10/9/18:
"Dino-Edwin part of 18 at C.G., Fernanda-Doinks at VP!":
There were two sessions of GTA Tuesday Night Tennis: the first got underway fairly early at The Cedar Grove Courts as "The Scorpion Dragon" Dino Celis and "Salsa Picante" Edwin Ortega got together for a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match (as reported by Edwin). Other contributors to this report from that session are "Killer Kat" Kathy Sheldon, "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak and "No Doubt" Thomas Lee. And then in Verona Park, "The Argentine Machine" Fernanda Toker and "The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan got together for a full Challenge Match there as well (as reported by Fernanda).
So we first go to Edwin from Cedar Grove and then all the others from that session before shifting slightly south to Verona for the score from Fernanda.
The Cedar Grove Results:
2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:
Dino Celis over Edwin Ortega, 7-5, 6-4, to successfully defend his # 21 Rank in the Advanced Division! Edwin: 2 Aces (one in each set)!
Edwin's Editorial: We started around 5:30 right after the Cedar Grove High School Tennis Team left the courts. We played almost all the way through the 1st Set until the Pickle Ballers interrupted us, so we had to move to the other available courts (down the road). It was a good match with a lot of Deuce games. We finished around 7pm.
Samara's Notes: I thank Edwin for his very timely reporting…sounds like it was a very close match.
2 out of 3 Sets Women's Doubles Match:
Kathy Sheldon/Brenda Jordan over Dawn Peterson/Diane Raum, 7-5, 4-6, 10-7 (STB)! No Aces. Once they went to the Super Tiebreak, rank was no longer on the line.
The Chat from Kat: On a warm, humid evening in Cedar Grove, Brenda and I played Dawn and Diane. It felt like summer again! Though we were dressed appropriately for the weather, we were totaled at the end of our match. Dawn's serves were on point. Brenda's baseline defense was superb and Diane was the lob queen of the court. We had a great time!
Samara's Notes: I thank Kat for her very comprehensive and timely reporting, too.
2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:
Ryan Pienciak/Lou La Forgia over Tito Castolo/Frank Hohorst, 6-1, 7-6 (7-5), as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 57 and # 58 Ranked Teams respectively! No Aces.
Samara's Notes: I thank Ryan for reporting that result in a very timely manner. We now turn this report over to Thomas who always provides many details.
Nathan Fernandes/Natalia Sout over Thomas Lee/Vivian Lee, 6-1! No Aces.
There's no doubting Thomas: The courts were a little slippery as I now have evidence of a nice raw swath on my right forearm from slipping on the baseline during warm-ups. We had a lot of long rallies that ended up mostly in N and N's favor. The moral victory highlight for Lee and Lee (no relation) came when we had a competitive rally for over 20 shots...cross-courts, lobs, volleys and drop shots! All four players were involved with a lot of court coverage and switching positions. The final drop shot winner along the net received an ovation from the crowd of Dawn, Brenda, and a clean-shaven Pienciak (is that Adam?).
Samara's Notes: I'm not sure which one of the Pienciak Brothers could be clean-shaven at this time as it has been quite a while since I have seen either one, but my guess is that it was Ryan as he shows up in the results here while Adam does not.
Kyle Eng/Thomas Lee over Scott Bergenfeld/Vivian Lee, 7-5! No Aces.
There's no doubting Thomas: Scott had already been playing a while before I showed up (Singles and Doubles), but he wanted to really feel the burn of being tired. Kyle had just arrived and needed a warm-up. I had never played with Kyle but see why he is a ranked where he is in the Intermediate Division as consistency is key and he is. He's got game, forehand, backhand, volleys from both sides and deft touch. The match maybe was closer because it was Kyle's first playing of the night with limited warm-up. Scott still rips those forehands like he always does, but he seemed to be favoring his back and was a little stiff when picking up balls.
Samara's Notes: It is a shame Scott decided to not report his other results as he is usually quite good about that. I even sent a follow-up message to him, but to no avail…oh, well! As for Kyle, he is one of those players who should also be ranked in the Advanced Division at this point…but he just has not had a good opportunity to make the jump yet.
Nathan Fernandes/Natalia Sout leading Kyle Eng/Thomas Lee, 4-3 (Incomplete with the next game at 15-30 as the lights went out at 10pm)! No Aces.
There's no doubting Thomas: N and N went up 4-0 to start the set. K and T had a lot of mishits in those first four games, giving away points. The next three games were just the opposite. Kyle got more aggressive at the net to counter Nathan's play and to try to keep him back beyond the service line. Tom was actively trying to widen the court by going back down the line on both the Deuce and Ad sides to try and pull Nathan away from the service net. We would have loved to see where the match went with more time and lights!
Samara's Notes: Thomas always comes with the details and it is very much appreciated! And now that wraps up what took place at Cedar Grove as we now go one town south to Verona for one more result for the night.
The Verona Park Result:
2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:
Fernanda Toker over Doinks Srinivasan, 6-2, 6-1, to successfully defend her # 2 Rank in the Women's Division! No Aces.
Toker's Take: I played Doinks at Verona Park. We met at 7:30 and all the courts were taken. On one of the courts there were some GTA people, so they let us warm up with them. As we were getting ready to warm up, I realized that I didn't have my racquet with me as my daughter had used it and didn't put it back inside my bag. Fortunately, Doinks has two racquets, so she lent me one. Around 8:15, one court became free…so we started playing the match. It was a good match with a lot of good points. We played till 9:20.
Samara's Notes: I thank Fernanda for her very timely reporting as well…and also congratulate her on a dominant victory. I'm not sure who those GTA people were, but I am disappointed even further in the lack of reporting. Not much I can do about it as I do not have the time to chase everything down…especially when I don't even know who it is I should be chasing! After enjoying a long streak of many players (seemingly all, but who truly knows) reporting, it seems we are back to a lack of care from some again.
Sincerely,
Frank Samara
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