9/6 Result

“Kaz-Greg in Montclair, Kris/Brenda host 16 at C.G.!”:

                                          

There were two sessions of GTA Tuesday Tennis: an afternoon session at Mountainside Park in Montclair (featuring the GTA Intermediate Title Tournament Semifinal Match between “Big Kaz” Mike Kazlauskas and “The Pilot” Greg Swierczek, result reported by Mike) at The Cedar Grove Courts (hosted by “The K Man” Kris Srinivasan, but with an earlier result and details sent in by “Bravo” Brenda Jordan). 

 

So we will first go to Montclair for the full recap from Mike and then up to Cedar Grove for the results from Brenda and Kris.

 

The Mountainside Park Result:

 

GTA Intermediate Title Tournament Semifinal Match:

Greg Swierczek over Mike Kazlauskas, 7-5, 5-7, 6-4, to become both the New # 16 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division and the New # 1 Ranked Player in the Intermediate Division while advancing to the Finals of the GTA Intermediate Title Tournament!  No Aces.

 

The Kaz says: We played the Semifinal for GTA Intermediate Title at 3pm in Montclair.  The conditions were far from the best.  It was very windy and a lot of our shots sailed either long or wide.

In the 1st Set, we could not hold serves.  I think for the first four games we broke each other for 2-2. Then Greg broke my serve and held his for 4-2.  I was able to hold my serve and Greg held his for 5-3.  I was able to even out the score at 5-5.  Greg broke my serve in the next game for 6-5 and I was not able to break him on the last service game, so he took the set at 7-5.  In this set, I tried to play more aggressively as I tried to put extra pace on the ball with my forehand.  However, Greg was able to put up a great defense and my shots were sailing either wide or long and I did not approach the net at all.

In the 2nd Set, I am pretty sure each of us was broken in the few first games.  I remember that I was leading for the first time in the match up 3-2.  However, Greg came back and was leading 5-4 again.  I evened out the score at 5-5.  I held serve and broke Greg to take this set at 7-5.  I changed my strategy in this set as I was attacking Greg's backhand more, and I was approaching the net more aggressively.  However, this strategy took its toll as I started feeling very tired and was not serving that well anymore.

In the 3rd Set, I started out serving and held serve and broke Greg in the second game for a 2-0 lead.  I felt like I was in control of my game and the momentum of the match and my concentration slipped a bit.  Greg broke my serve for 1-2, held his serve, broke me again and held his serve again to take a 4-2 lead.  We were able to hold our serves for the next few games to 5-4 and then Greg was serving out the set and was able to hold his serve for the set and match at 6-4.

Greg was great by defending and mercilessly attacking my second serve, which put a lot of pressure on my first serve.  In the last set, I hit a couple of really good serves only to be blocked/returned to my court for a winner.

 

Samara’s Notes: First, I congratulate Greg on a very impressive victory.  I also offer kudos to Mike for a spirited effort.  Furthermore, I am highly impressed with Mike’s reporting skills as well.  This sounds like a definite Nominee for Intermediate Singles Match of The Year at season’s end.

 

And now we head up to Cedar Grove for the scores from Brenda (which will come first) and Kris.

 

The Cedar Grove Results:

 

Kevin Doyle and I arrived at the courts at 7:15.  All courts except one were filled.

 

Dawn Peterson was hitting with Ralph Bernard, so Kevin and I asked them to play Doubles.

 

Kevin Doyle/Brenda Jordan over Ralph Bernard/Dawn Peterson, 8-6!  No Aces (apparently).  

 

This was my first time meeting Ralph.  He's a pretty hard hitter with an incredibly hard first serve.  Kevin was playing his best.  He was able to return Ralph's forehand with some very strong, deep shots.  When it was tied 6-6, we decided to play until someone won, instead of doing a Tiebreaker.

 

We were all pretty tired afterward, but Ralph decided to play more and joined another group who needed a fourth.

 

Samara’s Notes: I thank Brenda for her comprehensive report.  And now we go to Kris for the rest.

 

It was a night with an active session of GTA Tennis that saw some riveting matches.

 

Rob Ryan over Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-0!  No Aces (apparently).

 

Rob Ryan over Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-0!  No Aces (apparently).

 

Jordan had a long weekend of tennis which was almost exclusively Singles.  As he likes Singles, he chose to play Ryan and the fatigue factored big-time in his play.  But that should not take away from the crafty play of Rob who seemed to play effortlessly.  Some of the rallies I saw were pretty good with Jordan doing well and the score was a surprise.

 

Samara’s Notes: This was initially reported as a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match, but as Ryan is still in the Grove Cup Tournament…it must be two separate One-Setters.  And now we go back to Kris.

 

Chris Chiaro/Kris Srinivasan over Rob Ryan/Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-2!  No Aces.

 

Chris was incredible with his shots, especially the ones bisecting the two players.

 

Rob Ryan/Dino Celis over Chris Chiaro/Kris Srinivasan, 6-2!  No Aces.

 

Rob had some punishing shots at me and Dino was quite impressive with his overall play.  His backhand shots moving into the ball with great pace were awesome.  I had quite a few misses and weak shots that set us back despite attacking shots from Chris.

Chris Chiaro/Kris Srinivasan over Rob Ryan/Dino Celis, 6-3!  No Aces.

 

Once I steadied myself, it was a lot easier for us as the scintillating shots of Chris took care of the counterattack thrown at us by Rob and Dino.

 

Senthil Kumar/Jose Gonzales over Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley, 6-0!  No Aces.

 

Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley over Senthil Kumar/Jose Gonzales, 6-3!  No Aces.

 

Samara’s Notes: Jose reported those two scores to Kris who then forwarded them to me.  And now we go back to Kris once more.

 

Ralph Bernard/Sairaj Srinivasan over Omar Santos/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-3!  No Aces (apparently).

 

Bernard was solid and so was Omar.  It was a good match, but the attacking players prevailed.

 

It was good to see Spin (aka Dan Martinelli) who came late, but as always was a good sport to take out his racquet.  As Omar left, it ended up being Ralph, Spin and Doinks hitting the ball until the lights went out at 10pm.  I got to hit the ball with Dino for the last part of the evening as Dino put away all my short balls to the cleaners!

 

With schools reopening, it remains to be seen how active the evening sessions are going to be during the weeknights, but then tennis can be addictive for some of us!  Cheers!

 

Samara’s Notes: As always, I thank Kris for being the host with the most up at Cedar Grove.

 

Sincerely,

Frank Samara 

9/5 Result

“Kris/Gen host 14 at C.G.!”:

                                          

There was one session of GTA Labor Day Monday Tennis at The Cedar Grove Courts (hosted by “The K Man” Kris Srinivasan, but with additional results and details sent in by “The S Bomber” Genalin Capan). 

 

As we did with the Sunday Results report, we will start off with the two scores reported by Gen.  And then we will go to Kris for the rest of the results.

 

The Cedar Grove Results:

 

Jose Gonzales/Genalin Capan over Sairaj Srinivasan/Levy Lorenzo, 6-3!  No Aces.  They played this from 7:30 to 8pm.

 

Jose Gonzales/Genalin Capan over Levy Lorenzo/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-1!  No Aces.  This one took place from 8:10 to 8:35.  After this one, Jose and Gen were done!

 

Marijus Kuzavas/Levy Lorenzo over Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley, 6-3!  No Aces (apparently).

 

Kris Srinivasan/Laura Gawley over Rob Gawley/Sally Pillay, 6-4!  No Aces.  It was a nice comeback by us and a satisfying win!

 

Dino Celis/Laura Gawley over Kris Srinivasan/Sally Pillay, 7-5!  No Aces.  It was pretty close and the last two games changed the outcome!

 

Ryan Pienciak/Doinks Srinivasan tied with Marijus Kuzavas/Levy Lorenzo, 6-6 (Incomplete when Levy, with his tennis elbow, bowed out)!  No Aces (apparently).

 

Ryan Pienciak/Doinks Srinivasan tied with Marijus Kuzavas/Dan Martinelli, 3-3 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  Spin: 1 Ace on Doinks!

 

Each game went to multiple Deuces, so it’s no wonder that all these 10 minute games led to an incomplete match.  Spin did have Game Point on his serve to go up 4-3, but then there were so many Deuces that it could have gone for much more...:-).

 

Samara’s Notes: As always, I thank Kris for being the host with the most up at Cedar Grove.

 

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

9/4 Result

"Samara hosts 8 at AP, Kris/Gen host 9 at C.G.!:

There were two sessions of GTA Sunday Tennis: the usual morning one at Albion Park in Clifton (hosted by "Hollywood" Frank Samara), and then the usual night session at The Cedar Grove Courts (hosted by "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan, but with an additional result reported by "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan).

And now for how the session at Albion unfolded.

Samara pulled up to the curb at 10:50.  Down on the courts, he saw a hitting session going on between "DC3" David Cardenas and "Big George" Jorge Solano on the North Court.  And on the South Court, "MC" Mike Carucci was practicing his serve alone. 

So Samara stepped onto South Court to enter into a hitting session with Carucci.  Mike told Frank he would have to leave around 11:40 (he had arrived at the courts at 10:40).

When nobody else arrived by 11:05, Frank and Mike decided to shift over to the North Court to face Jorge and David in a Doubles One-Setter.

At 11:25, Capan and her friend "Volley Girl" Anna Kropiewnicki walked down to the courts and soon took Center Court for a lengthy hitting session with one another.

"Coach" Dino Celis made his arrival at 11:35, but first he had to have a bite to eat.  But five minutes later when that first Doubles One-Setter ended and Carucci headed home, Celis stepped onto the court to hit against both Solano and Cardenas.  Ten minutes later, a second Doubles One-Setter got underway with Dino teaming with Frank to take on Jorge and David.

At 11:55, "Big Jake" Rich Jachens was a surprise arrival.  After his usual stretching routine, he joined the ladies on Center Court to enter into their hitting session.  He had to shake off some rust as it has been a while since he last played.

The second Doubles One-Setter ended exactly at 12:30.  At that time, both Solano and Cardenas left.  This allowed Celis to shift over to Center Court to enable some Mixed Doubles to take place there.  Samara was content to lie along the back area of the North Court to watch the action from there.

This last One-Setter finished at exactly 12:59.  Jachens left at that time.  Everyone was taking a break and talking.  It seemed like the session was over and done.  But then at 1:05, "Holy Moly" Mike Mole made his way down to the courts and soon started hitting against Gen and Anna on Center Court.

After Dino and Frank both left at 1:25, the session on Center Court soon converted to Canadian Doubles.  But they never got a fourth player to enable any official action.  And thus, Mole is left out of the official count of eight official competitors at the session.

Let's now get to all the Albion action!

The AP Results:

Jorge Solano/David Cardenas over Frank Samara/Mike Carucci, 6-3!  David: 2 Aces (one on each)!  It went like this: David was broken (Jorge blew an overhead and then Frank hit a passing shot winner for 30-Love which was where an un-returned serve made it 15-30, but then came Double Break Point where Frank blew an overhead to make it Break Point and then an un-returned serve made it Deuce and then another un-returned serve set up Game Point, but then it was a Double Fault for Deuce and then another Double Fault for Break Point and then came the break) and then Frank held serve (Frank hit an aggressive winner to go up 15-Love, it was then 15-All where Frank hit a passing shot winner for 30-15 and then David hit a blast of a winning return for 30-All, but then came Game Point and the hold) for a 2-0 lead.  Jorge held (un-returned serve for 15-Love where Frank hit a winning drop shot return for 15-All and then on the way to Double Game Point it was David hitting a whopper of an Overhead Smash and then he duplicated that feat to secure his partner's hold) and Mike was broken (15-Love shifted to 15-30 after Jorge made an amazing get and then it was 30-All where Jorge hit a winning Overhead Smash for Break Point and then came the break) to level it at 2-2.  Cardenas then held at Love as he hit a truly un-returnable serve and then hit an equally amazing winner, then another un-returned serve followed by a second un-returnable serve, but Samara was broken again (Jorge hit a winning lob return for Love-15, then it was 15-All where Mike blew an overhead and then David hit a winning return on the way to Double Break Point where Mike then blew a volley to allow the break) to fall to 2-4.  Solano was then broken at Love after hitting a Double Fault for Love-30 and this cut his team's lead to 4-3, but then Carucci was broken again (Double Fault for Love-30, then it went to Triple Break Point, Double Break Point and then an ill-timed Double Fault to break himself) and then DC3 held again (started with a big corner Ace on Mike, then it was 30-Love where Mike hit an awesome passing shot return for 30-15 and then Jorge blew a volley for 30-All, then it was Game/Mike Point where a precise Ace hit the back of the T to end this one) to get the win!  We played this on the North Court from 11:10 to 11:40.

Jorge Solano/David Cardenas over Dino Celis/Frank Samara, 7-5!  No Aces.  Here's how it went down: Dino held serve (15-Love, 15-All and then onto Double Game Point as Dino had made an absolutely amazing get/winner combo to get there and then he hit a passing shot winner for the hold), Jorge held (an un-returned serve for 15-Love where Frank then hit a passing shot winner for 15-All, but then it went right to Double Game Point as Frank blew an overhead along the way and then David would be the one to hit a winning Backhand Volley to secure hi s partner's hold), Frank held at Love with two un-returned serves along the way and then David also held as he started with a near ace on Dino and then David hit a winning Backhand Volley for 30-Love only to then hit a Double Fault to make it 30-15 where another one of those truly un-returnable serves set up Double Game Point and then came the hold as we were all on serve at 2-2!  Celis was the first to be broken (Jorge hit a winning lob for Love-15, then an un-returned serve made it 15-All only to have it go straight Double Break Point, but then another un-returned serve and a winner by Dino brought it to Deuce where David hit a winning volley for Break Point and then David hit a much more impressive winner for the break), but Solano held again (David blew a volley for Love-15, but then things shifted to 30-15 after David hit a blistering winner, but then Frank hit a winning drop shot return for 30-All only to have it go to Game Point and the hold) as his team took a 4-2 lead.  Samara responded with a Love hold that began with an un-returned serve to pull to 3-4, but then Cardenas held again (an un-returnable serve and a winning volley from Jorge led to Triple Game Point, but then there was a Double Fault to cut the lead to Double Game Point and then another un-returnable serve locked down the hold) for 5-3.  Coach then had a  Love hold as he started with an un-returned serve, Jorge blew a volley and then another un-returned serve secured the hold for 4-5.  Big George was then broken (started with a Double Fault and it then went point for point until 30-All as David hit a wining volley, but then he blew a volley as well along the way and then it was Game/Match Point, but that was saved by Celis/Samara to make it Deuce where Dino hit a hellacious winning volley to make it Break Point and then came the break) to tie things up again, this time at 5-5, but so was Hollywood once again (David started off with a drop shot winner for Love-15 and it then was 15-All, 15-30, Double Fault for Double Break Point and then came the break) to fall to 5-6.  DC3 then held a third time in this one (Dino hit an awesome winner for Love-15, but then there was an un- returned serve for 15-All, then 15-30 and another un-returned serve for 30-All, Game/Match Point, Deuce and then the 2nd Game/Match Point where Jorge hit a winning Backhand Victory for the win!  We played this on the North Court from 11:50 to 12:30.

Dino Celis/Anna Kropiewnicki over Rich Jachens/Genalin Capan, 6-2!  No Aces.  The basic breakdown: Genalin held, Dino held, Rich was broken and Anna was broken for 2-2.  From there, Capan was broken but Celis held again for 4-2.  Jachens was broken again (30-Love shifted to Break Point and then a Double Fault to end it) and Kropiewnicki held (Anna hit a winner to set up Double Game/Match Point where Dino then hit the winner to secure his partner's hold as they got the win) to end it!  This was played on Center Court from 12:32 to 12:59.

The Skinny: Anna has earned the moniker of "Volley Girl" as she is very effective hitting volleys at the net.  She seems to be very comfortable there in Doubles.  She also has a very consistent two-handed backhand.

Gen later said that she, Anna and Mike played Canadian Doubles until 2:45.

We now head up to Cedar Grove for the full report from Kris along with an additional result with details from Gen.  The first score comes from Gen and she seems to be more on point on this one than Kris was as he admitted when he sent all the weekend's results at once and he was a little hazy on some of it.
.
The Cedar Grove Results:

Kris Srinivasan/Genalin Capan over Jose Gonzales/Sairaj Srinivasan, 7-6 (7-4)!  No Aces. 

Gen's Notes: We started it at 7:48 and it lasted 52 minutes.  I only played one Doubles One-Setter on Sunday night.

Samara's Notes: I thank Gen for the clarification and we now go to Kris for the rest.

Dino Celis/Kris Srinivasan over Jose Gonzales/Dan Martinelli, 6-4!  No Aces.

Mike Kazlauskas and Andrew Troung played Singles on the other side.

Samara's Notes: THIS JUST IN - Mike has reported the scores that he had with Andrew.  They had intended to play it as a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match, but since Kazlauskas was still part of the GTA Intermediate Title Tournament at that time…we had to separate it into two One-Setters.

Mike Kazlauskas over Andrew Truong, 6-4!  Mike: 2 Aces.

Mike Kazlauskas over Andrew Truong, 6-0!  Mike: 2 Aces.

The Kaz says: Andrew is a really good player who has a solid backhand and my strategy was to keep all my shots on his forehand side.  It paid off.  Plus, I was hitting all my forehand shots the right way…in other words, I was "feeling it!"

Samara's Notes: I thank Mike for reporting those scores…better late than never.  And now we go back to Kris for one last remark with some additional details that I forgot to add the first time around.

The Dwights got to have a hitting session.  It was good to see The Dwights in action as Junior was teaming with his mom to face his dad and uncle.  I should have invited all of them in to play with us.  They sure did have a lot of fun with much on-court heckling.  Also, Dino got to coach Doinks.

Samara's Notes: I thank Kris for all he does for the GTA up at Cedar Grove.

All the best,
Frank Samara

9/3 Result

“Rizzo hosts 4 at NTC, Kris hosts 11 at C.G.!”:

                                          

There were two sessions of GTA Saturday Tennis: an early morning one at The Nutley Tennis Club (hosted by “The Riz” John Rizzo) and the usual evening one at The Cedar Grove Courts (hosted by “The K Man” Kris Srinivasan). 

 

So we will first get the scores from John and then turn this report over to Kris.

 

The NTC Results:

 

2 out of 3 Sets:

John Rizzo/John Mistretta over Greg Swierczek/Denise Savino, 6-4, 6-1!  No Aces (apparently).  It was the official GTA Return of John Mistretta.

 

Greg Swierczek/Denise Savino over John Rizzo/John Mistretta, 6-2!  No Aces (apparently).

 

Samara’s Notes: I thank John for reporting those results.  Nice to see Johnny Mistretta back in the ranks of the GTA…even if it is only briefly as he visits NJ (up from Florida) for a two week stint (which always includes visits to the US Open).

 

And now we let The K take it away!

 

The Cedar Grove Results:

 

Mike Mole over Jose Gonzales, 6-3!  No Aces (apparently).

 

Kris Srinivasan/Doinks Srinivasan over Senthil Kumar/Dawn Peterson, 6-3!  No Aces.

 

Doinks Srinivasan/Brenda Jordan over Dawn Peterson/Natalia Sout, 6-2!  No Aces (apparently).

 

Doinks Srinivasan/Dawn Peterson over Brenda Jordan/Natalia Sout, 6-3!  No Aces (apparently).

 

Senthil Kumar/Ryan Pienciak over Jose Gonzales/Dan Martinelli, 6-3!  No Aces (apparently).

 

Mike Mole/Ryan Pienciak over Senthil Kumar/Jose Gonzales, 6-4!  No Aces (apparently).

 

I was not planning to play on couple of nights but the lure of the game can be addictive!  Cheers! 

 

Samara’s Notes: As always, I thank Kris for being the host with the most up at Cedar Grove.

 

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

9/2 Results

"Rizzo hosts 2 at NTC, Samara hosts 21 at C.G.!:

There were two sessions of GTA Friday Night Tennis: an early evening session at The Nutley Tennis Club hosted by "The Riz" John Rizzo and featuring three Singles One-Setters where he faced off against "Steppin' to the AM" Anish Mehta; and the usual later session up at The Cedar Grove Courts hosted by
"Hollywood" Frank Samara (with some assistance from the usual host, "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan). 

Before we go into the full report from Cedar Grove, let's first go to John for the recap from NTC.

The NTC Results:

John Rizzo over Anish Mehta, 6-4!  No Aces (apparently).

Anish Mehta over John Rizzo, 6-3!  No Aces (apparently).

Anish Mehta over John Rizzo, 6-4!  No Aces (apparently).

The Riz Report: This was never intended to be a full Challenge Match, just separate One-Setters.  I led by breaks in the 2nd and 3rd...so close!

Samara's Notes: I thank John for submitting these scores.  It is a shame that he has not done this more often throughout the past season as he has posted similarly impressive One-Set victories over other top players (Tony "Sure Shot" Shiao is the first to come to mind).  These sessions usually take place on weeknights and Rizzo returns home to exhausted to type up his results report at that time.  Then he gets to work the next morning and gets too busy and distracted...by the time he thinks about submitting the scores, it is too late!

Let's now recap all that transpired up at Cedar Grove.

Samara pulled into the parking lot at 7:10.  On Court One, he saw the usual sparring partners "The Ambidextrous Machine" Herb Reiner and Miroslav "Mirav" Glavic having a hitting session. 

On Court Two, Shiao was practicing his serve alone and waiting for his buddy "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak to arrive.

On Court Three there was a Singles One-Setter already in progress between "Lean" Dean Delgado and Jay "The Rising" Phoenix.

And on Court Four, "Big Kaz" Mike Kazlauskas and "ME" Michel Encarnacion were having a hitting session with "J-Bach" Jordan Bachvaroff and "The Vin Man" Vinnie De Benedetto.

Kazlauskas offered to leave Court Four in deference to Samara as Mike would then over to Court Two to hit with Tony.  But Frank needed to get situated first and note all the action that was already taking place.

At 7:15, Kris came across the street and went out onto Court Two to hit with Shiao.  Five minutes later, "The Webmaster" Senthil Kumar, "Latino Heat" Jose Gonzales and Pienciak all arrived at the same time.

Kumar and Kazlauskas headed over to Court Two with Pienciak trailing behind while Gonzales took the place of Big Kaz on Court Four.

"The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan came across the street at 7:25 just as Delgado-Phoenix finished.  This led to Doinks teaming with Dean to take on Frank and Ryan (Pienciak ended up becoming "the fifth wheel" on Court Two) as Jay decided to leave at that time.

"Mr. 500" Levy Lorenzo arrived at 7:35 and was the odd man out for a while until he was then able to hit with Herb and Mirav on Court One.  When Natalia "Nitro" Sout arrived at 7:50, she was able to make it a foursome on that same court.  Lorenzo asked three times along the way if they could play an actual set, but all Glavic wanted to do (as always) was just hit.

Somewhere around the 8:15 to 8:20 area, we had five players arrive all at once: Dennis "The Menace" Cabanatan, "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas, "Spicy" Sally Pillay, "Rowdy" Rob Gawley and the GTA Women's Champion: Laura "The Aura" Gawley.

"Coach" Dino Celis was the last to arrive at 8:40.  We ended up with a very impressive total of 21 official competitors!

The Cedar Grove Results:

Dean Delgado over Jay Phoenix, 6-4!  Dean: 1 Ace.  Dean estimated that they got this underway on Court Three soon after 6:30.  It ended at 7:25.

2 out of 3 Set Doubles Match:
Mike Kazlauskas/Senthil Kumar over Tony Shiao/Kris Srinivasan, 6-4, 6-0, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 45 and # 46 Ranked Teams!  Mike: 2 Aces on Kris in the 2nd Set.  This one officially got started on Court Two at exactly 7:24 and ended right at 8:32.

The Skinny: Perhaps the styles of Shiao and Srinivasan did not mesh well as a team.  Both felt that they did not play their best tennis.  In fact, Tony joked afterward that he should be sent back down to the Intermediate Division.

Jose Gonzales/Jordan Bachvaroff over Michel Encarnacion/Vinnie De Benedetto, 6-4!  Jose: 1 Ace on Vin; and Jordan: 1 Ace on Vin.  This one also got started at 7:24 and it finished on Court Four at 8:04.  At the outset, Michel made it clear that he wanted Vin as his partner.  VDB joked that he wasn't sure if that was the right decision on the part of Encarnacion.  Still, it was a close contest.

Frank Samara/Ryan Pienciak over Dean Delgado/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-4!  No Aces.  It went like this: Ryan was broken in a battle (Love-15 shifted to 30-15 after an un-returned serve and then an extended rally, it was then 30-All where an un-returnable serve set up Game Point, but then it went to Deuce, Game Point again where Doinks made a great get/passing shot winner combo for 2nd Deuce, then it went to Break Point where another truly un-returnable serve brought it back to 3rd Deuce, then it was Break Point again where Ryan hit a nice winner for 4th Deuce, then it was Game Point, 5th Deuce, Break Point where Ryan hit a monster of an Overhead Smash for 6th Deuce, but then came Break Point where Dean hit a winning drop shot return for the break, Dean held serve (Frank blew a volley and then an un-returned serve on the next point made it 30-Love, it then went to 30-15, Double Game Point, Game Point and the hold) and Frank was broken (an un-returned serve for 15-Love, then Ryan blew an overhead for 15-All and from there it was off and running to Double Break Point, then it was Break Point where Ryan blew a volley which caused the break) as his team got off to a 0-3 start!  Doinks was then broken (Ryan hit a hellacious winner for Love-15 and then there was a Double Fault for Love-30, it went to Triple Break Point, then Double Break Point where Ryan hit a winner for the break), Pienciak held (Ryan hit a winner for 15-Love and then it went point for point to Game Point as Frank blew a volley along the way, there was an un-returned serve and then Frank set up Game Point with a drop shot winner and then next came the hold) and Delgado was broken (started with a Double Fault, Love-30 shifted to 30-All, then it went to Break Point and the break) to level the score at 3-3!  Samara was broken again (Doinks hit a highly impressive return winner for Love-15, then it was Love-30 where Frank whipped out his winning Windmill Overhead Smash for 15-30, but then it went to Double Break Point, Break Point and the break), but Srinivasan was also broken again (15-Love, 15-All where an un-returned serve made it 30-15, but then a Double Fault for 30-All where Ryan hit a winner to set up Break Point and then came the break) to knot the score once more at 4-4.  The Lumberjack held again (15-Love, 15-All and then straight to Double Game Point where Ryan blew an overhead to cut his lead to Game point, but then he held with an un-returnable serve) and Lean Dean was broken again (Frank hit a winning volley to make it Love-30 and then it was Triple Break/Match Point where Dean blew what should have been an easy overhead to Love break himself) to get the "L!"  We played this on Court Three from 7:30 to 8:19.  Just when Delgado thought he had gotten out of his slump, it now threatened to pull him back in...LOL!  It was likely a wise decision to head home at that time.

Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley over Marijus Kuzavas/Sally Pillay, 6-1!  No Aces.  This one took place on Court Four from 8:12 to 8:42.

Jose Gonzales/Ryan Pienciak over Jordan Bachvaroff/Dennis Cabanatan, 6-3!  No Aces.  They played this on Court Three from 8:26 to 8:53.

Levy Lorenzo/Doinks Srinivasan over Senthil Kumar/Natalia Sout, 6-2!  No Aces.  This was contested on Court Two from 8:36 to 9:20.

Tony Shiao/Frank Samara over Mike Kazlauskas/Kris Srinivasan, 6-3!  Frank: 1 Ace on Mike.  Here's how it went down: Mike was broken (a truly un-returnable serve for 15-Love, then 30-Love, a Double Fault for 30-15, Double Game Point, Double Fault for Game Point, Double Fault for Deuce where Mike blew an easy overhead to make it Break Point, then 2nd Deuce, Game Point, 3rd Deuce, Break Point, 4th Deuce, Break Point, 5th Deuce, Break Point and finally the break), Frank was broken at Love in a game where he made all the Unforced Errors, Kris was broken (Mike blew a volley to make it Love-30, but then it shifted to 30-All with a passing shot winner from Kris along the way, then it was Break Point where Frank hit a winning passing shot return for the break) and Tony was broken (Mike hit a winning lob for Love-15 and then it was straight to Triple Break Point where an un-returned serve made it Double Break Point, but then came the break) as nobody could hold serve at 2-2!  Kazlauskas was broken again (another un-returnable serve for 15-Love, but then Kris blew two volleys on the way to Double Break Point and then came the break), Samara was also broken again (Mike hit a winning Overhead Smash for Love-15 and then came a slow Ace against Mike who simply misjudged it which made it 15-All and then Mike hit a winning Backhand Volley for 15-30 and then Frank scored with the patented Windmill Overhead Smash for 30-All and that was where an exciting rally featured a great get by Frank only to have Mike hit the winning volley to set up Break Point and then came the break), Srinivasan was the next to be broken again (Mike hit a monster Overhead Smash for 15-Love, but it shifted to 15-30 after Mike blew a volley, but then it shifted again to Game Point after Mike hit another winning Overhead Smash, but then there was a Double Fault for Deuce and then on Break Point it was Frank hit an excellent passing shot winner for the break), but Shiao was the first to hold serve (Mike hit a winning volley for Love-15, but that shifted to Double Game Point as Kris blew a volley and then Mike blew an overhead and then on that D.G.P. came a truly un-returnable serve for the first hold of the match) to go up 5-3!  Big Kaz was broken yet again (an un-returned serve for 15-Love, but then a Double Fault for 15-All which was on the way to Double Break/Match Point right after Tony hit an awesome passing shot winner to set it up, it then went to Break/Match Point which was where Tony hit a drop shot winner for the break and the win) to take a tough loss!  This battle took place on Court One from 8:37 to 9:19.

The Skinny: Tony and Mike were already hitting with one another while Frank and Kris were trying to decide what the teams should be.  Kazlauskas overheard this conversation, turned around and then said half-jokingly: "If you want to win, team with me!"  Srinivasan found this to be an interesting challenge as he said something to the effect of "with the way I'm playing tonight, I will put that theory to the test!"  So that is how the teams were decided.  Sloppy play was the soup of the day from all four players.  Samara had that one brutal Love break where he committed four consecutive Unforced Errors.  But that seemingly got most of the bad play out of his system as he was the first of the four to reverse his fortunes (Shiao said that his partner was playing more like a 26 year old rather than a 46 year old one) and then Tony responded in kind as he elevated his play as well.  The same could not be said for the other tandem.  Big Mike Kaz had many big moments, but he negated them with even more errors.  And Kris was even more erratic in his play.

Dino Celis/Laura Gawley over Marijus Kuzavas/Sally Pillay, 6-4!  No Aces.  These four played on Court Four from 8:45 to 9:22.

Jose Gonzales/Dennis Cabanatan over Ryan Pienciak/Rob Gawley, 6-2!  No Aces.  Court Three hosted this one from 8:56 to 9:25.

Senthil Kumar/Natalia Sout over Levy Lorenzo/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-4!  No Aces.  They started this one on Court Two at 9:22.  When Court One became available, they shifted over to One for the better lighting while the score was 1-0 (not sure as to which team had that lead).  Levy and Doinks were down 1-2, but then went up 3-2.  It was tied at 3-3, Lorenzo/Srinivasan reclaimed the lead at 4-3 only to then drop another two games to go down 4-5.  Levy was then on serve and it quickly went to Triple Break/Match Point where he hit an un-returned serve to make it Double Break/Match Point, but then came the break and the loss at 9:55! 

The Skinny: We already know how improved Senthil has become this season and that Doinks is always steadily on the rise with her abilities.  But the two standouts in this match seemed to be Natalia and Levy as they often battled each other with fast-paced forehands and backhands in many extended rallies.  This was an exciting One-Setter to watch.

Marijus Kuzavas/Kris Srinivasan tied with Laura Gawley/Sally Pillay, 5-5 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  Marijus: 1 Ace on Sally.  It started on Court Four at 9:26 and they did not have changeovers in the hopes of getting it finished, but alas it was not to be.

The Skinny: They decided to do this one "Battle of The Sexes" style as Laura and Sally know they need to keep teaming together to be match-ready for the ongoing W2 Women's Doubles Tournament.  Marijus and Kris jumped out to a 4-2 lead, but then the ladies found their "mojo" and would claw and crawl back until it became 5-5 before they lost the lights!

Jose Gonzales/Dennis Cabanatan tied with Ryan Pienciak/Rob Gawley, 4-4 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.  Jose was on serve, but it was Ad-Out when the lights went out!

While no major matches were played, it was yet another exciting session of GTA Tennis at Cedar Grove.

All the best,
Frank Samara

9/1 Results.

9/1/16:         

"Ortega-Santos at C.G.!":                                          

A brief session of GTA Thursday Night Tennis took place late at The Cedar Grove Courts (as "Eddie O" Edwin Ortega and "Stealth" Omar Santos ended up playing an impromptu 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match, as reported by Omar).  Earlier in the evening, "Mr. 500" Levy Lorenzo informed "Hollywood" Frank Samara that the courts were too wet for play after the last round of showers passed through the area. 

So we now turn this report over to Omar.

The Cedar Grove Results:

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:

Omar Santos over Edwin Ortega, 6-3, 6-1, to become both the New # 22 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division and New # 11 Ranked Player in the Intermediate Division!  Edwin: 1 Ace in the 1^st Set.

The Stealth Report: Ed and I played in Cedar Grove last night despite the wet courts from the passing shower hours prior.  I initially told him that we were just going to hit the ball around until I decided to play an actual match.  I ended up winning despite a tight left ankle.  We then started another set.

Omar Santos tied with Edwin Ortega, 2-2 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.  

Samara's Notes: I thank Omar for reporting those results.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

 

8/31 Results.

8/31/16:         

"Kris hosts 15 at C.G. as Chiaro/Shah-Dwights TBC!":                                          

GTA Wednesday Night Tennis only took place at The Cedar Grove Courts (hosted by "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan, but with additional results details directly sent in by GTA Champion: "Kid Crush" Chris Chiaro about his incomplete match teaming with "The Sultan of Swing" Raj Shah going up against Dwight Thomas Sr. and Jr. in their much-delayed M2 Men's Doubles Tournament Quarterfinal Match). 

So we now turn this report over to Kris with the details from Chris sprinkled in along the way.

It was a confounded Wednesday night session of sorts as the availability of the courts was an irritant factor…but then again, we could have helped ourselves a bit by showing up earlier to secure at least two courts.

The Verona Crew was out there occupying two courts.  My son Sairaj was the first to go out there and was waiting forever for our players.  I joined him at 7pm and soon Marie Salamon came.

The Wednesday Ladies finished a few minutes after 7pm and we moved to Court One.  We couldn't hold onto Court Two as two young guys seized it to occupy it for two full hours!

Luckily, The Dwights, waiting on the sidelines, took Court Three at 8pm to play their M2 Men's Doubles Tournament Quarterfinal Match against Chiaro and Shah.  This was probability the highlight of the night, but conventional wisdom would have influenced their start time much earlier and on a day other than Wednesday.

The Cedar Grove Results:

Kris Srinivasan/Marie Salamon over Rob Ryan/Sairaj Srinivasan, 6-4!  No Aces.

It was a good match where Sairaj almost single-handedly decided the outcome.  He had great winners, but just as many unforced errors that cost his side the set.  It was good to see Rob and he was just limbering up in this first match to warm-up.  We then gave the waiting players an opportunity to play.

Nathan Fernandes/Ryan Pienciak over Rob Ryan/Senthil Kumar, 6-1!  No Aces (apparently).

Hitting drop shots against Nate and Ryan was not a good option.  Senthil and Ryan were just starting to get into the rhythm, but before long the game was over.  In the meantime, we got to see a great Men's Doubles Match in progress on the other side.

M2 Quarterfinal Match:

Chris Chiaro/Raj Shah tied with Dwight Thomas Sr./Dwight Thomas Jr., 3-6, 6-4, stopped there due to diminishing time!  Dwight Sr.: 1 Ace on Chris in the 1^st Set!  Chris provided the details on the score and the Ace.

The Say from the K: It was a great match that I had felt from the moment the draw was picked would be a close and well-contested one. Indeed it was, as the last year's Champions got to face tough opponents who were serving well and especially adept at the net play as they came together in tandem to put pressure and challenge Chiaro and Shah to take them on.

Chris had his usual say with backhand shots, but also erred in his anxiety to put some of them away.  Raj was defy and crafty but The Dwights looked like the veterans in their Doubles approach.  The volleys between the players were a treat to watch.  One of the gets by Junior to a smoking shot by Shah was mind-boggling!  He did miss a couple of put-aways at the net set up beautifully by his father.  

Still, the father/son combo pulled the strings at the right times in the 1st Set to have an edge.  The finish was a bit contested as in the middle of what turned out to be a crucial game, when the ball was picked up from the other side, I happened to check with Chiaro that if it was still the 1st Set.  But on his next serve that was returned as well, it appeared that Junior was not ready.  Chris probably felt deprived on his passing shot that looked to be a winner.  Senior had requested a replay upon seeing that his son was not looking up.  They did replay it.  Chiaro was serving and he lost the replayed point and then the next one as well resulting in the loss of the set!  An infuriated Chris wasn't especially kind to his racquet.  This concerned The Dwights, but they were appeased by a calming Shah and I also conveyed to The Dwights that Chris is one hell of an intense and passionate player, and his emotions are going to kindle his competitiveness.

Indeed it did as he would go on to win the 2nd Set with Shah, though it was another tight set, keeping us all on edge.  I didn't get to see most of the 2nd Set, but it was 2-Love for Chiaro/Shah when I got another chance to play.  This set finished 10 minutes to 10pm and they decided to wrap up the deciding 3^rd Set on another day.  It was a classic match and has been evenly played at this juncture.

Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley over Senthil Kumar/Marie Salamon, 6-1!  No Aces (apparently).

Senthil Kumar/Marie Salamon leading Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley, 5-4 (Incomplete when the lights went on at 10pm)!  No Aces (apparently).

The Gawleys showed they are a force to reckon with.  But Senthil and Marie displayed a strong showing. Senthil started to play his solid game as he was continuously egged on by Marie in one of the longest turnaround games.

Dino Celis/Nathan Fernandes over Kris Srinivasan/Ryan Pienciak, 6-2!  No Aces.

Dino Celis/Nathan Fernandes leading Kris Srinivasan/Ryan Pienciak, 4-1 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

Another classic performance from Dino and Nate who had lovely overheads, attacking shots to the net player and great gets.  Ryan's cross-court shots were amazing, but we erred quite a bit.  It was a delight to watch Dino's backhand shots.  One of the shots was so exquisite that even though it was not a winner, it was a joy to watch from the other side.  It's also great to see Dino approaching the net more often these days.

Still, it turned out to be a great night of GTA Tennis here.  Cheers!

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

Samara signing off!