8/5 Results

8/5/16:

"W2 part of 6 at HP, MXD2 part of 16 at C.G.!:

"Hollywood" Frank Samara announced he would be hosting GTA Friday Night Tennis at Holster Park in Clifton, but that he would not be playing (for numerous reasons).  Later at The Cedar Grove Courts, "Papa
K" Kris Srinivasan acted as host (with assistance from "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan, "Latino Heat" Jose Gonzales and "Dominant" Dawn Peterson as they also sent in their scores directly).  Once again, the weather was quite beautiful and ideal for tennis.

Samara pulled into the parking lot at HP at 4:30.  He saw that all three courts were occupied, but was happy to see that at least two of them were under the control of GTA players.

Frank had his two children, Angeliz and Dante, with him.  The main reason he came to host the session was the fact that the first of the matches in the W2 Women's Doubles Tournament was set to be played at 4:30.

One of the two teams, "The Olympian" Marie Salamon and "Rockin" Robin Altman, was already out on Championship Court.  One half of the other team, "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan, had pulled in alongside Samara and was soon following him up the hill.  Her partner, "The Argentine Machine" Fernanda Toker, had already informed Gen that she was stuck in traffic and was running late.

On the Entrance Court, was a guy who looked to be in his twenties hitting with a kid who was barely a teen.  And on Center Court, it was "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak practicing his serve.

Frank suggested that Ryan hit with Gen against Marie and Robin while they waited for Fernanda to arrive.  Meanwhile, Samara held Center Court.

Toker made it to the courts at 4:50 and took the place of Pienciak in the hitting/warm-up session.  As Ryan headed back to Center Court, "Holy Moly" Mike Mole arrived at 4:55 to join him on that court.  This enabled Frank to move forward with his original intentions - to watch the W2 Quarterfinal and take notes.

At 6:05, "Double R" Rob Ryan was a surprise arrival.  Hot on his heels were four interlopers who would end up playing Doubles on the Entrance Court.  Later in the evening, Rob gave Frank's contact info to two of the players as they may have interest in joining the league.

So we ended up with a total of just six official competitors at the HP session.

The HP Results:

Ryan Pienciak over Mike Mole, 6-2!  Mike: 1 Ace.  This one began on Center Court at 5:05 and ended at 5:39.

W2 Quarterfinal:
Genalin Capan/Fernanda Toker over Marie Salamon/Robin Altman, 6-1, 6-0, as both teams entered the Women's Doubles Division as the New # 12 and # 13 Ranked Teams respectively!  It was the official GTA Return of Robin Altman.  No Aces.

1st Set: Fernanda held serve (Marie hit a winner for Love-30, then Gen hit a winner for 15-30, it was then 30-All when an un-returned serve set up Game Point, Deuce, Double Game Point and the hold), Marie was broken (Robin blew an overhead for Love-15, but then Gen blew a volley for 15-All, it then went 15-30, Double Break Point and the break) and Genalin held (Marie blew an overhead for 15-Love, then it went to 30-Love, 30-15, Double Game Point and the hold) to take a 3-0 lead.  Robin held to get her team on the scoreboard (an excellent rally led to Love-15 and then it went to Triple Break Point, but that was where Robin hit a drop shot winner for Double Break Point and then it was Break Point where Marie hit a winning Backhand Volley to make it Deuce and then Marie hit another winning volley to set up Game Point, but then there was a Double Fault for 2nd Deuce where Robin had a winning Backhand Volley of her own to set up Game Point and then came the hold) at 1-3.  But from there, Toker held again (an un-returned serve for 15-Love, then it was 30-Love where another un-returned serve set up Triple Game Point, but then Gen blew a volley to make it Double Game Point only to have Marie also blow a volley to ensure the hold for the opposition), Salamon was broken again (Fernanda hit a winning lob for Love-15 and then Robin blew a volley for Love-30 where a Double Fault then set up Triple Break Point where Gen hit a highly impressive passing shot winner for the Love break) and Capan held again (15-Love, 15-All, 30-15 where Fernanda hit a winning lob to set up Double Game/Set Point and then came the hold) to take the initial set at exactly 5:44 (they got this one underway on Championship Court at 5:07).

2nd Set: Robin was broken (un-returned serve for 15-Love, then 30-Love where Marie blew an overhead for 30-15, but then another un-returned serve set up Double Game Point, then it was Game Point where Marie blew a volley for Deuce and then Gen hit a winning volley to make it Break Point and that is where the break came), Genalin held (Marie blew a volley for 15-Love and then it was an extended rally to make it 15-All, then it went 30-15, Double Game Point where Gen blew a volley to make it Game Point, but then came the hold), Marie was broken (Love-15, 15-All where Robin blew an overhead for 15-30 and then Gen hit a winning volley to make it Double Break Point and then a Double Fault ended it), Fernanda held (Marie blew an overhead for 15-Love and then Fernanda hit a roller over the net for 30-Love which was where she hit another winner to make it Triple Game Point, the hold came on Double Game Point), Altman was broken again (Marie made a winning volley for 15-Love, then it went to 30-Love, 30-15 where Gen hit a winning volley for 30-All, then it was Break Point when Gen hit a winning Overhead Smash) and then Capan held again (15-Love where Marie blew a volley for 30-Love, then it was 30-15 and Double Game/Match Point which was truly the rally of the match and it ended in favor of the serving team) to get the win!

The Skinny: It sounds cliche', but it is true when those who had been in attendance (playing or watching) agreed that this one was closer than the score indicates.  There were many long rallies, but the majority of them fell in favor of the newly formed team of Gen and Fernanda rather than the experienced tandem of Marie and Robin.

Ryan Pienciak over Mike Mole, 6-0!  No Aces.  This one got done quickly on Center Court as it only lasted from 5:40 to 5:58.

We now head up to Cedar Grove where we will first get the result from Dawn and then additional scores from Gen before fully turning this report over to Kris.

The Cedar Grove Results:

MXD2 Quarterfinal:
Tito Castolo/Dawn Peterson over Jose Gonzales/Kathy Sheldon, 6-1, 7-6 (7-3), to become the New # 6 Ranked Team in the Mixed Doubles Division while also advancing to The Semifinals of The MXD2 Mixed Doubles Tournament!  No Aces (apparently).

Genalin Capan/Marie Salamon over Doinks Srinivasan/Brenda Jordan, 6-1!  No Aces.  Gen said this one was from 7:41 to 8:10. 

Gen's Notes: Marie was on the mark and made great shots. Doinks and Brenda wanted a rematch. Marie and I were still looking to play more. We immediately started the next one.

Doinks Srinivasan/Brenda Jordan over Genalin Capan/Marie Salamon, 6-4!  Brenda: 1 Ace on Gen.  They played this one from 8:11 to 8:50. 

Gen's Notes: Marie played amazing in both One-Setters and the second one was tight.  We had a couple of multiple Deuce games, back-to-back exchanges of breaks for 2-2, 3-3 and 4-4.  Then they won the next two games to close it out.  Nice net game from Brenda. Doinks hit some beautiful topspin shots that would just catch the back of the baseline to win the point.  Overall, it was some excellent tennis from all the ladies.

Samara's Notes: I thank both Dawn and Gen for sending in those scores in a very timely manner.  We now let Papa K take it away! 

Kris Srinivasan/Sairaj Srinivasan over Kevin Doyle/Brenda Jordan, 6-2!  No Aces.

Senthil Kumar/Jay Phoenix over Kris Srinivasan/Sairaj Srinivasan, 7-5!  No Aces.

Senthil Kumar/Jose Gonzales leading Norman Taclob/Mike Sindler, 5-4 (Incomplete when the players retired).  No Aces (apparently).

Samara's Notes: As always, thanks to Kris for all he does for the GTA up at Cedar Grove.

All the best,
Frank Samara

8/4 Results

8/4/16:         

"Kaz-Greg in Mt.clair, Gen hosts 4 at HP, Kris hosts 18 at C.G.!":               

GTA Thursday Night Tennis took place at three locations: The Mountainside Park Courts in Upper Montclair (featuring the Grove Cup Round of 32 Match between "Big Kaz" Mike Kazlauskas and "The Pilot" Greg Swierczek, with Mike sending in the report), Holster Park in Clifton ("The S Bomber" Genalin Capan was the host) and The Cedar Grove Courts (hosted by "Papa K" Kris Srinivasan). 

We will first go to the comprehensive recap from Big Kaz, then the rundown of scores from Gen and then Kris will close out this report (with some additional details/scores also coming in from "Coach" Dino Celis and "J-Rod" Joe Rodrigues). 

The Mountainside Park Result:

Grove Cup Round of 32 Match:

Mike Kazlauskas over Greg Swierczek, 6-0, 7-6 (7-4), to successfully defend his # 17 Rank in the Advanced Division while advancing to The Round of 16 of The Grove Cup Tournament!  Mike: 1 Ace in the 2^nd Set.

The Big Kaz Memo: We met at the Upper Montclair tennis courts at 4pm.  We started the match about 4:20 and we ended the match at 6pm.  I won the "toss" and started serving the 1st Set.  I ended up holding my serve three times and I broke Greg the first three times.  Even though the result of the first set was in my favor, Greg had a few Break Points.  However, I was able to prevail.

At the start of the 2nd Set is when my serve abandoned me.  I could not get any first serves in and Greg was great at attacking my second serves.  I was broken for 0-1, Greg held his serve and then he broke me again for 0-3.  After that, I got on board at 1-3 and 2-5, but that's where the real match began.  Greg had a couple of Set Points on his serve, but I was able to break his service game and also hold mine for 5-5.  After evening the score, my serve was broken again for 5-6.  Fortunately, I was able to break Greg's serve also for 6-6 to force the Tiebreaker.  In the Breaker, I was at 0-1, 1-2, 3-2, 4-3, 5-3 and that is when I was able to hit the only Ace of the match for a 6-3 lead and Match Point.  Greg was on serve and held his first one to make it 6-4 (my favor and the second M.P.), but then Greg double faulted on his second service for a 7-4 TB score.

The 2nd Set score reflects the actual skill level of Greg as a player.  We had quite a few great rallies and Greg had more winners than I did.

Samara's Notes: I thank Mike for his comprehensive and timely report.  I also congratulate him on a very hard-fought victory.  And I offer kudos to Greg who made in interesting…especially late in the match.

Now we go to Gen.

Mike and I started hitting around 4:30.  We then played a quick One-Setter.  We hit for another 15 minutes while waiting for Tony Shiao and Ryan Pienciak to finish their hitting session.

The HP Results:

Mike Mole over Genalin Capan, 6-0!  Mike: 1 Ace.  We started it at 5pm and it was over at 5:16.  It was all due to Mike's serves.  I barely got 1 to 2 points per game.  Then, in the last game, I was serving down 30-40 and then it went to Deuce, Game Point, 2^nd Deuce, Break/Match Point and the break!

Mike Mole/Ryan Pienciak leading Tony Shiao/Genalin Capan, 4-2 (Incomplete, when both Tony and Ryan had to leave to pick up their kids)!  Ryan: 2 Aces on Gen.  Started it around 5:20 and it had to be stopped by 5:50.

Samara's Notes: Thanks to Gen for those scores.  And now we will let Papa K take it away (but the first and third scores were sent in by Joe…and Dino sent additional commentary for the one in which he was involved)!

The Cedar Grove Results:

Joe Rodrigues over Scott Bergenfeld, 6-4!  No Aces (apparently).

Scott Bergenfeld/Christine Toth over Joe Rodrigues/Dawn Peterson, 6-1!  No Aces (apparently).            

Michel Encarnacion/Jorge Solano over Joe Rodrigues/Lorenzo Levy, 6-3!  No Aces (apparently).

Scott Bergenfeld/Christine Toth over Dan Martinelli/Dawn Peterson, 6-4!  No Aces (apparently).

Nathan Fernandes/Natalie Guzman over Kris Srinivasan/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-4!  No Aces.

Nathan Fernandes/Doinks Srinivasan over Scott Bergenfeld/Kris Srinivasan, 7-6 (7-4)!  No Aces.

Dino Celis/Natalie Guzman over Joe Rodrigues/Fernanda Toker, 6-3!  No Aces.

From The Coach's Clipboard: There were multiple Deuce games, great rallies both from the baseline and at the net.  Natalie played extremely well and steady as she kept pace with Fernanda forehand to forehand cross-court and finishing the point with an aggressive volley up at the net.

Nathan Fernandes/Kris Srinivasan over Lou La Forgia/Dan Martinelli, 6-3!  No Aces.

Rob Gawley/Fernanda Toker leading Laura Gawley/Doinks Srinivasan, 5-4 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm…the leaders were serving, but down Triple Break Point when it went dark)!  No Aces (apparently).

The shot of the day was Lou's 360 degree turnaround shot to a ball that was hit well behind him by Nate.  Super shot!  Nate was the most consistent throughout the session...no surprise there!  Doinks picked up her game as the night progressed.  Laura and Rob were solid.  So was Spin with plenty of energy and enthusiasm.  Natalie did very well after the first few games.  Scott had amazing shots, mixed up with misses.  Overall, it was a very brisk night of GTA Tennis and quite an enjoyable one.  Cheers!

Samara's Notes: I thank Kris, Joe and Dino for their contributions to this report.

Samara signing off!

 

 

 

 

8/3 Results

8/3/16:

"2 MXD2 Qtrs. part of 21 at C.G., Chazz-Ralph in Verona!":

"Hollywood" Frank Samara announced he would be hosting GTA Wednesday Night Tennis at The Cedar Grove Courts (his second straight night at that location) earlier in the day.  Like the previous day/night, the weather was quite beautiful and ideal for tennis.

And it turns out that it was not the only session of GTA Wednesday Night Tennis as "The Legendary" Chazz Weldon and "Big Returns" Ralph Bernard got together for their Grove Cup Men's Singles Tournament Round of 16 Match at The Verona Park Courts.  Since that match ended up happening quite late in the evening, we will have that result close out this report.

Now let's recap how things unfolded up at Cedar Grove.

Samara pulled into the parking lot at C.G. at 5:20.  He was happy to see all four courts vacant, but he also knew that The Verona Crew would likely be taking two of them as early as 6pm.  So Frank made sure to get right out onto Court One to hold it for his MXD2 Mixed Doubles Quarterfinal Match scheduled to begin at 6pm.

"Instant" Moka Pathan was the next to arrive at 5:30.  He spent some time talking to Frank, but Samara then suggested that Moka get changed into his tennis gear as soon as possible as court space may soon be at a premium.  Frank also advised that The Verona Crew would likely take Courts Three and Four, as they usually do.  Pathan said he prefers those other two courts (Three and Four) over the ones that would likely be available (One and Two).

Well, when you snooze...you lose!  At 5:45, while Moka was on a phone call, a woman took Court Two.  This gave Pathan no choice but to take Court Three.

At 5:55, "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan soon joined her Mixed Doubles partner, Pathan, on Court Three.  They started a hitting session as they prepared for their MXD2 Quarterfinal.  At this time, a second lady made her way onto Court Two.

While Samara was waiting for his partner, "The Olympian" Marie Salamon, and their opponents, "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas and "Spicy" Sally Pillay, on Court One, Pathan/Capan were waiting for their adversaries, "T-Rez" Tommy Reszkowski and "The Argentine Machine" Fernanda Toker, on Court Three.

By 6pm, the twosome of ladies on Court Two became a foursome.  Ten minutes later, Marijus and Sally arrived together and soon got onto Court One and started hitting against Frank (who, by this time, already knew his partner, Marie, was running late and he informed Kuzavas/Pillay of such),

Marie made it to the courts by 6:20...just as GTA alum Tula Savickas and another woman were heading out onto Court Four.  Marie and Tula are long-time tennis friends.  Savickas is part of The Verona Crew (who would soon show up in full force), but was happy to learn that the GTA is now holding sessions at The Cedar Grove Courts as well.  She and her husband Horst may come back to play with us soon.

But as more of The Verona Crew arrived, one of their leaders made it clear to Moka and Gen that they would have to leave as they had the rights to the courts from 6pm to 10pm. 

So Pathan and Capan had to head down the road to the two older courts down the street.  Reszkowski and Toker were made aware of the change of plans via text while they were still on their way.

"J-Rod" Joe Rodrigues and "Big George" Jorge Solano (who both briefly arrived at the main courts at 6:35) also had to do the same thing and take their show down the road.

6:35 was when the first of the two MXD2 Quarterfinals (Kuzavas/Pillay vs. Samara/Salamon) got underway.  Five minutes later, "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli arrived for what was initially intended to be just an extended cameo appearance.  He took the bench alongside Court One to watch the action that had gotten underway just minutes earlier.

At 6:55, Martinelli was joined on the bench by both Dennis "The Menace" Cabanatan and "The Hitman" Tom La.  Ten minutes later, GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro arrived and his timing was perfect as the four ladies were just stepping off of Court Two.

That foursome, including Spin, headed out onto Court Two as Martinelli was willing to play if he could team up with the speedy Chiaro.  They are a frequent tandem anyway as is Cabanatan and La.  After some hitting, they got a Doubles One-Setter underway at 7:15.

Backing up just a bit, the 1st Set of Kuzavas/Pillay-Samara/Salamon ended at 7:10 just as "Rowdy" Rob Gawley and Laura "The Aura" Gawley arrived and took the bench most recently occupied by Spin and Company to watch the match.

Just as both the MXD2 Quarterfinal and the first Doubles One-Setter all came to an end around 7:40, "The Lethal Lefty" Lou La Forgia arrived.  And five minutes later, "Papa K" Kris Srinivasan came across the street to survey the scene.

At 7:50, "Mr. 500" Levy Lorenzo arrived to take part in his Verona Crew action (he would take the courts around 8pm).  When he informed Kris that this Verona Crew situation may last all the way into October, Mr. Srinivasan had a look of both shock and disgust.  He also thinks maybe we should give Mr. Lorenzo a new moniker: "The Double Agent."  Or maybe we reverse "Mr. 500" to "005"...much like "007"...LOL!

Five minutes later, "The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan also made her way across the street and "The Sultan of Swing" Raj Shah came dressed in street clothes to solely make an extended cameo.

And the players just kept on coming as it was "Coach" Dino Celis at 8pm to be followed five minutes later by "Eddie O" Edwin Ortega.

Despite only having two of the four courts, we were actually doing a good job of getting everyone some court time.

And then another curveball was thrown our way as Pathan/Capan and Reszkowski/Toker came back at 8:35 from the courts down the road with a 3rd Set still to be played as the first two sets of their match were split.  Those courts do not have lights like the main four do.

Around that same time, Rodrigues and Solano also returned from those courts as Joe reported the score of a Singles One-Setter they had with one another.

The fact that the 3rd Set of that second MXD2 Quarterfinal still had to be played was a blessing in disguise as we were able to give them Court One and they got it underway at 8:25.

With about a dozen or so GTA faithful on or near the bench outside of Court One, the match got the Main Event treatment from the vocal crowd.  It also now had the benefit of Samara keeping score and noting every point (this proved to be helpful on more than one occasion as the competitors were so swept up in the action that memories were starting to get fuzzy).

Half an hour later, the battle was over.  But Courts One and Two kept buzzing with GTA action for the balance of the night as we ended up with a total of 21 official competitors.  And Levy came back over to our side around 9:30 to watch what we were doing...and we would take it right to the limit (time-wise).

The Cedar Grove Results:

MXD2 Quarterfinal:
Marijus Kuzavas/Sally Pillay over Frank Samara/Marie Salamon, 6-3, 6-1, to successfully defend their # 2 Rank in the Mixed Doubles Division while also advancing to The Semifinals of The MXD2 Mixed Doubles Tournament!  In the process, Samara/Salamon entered the division as the New # 24 Ranked Team!  Marijus: 1 Ace on Frank in the 2nd Set.

1st Set: Marijus held serve (Marijus hit a winner for 15-Love, then it was 15-All only to have Marijus hit back-to-back winners on the way to Double Game Point where an un-returned serve secured the hold), Frank was broken (Love-15, an un-returned serve for 15-All, but then it was straight to Double Break Point as Marijus hit a winner along the way and then Sally hit the winner for the break) and Sally held (Marijus hit a monster Overhead Smash for 15-Love, then it was 15-All where back-to-back un-returned serves set up Double Game Point and then came the hold) as her team jumped out to a 3-0 lead.  Marie held to get her team on the scoreboard (Marijus hit a winning Overhead Smash for Love-15, but then an un-returned serve and a winning lob from Marie blazed a path to Double Game Point, it was then Game Point where another un-returned serve secured the hold), but Kuzavas held again (an un-returned serve and a winner from Marijus led the way to Triple Game Point where Frank hit a winning return for Double Game Point only to have Marijus answer with a winner of his own for the hold) to go up 4-1.  Samara held (15-Love then point for point to Game Point as two un-returned serves along the way sandwiched a winning volley from Sally and then an un-returned serve secured the hold) and then Pillay was broken (Marijus blew an overhead for Love-15, it shifted to 30-15 with an un-returned serve along the way, then it was 30-All and a Double Fault for Break Point and then came the break) to have her team's lead cut to 4-3.  Then came the pivotal game of the set (and perhaps the match) with Salamon on serve.  This one lasted so long, that I could no longer commit to memory who hit what winners and where.  It started off at 15-Love, then 15-All and then it went right to Double Game Point, cut down to Deuce and then all Game Points all the way to 4th Deuce, the first Break Point, 5th Deuce, another Game Point, 6th Deuce, Break Point and the break to fall to 3-5...so painful as there were so many opportunities to level the set at 4-4!  Super Mario showed why he is super with his third straight hold and this one was at Love as he had two un-returned serves and then a net-cord winner to set up Triple Game/Set Point and then the hold came next as this set ended exactly at 7:10 (it had gotten started at 6:35).  There was a three minute break between sets where Samara and Salamon decided to switch their return of service sides as Frank would now take the less familiar (for him) Deuce court side.  That may have been a mistake.

2nd Set: Frank was broken (15-Love, 15-All and an un-returned serve for 30-15, Double Fault for 30-All, Game Point, Deuce, Break Point and the break), Marijus held (Double Fault for Love-30, but then it was two un-returned serves on the way to Game Point, another Double Fault for Deuce, Game Point again where Marijus hit a winner to lock down the hold) and Marie was broken (30-Love shifted to Break Point as Marijus hit a winner along the way and then he hit a roller over the net to get the break) as her team once again got off to a 0-3 start.  Sally was then broken (Double Fault for Love-15 where Marijus blew a volley for Love-30, but then an un-returned serve made it 15-30 and then there was another Double Fault to set up Double Break point and then came an exciting rally where Frank made several gets that took him all over the court and it led to his team getting the break) to allow the opposition onto the board in this set.  It seemed like the momentum shift was once again about to take place, but then Samara was broken again (Sally hit an amazing return winner for Love-15, it was then Love-30 where an un-returned serve made it 15-30 and then Marijus hit a passing shot winner to set up Double Break Point and then came the break), Kuzavas held yet again (Frank made a great get/passing shot winner combo for Love-15 and it was then Love-30 where Marijus scored a corner Ace on Frank which was followed by another killer Overhead Smash and then that was followed by another winner from Marijus on the way to Game Point where he got the hold with yet another winning Overhead Smash) and then Salamon was broken at Love when Marijus hit...what else...a winning Overhead Smash on Triple Break/Match Point to earn an impressive victory!  This one finished on Court One at exactly 7:37.

The Skinny: That eighth game in the 1st Set was pivotal.  Had Marie held her serve, it would have been 4-4 and the momentum shift of Samara/Salamon would have continued.  Perhaps it would have taken them as far as locking down the 1st Set in their favor.  But full credit goes to Marijus and Sally as they regrouped just in time not to let that happen.  No disrespect to Pillay (who definitely had her moments), but Kuzavas was the star of the show with his blistering forehands, towering Overhead Smashes and dominant services (he was never broken).  This is a tough team to deal with in this tourney!

Joe Rodrigues over Jorge Solano, 6-4!  No Aces.  This one took place down the road...as did the first two thirds of the next match.

MXD2 Quarterfinal:
Moka Pathan/Genalin Capan over Tommy Reszkowski/Fernanda Toker, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, to successfully defend their # 1 Rank in the Mixed Doubles Division while advancing to The Semifinals of The MXD2 Mixed Doubles Tournament!  No Aces.  The first two sets were played at the courts down the road, but the third was played on Court One from 8:25 to 8:54.

The 3rd Set: Moka held at Love, Tommy was broken at Love as Gen hit a winning volley to get things started, then Moka hit a winning Overhead Smash and then he also hit a passing shot winner to set up Triple Break Point where Tommy blew a volley for the break to get off to a 0-2 start.  Genalin was broken (Moka hit a winning volley for 15-Love and then there was an un-returned serve for 30-Love, but then Tommy hit back-to-back winners to bring it to 30-All, then came Break Point where Tommy hit a winning Overhead Smash for the break), but Fernanda was also broken (Love-15, 15-All where Tommy blew a volley to make it 15-30, then came Double Break Point and the break) for a 1-3 score.  Pathan held again (Moka hit a winning Backhand Volley for 15-Love, then it was 15-All where an excellent rally led to 30-15 and then came Double Game Point and the hold) and Reskzowski was broken again (Moka hit a blistering passing shot winner for Love-15 and then Moka made a winning drop shot return for Love-30 where an un-returned serve made it 15-30, but then Gen hit a winning volley to set up Double Break Point where a winning Overhead Smash by Moka earned the break) to fall to 1-5!  Capan was also broken again (Moka blew a volley for Love-15, then it went to Love-30, 15-30 where Tommy hit a winning volley to make it Double Break Point where Moka hit a winner to cut the lead to Break Point, but then Tommy hit a winner of his own for the break), but Toker held this time around (Moka hit a passing shot winner for Love-15, then it was 15-All where Moka hit a drop shot winner for 15-30, 30-All where Gen hit an amzaing passing shot winner to set up Break/Match Point, then it went to Deuce where Tommy blew a volley to set up the 2nd Break/Match Point, but then Moka blew an overhead to bring it to 2nd Deuce where an un-returned serve set up Game Point where Moka then blew another overhead to allow the hold) to pull to 3-5!  But then it was Instant Moka holding a third straight time in this set as he hit an un-returned serve for 15-Love, then it was 30-Love where Gen hit a winner to set up Triple Game/Match Point, but then Moka blew a gift of an overhead to cut the lead to Double Game/Match Point where the rally of the set ended with a winner from Moka to seal the deal!  This last set was played on Court One from 8:25 to 8:54.

The Skinny: This was a match of momentum shifts.  In the 2nd Set, Tommy and Fernanda jumped out to a 4-2 lead only to have the opposition win four straight games to take the set.  Then the change of location may have been all that was needed to end the run of Reszkowski and Toker.  Pathan and Capan won the first ten points of the 3rd Set.  Then, Reszkowski and Toker fought back with some winners of their own.  Tommy, particularly, raised the level of his game and was quite impressive in many moments.  He and his partner fought with all their heart as get-making was their specialty...but it ended up being too little, too late.  Still, the lengthy and fast-paced rallies wowed the crowd.  Congrats to Moka and Gen, but also hearty kudos go to Tommy and Fernanda as well.

Chris Chiaro/Dan Martinelli over Dennis Cabanatan/Tom La, 6-1!  No Aces.  This was played on Court Two from 7:15 to 7:39.

Chris Chiaro/Marijus Kuzavas over Dennis Cabanatan/Tom La, 6-2!  Dennis: 1 Ace on Marijus; and Marijus: 1 Ace on Dennis!  This one was also played on Court Two and it started at 7:43 and finished at 8:04.

Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley over Lou La Forgia/Marie Salamon, 6-3!  Rob: 2 Aces on Marie.  Court One hosted this one from 7:50 to 8:20.

Chris Chiaro/Kris Srinivasan over Dino Celis/Edwin Ortega, 6-1!  Kris: 1 Ace on Edwin.  This one took place on Court Two from 8:10 to 8:34.

Kris Srinivasan/Lou La Forgia over Dino Celis/Edwin Ortega, 7-5!  No Aces.  Court Two also hosted this one which lasted from 8:37 to 9:15.

Chris Chiaro/Doinks Srinivasan over Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley, 6-1!  No Aces.  This one got done on Court One.  It started at 9pm and ended at 9:25.

Kris Srinivasan/Lou La Forgia over Dino Celis/Edwin Ortega, 6-3!  Edwin: 1 Ace on Kris.  Another one that was played on Court Two and it lasted from 9:17 to 9:45.  Afterward, Kris and Edwin had a hitting session with one another that almost lasted until lights out at 10pm.

Chris Chiaro/Doinks Srinivasan over Frank Samara/Rob Gawley, 6-3!  No Aces.  It went like this: Chris held serve (15-Love where Frank hit a winner for 15-All, but then it was right to Double Game Point as Doinks hit a passing shot winner along the way, but then it shifted to Deuce right after Frank hit a killer winner that hit Doinks on the hip, but then it was Game Point where Chris hit a scorching winner of his own for the hold), Frank held (it started with Chris hitting a laser-like winner down the Doubles Alley, but then it went straight to Double Game Point and the hold), Doinks held (15-Love, 15-All and then straight to Double Break Point, shifted to Deuce, Game Point and the hold...I pretty much stopped noting winners at this point in the interest of saving time) and Rob held (30-Love, 30-15, Double Game Point where a truly un-returnable serve secured the hold) for 2-2.  Chiaro held again (Triple Game Point where an excellent and extended rally ended with a winner from Frank for Double Game Point, then came Game Point and the hold), but so did Samara (Love-15 shifted to 30-15, 30-All, Game Point and the hold) for 3-3.  Srinivasan also held again (Triple Game Point, the hold came on Double Game Point), but then Gawley was the first to be broken and it was at Love as Frank blew a gift of an overhead to get things started and then Chris had a drop shot winner and another winner along the way!  King Crush held yet again (15-Love, 15-All then onto Double Game/Match Point after Chris hit a roller over the net followed by another winner) to earn the win!  We played on Court One from 9:27 to 9:58.

The Skinny: Chris and Doinks both seemed eager to see this one through to completion (before the lights would go on) and they actually picked up both the pace and the level of their quality of their play in order to get this one done on time.  It was an excellent way to end the session.

Now let's go to Verona for the report from Chazz and an additional comment from Ralph.    

The Verona Park Results:

Grove Cup Round of 16 Match:
Chazz Weldon over Ralph Bernard, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4), to successfully defend his # 3 Rank in the Advanced Division while also advancing to The Quarterfinals of The Grove Cup Tournament!  Ralph: 2 Aces.

All That Jazz from Chazz: The match took place at Verona Park from 7:45pm - 9:32pm.  The match was intense with long points at times.  In the 1st Set, Ralph hit some nice winners and Chazz served out the 1st Set and won it with forehand winner.  In the 2nd Set, Chazz was up 5-2, serving for the match but was broken to give Ralph 3-5.  Ralph then held serve for 4-5.  Chazz served again for the match and was broken, making the score 5-5.  Ralph was getting into a groove and held serve for 6-5.  Chazz finally held serve to make it 6-6.  Ralph started the Tiebreak serving and went up 1-0, then 2-0.  Chazz came back and got it to 2-2, then Ralph was up 3-2 and Chazz made it 3-3.  Ralph went up 4-3, then Chazz made it 4-4.  From this point forward, Chazz won the remaining points to win the tiebreak 7-4.  Credit to Ralph as he is a very good player who I can see doing some damage in GTA.  Hopefully, the GTA will get to see more of him.  I cannot speak for Ralph, but at the end of this match, I was drenched in sweat and exhausted!

The Ralph Rebuttal: Well said!  Chazz is a human wall!  I'll get you next time, buddy.

Samara's Notes: I thank both Chazz and Ralph for sending in those scores and commentary in a very timely manner. 

All the best,
Frank Samara

8/2

Shah-Spin, Dean-Nate part of 22 at C.G.!":

               

GTA Tuesday Night Tennis only took place at The Cedar Grove Courts (hosted by "Hollywood" Frank Samara with some assistance from usual host, "Papa K" Kris Srinivasan). 

 

The session featured two Grove Cup Tournament matches: "The Sultan of Swing" Raj Shah versus "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli in The Round of 32; and "Lean" Dean Delgado vs. "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes in The Round of 16.

 

On the way to Cedar Grove, Samara did a drive-by past the Holster Park Courts in Clifton at 5:45 and all three were vacant.  He then arrived at Cedar Grove at 5:55.

 

At that time, Shah was already there but waiting in his car.  On Court One, one lone non-GTA players seemed to be waiting for someone else (that someone arrived at 6:05).

 

Courts Two and Three were empty, so Samara decided to take Court Two to hold that one for the Shah-Martinelli match as Three was next to Court Four where a lesson involving a young child was occupying it and balls were often rolling over to Court Three.

 

At 6:15, Shah joined Samara on Court Two.  Around that same time, "Coach" Dino Celis arrived but chose to stay near Court Four.

 

Martinelli arrived at 6:20 and immediately headed over to Court Two for his match against Shah.  Spin and Frank both hit against Raj until the match officially got underway at 6:27.

 

Right around that same time, Celis took Court Three along with "Kevlar" Kevin Doyle and "J-Bach" Jordan Bachvaroff.

 

At 6:30, "ME" Michel Encarnacion, Delgado and Fernandes all arrived.  Michel headed over toward Court Three while Dean and Nate headed over to Court Two to talk to Frank about where they would be able to play their match.  Samara suggested the two courts down the road and luckily that scenario worked out well for them.

 

"Luckily" is the operative word as the entire area was loaded with people heading down the street toward a festival in the park (Kris said there would be free food and music).  As a result, the parking lot that wraps around the courts soon became full.

 

At 6:35, "Big Kaz" Mike Kazlauskas and "Magic" Matt Meillon both arrived.  Kaz took the bench outside Court One, but Matt stepped onto Court Two to watch the match in progress.

 

Five minutes later, "J-Rod" Joe Rodrigues made his arrival.  And we thought we saw "Super Trooper" Sue Koziol pull into the parking lot…only to soon leave once she could not find a parking space.

 

At 6:45, the lesson on Court Four became a lesson for Dino (rather than the young girl who went before him).  This soon led to a logjam situation as we were starting to have players sitting on the outside waiting for courts.

 

"Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas arrived at 7:10 and sat on the bench next to his buddy, Kazlauskas.  Ten minutes later, the two of them were able to take Court One as those two other guys decided to leave at that time.  Marijus and Mike then entered into a lengthy hitting session with one another.

 

Natalia "Nitro" Sout arrived at 7:25.  She stood near the bench outside Court Four for a short while, but when it seemed she would not get any court time…she decided to leave.  When Dino saw this, he ended the lesson and was able to track her down before she completely backed out of the parking space.

 

She came back and got onto Court Four a little after 7:30 just as Jay "The Rising" Phoenix made his arrival.  The two of them had a hitting session with one another.  Jay ended up leaving at 7:55 without ever getting involved in any official action.

 

During that time, Dennis "The Menace" Cabanatan had arrived at 7:35 and sat on the bench with Dino and Spin (who was already done with his match by this time).

 

At 7:55, "Rowdy" Rob Gawley and GTA Women's Champion: Laura "The Aura" Gawley arrived together.  They were able to get right onto Court Four and then get involved in some Mixed Doubles action with Cabanatan and Sout.

 

"The Webmaster" Senthil Kumar arrived at 8pm.  Delgado and Fernandes returned to the main courts at 8:20 whereupon Dean reported the scores to Frank before leaving to get dinner.  Nate, however, flush with the rush of an impressive victory decided to seek further action (though he may have taken a snack break somewhere along the way).

 

"2 Tall" Dave Zhu was the final official competitor to arrive at 8:30.  We ended up with a grand total of 22 official competitors (not counting Phoenix) which was very impressive considering the fact that the area was so crowded and we only had two of the four courts for a while there.

 

Chronologically speaking, the two Grove Cup matches got things underway.  So we will report them first and then list all the other results.

 

The Cedar Grove Results:

 

Grove Cup Round of 32 Match:

Raj Shah over Dan Martinelli, 6-1, 6-2, to successfully defend his # 11 Rank in the Advanced Division while advancing to The Round of 16 of The Grove Cup Tournament!  Spin: 2 Aces in the 2^nd Set; and Raj: 1 Ace in the 2^nd Set.

 

1^st Set: Spin held serve (Love-15, 15-All where an un-returned serve made it 30-15 which was where Raj hit a winner for 30-All, then Game Point and the hold), Raj held at Love after an un-returned serve got things started for him, but Martinelli was the first to be broken (Raj hit back-to-back winners to make it Love-30, but then he blew an overhead for 15-30, then it went to Double Break Point and the break) for 1-2.  Shah held again (15-Love, 15-All then right to Double Break Point where Raj hit a winning Backhand Volley for Break Point, Deuce, Game Point and a truly un-returnable serve for the hold) and The Doc was broken again (Spin hit a winner for 15-Love, then it was 30-Love where Raj hit a winner for 30-15 and then Raj hit a drop shot winner for 30-All only to follow that with a winning Overhead Smash to set up Break Point where he then hit yet another winner for the break) to fall to 1-4.  The Sultan of Swing held yet again (Spin made a great get/drop shot winner combo for Love-15, then Raj hit a winner of his own for 15-All which was followed by an un-returned serve for 30-15 and then Spin hit a winner for 30-All, but then came Game Point and the hold) and Spin was broken once more (15-Love then point for point until 30-All, Break/Set Point, Deuce, Game Point where Raj hit a drop shot that was not a winner but forced the error from Spin for 2^nd Deuce where Raj then made a nice get/winner combo to set up the 2^nd Break/Set Point and then came the break) as Raj took the opening set at 6:54 (this match got underway on Court Two at exactly 6:27).  They wasted no time in switching sides and getting into the next set.

 

2^nd Set: Raj held (started with a Double Fault, but then it went straight to Double Game Point after he hit a winner to set that up and then he hit an un-returned serve for the hold), Spin was broken (15-Love shifted to 15-30 where an un-returned serve made it 30-All, but then Raj hit a winning Overhead Smash for Break Point where Raj then scorched a winning return for the break) and Shah held again (Spin hit a winning return for Love-15, but then an un-returned serve made it 15-All where an excellent extended rally led to 30-15 and then another un-returned serve set up Double Game Point where a truly un-returnable serve secured the hold) to go up 3-0.  Martinelli held (Love-15 shifted to 30-15, then it was 30-All where Spin scored an Ace up the T to set up Game Point and then came the hold) to make sure to also get on the scoreboard in this set, but The Sultan held yet again and it was another Love hold that got started with an awesome winner and had an un-returned serve set up Triple Game Point.  The Doc surprised with a second straight hold (two un-returned serves for 30-Love and then Spin made yet another amazing get/drop shot winner combo to set up Triple Game Point where Raj answered with a drop shot winner for Double Game Point which was where Spin hit a hybrid shot which was somewhat of a passing shot winner, but also kind of a lob) to pull to 2-4!  Raj held once more, as he was never broken, and it was his third Love hold as he started with an un-returned serve and an Ace up the T set up Triple Game Point on his way to a 5-2 lead!  Spin was then broken (he hit a roller over the net to go up 15-Love and then he hit a sideline Ace for a 30-Love lead, but then it was 30-15 where Raj hit a winner to make it 30-All and then came Break/Match Point and an anti-climactic error from The Doc to end the point, the game, the set and the match) to take a tough loss at 7:17!

 

The Skinny: Shah had a very impressive victory which becomes even more noteworthy by the fact that he was so dominant on serve (again, never was broken).  That was the biggest difference in the match.  But much credit has to be given to the 61 year old Martinelli who was running all over the court with the enthusiasm of someone one third his age.  He was also swinging at the ball quite aggressively, yet smartly.  It was the most structured offense that we have seen from The Doc in quite some time.  So we offer congratulations to Raj, but also hearty kudos to the man known as Spin.

 

Grove Cup Round of 16 Match:

Nathan Fernandes over Dean Delgado, 6-0, 6-0, to become the New # 7 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division while advancing to The Quarterfinals of The Grove Cup Tournament!  No Aces.

 

The Skinny: Dean said that no matter what shots he hit, he could not get them past Nate.  They then decided to play a One-Setter…which went no differently!

 

Nathan Fernandes over Dean Delgado, 6-0!  No Aces.

 

Samara's Notes: To post an 18-0 score in three consecutive sets over Delgado (always a formidable player) is quite the feat!  Nate has made a statement with this victory…when talking about potential winners of this year's Grove Cup tournament, his name belongs in that conversation.

 

Michel Encarnacion/Kevin Doyle over Jordan Bachvaroff/Joe Rodrigues, 6-3!  No Aces.  They got this one underway on Court Three at 6:45.  Not sure when it ended as it went right into this next one.

 

Jordan Bachvaroff/Joe Rodrigues over Michel Encarnacion/Kevin Doyle, 7-6 (7-5)!  Michel: 2 Aces; Jordan: 1 Ace; and Joe: 1 Ace.  This one got done at 8:20.

 

Kris Srinivasan/Frank Samara over Raj Shah/Matt Meillon, 6-4!  Frank: 1 Ace on Matt.  It was the official GTA Return of Matt Meillon.  It went like this: Matt held at Love with two un-returned serves on the way to Triple Game Point and then a third to earn the hold, Frank held (started with a corner Ace on Matt, then 30-Love shifted to Break Point as Matt hit a winner along the way, Deuce where Kris hit a winning volley for Game Point and then came the hold), Raj held (Love-15 went straight to Double Game Point with two un-returned serves along the way and then another un-returned serve secured the hold) and Kris held (15-Love where Frank blew a volley for 15-All, but then it went right to Double Game Point and the hold) as we all were on serve at 2-2.  Meillon was the first to be broken (Frank scored with a very nice get/passing shot winner combo for Love-30, then it shifted to 30-All, but then came Break Point where Raj blew a volley for the break), but Samara held again (Love-15 shifted straight to Double Game Point where Matt hit a winning return for Game Point, but then Frank hit a winner for the hold) to go up 4-2.  Shah held again as well (Raj hit a winner for 15-Love and then Frank hit a guided missile-like winner that somewhat wrapped its way around Matt to make it 15-All, but then it went right to Double Game Point, Game Point, Deuce where an un-returned serve set up Game Point only to have a truly un-returnable serve secure the hold) and Srinivasan was broken (Love-15 where Raj blew a drop shot to make it 15-All, but then Raj scored with back-to-back drop shot winners on the way to Double Break Point and then came the break) to knot the score once more at 4-4!  Magic Matt was broken again (Love-30 shifted to 30-All, Double Fault for Break Point, Deuce, Break Point, 2^nd Deuce, Break Point and the break), but Hollywood held a third straight time (Love-30 shifted to Game/Match Point, Deuce, 2^nd Game/Match Point, 2^nd Deuce, 3^rd Game/Match Point, 3^rd Deuce, 4^th Game/Match Point, 4^th Deuce, 5^th Game/Match Point and finally the hold!) to get the win as we played this one on Court Two from 7:28 to 8:11.

 

The Skinny: This was a very entertaining One-Setter.  First, let me say it is really great to have Meillon back in the mix.  Matt is a good guy and a solid player…always fun to have around.  Despite much time away from the GTA, he was not all that rusty.  Raj was his usual solid self as he still had yet to be broken on serve for the entire evening.  Kris was a balance of dramatic highlights and some unfortunate misses.  We were fortunate that somehow I was on the money the entire time (I had not even planned on playing) as I was also never broken and I was able to pull the tricks out of my bag that often confounded the man that we call "Magic!"  The last two games were both so long and so pivotal, that I could not remember who hit what winners and where.

 

Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley over Dennis Cabanatan/Natalia Sout, 6-3!  No Aces (apparently).  They got this underway on Court Four at 8pm.  Not sure when it ended as it went into two other One-Setters (with the teams switched) which we will get to later on in this report.

 

Marijus Kuzavas/Mike Kazlauskas over Kris Srinivasan/Senthil Kumar, 6-1!  No Aces.  This one took place on Court One from 8:13 to 8:38.  The Lanky Lithuanians (aka M&M) wanted to challenge the winners (Srinivasan/Samara) of the previous battle on Court Two, but Frank pulled "a Costanza" as he went out on a high note and was done for the night.  The timing was perfect as Senthil had arrived only a short time earlier and was eager to get into the action.

 

Raj Shah/Matt Meillon over Dino Celis/Dan Martinelli, 6-2!  Raj: 2 Aces on Dino in the same game!  The opening game had Raj on serve as he started with a sideline Ace on Dino on the way to Triple Game Point and then on Double Game Point he hit an Ace up the T against Dino to get the hold. 

 

From there forward, I was too distracted grabbing scores from the other courts as the GTA had all four courts under its control at this time.  It should also be noted that Raj and Matt had started a Singles One-Setter against one another…but when Dino and Spin walked over four minutes into it…they graciously scrapped it to play Doubles instead.

 

Nathan Fernandes/Doinks Srinivasan over Jordan Bachvaroff/Mike Sindler, 6-0!  No Aces.  They played this one on Court Three from 8:30 to 8:58.  Coupling Singles action with Doubles action, Nate was now on a 24-0 roll…highly impressive!

 

Marijus Kuzavas/Mike Kazlauskas over Kris Srinivasan/Senthil Kumar, 6-4!  No Aces.  This one took place on Court One from 8:39 to 9:15.

 

Dennis Cabanatan/Laura Gawley over Rob Gawley/Natalia Sout, 6-1!  No Aces (apparently).  This was played on Court Four (do not know the start and stop times).

 

Raj Shah/Matt Meillon over Dino Celis/Dan Martinelli, 6-4!  Dino: 1 Ace on Raj.  It was 2-2 and 3-3 before Raj and Matt jumped out to a 5-3 lead.  Raj was on serve and it went to Game/Match Point, Deuce where Dino hit a winning Backhand Volley for Break Point, but then Matt hit a winner for the 2^nd Deuce, then Break point again where Spin hit a hellacious passing shot winner to pull to 4-5!  Dino was then on serve as he got off to a Love-30 start, then 15-30, Double Break/Match Point, Break/Match Point, Deuce where Dino hit a passing shot winner for Game Point, then 2^nd Deuce and Break/Match Point which is where this one ended on the 4^th M.P. overall!  They played this on Court Two from 8:40 to 9:29.

 

Dennis Cabanatan/Laura Gawley over Rob Gawley/Natalia Sout, 6-3!  No Aces (apparently).  Not sure when this one began on Court Four, but it was finished at 9:25.

 

Jordan Bachvaroff/Mike Sindler over Dave Zhu/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-3!  No Aces.  Court Three hosted this one from 9:03 to 9:43.

 

Marijus Kuzavas/Mike Kazlauskas over Kris Srinivasan/Senthil Kumar, 6-3!  Marijus: 1 Ace on Senthil; and Mike: 1 Ace on Senthil!  This was the third and last of their series which took place on Court One from 9:17 to 9:52.

 

Nathan Fernandes/Dennis Cabanatan over Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley, 6-4!  No Aces (apparently).  Court Four featured this foursome from 9:30 to 9:58.

 

Dave Zhu/Doinks Srinivasan leading Jordan Bachvaroff/Mike Sindler, 3-2 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces (apparently).

 

All in all, it was an action-packed session of GTA Tennis which was further electrified by the atmosphere of so many other people coming and going to the festivities in the park.   

 

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

8/1 Results

8/1/16:         

"Kris hosts 18 at C.G.!":               

GTA Monday Night Tennis only took place at The Cedar Grove Courts (hosted by "Papa K" Kris Srinivasan, but GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro also sent in the same results in which he was involved and "Dominant" Dawn Peterson sent in a score that Kris was unable to retrieve).  We thank all of them for their efforts.

So we will now go to the report from Kris, but start with the score from Dawn (all that Chris had sent in, Kris had already).

The Cedar Grove Results:

Chazz Weldon/Dawn Peterson over Jose Gonzales/Kathy Sheldon, 6-3!  No Aces (apparently).

2 out of 3 Set Doubles Match:

Kris Srinivasan/Raj Boddu over Jordan Bachvaroff/Joe Rodrigues, 6-3, 6-4, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 43 and # 44 Ranked Teams respectively!  Raj: 1 Ace on Joe in the 1st Set; and Joe: 1 Ace on Raj in the 2nd Set!

Raj was playing the hero for us, serving superbly, making full-blooded shots and great gets.  Joe was exceptional with great hands, mixing fast-paced shots with finesse.  Jordan had great topspin shots, save for the few mishits and one of his service games he was on fire serving incredibly well, but couldn't keep that level consistently.  The 2nd Set was more competitive and J&J had the edge for the most part.

Nathan Fernandes/Doinks Srinivasan over Chris Chiaro/Natalia Sout, 6-2!  No Aces.

Ryan Pienciak/Natalia Sout over Michel Encarnacion/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-3!  No Aces (apparently).

Michel Encarnacion/Doinks Srinivasan over Ryan Pienciak/Natalia Sout, 7-5!  No Aces (apparently).

Chris Chiaro over Lou La Forgia, 6-3!  No Aces.

Lou La Forgia over Chris Chiaro, 6-4!  No Aces.

Chris Chiaro over Lou La Forgia, 6-4!  No Aces.

Levy Lorenzo over Jorge Solano, 6-4!  No Aces (apparently).

Chris Chiaro/Nathan Fernandes over Lou La Forgia/Jorge Solano, 6-1!  No Aces.

Ryan Pienciak/Natalia Sout over Rick Pienciak/Fernanda Toker, 7-5!  No Aces (apparently).

Nathan Fernandes/Jordan Bachvaroff over Kris Srinivasan/Raj Boddu, 7-6 (7-4)!  Nate: 1 Ace on Kris!

This was a well-contested, close match and looked to be so right from the get-go.  In the first game where Nate served, we took it to Deuce after Nate was up 40-Love.  We managed to break after a few Deuces.  There were breaks and critical holds that kept the match on a tight mesh.  With most games going for many points, it turned to be a marathon match as was evidenced in the eleventh game that Jordan was serving.  This game must have seen a dozen Deuces and thanks to a great serve and an attractive overhead smash by Nate, Jordan was able to hold to go up 6-5!  Finally, I got to serve well to hold the critical game to take it to the Tiebreaker.  Down 2-5, we did well to come back to 4-5…but then I blew one of the sitters to put it away to make it 5-All.  I just missed the smash, but a good back-up by Raj kept us in the rally only to have Nate do well to smoke us with an overhead.  It was a great match that lasted an hour and 20 minutes in a good solid fight!  We missed quite a few Break Point opportunities, but credit for the slimmest edge goes to Nate.  Boddu played amazingly and Jordan was great, too, for most parts.

Overall, it turned out to be a buzzing night of GTA Tennis action.  Cheers!

Samara's Notes: Thanks to Kris for all he does on behalf of the league up at Cedar Grove.  And that last result sound like it could be a possible Nominee for One-Set Doubles Match of The Year at season's end.  Good stuff!

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

 

 

 

 

7/31 Result

7/31/16:         

"Kuzavas-Mole at C.G.!":               

GTA Sunday Night Tennis only took place at The Cedar Grove Courts (featuring the first of The Grove Cup Round of 16 Matches to be played…and this one had "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas going up against "Holy Moly" Mike Mole).  Both Marijus and Mike reported this result in a very timely fashion.

We will now go to their mutual report.

The Cedar Grove Result:

Grove Cup Round of 16 Match:

Marijus Kuzavas over Mike Mole, 6-3, 6-3, to successfully defend his # 2 Rank in the Advanced Division while also advancing to the Quarterfinals of The Grove Cup Tournament!  Marijus: 3 Aces (2 in the 1^st Set and 1 in the 2^nd Set)!

The Super Scoop from Mario: The 1^st Set went 2-0, 2-2, 3-2, 3-3 and then to 6-3 in my favor.  The 2^nd Set went 3-0, 3-2, 4-2, 4-3 and then to 6-3 (again) in my favor.  Mike played a good match, serving and defending well.  I made more unforced errors than I would have liked.  In the end, things went my way.

We played the match from 7:10 to 8:30pm.  Note, at 8:35 it started pouring.

The Holy Moly Memo: He played really good.  I just made too many errors.

Samara's Notes: I thank both of them for their timely reporting and congratulate Marijus on his impressive victory.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

 

 

 

 

7/29 Results

7/29/16:

"2 play in Montclair, Kris/Frank host 17 at C.G.!":

"Hollywood" Frank Samara hosting any session of GTA Friday Night Tennis seemed to be in some serious doubt as the weather forecasts varied somewhat, but all agreed to some amount of precipitation in the late afternoon/early evening hours.

Samara decided to plan his day accordingly and be in the area just in case the weathermen were wrong (as they have been so many times before).  He did laundry at the Laundromat in the Richfield Shopping Center in Clifton. 

As that wrapped up, the skies were dark and there was a steady drizzle falling at that time.  So Frank decided to eat some dinner at the nearby Boston Market. 

Upon leaving, the rain had stopped and there was a huge rainbow in the sky.  Furthermore, looking toward the west (the direction of Cedar Grove from Clifton), the skies were bright.  It seemed encouraging for a session to be taking place there after all.

Samara left Clifton at 8pm.  As three different trains interrupted his trek to C.G., he did not arrive there until 8:20.  But before we get to all that, let's first go to Mountainside Park in Upper Montclair where "Big Returns" Ralph Bernard and Jay "The Rising" Pheonix faced each other in a couple of Singles One-Setters (they had intended it to be a full 2 out of 3 Sets Singles Match, but Bernard is still active in the draw of ongoing Grove Cup Men's Singles Tournament and cannot accept outside challenges).

The Mountainside Park Results:

Ralph Bernard over Jay Phoenix, 6-0!  Ralph: 2 Aces.

Ralph Bernard over Jay Phoenix, 6-1!  Ralph: 1 Ace.

Samara's Notes: I thank both Ralph and Jay for sending in those scores in a very timely manner.  They had originally intended for this to be a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match, but since Bernard is still in the active draw of the ongoing Grove Cup Tournament…it had to be separated into two One-Setters.  They got started at 3:45 and finished by 5pm.

We now detail how the session up at Cedar Grove unfolded.

Samara pulled into the parking lot at C.G. at 8:20.  He was happy to see all four courts filled with GTA players.  But he was somewhat disappointed to see that his buddy, "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli, was not in attendance.  Frank sent him a text message and the reply made it seem like The Doc would be M.I.A. for the evening.

Around this same time, "Big George" Jorge Solano was leaving for the night...but his drenched in sweat appearance had made it obvious that he had been involved in some official action.

On Court One, there was Singles action going on between pals "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas and "Big Kaz" Mike Kazlauskas.

Court Two had some Men's Doubles  as it was "Latino Heat" Jose Gonzales and "The Webmaster" Senthil Kumar squaring off against "Papa K" Kris Srinivasan and "Topspinner" Mike Sindler.

Court Three had Mixed Doubles action well underway as "The Sultan of Swing" Raj Shah teamed with "Bravo" Brenda Jordan to take on Brenda's usual partner, "Kevlar" Kevin Doyle, and the New GTA Women's Champion: Laura "The Aura" Gawley.

And on Court Four there was another Men's Doubles battle brewing as it was the father and son combo of "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak (the son) and "The West Wing" Rick Pienciak (the father) facing off against "The Secret Weapon" Sairaj Srinivasan and "Nimble" Nithin Poosala.

As soon as Samara sat his butt down on the one dry area of the benches (thanks to the previous posterior of Mr. Solano) as that same very drizzle had hit the Cedar Grove area earlier as well (the big rainbow was also in full view from there, too), the Mixed Doubles action on Court Three concluded and an invitation was extended to Frank to see if he wanted to get involved in action on that court.

Frank opted out citing the fact that he had just eaten a late dinner.  This led to a rematch One-Setter taking place instead.

At 8:35, we had the surprise arrival of "Stormin" Norman Taclob.  He got changed in his car so he could get ready for some action.  And ten minutes later, Spin decided to show up after all...though it would only be for an extended cameo appearance.

Somewhere around 9pm, "Coach" Dino Celis also arrived solely to make an extended cameo.  Along with his buddy Spin, they played the role of The Hecklers while usual "Heckler" Samara was out on Court Two involved in Men's Doubles action.

Along the way, both Kris and Nithin gave Frank the results that had concluded prior to his arrival.

We ended up with a total of seventeen official competitors for the night...very impressive when considering the unstable weather conditions earlier in the evening that may have deterred some from coming.   

The Cedar Grove Results:

2 out of 3 Sets:
Kris Srinivasan/Raj Shah over Kevin Doyle/Brenda Jordan, 7-5, 6-2!  Raj: 1 Ace on Kevin in the 1st Set!  They had played this one on Court Three (not sure of the start and stop times).

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:
Jose Gonzales/Jorge Solano over Sairaj Srinivasan/Nithin Poosala, 6-2, 7-5, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 40 and # 41 Ranked Teams respectively!  No Aces (apparently).  I believe this one was played on Court Four, though not completely sure (also don't know the beginning and end times).

Raj Shah/Brenda Jordan over Kevin Doyle/Laura Gawley, 6-3!  Laura: 1 Ace on Brenda.  This one got done on Court Three at 8:22.

Raj Shah/Brenda Jordan over Kevin Doyle/Laura Gawley, 6-1!  Laura: 1 Ace on Brenda.  This was also played on Court Three as it began at 8:25 and ended at 8:52.

Jose Gonzales/Senthil Kumar over Kris Srinivasan/Mike Sindler, 6-3!  No Aces.  This one concluded on Court Two at 8:45.

Mike Kazlauskas over Marijus Kuzavas, 7-5!  No Aces.  Not sure when they started this one on Court One, but it did not end until 9:05.  After that, they had the following rematch.

Marijus Kuzavas over Mike Kazlauskas, 6-2!  Marijus: 1 Ace.  This one was also contested on Court One and it lasted from 9:07 to 9:35.

Sairaj Srinivasan/Nithin Poosala over Ryan Pienciak/Rick Pienciak, 7-5!  Rick: 2 Aces (one on each); Ryan: 1 Ace on Nithin; and Sairaj: 1 Ace on Rick!  Not sure when this one got underway, but it concluded on Court Four at 8:40.  Three minutes later, they were off and running for two more sets which we decided to record as a full match.

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:
Sairaj Srinivasan/Nithin Poosala over Ryan Pienciak/Rick Pienciak, 6-4, 6-2, to successfully defend the #41 Rank in the Doubles Division while The Pienciaks enter the division as the New #42 Ranked Team!  No Aces (apparently).  They got this one underway on Court Four at 8:43, but we are not sure of the finish time.

Norman Taclob/Mike Sindler over Senthil Kumar/Frank Samara, 6-2!  Mike: 1 Ace on Senthil.  It went like this: Senthil held at Love as Frank hit a winning volley, then a winning Overhead Smash and then a winning Backhand Volley before Senthil hit an un-returnable serve on Triple Game Point for the hold and Norman was broken (Love-30 shifted to 30-All, then it went to Break Point and the break) to get off to a 0-2 start.  Frank was broken in a battle (30-Love shifted to 30-All, Break Point, Deuce, Break Point, 2nd Deuce, Game Point, 3rd Deuce, Break Point, 4th Deuce, Break Point and the break) and Mike held in a struggle (Love-15 then point for point to Break Point, Deuce, Game Point, 2nd Deuce, Game Point, 3rd Deuce, Game Point and the hold) to level it at 2-2!  Kumar was broken (Frank hit a monster Overhead Smash that knocked the dampener off of Norm's racquet for 15-Love, but then it shifted to 15-30, then it was 30-All, Break Point and the break) and Taclob held (Love-15 shifted to 30-15 which shifted again to Break Point, then Deuce, Game Point and the hold) to go up 4-2.  Samara was broken again (Love-15, 15-All and then straight to Double Break Point and the break) and Sindler held again (30-Love where he hit a severe sideline Ace on Senthil to set up Triple Game/Match Point where Frank hit an impressive return winner for Double Game/Match Point, then it was Game/Match Point, Deuce, 4th Game/Match Point where Senthil hit a winner for 2nd Deuce, but then Norm hit a winning volley to set up the 5th Game/Match Point where the hold finally came to end the best game of the match) to get the win!  We played this one on Court Two from 8:55 to 9:30.

The Skinny: Considering he had just come off the bench and eaten not all that long before, Samara came out like a man on fire as he could seemingly do no wrong for the first couple of games.  But then he came back down to Earth while Taclob really started to find his game.  Sindler is an impressive player who utilizes a forehand attack that has both pace and topspin.  His services are strong as well (that Ace he had was called "severe" as the angle was short, but the pace was also present).  Kumar was a steady hand throughout most of the contest.  The third and fourth games were quite long and that was where I stopped noting who hit what winners and where (until the last game of the match), but it is safe to say that Norm racked up many winners with well-placed volleys and Overhead Smashes.  Senthil had similar success at the net while Mike sustained many rallies with his solid strokes.  Frank was the loose cannon in this foursome as he sometimes made great gets to keep rallies alive only to miss on what should have been surefire set-ups for winners.  The two teams decided to play a rematch which we will get to a little later.  But first...

Kris Srinivasan/Raj Shah tied with Jose Gonzales/Laura Gawley, 6-6 (5-5)...Incomplete, a true Tie...even in the Tiebreak...as the lights went out at 10pm!  Not sure when this one got underway on Court Three, but we certainly know when it was cut short.  It is a shame it was not properly concluded as it could have been a likely Nominee for One-Set Specialty Doubles Match of The Year at season's end.

Norman Taclob/Mike Sindler leading Senthil Kumar/Frank Samara, 5-1 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.  Here's how it was going: Senthil was broken (15-Love went straight to Double Break Point, the break came on Break Point), Norman held (Triple Game Point was cut down to Deuce, Game Point again, 2nd Deuce, Game Point once more and then the hold) and Frank was broken (one of the sweetest return winners I've ever seen came off of Norm's backhand as I thought I may have scored an Ace only to see it come straight down the Doubles Alley for Love-15 and then it went point for point up until we got to 30-All, Game Point, Deuce and then all Break Points until 3rd Deuce, another Break Point and then the break) to get off to a 0-3 start.  Mike was also broken (Love-30 shifted to 30-All, Break Point and the break) to allow the opposition onto the scoreboard), but Kumar was broken again (15-Love went straight to Double Break Point and the break) and Taclob held again (Triple Game Point, Double Fault for Double Game Point, but then came the hold) to go up 5-1!  Samara was now on serve and it was his very first serve that went sailing through the air as the lights cut out at 10pm.  Frank yelled to Norm to "watch out" as Samara could still see the trajectory of the ball, but Taclob could not as we then heard him yelp out in pain!  The impact came very close to the "family jewels."  Speaking of family, we learned that Norm has a second son on the way (Congratulations to Papa Taclob) and he also spoke of his wife's desire to eventually follow that with some twins as well.  Samara may have inadvertently ruined those plans...LOL!  Going into this rematch, Norm and Mike switched up their return of service sides as lefty Taclob took the less-familiar Deuce side rather than his usual Ad side of the court.  Norm also used a different racquet which seemingly worked wonders for his game (though his game was already quite solid the first time around).  Meanwhile, Frank's game went further down the crapper!

Overall, it was a very enjoyable session that also proved to be somewhat productive as well.

All the best,
Frank Samara