in favor of Liu/Otake…and this may be very important in determining the "Lucky Loser" team that becomes the fourth tandem (after the three location Finalist winners) to enter the overall Semifinals of the M-Dub Tournament.
Furthermore, if Otake also deems herself to be unavailable from here forward, then it would be equivalent to both teams bowing out as substitutions are not allowed (it is unfair to the others who had competed from the very beginning). It would be a most unfortunate situation for Liu. But, if this were to be the case, then the team that emerges from Cedar Grove, Part One as that section's Finalist would then face the team that emerges from Cedar Grove, Part Two as that section's Finalist in the overall Finals of the M-Dub Tournament with no representative moving forward out of the Nutley portion and also no need for a fourth "Lucky Loser" team in that scenario.
OK. Let's now go back to Laurie for the balance of the results from The PAC session and then we will get some additional commentary from Tim as well.
Non-Tournament One-Setter:
Tom La/Suzanne Bujara over Tim Nguyen/Laurie Boughton, 6-2! No Aces.
2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:
Laurie Boughton over Suzanne Bujara, 6-1, 6-1, to successfully defend her # 4 Rank in the Women's Division! No Aces.
Tim's Take: It was another great session of GTA Tennis this Sunday at PAC! Laurie was wonderful! She got it all under control, got to the courts early, brought in sticky notes and a hat to draw the names, a notebook to keep the scores, and all the tennis matches went on as planned. I was there more to be merely supportive, but Laurie had it all going good. All the tennis players had a great time. Some of us also went to Dunkin Donuts afterwards for coffee, foods and great chat! Frank, thanks for organizing the entire event.
Samara's Notes: I thank Laurie for all her hard work this Sunday, but also thank Tim…not only for his kind words, but for getting the Sunday sessions rolling at PAC for a few months now. This portion of the tournament would not have been possible had it not been for all his prior efforts.
And now you will all be subjected to my long-winded recap from Cedar Grove.
When "Hollywood" Frank Samara pulled into the parking lot alongside the Cedar Grove Courts at 9:55, he saw that Courts One and Two were still vacant while Courts Three and Four already had GTA players (participants in the M-Dub Tournament) already out on them hitting and getting warmed up for the event. On Court Three, it was Horst and Tula Savickas hitting against one another. And on Court Four, it was "Ice Berg" Scott Bergenfeld and "Vivid" Vivian Lee on one side of the net hitting against "The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan and "Killer Kat" Kathy Sheldon on the other side. Samara thought it best to go hold Court One as we would need three of the four courts for the tourney.
Soon after that, Jeremy Katzeff arrived. He talked to his buddy Scott for a bit before he joined Samara on Court One for a hitting session. The timing was good as two teenage girls soon took Court Two (though they did not stay long...and the older of the two already looks to be quite the player). Not too long into this hitting session, Bergenfeld took Samara's place in hitting against Katzeff as Frank had to get back to organizing everything as best he could.
It was around this time at 10:05 that the "Mel Man" Melvin Hyman arrived. Five minutes later, "The Roz" Jeff Rozner and "Queen B" Louise Bysiek both pulled into the parking lot together. That meant the only one not there yet was "The Olympian" Marie Salamon. Samara soon called her and she told Frank she was on her way and would be there in five more minutes. Sure enough, she arrived at 10:15 and we now had the twelve players we needed to begin the tourney.
As time was ticking away, Frank raced around to all the ladies in attendance so that they could make their blind lottery selections. Doinks, being the highest ranked woman in the tourney, was the first to put her hand in the bag to pull out her pick. The raffle ticket said "Jeff" meaning she would be paired with Rozner.
Kathy was next up and she was both audibly and visibly pleased once she saw she had the "Frank" ticket as she would be teaming with Samara. Louise was third in this rotation and her hand came out of the bag with a ticket that read "Horst" meaning she would be borrowing Mr. Savickas away from Mrs. Savickas (without looking back at last season's M-Dub results report, I do believe Horst and Tula were lucky enough to remain a team when Tula ended up getting the ticket that had her hubby's name on it).
The fourth picker in this process was doing this for the first time as Vivian, still in her first season with the GTA, extracted her hand from the bag only to find that she had the "Mel" ticket in it...pairing her with Mr. Hyman. The last one to pick (though still fifth of the six ladies in this portion of the tourney) was Marie who was quite obviously ecstatic to soon have the "Scott" ticket in her possession as she knew she had the youngest yet highest ranked of all the men in attendance, Mr. Bergenfeld, as her partner. And that left Tula with the player whose ticket was never actually pulled from the bag, the one representing Jeremy Katzeff.
The pairings of the match-ups for the Opening Round, a One-Set Eliminator, were then based on the rank of the women and not the men as we worked our way from the highest ranked lady's duo facing that of the lowest ranked woman's and then working our way to the middle. That put Doinks and Jeff up against Tula and Jeremy on Court One (I believe Court Two had already been vacated by this time, but as it was the most leafy of the four...it remained vacant until the amount of players in attendance necessitated its usage), Sheldon/Samara versus Salamon/Bergenfeld on Court Four (as Kathy was the first to call dibs on it) and then Louise and Horst to battle Mel and Viv on Court Three.
To advance to the next round (the "Semifinals" of this particular portion of the tourney, but not the true overall Semis of the entire tournament), you either had to be one of the three teams to win this One-Set Eliminator Round or the team that lost by the tightest margin (aka The Lucky Losers). If two results shared the same score in terms of which contest was closest, we would then use the amount of time played as the final deciding factor (i.e. if the set took longer, it must have been closer).
From the outset, Kathy made it quite clear she did not want things to run long as she had a second tourney demanding her presence later in the day (I believe it was a Women's Doubles event up at the Packanack Lake clay courts in Wayne at 2pm). Samara ensured Sheldon that she would have enough time to get thru all that was expected of her here (a win in the First Round would lead to the next round where the match would be a full one, albeit one with a 10-Point Super Tiebreak in place of a full 3rd Set).
After all the hitting was done, all the First Round One-Setters would get underway within two minutes of all the others. By this time, "The Riz" John Rizzo had arrived to watch (I believe he got there by 10:30...it could have been a bit earlier, actually) and Samara asked him to keep track of the finishing times as it could serve as a crucial factor in determining advancement to the next round.
Once the action was underway, "Stealth" Omar Santos arrived around 11am and took a seat next to Rizzo on the bench before both would eventually find themselves in some on-court action. The only other non-tourney competitor to make his appearance along the way was "Hurricane" Jose Gonzales (never noted when he arrived). And later in the day, it was Nick "The Icon" Inciong (aka Chito) who made an extended cameo appearance upon his arrival at 1:05, but was never able to get involved in any official action. That meant we had a total of fifteen competitors throughout the session.
Speaking of competition, let's get to it now!
The Cedar Grove Courts:
M-Dub First Round One-Set Eliminator:
Jeff Rozner/Doinks Srinivasan over Jeremy Katzeff/Tula Savickas, 6-0! Jeff: 1 Ace on Tula! I usually lead with the set or match that got underway first in a session, but this one actually started second (by the difference of just a minute) at exactly 10:39. It was over in the quickest time by 11:03. In fact, the four found themselves with enough time to play another set (one that would have no impact on the tourney whatsoever).
Non-Tourney One-Setter:
Jeff Rozner/Doinks Srinivasan over Jeremy Katzeff/Tula Savickas, 6-0! Jeremy: 1 Ace on Jeff; and Jeff: 1 Ace on Jeremy (Jeff called it an act of revenge...LOL!)! This one was over by 11:23.
M-Dub First Round One-Set Eliminator:
Frank Samara/Kathy Sheldon over Scott Bergenfeld/Marie Salamon, 6-3! No Aces. This one was actually the third of the three to get started at 10:40, but it would be the second one to be completed at 11:08. As time was of the essence, I never noted the games along the way (the way I usually do). Afterward, I simply remembered who held and who was broken...Frank held serve, so did Scott, but Kathy was the first to be broken for 1-2. Marie was also broken and then Samara held again for a 3-2 lead. Bergenfeld also held again to tie things at 3-3, but then Sheldon held while Salamon was broken again (she started with a Double Fault which I believe to be the only DF of the entire set) to have her team fall to 3-5. Hollywood then pulled off "the hat trick" with a third straight hold when he sealed the deal on Game/Match Point!
The Skinny: All four of us played well, but the difference (besides being just one break of serve) was mainly Marie having such a tough time with the Samara slice game (even after encountering for numerous years now). We all had fun in this one...and then we all turned our attention to Court Three...as the fate of the losers here (Bergenfeld/Salamon) still depended upon what was taking place on that court.
Many things were taking place on that court and not all of it was action. And when it was "action," it was at a slow pace as it had been 4-3 in favor of Mel and Viv when we all began watching the match. Soon, we knew that the losing team in this one would be the "Lucky Losers" overall once the score got to 4-4...but now it seemed to be a war of attrition coupled with a heaping dose of aggravation as there were numerous arguments over calls, lengthy breaks (to take drinks) and other time-consuming tactics that not only had all the other teams hanging around frustrated, but the on-court competitors themselves quite stymied. At one point, Frank called out for an update on the score when Viv drew a raucous laugh from the crowd when she said with a healthy dose of venom in her voice, "who the hell knows?!?!"
It did eventually conclude in an official result, and it was...
Horst Savickas/Louise Bysiek over Melvin Hyman/Vivian Lee, 7-6 (7-0)! No Aces. Court Three was occupied with this one from 10:38 (the first of the three to get started) until 11:45 (the last of the three to be finished)! Despite being an hour and seven minutes long, it is not going to end up being a Nominee for One-Set Mixed Doubles Match of The Year...that's for sure.
In this scenario, Hyman/Lee would have been The Lucky Losers advancing to the next round...but Mel suddenly said he had to leave as his wife, Margaret Cheung (going off of memory here as she is a former GTA player who has not competed with us in quite some time) had stepped on the courts somewhere along the way and was now waiting for him to leave.
As we do not allow substitutions in such tournaments, it meant that Vivian was now losing that opportunity by a default...and now that slot would be offered to the Bergenfeld/Salamon tandem instead. Scott had just entered into a Men's Doubles situation on Court One where I believe he was teaming with his buddy Jeremy to take on Rizzo and Santos. I think Bergenfeld was proud to say they had won the first game when that action had to be called as Scott would now serve a higher calling...a return to the actual tournament.
Speaking of substitutions, Kathy was actually hoping Vivian could take her place as she was growing concerned that the next round (a full match) would never finish in time for her to then leave and have time to make it to Wayne for her next on-court obligation. Samara and Rizzo both assured her there was still plenty of time...plus, such a substitution would not be allowed anyway.
All was not lost for Ms. Lee as she had the chance to hit with John for an extended period of time over on Court Two. When Jose went over there, then Rizzo and Lee shared the same side of the court hitting against Gonzales. And, finally, when Tula (already eliminated) made her way over to Court Two to make it a foursome...they began what cold have been a One-Setter...except Vivian had to leave early. We will get to that incomplete action in just a bit. But first we have...
2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:
Omar Santos over Jeremy Katzeff, 6-0, 6-0, to successfully defend his # 9 Rank in the Intermediate Division! No Aces. Omar estimated that this match lasted from 11:30 to 12:30. It was played on Court One.
John Rizzo/Vivian Lee tied with Jose Gonzales/Tula Savickas, 2-2 (Incomplete when Lee said she had to leave)! Not sure when this abbreviated One-Setter got underway on Court Two, but it ended almost exactly where our next match finished (both at 12:50).
M-Dub "Cedar Grove, Part Two" Semifinal:
Frank Samara/Kathy Sheldon over Horst Savickas/Louise Bysiek, 6-1, 6-0, to advance to the "CG, Part 2" Final (to be played at a later date) while both teams entered the Mixed Doubles Division! No Aces. We got this one underway on Court Four at exactly 11:51. With time being paramount not to the process, but to the concerns of Kathy...I once again did not take any notes along the way...but I did remember all the holds and breaks in all the games...as they went as follows...
1st Set: Horst was broken (despite starting off strong with big serves), Frank held, Louise was broken and Kathy had a Love hold for a quick 4-0 lead. Savickas replied with a Love hold of his own to get his team onto the scoreboard, but then Samara held again and Bysiek was broken again to end the set at 12:14. With the clock still ticking, we got the next set started just a minute later.
2nd Set: Kathy held, Horst was broken and then Frank held in a marathon game where he started off down Triple Break Point (up until this game, he had never come close to having his serve broken) only to bounce back to Deuce...I cannot remember all the twists of turns of Break Point and Game Points...but it went to the 8th Deuce before it finally went to yet another Game Point and the hold for 3-0! Louise was then broken, but Sheldon held again for a 5-0 lead. Savickas was on serve and this game was nearly as lengthy and actually even more dramatic than the prior service from Samara as Horst got out to a Triple Game Point lead only to then have it go to Double Game Point, a Double Fault (perhaps the only one in the entire match) for Game Point and then Deuce and it was all Game Points until 4th Deuce, then it went to Break/Match Point, 5th Deuce and all Game Points until 7th Deuce, then the 2nd Break/Match Point and finally the break for the match! We finished this at 12:50.
The Skinny: This match was precisely one minute shy of being an hour long. Samara was definitely not shy in telling his partner Sheldon that he had told her he would make sure to get the job done for her with plenty of time to spare (and that he would also remember how early in the process she was willing to bail on him...LOL!). But it also must be said that she also played some "on fire" tennis along the way with several great gets and powerful returns. Frank, for his part, was really on his game today...and it never wavered (unlike it has in recent times). Kudos to the opponents, Horst and Louise, as they did not make it easy (despite what the score says) as those two lengthy multiple Deuce games clearly display otherwise. We actually had a lot of fun in this one as well. And then...like a flash...Kat was gone!
M-Dub "Cedar Grove, Part Two" Semifinal:
Scott Bergenfeld/Marie Salamon over Jeff Rozner/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-3, 5-7, 10-2 (STB), to advance to the "CG, Part 2 Final" (to be played at a later date) as both teams entered the Mixed Doubles Division! Scott: 1 Ace on Doinks in the 1st Set! This match lasted exactly one hour and a half on Court Three (from 11:56 to 1:26).
The Skinny: From the times I was able to watch it, this match featured a lot of hard-fought and lengthy rallies with some impressive get-making on both sides. What Jeff may lack in mobility (due to prior hip surgery, knee issues and perhaps other ailments), he makes up for with solid, experienced and hard-hitting shot-making. Speaking of hard-hitting shots, Scott always comes equipped with his mighty forehand. Doinks was doing her thing with the looping forehands that almost always seem to find the baseline while Marie was clipping shots many thought would pass her with her adept volley game up at the net. After the match, Salamon said she felt she finally found her stride in this match after getting off to a shaky start in the initial round (the One-Set Eliminator).
The Consequences: This sets up a rematch between the two tandems - Samara/Sheldon and Bergenfeld/Salamon, except next time it will be a full match (though a 10-Point Super Tiebreak can still be played in lieu of a full 3rd Set...it will be at the option of the two teams at that time...only the overall Tournament Final will need to play a full 3rd Set, if it becomes necessary). Frank and Kathy should not be foolish by feeling overly confident going into this next contest as the difference in their initial encounter with the opposition (Scott and Marie) was just one break. It should be quite the match, indeed!
Omar Santos/Louise Bysiek over Horst Savickas/Tula Savickas, 7-5! Louise: 1 Ace on Tula! This Mixed Doubles One-Setter took place on Corut Four and lasted from 1pm to 1:41. It was the last official action of the day at Cedar Grove...at least for the daytime session.
Samara's Notes: I thank everyone who came thru and made this tourney possible...both here at Cedar Grove and earlier at the Nutley session.
Now we turn this report over to The Riz.
The NTC Results:
Ryan Sherry/John Rizzo over Dan Hwang/Frank Hohorst, 7-5! No Aces.
Ryan Pienciak/Ryan Sherry over Dan Hwang/Frank Hohorst, 6-1! No Aces.
2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:
Ryan Pienciak/Dan Hwang over Ryan Sherry/Frank Hohorst, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 59 and # 60 Ranked Teams respectively! No Aces.
Samara's Notes: I thank John for his timely reporting. It is greatly appreciated!
And now we go back to Cedar Grove for one last result for the day and night.
The Cedar Grove Result:
2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:
Natalia Sout over Laurie Boughton, 6-0, 6-0, to successfully defend her # 3 Rank in the Women's Division! No Aces.
Nat's Note: As always, it is a pleasure to play with Laurie.
The Lowdown from Laurie: Now, the scores are not necessarily indicative of the quality of play! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Samara's Notes: I thank both for their timely reporting. I congratulate Natalia on a most impressive victory. And I offer kudos to Laurie for always retaining her refreshing sense of humor!
All in all, it was a very historic day for the league…and I thank all those who were a part of it.
Sincerely,
Frank Samara
gtasamara5@gmail.com
