9/30/18:
"12 play (1 New) at PAC, Frank-Carl + 8 at AP, 5 at NTC, Mixed Dbls action at C.G.!":
There were four sessions of GTA Sunday Tennis: the first one was at The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley and was hosted by "TNT" Tim Nguyen; the second was "Hollywood" Frank Samara hosting the "usual" GTA Sunday Tennis session at Albion Park in Clifton as he also first handled the EWC Singles Match against Carl "Buster" Brownson who was representing Team East: the third was at Nutley Tennis Club hosted by "The Riz" John Rizzo. And then the fourth was the usual evening session at The Cedar Grove Courts with both "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan and "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes reporting the Mixed Doubles action that took place there.
Let's turn this report over to Tim right now!
We had another great Sunday morning at PAC, Nutley. This time the weather was perfect for the season of fall - cool and breezy on a Sunday morning…..and the crew (12 of us) enjoyed GTA Tennis and took up three of the four courts on Park Ave. One player is new to the league, Christian Rossi (introducing and welcoming Christian to the GTA). This time we also had two of the ladies...Laurie Boughton and Vivian Lee...it was great fun!
The Park Ave. Courts Results:
Tim Nguyen/Vivian Lee over Tom Heidt/Laurie Boughton, 6-4! No Aces.
Tim's Take: Tom's ankle was acting up toward the end of the games so we thought that we should stop, but he insisted to finish out the set. We hope your ankle feels better, Tom.
Sam Wong/Santosh Reddy over David Wong/Christian Rossi, 7-6 (7-3)! No Aces. It was the official GTA Debut of Christian Rossi.
Arunraj Nair/Matt Aery over Edgar Valencia/Joe Renga, 6-1! No Aces.
Tim Nguyen/Santosh Reddy over David Wong/Christian Rossi, 6-1! No Aces.
Tim Nguyen/Santosh Reddy over Edgar Valencia/Arunraj Nair, 6-4! No Aces.
David Wong/Vivian Lee over Matt Aery/Joe Renga, 6-2! No Aces.
Samara's Notes: As I've said in the past, I really appreciate Tim stepping up as the host of these early Sunday morning sessions in Nutley. I also thank him for his timely and comprehensive reporting.
We will now detail how the session unfolded at Albion Park in Clifton.
"Hollywood" Frank Samara pulled up to the curb on Maplewood Ave. overlooking the courts at Albion Park at 9:45am. The agreed upon starting time for his East-West Challenge series match against Carl "Buster" Brownson was 10am, so Frank wanted to make sure to grab a court.
Heading down the hill toward the three courts, he saw that "Z-Man" Dave Zapusek was already out on the North Court just starting a full match against the same mystery man he played two weeks ago (Dave never reported that result then and he didn't do it this time around either...quite likely due to the fact that their outings are so contentious...constant arguing over calls and negotiations as to what the score should be...unlike his matches against his buddy, "The Flax Machine" Mike Flax, which Dave usually does report).
Anyway, I got sidetracked a bit there. The other two courts (Center and South) were still available, so Samara situated himself on the South Court to keep some distance from Dave and Mr. X. While waiting for Carl to arrive, Frank flicked numerous acorns off the court with his racquet. He also had much to think about as the day before he found out via text from "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan that she had lost her EWC Women's Singles Match to "M-Pact" Megan Reed. Megan's win gave Team East a two match lead over Team West, six wins to four...just one more win away from a total series victory (as seven matches won takes a thirteen match series). Samara knew as the Captain, he could not let his team down...he must lead by example! He had already won his Men's Doubles Match a little more than a couple of weeks ago...now he had to do the same in Singles just to keep Team West alive in the competition...to give them the chance to play on to hopefully catch up with (and hopefully surpass) Team East.
But then there was another consequence to consider...because while winning would be great for Team West, it would actually not be the best thing for Mr. Samara himself. With the September Rank Defense Review set to take place after all the weekend's results get reported, Frank would actually benefit more from losing to Carl rather than beating Brownson...as crazy as that sounds! See, the rules of the Review were set up many, many seasons ago and their main purpose was twofold - one, to crack the whip on players who fail to put their rank on the line (and punish them for not doing so) and also to make sure that said players were putting their rank on the line against contenders worthy of the challenge. With Brownson solely in the Intermediate Division and Samara exclusively in the Advanced Division, Frank winning over Carl does not meet with the requirements of the Rank Defense Review as Brownson is not a contender within fourteen ranks of him. But, if Carl were to win the match, then he would have proven himself to be a worthy challenger in taking Samara's rank and thus Frank's loss would not qualify as a rank defense worthy of the monthly requirements. Yes, it sounds screwy...and, in a way, it is...but there in no perfect system to be implemented here.
Well, never let it be said that Samara is not truly a team player...because going into this match, his only true thoughts with regard to both possible scenarios were on the former and not the latter...even though the latter would ultimately help propel him up the ladder (i.e. the rankings of the Advanced Division). He knew he had to put on his proverbial Captain's cap and be steely in his resolve to win this one...even though it would be only his third full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match of the season.
Carl arrived at 9:55 (meeting Frank in person for the very first time) and the two competitors hit for just over five minutes before officially starting the match. During the contest, "The Great Wall" Muhammad Haque (also on Team East) arrived at 10:10 and then held Center Court while waiting for others to hopefully arrive (by the way, Zapusek and guest would hold the North Court until 11am, their usual exit time). Muhammad had to wait for a while until "Lucky" Leo Victor finally made his way down to the courts at 10:45. The two of them soon started hitting with each other.
Five minutes later, "The Scorpion Dragon" Dino Celis also arrived (at 10:50) and he took the bench alongside the South Court to witness the last seven minutes of the match. Just three minutes later at 11am, three more competitors arrived - "The Shade Shark" Suzanne Bujara, "Hurricane" Jose Gonzales and "Sensei Sachi" Sachiko Tokuda. At the same time, Zapusek and his pal were heading off of the North Court. Brownson felt the need to leave as he was not sure if he may be coming down with a cold or not...plus he later admitted Samara's style of play gave his legs a good workout (i.e. a lot of running needed to be done to stay in the rallies).
It led to Frank briefly hitting with the ladies on the North Court until he overhead the fact that Dino wanted to practice his serve alone on the South Court. With just three guys hitting on Center Court, Samara asked the gals if they wouldn't mind hitting with each other one-on-one (they didn't mind...in fact, they seemed to be happy to be rid of him...just kidding) while he made his way over to Center Court to enable some Men's Doubles to occur.
So that Doubles One-Setter got underway at 11:15. Just five minutes later, "The Legendary" Chazz Weldon made his way down to the courts. As Samara did before him, he went solo in hitting against the ladies on the North Court. Around 11:30, a rather rotund interloper made his way onto the South Court and asked Dino (who was taking a break on the bench at the time) if he was still using the court. Celis allowed him to take it and, five minutes later, "Double B" (aka "Beer Belly") was soon joined by his buddy (also, a portly fellow...though not as big as his pal...perhaps his secret code is BOSCO!). The two of them had the court until 12:30, I believe. Not sure if they played a full match or not...or maybe they just hit.
And even though I am being somewhat of a ball buster as I write this, they were actually both nice guys. The only reason I even weigh in with the weight issue of these guys is the fact that the first one was wearing a shirt that looked to be about three sizes too small...so his gut was constantly revealing itself as a result. So, I am not a "weight-ist"...I'm just a guy who thinks properly fitting attire would be proper!
The next player to arrive was "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli at 11:40. When Samara asked why he was sans racquet, Spin said he could go back and get it if he was needed. Well, he was needed...to join Chazz and the gals on the North Court for some Mixed Doubles. As the Doc is still slightly limpy and gimpy, he suggested that they do it "Battle of The Sexes" style and the ladies were game for the challenge!
Once Dino later became part of a Doubles One-Setter, we got to a total of ten official competitors for the session. On such an amazing day weather-wise (sunny and in the low 70 degree range), that turnout may have been somewhat low...but, then again, given the inconsistency of this "regular session" due to all the wet weekends we had this season...I guess we should be happy we even got up to ten players!
All those in attendance had a lot of fun. And even though all the official action ended by 12:40, Frank, Spin and Dino had a bull session that ran all the way to 2:10...just like the old days. Good times!
The Albion Park Results:
EWC Singles Match (2 out of 3 Sets):
Frank Samara over Carl Brownson, 6-1, 6-3, to earn a point for Team West in the East-West Challenge Series! This was not a rank defense for Samara as he is solely in the Advanced Division while Brownson is strictly in the Intermediate Division. No Aces.
1st Set: Carl was broken (15-Love then point for point to Game Point, Deuce, Break Point and then a Double Fault to break himself), Frank held serve (30-Love, 30-15, Double Game Point and the hold), Brownson was broken again (a Double Fault set up Love-30, 15-30 and then another Double Fault to set up Double Break Point and then came the break) and Samara held again (Love-15 shifted to 30-15, then came 30-All, Game Point and the hold) to go up 4-0! Buster held to get onto the scoreboard (a Triple Game Point lead was cut down to Game Point, but then came the hold), but Hollywood held yet again (15-Love shifted to 15-30 shifted again to Game Point, Deuce, Game Point, 2nd Deuce, Break Point, 3rd Deuce, Game Point and the hold) to go up 5-1. And then Carl was broken (Love-15, 15-All, Double Fault for 15-30, Double Break/Set Point and the break) to drop the set at exactly 10:27 (we began it on the South Court at 10:02)! Three minutes later, the next set would be underway.
2nd Set: Frank was broken for the first time as a 15-Love lead then went straight to Double Break Point and the break, but Carl was also broken (Love-15 then point for point to Break Point and then the break). Samara then held (a Love-30 lead then launched directly to Game Point and the hold), but so did Brownson (30-Love shifted to 30-All, but then came Game Point and the hold) for 2-2. The Wood was broken for the second time (15-Love shifted to 15-30 shifted again to Game Point, but then came Deuce, Break Point and the break) for 2-3, but Buster was also broken (15-Love dropped directly to Double Break Point and the break) to tie things again, this time at 3-3! And from there, Frank held (a Triple Game Point lead was cut down to Game Point, but then came the hold) while Carl was broken again (15-Love shifted to 15-30 and then a Double Fault set up Double Break Point and then came the break) only to have Samara hold once more (15-Love, 15-All then onto Double Game/Match Point and the hold) to get the win at precisely 10:57 (the entire match was 55 minutes long)!
The Skinny: Coming into this match, I had only heard good things about Carl...and they all proved to be true as he is just that...a true gentleman and sportsman on the court. There were a couple of line calls where he called my shots in and I would have also believed him had he said otherwise (both were close calls). He has a big forehand and also has great variance on his serve (sometimes coming with pace and other times emphasizing more topspin). He sometimes hits a one-handed topspin backhand a la Federer (Dino is also quite adept at hitting this shot) that crushed a couple of my short and weaker serves to become winning returns. But the slice backhands that I hit deep to his backhand side were harder for him to handle as he often sent them back wide off the court as it was hard for him to get around them. Considering the fact that I have played very little as of late (and especially Singles), I had an "on" day today for the most part. It would be a pleasure to give Carl a rematch somewhere down the road.
The Consequences: This victory brought Team West one win away from tying Team East's total (it is 6-5 in favor of the East). There are just two matches to be played - the Men's Doubles Match featuring the "A" Teams of "The Accelerator" Abhilash Gadi and Chazz Weldon going up against "SWAT" Rich Liu and "Ravishing" Randy Doran, and then William "Bombs Away" Bobila (now taking the place of the injured "Macho Man" Tom La) to face "The Art Font" Arthur Fontanilla. Both of these matches could go either way and it may very well come down to the last one to be played to break a 6-6 tie to take the ultimate seventh point for the overall team victory!
Frank Samara/Muhammad Haque over Jose Gonzales/Leo Victor, 6-3! Jose: 1 Ace on Frank! It went like this: Muhammad was broken (Triple Break Point, Double Break Point and the break) and Jose held serve (started with an Ace up the T against Frank, but then dropped right down to Double Break Point only to rebound to Deuce, Game Point and the hold) for 2-0. Frank held (Triple Game Point, Double Game Point and the hold) and then Leo was broken in a lengthy struggle (15-Love shifted to 15-30 shifted again to Game Point, then came Deuce and all Break Points until 3rd Deuce, Game Point, 4th Deuce and then all Break Points until 6th Deuce, Game Point, 7th Deuce, Break Point and finally the break) to level things at 2-2! Haque was broken again (started with a Double Fault, Love-30, 15-30, Double Break Point and then another Double Fault to break himself), but Gonzales was also broken (Love-15, 15-All then onto Double Break Point and the break) to even it up again, this time at 3-3. Samara held again (Love-15 went straight to Double Game Point, Game Point and the hold) and then Victor was broken again (Love-15, 15-All, a Double Fault for 15-30, then Double Break Point and the break) and then The Great Wall finally held (a Double Fault to set up Love-30, but then it shifted straight to Game/Match Point, Deuce, the 2nd Game/Match Point and the hold) to earn the victory! We played this one on Center Court from 11:15 to 11:59.
Chazz Weldon/Dan Martinelli over Suzanne Bujara/Sachiko Tokuda, 6-0! No Aces. They played this "Battle of The Sexes" One-Setter on the North Court from 11:50 to 12:13. Afterward, Suzanne said she would need to leave by 12:30. The four of them then decided to start another just to see how many games they could complete.
Chazz Weldon/Dan Martinelli leading Suzanne Bujara/Sachiko Tokuda, 3-1 (Incomplete when Bujara had to leave at 12:30)! Spin: 2 Aces (one on each and back-to-back in the same game)!
Dino Celis/Jose Gonzales over Frank Samara/Muhammad Haque, 6-3! Jose: 2 Aces on Frank (in the same game)! The dirty lowdown: Dino held (30-Love, a Double Fault for 30-15, Double Game Point and the hold), Frank held (Love-30, 15-30, Double Break Point and then a rebound to Deuce, Game Point, 2nd Deuce, Game Point and the hold), Jose held (30-Love, 30-15, Double Game Point and the hold), but Muhammad was the first to be broken (15-Love shifted to 15-30, 30-All, Break Point and the break) to fall to 1-3. Celis was then broken (15-Love, 15-All, Double Fault for 1-30, Double Break Point and the break) to have his team's lead cut to 3-2, but then Samara was also broken (Love-30, 15-30, Double Break Point and the break) for 2-4. Despite two Aces in the same game, Gonzales was broken (started with a T-line Ace against Frank, but then that brief lead shifted straight to Double Break Point as the rally to set up that DBP was the best of the match as they ran Muhammad all over the place, but he had the answer when he made a great get/winner combo to end the lengthy point, but then Jose scored with an even faster Ace up the T-line against Frank to make it Break Point and then it went to Deuce, Game Point, 2nd Deuce, Break Point and the break) to have his team's lead cut to 4-3. But from there, Haque was broken again (30-Love, a Double Fault for 30-15 and then the hard shift occurred all the way to Break Point and the break) while The Scorpion Dragon held (15-Love, 15-All then onto Double Game/Match Point and the hold) for the victory! We played this one on Center Court from 12:05 to 12:40.
We now head back to Nutley, but this time around it is The Riz Report from the Nutley Tennis Club!
The NTC Results:
Ryan Sherry/Frank Hohorst over John Rizzo/Ryan Pienciak, 7-5! No Aces.
2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:
Ryan Sherry/Frank Hohorst over Ryan Pienciak/Abhilash Gadi, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 66 and # 67 Ranked Teams respectively! No Aces.
Samara's Notes: As always, I thank John for his very timely reporting. I do believe this action took place on Court One.
We now head into the evening and move west to Cedar Grove for the dual report from Gen and Nate.
The Cedar Grove Results:
2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Doubles Challenge Match:
Nathan Fernandes/Natalia Sout over Mike Mole/Genalin Capan, 6-0, 6-1, to become the New # 6 Ranked Team in the Mixed Doubles Division! Mike: 1 Ace on Nate in the 2nd Set!
Gen's Notes: Nate and Natalia challenged us to play a match. This match was fairly quick (lasted only 40 minutes). Nate and Natalia played really well and didn't miss much. We just had way too many errors on our part. Congrats to them on a very impressive win!
We played one more set and mixed up the team.
Nathan Fernandes/Genalin Capan over Mike Mole/Natalia Sout, 6-1! No Aces.
Gen's Notes: Despite the score, it was a lot of fun. We had some really good rallies.
We ended this "mini" session by 7:25.
Samara's Notes: I thank Gen and Nate for their timely reporting (Nate reported the same scores as Gen, just without any commentary). It is greatly appreciated!
Sincerely,
Frank Samara
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