5/27 Results.

5/27/17:

"Chiaro-Weldon, Chiaro-Mole part of 11 at C.G., 2 play at FP, 2 play at PAC!":

There were three sessions of GTA Saturday Tennis: an early afternoon into the evening one at Cedar Grove where GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro put his Title on the line against "The Legendary" Chazz Weldon and then also faced "Mr. Science" Mike Mole in a Non-Title Match before "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan came in and acted as host; there was an evening session at The Fellowship Park Courts in Ridgefield Park (two Singles One-Setters between "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas and "Big Kaz" Mike Kazlaukas, with Marijus reporting) and then there was another evening session at The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley as buddies did battle in a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match between "The Electrifying" Elias Khawam and Bob "The Lob" Fattel.

Now, let's get to the scores...first the ones reported by Chris and Mike and then the rest of the full Cedar Grove report from Kris before we turn things over to Marijus from Ridgefield Park and then to Elias from Nutley!

The Cedar Grove Results:

GTA Championship Match:
Chris Chiaro over Chazz Weldon, 6-2, 6-1, to complete his fourth successful GTA Championship defense of his fourth reign!  Chris: 1 Ace in the 1st Set.  This match took place from 12noon to 1:20.

Non-Title Match:
Chris Chiaro over Mike Mole, 6-2, 6-1!  This was not a rank and/or GTA Championship defense for Chiaro as Mole is outside of The Top 10 of the Advanced Division.  No Aces.  This match ran from 2pm to 3:30.

Samara's Notes: My thanks and congratulations to Chris on a very impressive outing.  I also thank Mike for his very timely reporting of his score.  And we now turn this report over to Kris.

Kris Srinivasan/Doinks Srinivasan over Syed Rashid/Mike Sindler, 6-3!  No Aces.

Chris Chiaro/Doinks Srinivasan over Kris Srinivasan/Jose Gonzales, 7-6 (7-5)!  No Aces.

Kris Srinivasan/Doinks Srinivasan over Jose Gonzales/Brenda Jordan, 7-6 (7-3)!  No Aces.

Jose Gonzales/Jorge Solano over Mike Mole/Melvin Hyman, 6-4!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: As always, major kudos to Kris are in order for all he does for the GTA up at Cedar Grove.  We now go to the Fellowship Park scores sent in by Marijus.

The Fellowship Park Results:

Marijus Kuzavas over Mike Kazlauskas, 6-3!  No Aces.

Marijus Kuzavas over Mike Kazlauskas, 6-2!  No Aces. 

Samara's Notes: Marijus was hoping that this could have been his monthly rank defense in time for the Monthly Rank Defense Review which will be conducted this Thursday, June 1st.  But he rightfully already suspected that it could not be as Kazlauskas is still an active participant in the ongoing GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament.  I thank Marijus for his understanding. 

We now go to Nutley for the recap from Elias.

The Park Ave. Courts Result:

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:
Bob Fattel over Elias Khawam, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, as both players entered the Intermediate Division as the New # 43 and # 44 Ranked Players respectively!  It was the official GTA Debut of Bob Fattel.  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I gave Bob the moniker of "The Lob" because he is actually quite effective when hitting the lob to either stay in the point or win it outright.  Hopefully, he will earn a new nickname once we learn more about him.  Like his buddy Elias, he is a very nice guy who is also happy to a have a whole league full of potential new opponents.  Both of them are welcome additions to the GTA!

Best wishes,
Frank Samara
gtasamara5@gmail.com
862-596-3354

5/26 Results.

5/26/17:

"Samara hosts 10 (1 new) at PAC, Pienciak-Panda part of 23 at C.G.!":

GTA Friday Night Tennis took place at both The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley (hosted by "Hollywood" Frank Samara) and at The Cedar Grove Courts as the session got started with the last of the GTA Intermediate Invitational Round of 16 Matches and it was between "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak and "The Annihilator" Nihar Panda (as reported by Ryan) and then it would be onto the usual night session.

First we will recap what went down at the "PAC" and then we will take this report up to C.G. (with contributions made by Pienciak, "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli and "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan).

Samara pulled into the parking lot at Park Ave. in Nutley precisely at 6:50pm (much earlier than his anticipated 7:30 arrival).  As he headed up the hill and approached the courts, he saw two young guys on Court One (aka the Entrance Court), two older guys on Court Two and a lesson going on over on Court Four.  At this time, only Court Three was available.

So Frank made sure to secure that court even though it is the worst of the bunch as the sag in the middle of the net is way too low.

It was a good thing that Samara was able to arrive early as just five minutes later, another new prospect was heading toward his court.  It was "The Electrifying" Elias Khawam, another "member" of The Liu Crew (our nickname for the meet-up group headed by "Richie" Rich Liu over in Nutley).  In fact, the night before in Cedar Grove, "Eager" Edgar Valencia made his official GTA Debut there...but he is also part of The Liu Crew.

Frank readily recognized Elias as he had already become "a fan" of the GTA on its Facebook page.  The two introduced themselves to one another and then entered into a hitting session.  The one thing that Court Three is good for is hitting sessions as the low net forgives some shots which then serves to extend the rallies.  But I would not recommend this court for actual competition as everyone may get taken to "Ace City!"

Next to arrive at 7:15 was "The Vin Man" Vinnie De Benedetto.  Vin soon took Frank's side of the court in hitting against the younger Elias.  Ten minutes later, Liu himself arrived and it was good timing as the two youngsters on Court One were getting ready to leave.  So the four of us shifted over to that court instead.

At 7:35, "The Speed Demon" Dan Praport made his presence felt just outside the court as he readied himself for tennis on the nearby bleachers.  The four of us had just agreed to play a full Doubles Match (as Samara/De Benedetto urgently needed to play one to remain an active team in the Doubles Division), but now Rich had his doubts as he was hoping for some more Singles against Dan.

Frank understood this as he also would not want to have Praport end up being "a fifth wheel" if nobody else would be on their way to play.  Those fears would soon be alleviated as three more players arrived within a five minute span (7:45 to 7:50) - GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro, "The Hit Man" Tom La and "J-Rod" Joe Rodrigues.

It should also be noted that a little before 7:40, the original foursome shifted again...this time to Court Four after that lesson had ended.  The reason being that there was no more direct sunlight and shadows affecting this court as it was entirely in the shade.

So Samara/De Benedetto versus Liu/Khawam would soon be underway on Court Four while not long after it would be Chiaro/Rodrigues vs. Praport/La on Court Two.  At this time, only the two older guys remained and they were now over on Court One.

And once Liu realized that Praport was now wrapped up in some Doubles action of his own, Rich decided to go back to the original idea of making the Doubles for the first four players be a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match.

At 8:35, "MC Quick" Mike Carucci was the next to arrive and he started practicing his serve on Court Three.  Fifteen minutes later, "Chito" Nick Inciong would be the tenth and final competitor to become part of this session.  He first joined Mike for a hitting session before the two of them would eventually get invited to play some Doubles.

Enough chit chat, let's get to the scores!

The Park Ave. Courts Results:

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:
Rich Liu/Elias Khawam over Frank Samara/Vinnie De Benedetto, 1-6, 7-6 (7-4), 10-7 (Super Tiebreak)!  Once it went to the STB, the rank of Samara/De Benedetto was no longer on the line.  In the process, Liu/Khawam enters the Doubles Division as the New # 57 Ranked Team.  It was the official GTA Debut of Elias Khawam.  Elias: 1 Ace on Vin in the 1st Set; and Rich: 1 Ace on Vin in the 2nd Set!

1st Set: Frank held serve (un-returned serve for 15-Love, 30-Love, Double Fault for 30-15 and then Rich hit a winning volley for 30-All, Break Point, Deuce where Rich hit a solid winning return for Break Point, 2nd Deuce and an un-returned serve for Game Point, 3rd Deuce, Game Point and the hold) and Rich was broken (an un-returned serve followed by an impressive winner from Rich made it 30-Love, it then went to 30-15 where he hit two back-to-back Double Faults to shift it to Break Point, then Deuce, Break Point, 2nd Deuce, Game Point, 3rd Deuce, Break Point and then Frank hit a winning return for the break) to go down  0-2!  Vinnie was broken (Frank hit a winner for 15-Love, it then went to 30-Love before a sudden shift to Break Point and the break) to allow the opposition onto the scoreboard.  But from there, Elias was broken (started off with a corner Ace against Vin and then he would later hit a winning volley on the way to Triple Game Point, but then it was at Double Game Point where he hit a Double Fault to cut it down to Game Point and then it went to Deuce and Break Point where Vin hit an excellent Backhand Volley winner for the break), Samara held again (Vin hit a victorious volley for 30-Love, it then went to 30-15 where an un-returned serve made it Double Game Point, the hold came on Game Point), Liu was broken again (Triple Break Point where a truly un-returnable serve made it Double Break Point, but then came the break) and De Benedetto held (back-to-back un-returned serves made it 30-Love, it was then Triple Game/Set Point where a Double Fault reduced that to Double Game/Set Point and then came Game/Set Point where his team finally sealed the deal!  We played this initial set on Court Four from 7:40 to 8:05.  Then the next one got underway just two minutes later (where Rich and Elias decided to switch their sides of service).

2nd Set: Rich was broken (Love-15, 15-All and then back-to-back Double Faults made it Double Break Point and then came the break) and Vinnie held at Love after starting off with an un-returned serve as his team once again jumped out to a 2-0 lead!  Elias held (Love-15 shifted to 30-15 with an un-returned serve along the way, but then it was a Double Fault for 30-All and then Break Point where Rich scored with a winning Overhead Smash for Deuce, then it was Game Point, 2nd Deuce, Game Point and the hold) and Frank was broken (Triple Break Point where an un-returned serve cut it down to Double Break Point, but then came the break) to level the set at 2-2.  Liu held (Vin blew a volley to make it 30-Love, then came a Double Fault for 30-15, then it was 30-All, Game Point, Deuce and an un-returned serve for Game Point, a Double Fault for 2nd Deuce, an un-returned serve for Game Point, another Double Fault to now make it 3rd Deuce, Game Point again and then a vicious volley winner from Rich to secure his own hold), but then De Benedetto held again (Love-30 shifted to Game Point as Frank hit a winner along the way and then it went to Deuce, Break Point, 2nd Deuce and Game Point where Frank hit the same winner as before...only more impressively as it was an inside-out slice backhand that drew an "Oh no!" from Elias once he realized he left that section of the court open which invited the opportunity) to tie things again, this time at 3-3!  Khawam held again (started with a Double Fault, then Love-30, 15-30, Double Break Point which was then cut down to Deuce and then it was all Game Points through to 3rd Deuce, Game Point again and the hold...and I must admit I could not remember who hit what winners where and when in this lengthy game), but Samara also held (Elias hit a winner for Love-15, but then it went straight to Double Game Point where an un-returned serve secured the hold) to knot the score once more at 4-4!  Richie Rich was broken (started with a sideline Ace on Vin and then Elias hit a winner for 30-Love, a Double Fault for 30-15, then it was Double Game Point, Game Point, Double Fault for Deuce, Break Point and the break), but so was The Vin Man (un-returned serve for 15-Love and then Rich scorched a return winner for 15-All, it was then 15-30, 30-All, Break Point, Deuce, Break Point and the break) to keep things alive at 5-5!  Electrifying Elias held yet again and this time it was at Love, but Hollywood also held again (un-returned serve for 30-Love, 30-15 and then Double Game Point where Rich hit a blistering winner to reduce the lead to Game Point, but then came the hold) and we were heading to the Tiebreak!  In the Breaker: Rich held his lone serve, Vin held his first but was broken on his second and then Elias held both of his serves for a 4-1 lead!  Frank held the first of his two serves for 2-4 at the changeover and then he hit an un-returned serve to go to 3-4.  Liu then hit a truly un-returnable serve for 5-3, but was then broken on his second to have his team's lead cut to 5-4.  De Benedetto gotten broken on his first attempt and then he couldn't hold the second time around either as he dropped the set with a TB score for the opposition of 7-4!  This set ended exactly at 9pm.

At this time, a decision needed to be made as to how to continue the match.  Upon the outset of the contest, Samara explained the rules including how if the match had to implement a Super Tiebreak...team rank would no longer be on the line.  Everyone except Vin was ready and raring to go the full 3rd Set, but he did have valid reasons why not...besides not expecting the match to go so long and needing to get home, he also felt like he was playing with heel issues (which were both causing him pain and costing him a step speed-wise).  The other three then went along with his decision and it unfolded as follows.

STB: Elias held his own serve with an un-returned one, Frank held the first of his two serves but not the second and then Rich held both of his serves for a 4-1 lead!  Vinnie hit an un-returned serve for 2-4 at the changeover and then Frank hit a precise Backhand Volley winner for 3-4!  Khawam was then broken on the first of his two serves as Frank scored with a very well-placed return winner to make it 4-4 and then he was broken again to fall to 4-5.  Samara then held both of his serves to take a somewhat commanding 7-4 lead.  Liu held his first serve with a truly un-returnable one for 5-7 at the second changeover and then Rich hit a winner to secure his second serve to pull to 6-7!  De Benedetto was then broken on both of his serves to have his team fall behind at 7-8 and then The Electrifying One lived up to his nickname by holding both of his serves to lock in in at 10-7 as his team won the last six straight points of the STB and match!  It ended exactly at 9:12!

The Skinny: This was a great match and has an outside shot at being a Nominee for Doubles Match of The Year at season's end.  It is a shame that Vin had to leave when he did as the full 3rd Set may have elevated the level of this match even higher.  Or perhaps the opposite would have happened as De Benedetto never felt quite right in this match.  His heel pain only somewhat limited his mobility.  Its true impact was on his timing.  Three times within the span of two games, Elias took advantage of his somewhat hobbled opponent as he hit winners right at Vin's feet that VDB simply could not scoop up in time.  We hope to have a rematch in the near future...and one that can go the full distance if it is necessary.

Chris Chiaro/Joe Rodrigues over Dan Praport/Tom La, 6-1!  Tom: 1 Ace on Joe.  This took place on Court Two and lasted from 8pm to 8:20.

Joe Rodrigues/Tom La over Chris Chiaro/Dan Praport, 6-4!  Tom: 2 Aces on Dan!  This was also contested on Court Two as it started at 8:25 and ended at 9pm.

Dan Praport over Rich Liu, 6-2!  Rich: 2 Aces; and Dan: 1 Ace!  They got this one underway on Court One somewhere around 9:20 and it ended at 9:45 or so.

Frank Samara/Nick Inciong leading Chris Chiaro/Mike Carucci, 6-5 and Break/Match Point when the lights went out at 10pm (Incomplete)!  No Aces.  Here's how it was going: Nick held (Chris blew an overhead to set up Triple Game Point where an excellent and extended rally led to Double Game Point which was where an un-returned serve secured the hold), Mike was broken at Love after Frank started things off with a winning volley and then Frank held (15-Love, 15-All and then onto Double Game Point as Frank hit a winner along the way and then came the hold) as his team jumped out to a 3-0 lead!  Chris held (Frank blew a volley to make it 15-Love, but then Frank blasted a winner as the game shifted to 15-30, but then it shifted again to Game Point where an un-returned serve locked down the hold) and then Inciong was broken (Chris hit a winner for Love-15 and then it went point for point until 30-All as Chris hit an even more impressive winner along the way and Frank also scored with an aggressive Overhead Smash winner, but then a Double Fault set up Break Point which was where Chris scored with a screwball-like mishit return winner for the break) to have his team's lead cut to 3-2.  Carucci was broken again (Love-15, 15-All where a Double Fault made it 15-30, then it went to Double Break Point cut down to Deuce, Break Point again where Frank hit a drop shot return for the break) to fall to 2-4, but Samara was also broken (15-Love then point for point to Game Point as Chris hit a crushing Overhead Smash winner and a sizzling return winner along the way and then a marathon rally led to Deuce, then came Break Point where Chris hit another winning return except this one was for the break) to have his team's lead reduced to 4-3.  Chiaro held again (a big-time winner from Chris made it 15-Love, it was then 15-All where Frank blew an overhead on the way to Double Game Point where a truly un-returnable serve secured the hold) to knot the score at 4-4, but Chito then held (it also went 15-Love, 15-All and onto Double Game Point as Nick hit a brilliant winner along the way, but this game was cut down to Game Point before the hold came) to go up 5-4!  MC Quick held (another awesome rally led to Love-15, but then it was straight to Double Game Point as Frank blew what should have been a sure overhead along the way and then Chris hit the winner to secure his partner's hold) to stay alive at 5-5, but then The Wood also held (Nick blew a volley for Love-15 and then another amazing rally led to Love-30, but then it shifted to 30-All as Chris also blew a volley, it was then Break Point where Mike blew an overhead to make it Deuce, then came Game Point and the hold) for a 6-5 lead.  Service now had returned to King Crush and Nick blew a volley to set up 30-Love.  It shifted to 30-All right after Nick had hit a redemptive winner.  It then went to Game Point and Deuce where Nick hit a laser-like winner to set up Break/Match Point.  The serve was now sent to the Ad court where it bounced off the frame of Frank's racquet as the lights had went out along the way...what a way to end the day (night, actually)!  Had we just had one more minute of light, we may have officially gotten this one in the books!  We had begun this one on Court Four around 9:20.  Somewhere around 4-3, Samara spotted a skunk that quickly got the attention of all parties involved.  It came fairly close to the fence near Court Four and we were thinking of switching courts, but then the little stinker decided to go under the trucks in the nearby parking lot...so we stayed put, but yet always seemed just a wee bit distracted for the balance of the evening.

All in all, it was a great session...and the positive impact that The Liu Crew is now making in the GTA is truly appreciated!

Let's now head up to Cedar Grove where the GTA Intermediate Invitational Round of 16 Match between Pienciak and Panda got things started early.

The Cedar Grove Results:

GTA Intermediate Invitational Round of 16 Match:
Nihar Panda over Ryan Pienciak, 6-4, 6-3, to become the New # 13 Ranked Player in the Intermediate Division while advancing to the Quarterfinals of the GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament!  No Aces.

The Consequences: Panda now advances to the Quarters where he will face "Big Kaz" Mike Kazlauskas.

Samara's Notes: I thank Ryan for reporting that result.  We now go to Spin as he submitted one score directly (because he felt that Kris may not have gotten it).

Moka Pathan/Natalia Sout over Dan Martinelli/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-2!  No Aces.

We now turn this report over to Kris.

Greg Swierczek/Omar Santos over Mike Kazlauskas/Mike Mole, 6-3!  No Aces.

Kris Srinivasan/Jordan Bachvaroff over Nathan Fernandes/Doinks Srinivaan, 6-1!  No Aces.

Nathan Fernandes/Kris Srinivasan over Jordan Bachvaroff/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-0!  No Aces.

Raj Tailor/Laurie Boughton over Moka Pathan/Marie Salamon, 6-4!  Raj: 1 Ace on Moka; Moka: 2 Aces on Laurie!

Moka Pathan/Marie Salamon over Raj Tailor/Laurie Boughton, 6-4!  No Aces.

Moka Pathan/Natalia Sout over Syed Rashid/Marie Salamon, 6-3!  No Aces.

Syed Rashid/Mike Sindler over Greg Swierczek/Mike Mole, 7-6 (7-4)!  No Aces.

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:
Nathan Fernandes/Kris Srinivasan over Jose Gonzales/Mike Sindler, 6-0, 6-1, to successfully defend their #22 Rank in the Doubles Division!  In the process, Gonzales/Sindler enters the division as the New #58 Ranked Team.  No Aces.

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:
Nathan Fernandes/Kris Srinivasan over Greg Swierczek/Dan Martinelli, 6-0, 6-0, to successfully defend their # 22 Rank in the Doubles Division!  In the process, Swierczek/Martinelli enters the division as the New # 59 Ranked Team.  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: Nate and Kris certainly went on a tear!  24-1 against their opponents in back-to-back matches…very impressive!  We now go back to Kris for the balance of the scores.

Senthil Kumar/Mike Sindler over Syed Rashid/Tito Castolo, 6-4!  No Aces.

Jose Gonzales/Tito Castolo over Syed Rashid/Mike Sindler, 6-3!  No Aces.

Senthil Kumar/Kris Srinivasan leading Nathan Fernandes/Doinks Srinivasan, 2-0 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!

Samara's Notes: Kris was pressed for time, so his usual colorful and comprehensive write-up is a little more "black and white" this time.  Nonetheless, his hosting efforts are always greatly appreciated.  Kudos to The K Man!

All the best,
Frank Samara
gtasamara5@gmail.com
862-596-3354








 

5/23 Results.

5/23/17:               

"Just 2 at AP, Praport-Liu at PAC, Spin hosts 21 at C.G.!":                               

There were three sessions of GTA Tuesday Night Tennis: a session at Albion Park in Clifton (featuring two Singles One-Setters between "Instant" Moka Pathan and "Mr. Science" Mike Mole, as reported by both Moka and Mike), then there was a session at The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley (aka PAC, as "The Speed Demon" Dan Praport and "Richie" Rich Liu played a full 3 out of 5 Sets Match, as reported by both Dan and Rich) and then the usual session at The Cedar Grove Courts (hosted by "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli).

So we will first recap the action that took place in Clifton, then the comings and goings in Nutley (as it was more than just the Praport-Liu match) and then we will turn this report over to Spin.

Moka's Brew: Mike Mole and I met at AP around 5:30 to hit and play a couple sets.  We hit for 10 to 15 minutes and played the following One-Setters:

The Albion Park Results:

Mike Mole over Moka Pathan, 7-6 (8-6)!  Mike: 1 Ace.

Moka's Brew: This set was about 50 minutes long.  Mike saved 5 Match Points, 4 on his serve down 3-5, and one on my serve at 4-5 and then he eventually went up 6-5, and I held serve to send it to the Tiebreak.  I saved a Match Point at 6-5 in the Breaker, but he then won the next two points.  I had a hard time reading his serves which led to short balls that he crushed.  Mr. Science has another resilient win…this time at my expense.

The Mole Memo: This was a really good set.  It lasted from 5:40 to 6:30.

Samara's Notes: It sounds like an almost certain Nominee for One-Set Singles Match of The Year at season's end.  We now go back to Moka and Mike.

Moka Pathan over Mike Mole, 6-1!  No Aces.

Moka's Brew: This set was about 20 minutes long or so.  This set was the total opposite as I had a better read on his serves and felt more comfortable with my forehand.  I went up 4-0, he then broke my serve, but I went on to win the next two games and the set. 

The Mole Memo: It lasted from 6:40 to 7:20.

Samara's Notes: I guess 20 minutes sometimes feels like 40 minutes…or vice versa…LOL!  Anyway, I thank both of them for their prompt and detailed reporting. 

And now we head to Nutley for the dual report from Dan and Rich.

The Park Ave. Courts Result:

3 out of 5 Sets:

Dan Praport over Rich Liu, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3!  No Aces.  This is not a rank defense for Praport as he is solely in the Advanced Division while Liu is solely in the Intermediate Division!

The Praport Report: Rich texted me to meet up with him and the Park Ave Courts in Nutley at 7pm.  It turns out Rich runs a tennis meet-up group in Nutley and had a bunch of his guys come by as well.  We ended up playing three sets.  The score does not do justice to the games.  We both got a great workout and many games went to multiple Deuces.  We played from about 7:15-9pm.  At 9, I left and drove by the Demuro Courts and the lights were on finally.  Only 1 of the 4 courts was being used.

While we were playing our match on Court 1, on Court 2 it was Dean Delgado, Fausto Murg and one other guy from Rich's meet-up group playing Canadian Doubles.  On Court 3, two people in Rich's meet-up played a set and on Court 4 there were another couple of guys Rich knew.  When the match on Court 3 ended, one of the guys left and the other joined Dean's court and they played a Doubles One-Setter.  These are the only details I know.  Maybe Rich can fill you in on the names of the other guys.  They may not end up being official for the GTA, but there was some good tennis being played and I would think many of these guys would potentially want to be part of the GTA as well. 

The Liu Lowdown: So Dan and I played and once again he kicked my butt.  Although I feel I can win against him, it may take a while.  I hope I was competitive and I did get in some good forehand hard winners.  Dan was getting to all my shots again and seemed to have an awesome backhand to my weak backhand, so that was a major advantage.  He certainly deserves his Advanced Division ranking.  Others there observing told me afterwards they thought he was incredibly "consistent" and they were very impressed.  He consistently won the long rallies and Deuces - we did have many of those.  It was definitely a fun night for me.

I'm very glad I found you guys and the GTA.  I told some of the other guys there about the GTA and I provided them the blog link, too.

Samara's Notes: I thank both Dan and Rich for their very prompt and detailed reporting.  It seems Rich will let each one of his guys decide whether or not they want to become part of our league as well.  As that is the case and time is of the essence, the Doubles One-Setter that Dean and Fausto were involved in will have to remain as unofficial.  It would be great if we can continue to recruit new talent via Rich's meet-up group.  As I always say: "the more, the merrier!"  Their involvement will also help to cement our sessions at Park Ave. as an ongoing entity.

We now turn this report over to Spin.

Once again, a text from Kris Srinivasan (the usual host) started my evening.  It would turn out to be an evening of fast-paced tennis, hi-jinx and hilarity.  

Kris had sent out a league-wide e-mail (not of the flash alert variety) indicating we would not hear the clash of plastic and wood as The Pickler Ballers were nowhere in sight at the Cedar Grove courts.  

Upon my arrival, only Nathan Fernandes was seated on the bench.  The courts, however, where filled with Dills and Claussens (pickles).  It was apparent that Kris had sent out his own variety of "fake news" to the league.  

Shorty afterwards, Tito Castolo, Chris Chiaro, Tom La and Mike Kazlauskas arrived.  When Kris arrived only moments later, the gathering crowd gave him a rousing round of applause.  Kris could only smile as he stated he had also sent out a retraction indicating that indeed the presence of the pesky Picklers would pervade the courts until 7:30.  

Now to the scores!

The Cedar Grove Results:

Syed Rashid/Tito Castolo over Mike Kazlauskas/Kris Srinivasan, 6-4!  Mike: 1 Ace on Syed; and Syed: 1 Ace on Mike!

Nathan Fernandes/Tom La over Chris Chiaro/Dan Martinelli, 6-1!  No Aces.

The Spin from Spin: Chris and Spin got there clocks cleaned in this one.  The action was great and it was competitive, but all the important points fell the way of Nate and Tom.  Those two got to just about everything, even when Chris was sending laser shots all over the court.  Tom and Nate should be called "The Get Makers".  Spin turned out to be the prediction maker.  With Chris and Spin up 1-0, Nate and Tom took the second game.  I blurted out the score as 1-5 instead of 1-1.  Before we knew it, it was indeed 5-1 for Nate and Tom!

Nathan Fernandes/Tom La over Chris Chiaro/Dan Martinelli, 7-6 (7-3)!  Tom: 1 Ace on Spin! 

The Spin from Spin: This set was a grand one indeed.  If only the TB score was closer, it could have been considered as a possible Nominee for One-Set Doubles Match of The Year at season's end.  The action was intense.  Everyone lifted their game and this set lasted a good 55 minutes or so.  We gave it our all, knowing that after this set (with the ever-increasing crowd size) we would not play again on this night.  Chris and Tom left afterwards, but Nate and I stayed around and it turned out to the right move as a great evening got even better as it went on into the night.

Ryan Pienciak/Mike Sindler over Rob Gawley/Andrew Kroessler, 7-5!  No Aces.

Ryan's Rant: Ryan pointed out that he and Mike were down 2-5 in this set before storming back.

Rob Gawley/Andrew Kroessler over Ryan Pienciak/Mike Sindler, 7-5!  No Aces.     

Senthil Kumar/T.J. Shah over Levy Lorenzo/Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-2!  Jordan: 1 Ace on Senthil.

Senthil Kumar/T.J. Shah over Kris Srinivasan/Levy Lorenzo, 6-1!  No Aces.

The Spin from Spin: Turns out that T.J. and Nate are true gentlemen of the GTA.  With an abundance of players, neither one could make up their minds on who should team with Senthil.  I said, "Let's flip a coin."  No one had a coin, so T.J. said, "Let's do rock, paper, scissors!"  Nate went with paper.  Paper was not the right choice as T.J. laid out the scissors and cut Nate right out of that set.

Don Moya/Laurie Boughton over Rajan Shah/Janice Wang, 6-4!  No Aces.

Don Moya/Laurie Boughton over Rajan Shah/Janice Wang, 6-3!  No Aces.

Syed Rashid/Tito Castolo over Mike Kazlauskas/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-3!  No Aces.

Rob Gawley/Andrew Kroessler leading Ryan Pienciak/Mike Sindler, 4-1 (Incomplete went the lights went   out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

Mike Kazlauskas/Doinks Srinivasan leading Syed Rashid/Tito Castolo, 2-1 (Incomplete went the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

Senthil Kumar/Jordan Bachvaroff leading Kris Srinivasan/T.J. Shah, 5-4 (Incomplete went the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

Jordan's Journal: Jordan stated that he was serving at 5-4 with a very good chance of getting this set in the books.  However, the lights again had their say and extinguished any hope for a complete result.  

It was a night to remember.  This night would have everything...great tennis, lots of competitors, laughter and jokes by Levy, Nate and Kris (with some pickles on the side).  

The weather was perfect and the turnout was high.  Everyone stayed after the lights went out until around 10:15.  Even after I left, some were still at the courts.  It was a great night for GTA Tennis.

Samara's Notes: I thank Spin for acting as the alternate host for the GTA up at Cedar Grove.  His write-ups are always very entertaining.  It is greatly appreciated.  I'm also glad to see such strong attendance numbers there after a brief downturn. 

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

862-596-3354

 

 

 

5/21 Results.

5/21/17:

"Phoenix-Truong at C.G., Samara hosts 6 at AP, Kris hosts 4 at C.G.!":

There were three sessions of GTA Sunday Tennis: a very early one featuring the GTA Intermediate Invitational Quarterfinal Match between Jay "The Rising" Phoenix and "The A-Bomb" Andrew Truong (as reported by Jay), the usual late morning/early afternoon session at Albion Park in Clifton (hosted by "Hollywood" Frank Samara and the frequent one later in the day and evening at The Cedar Grove Courts (hosted by "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan).

We will first get the result from Jay, then recap all the comings, goings and scores from Albion before later turning this report over to Kris.

The Cedar Grove Result:

GTA Intermediate Invitational Quarterfinal:
Jay Phoenix over Andrew Truong, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, to successfully defend both his # 20 Rank in the Advanced Division and his # 4 Rank in the Intermediate Division while also advancing to the Semifinals of the GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament!  Andrew: 1 Ace in the 3rd Set.

Jay has his say: We played from 9am to 10:30.  I had no business winning the match.  In my opinion, Andrew belongs in the Top 5 of the Advanced Division.  The only reason I won is because he is suffering from a bacterial infection.  We first tried to play the match on Friday evening, but halfway through the 1st Set he became extremely sick and offered to forfeit the match.  I declined the offer because I did not want to win a second match in the tournament by forfeit.  We agreed to start over on Sunday, which we did but he coughed throughout the match.  All I did was defend throughout the match.  Most of my points were off of his errors.  He is on a different level than me.  I hope he gets better.  He was very courteous, humble and professional in his loss, even offering me a few tips on how to improve my game. 

Samara's Notes: I thank Jay for his comprehensive write-up and congratulate him on his victory regardless of the circumstances.  I also offer a hearty dose of kudos to Andrew for playing the match while dealing with such an ailment.  I praise his effort.

And now here is how it all went down at Albion Park.

It was 10:55 when both "Hollywood" Frank Samara and "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli pulled up to the courts separately. 

Already out on the courts was "Stealth" Omar Santos who first sent a text message to Samara around 10:10 asking if there would be a session at Albion and then sent another one ten or so minutes later seeming shocked that nobody was there yet.  Frank's reply was that the session would be at 11pm.

Just walking out onto the courts ahead of Samara and Martinelli were the cousins that Kris has dubbed as "The Inseparables", Rajan Shah and T.J. Shah.  We found out a little bit more about their background today as Teej told us he first was on the Passaic High School Tennis Team for his first two years of high school.  Then he moved to Clifton where he would be on their tennis team for his Junior and Senior years.

Contrary to what we once believed, Rajan was not on those teams with him.  It turns out he moved up sometime after that from North Carolina.  Many new monikers either were given or can be given to both of them in light of this session as Rajan can be "The Carolina Cousin" or "The Carolina Kid."

Spin likes to call T.J. "Hooker" as in the old William Shatner "showpiece" that was called "T.J. Hooker."  But then you also have the store, T.J. Maxx.  Maybe his moniker (when he wants to go incognito and perhaps book a hotel room in a different name) should be "Maxx Hooker!"

Anyway, they are two really good guys and solid tennis players and they held court the entire day over the course of four Doubles One-Setters.

Next to arrive was "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes strolling in at 11:30.

Once again, "Coach" Dino Celis gamely limped down the hill (though he is progressing quite nicely as the result of physical therapy) around 1pm to make an extended cameo appearance.

At 1:30, a couple arrived and took the South Court.  The guy in this twosome was an obvious novice and numbskull as he couldn't keep his balls on his court.  Bad enough he was "shanking" some far enough to get over to us, but then he walked right behind us in the middle of a crucial point to go get one of them!  Both time-wise and temperament-wise, Samara was getting very close to having another "2:07 moment!"

Serenity now!  SERENITY NOW!!!

Given how nice a day it was (sunny and 70 degrees), it was and inexplicably and shockingly low turnout.  It serves as a complete mystery as to why that was when you consider the fact that Memorial Day Weekend is next weekend...not this one.  Oh well!

Now, let's get to the scores!

The Albion Park Results:

Rajan Shah/T.J. Shah over Omar Santos/Dan Martinelli, 6-3!  No Aces.  They got this one underway on the North Court at 11am.  It was 2-2 before The Shahs of Sunset took three straight games for a 5-2 lead.  T.J. was on serve and it was Game/Match Point, but then it went to Deuce.  He then hit an un-returned serve to make it 2nd Game/Match Point.  It was then 2nd Deuce when another un-returned serve set up the 3rd Game/Match Point.  This was where Omar made a nice get/winner combo for 3rd Deuce.  It then went to Break Point and the break as his team's lead was cut to 5-3.  Spin was then on serve and was broken on the 4th M.P. overall!  It ended exactly at 11:38.

As Omar would have to leave not too long after 12noon, he wanted to try to get one more in before he had to get going.  So we had Nate take the place of Spin for this next one.

Rajan Shah/T.J. Shah over Nathan Fernandes/Omar Santos, 6-4!  No Aces.  This was also played on the North Court and it lasted from 11:41 to 12:26.  Omar left soon after this ended.

Nathan Fernandes/Frank Samara over Rajan Shah/T.J. Shah, 6-4!  T.J.: 1 Ace on Nate!  It went like this: Nathan held serve (un-returned serve for 15-Love, it shifted to 15-30 as Rajan hit a winner along the way, it shifted again to Game Point where another un-returned serve secured the hold), Rajan was broken (Love-15 then 15-All before going straight to Double Break Point where T.J. hit a vicious volley winner to cut it down to Break Point, but then Nate hit a winner for the break), Frank held (perhaps the best rally of the match ended with a winning Overhead Smash by Nate for 15-Love and then Nate made a great get/drop shot winner combo for 30-Love where Rajan then made a smoking return winner for 30-15, but then Nate hit another winner to set up Double Game Point where Frank made a slick get/drop shot winner combo to secure his own hold) and T.J. was broken at Love as Frank made a nice drop shot to force an error and then hit a true volley/drop shot winner combo along the way as The Shahs soon found themselves down 0-4!  When Fernandes held again (Rajan hit a winning return for Love-15, it then shifted to 30-15, then a Double Fault for 30-All where back-to-back un-returned serves took it to Game Point and then the hold), his team's lead became even more commanding at 5-0!  But then Raj held (Love-15 would be followed with two un-returned serves on the way to Double Game Point where Nate blew a volley to allow the hold) to get his team on the scoreboard and then Samara was broken (T.J. blew a volley in the first point and then Nate hit a winner for 30-Love, but it soon shifted to Break Point as Rajan hit a winner along the way and then came the break) to have his team's lead cut to 5-2.  Then, Teej held in an amazing battle (Triple Break/Match Point, Double Break/Match Point, Break/Match Point, Deuce where a soft and short slice Ace took Nate by surprise to make it Game Point, Deuce, Game Point, 2nd Deuce where T.J. hit a wicked Overhead Smash winner for Game Point, 3rd Deuce, the 4th Break/Match Point, 4th Deuce, Game Point, 5th Deuce, Game Point and finally the hold) and Nate the Great was then broken at Love as T.J. hit a winning return along the way to pull to 4-5!  But then The Carolina Cousin was broken (Frank hit a very impressive Backhand Volley winner for Love-30, it was then 15-30 where the second best rally of the match set up Double Break/Match Point and then came the break on the 5th M.P. overall) as his team's attempted comeback was thwarted just in time!  We played this on the North Court from 12:30 to 1:09.

After a brief break to enjoy the comedy that is the life of Spin, the two teams went back out onto the North Court for a rematch.

Rajan Shah/T.J. Shah over Nathan Fernandes/Frank Samara, 7-5!  No Aces.  Here's how it went down: Nathan was broken (Frank blew a volley for Love-30 which was where Nate hit a whipping winner to make it 15-30 only to have T.J. respond with a vicious volley winner for Double Break Point, it was then Break Point where Nate blew a drop shot to break himself), Rajan was broken (Triple Break Point where Frank blew a volley to make it Double Break Point and then an un-returned serve made it Break Point, then it went to Deuce, Break Point again and the break), but Frank was the first to hold serve (T.J. blew a volley for 15-Love, it shifted to 15-30, then 30-All, Break Point, Deuce where Nate made a tremendous get that led to Game Point where Frank hit a winner to secure his own hold) for 2-1.  T.J. also held (30-Love shifted to 30-All, Game Point and then the hold) and then Fernandes was broken again (Nate hit a drop shot winner and an awesome passing shot winner on the way to Triple Game Point which would then get reduced to Deuce, then Break Point and the break) to fall to 2-3.  Raj held (30-Love went straight to Break Point, Deuce and then it was all Break Points until 3rd Deuce, Game Point and then an exclamation point of a winning Overhead Smash by T.J., which is the only winner I was able to remember from this game) and Samara was broken (Raj hit a sizzling passing shot winner for Triple Break Point, but then Nate hit a roller over the net for a winner to make it Double Break Point, but then came the break) as his team fell to 2-5!  Teej was then broken in another epic struggle (15-Love, 15-All and then onto Double Game/Match Point, Game/Match Point, Deuce, 3rd Game/Match Point, 2nd Deuce, 4th Game/Match Point, 3rd Deuce, Break Point and then the break in another game where I could no longer remember who hit what winners) and Nate the Great held at Love as Frank hit a missile-like Backhand Volley winner along the way as their team made things interesting at 4-5!  The Carolina Cousin was then broken (Frank hit a winning return to make it Love-30, it shifted to 30-All right after Rajan hit a winner, but then came Break Point and the break) to level matters at 5-5!  The Wood was then broken in yet another battle (Frank hit a drop shot winner to start at 15-Love, it shifted to 15-30 as T.J. hit a winner along the way, it was then 30-All, Break Point, Deuce and then all Break Points through to 3rd Deuce, Break Point yet again and then finally the break) and Maxx Hooker then held (Love-15 shifted straight to Double Game/Match Point as T.J. hit an amazing drop shot winner along the way and then came the hold on the 5th M.P. overall) to curtail the comeback dreams of the opposition as they finally closed the door on them at 2:15 (this one had begun on the North Court at 1:20)!

The Skinny: Nate was thinking possible Nominee for One-Set Doubles Match of The Year at season's end for this one.  That would have likely been the case had his team forced the Tiebreak.  Instead, I think this one just gets an Honorable Mention.  It was an impressive victory for The Shahs of Sunset which capped quite the day for them - 3 out of 4 is better than 2 out of 3 (which ain't bad, according to Meat Loaf), so I guess I gotta say it is pretty damn good on the day!

And now we turn the rest of this report over to Kris.

What started off as just a hitting session turned into a mini session again, but with just four players for the night.  We did have Syed Rashid and Mike Sindler just wrapping up some hitting on both days as we started our session.

Samara's Notes: From Melvin Hyman's e-mail about just hitting on Saturday, when he only said "Mike"…I had assumed it was Mike Mole.  Now it seems it must have been Mike Sindler instead.

We now go back to Kris.

2 out of 3 Sets:
Jordan Bachvaroff/Doinks Srinivasan over Kris Srinivasan/Ray Spadaro, 7-5, 1-6, 6-4!  No Aces.

It was a solid match where Jordan and Doinks punished Ray excessively…a man who was just coming off of an injury and was just trying to get the feel of the game.

We were leading 4-Love and an alarmed Jordan then threw the kitchen sink at Ray pretty much every time. A weak backhand and a stiff shoulder hindered Ray's game and then it became a mental thing.  Still, he has some exquisite volleys and forehand shots.  The 1st Set was close as we missed out on closing a couple of close games.  Ray was game to go for the 2nd Set.  We just rolled over our opponents with high energy.  Ray said he ran out of fuel in the 1st Set.  He was ready to call it a day, but with a second wind and some high octane energy, he started playing with more confidence.  We ended up playing the deciding 3rd Set and missed out on opportunities to get to 5-All with a couple of crucial errors that ended the match.  Nevertheless, it was well-contested with all the players performing very well.  Cheers!

Samara's Notes: Once again, Kris is "the man" up at Cedar Grove.  We thank him for all he does for our league there.
 
Best wishes,
Frank Samara
gtasamara5@gmail.com
862-596-3354

5/20 Results.

5/20/17:

"Lorenzo-Tailor at HP, Bobila-Sherry part of 11 at C.G.!":

There were two sessions of GTA Saturday Tennis: a morning one at Holster Park in Clifton featuring the GTA Intermediate Invitational Quarterfinal Match between "The Levitator" Levy Lorenzo and "Tailor Made" Raj Tailor (the original plan was to have this match at Cedar Grove, but the courts were still too wet from the surprise morning rains...so they then went to Holster where at least two of the three courts there were dry enough for play) and then a session that started in the afternoon featuring the GTA Intermediate Invitational Round of 16 Match between "The WB" William Bobila and "The Running Man" Ryan Sherry and it would then be continued later in the night as "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan acted as host.

Now, let's get to the scores...first the one reported by Levy, then the one reported by William and then the full report from Kris!

The Holster Park Result:

GTA Intermediate Invitational Quarterfinal:
Raj Tailor over Levy Lorenzo, 6-1, 6-1, to become both the New # 21 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division and the New # 5 Ranked Player in the Intermediate Division while also advancing to the Semifinals of the GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament!  No Aces.

The Lowdown from Levy: Raj played excellent tennis!  We played this match from 9:40 to 11am.

The Recap from Raj: It was a fun match and Levy played well.

Samara's Notes: I thank both of them for their very timely reporting of this match and congratulate Raj on very impressive victory.  And we now go to William who did the same (both in terms of timely reporting and scoring a very impressive victory).

The Cedar Grove Results:

GTA Intermediate Invitational Round of 16 Match:
William Bobila over Ryan Sherry, 6-2, 6-0, to successfully defend both his # 26 Rank in the Advanced Division and his # 10 Rank in the Intermediate Division while also advancing to the Quarterfinals of the GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament!  No Aces.

The WB News: There were long rallies with many ground-strokes, but Ryan made too many unforced errors.  We played this match from 3 to 4pm.

Samara's Notes: My thanks and congratulations to William as well. 

Before we go to Kris, it should be mentioned that "The Mel Man" Melvin Hyman reported having an extended hitting session where he and "The Bavarian Bull" Jordan Bachvaroff hit against "Mr. Science" Mike Mole and "Sadistic" Syed Rashid.  Mel said it was nice playing without the pressure of a match for a change.

And we now turn this report over to Kris.

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:
Mike Kazlauskas/Kris Srinivasan over Levy Lorenzo/Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 56 and # 57 Ranked Teams respectively!  Mike: 5 Aces (1 Ace on Levy in the 1st Set, 1 on Levy in the 2nd Set, 2 on Levy in the 3rd Set and 1 on Jordan in the 3rd Set)!

It turned out to be a great match with Mike and Jordan serving great, but the star was Levy for his phenomenal efforts and consistent play.

Senthil Kumar/Rafaelo Kazakov over Greg Swierczek/Doinks Srinivasan, 7-5!  No Aces.

A solid One-Setter that could have gone either way.  Greg was incredible given the fact he is injured (a small loose chip of his backbone is hitting his sciatica nerve and numbing his left side all the way down to his leg).  With great support from Doinks, he played terrific (literally on one leg) to make it a close match.

Tito Castolo/Doinks Srinivasan over Senthil Kumar/Rafaelo Kazakov, 6-2!  No Aces.

It was one of those matches best enjoyed by "The Hecklers" on the bench, Greg and myself, being the beneficiaries...J.  Tito was far from his usual self, but he had good support from Doinks.  What with the many misses, framing, swishing in the air, heckling, cricket shots...it was "Global Tennis Aggravation" at its best!  I should say it was worth the chill in the air...hahaha!

Tito Castolo/Doinks Srinivasan tied with Senthil Kumar/Rafaelo Kazakov, 3-3 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

Well, the session lasted the whole night starting at 7 pm.  It ended up being quite a good one.  Cheers!

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

Best wishes,
Frank Samara
gtasamara5@gmail.com
862-596-3354

5/19 Results.

5/19/17:

"Samara hosts 4 at PAC, Laurie-Lena part of 13 at C.G.!":

GTA Friday Night Tennis took place at both The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley (hosted by "Hollywood" Frank Samara) and at The Cedar Grove Courts as the session got started with a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match between "Laidback" Laurie Boughton and "LP" Lena Pyatski (with Laurie reporting, and additional results coming in from "Dominant" Dawn Peterson and "Sadistic" Syed Rashid).

First we will recap what went down at the "PAC" and then we will take this report up to C.G. (with contributions made by Boughton, Peterson and Rashid).

Samara pulled into the parking lot at Park Ave. in Nutley precisely at 8pm.  As he headed up the hill and approached the courts, he saw two guys on Court One (aka the Entrance Court) and three other guys on Court Two.

The only other GTA guy in sight was "Speed Demon" Dan Praport who was waiting as he sat along the fence in the area between Courts Three and Four.

Just as Frank was getting close to the courts, he overheard one of the three guys on Court Two ask Dan if he wanted to join them for some Doubles.  Praport declined as he pointed out that I was on my way.

Once Samara started crossing the courts to get over to the area Dan was in, one of the three guys on Court Two joked that they were "just about to take his partner."  Frank's reply was, "that's no problem."

At this time, it seemed there could be a chance for some recruitment of new players (like the night before).  This especially seemed true after "MC Quick" Mike Carucci arrived at 8:20 and soon after started hitting with the other three (it should be said that, by this time, the first two guys on Court One had left at 8:10 which caused the three guys who had been on Court Two to shift to that one while Samara and Praport also shifted to Two.

Frank and Dan soon started a Singles One-Setter at 8:15 with the agreement that if nobody else from the GTA arrived, they would make it a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match.  When Carucci arrived just five minutes later, it briefly seemed that plan would have to be scrapped.  But then the deal was back on once Mike was invited to hit with the other three.

"The Hitman" Tom La arrived at 8:30.  The three guys who were still just hitting with Carucci all said "hi" to Mr. La.  In fact, Tom took the place of one of the three who had to leave early.

It seemed we would have two GTA players going up against two non-GTA players (with the hope being to recruit those two guys and have them become GTA players as well...the way it went down the night before).

Then, "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan walked onto the courts at 8:40.  With an odd number player scenario once again unfolding, Samara and Praport went back to the idea of just playing a One-Setter (which ended exactly at 8:45).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

But then La removed himself from Court One to come over to Court Two for some proper Doubles as he told Samara that those other guys just like to keep hitting the ball all night long.  It was at this moment that Frank decided to team with Tom to take on Dan and Gen.

He also hoped that Carucci would eventually get involved along with some new recruits.  But alas, it was not to be.  Eventually, the two guys asked Mike if he could step off as they did then end up playing a Singles One-Setter with one another.  There would be no opportunity to recruit them.  And Carucci said he could not stick around and left soon after that.                                                                                                                                    

Enough chit chat, let's get to the scores!

The Park Ave. Courts Results:

Frank Samara over Dan Praport, 6-3!  No Aces.  It went like this: Frank held serve (Frank hit a winning lob for 15-Love, Double Fault for 15-All, 15-30 where Frank hit a winner for 30-All, Game Point and the hold) and Dan was broken (Frank hit an impressive return winner for Triple Break Point, it was then Double Break Point where Dan made an amazing get/passing shot winner combo to make it Break Point, but then came the break) for an 0-2 start.  Samara was broken at Love as Dan hit scorching down-the-line winning returns to set up both Love-15 and Triple Break Point, but then Praport was broken again (Dan hit a winner for 15-Love, but then it went straight to Double Break Point after Dan blew a volley and then came the break) to make it 1-3.  Hollywood was broken again (Dan hit a winner and another one of those punishing return winners on the way to Triple Break Point, it was then Double Break Point where Dan made a nice get/passing shot winner combo for the break) to have his lead cut to 3-2 and then The Speed Demon held in an epic struggle (Dan made another great get/winner combo for 30-Love which was where Frank hit a drop shot winner for 30-15, it then went to Double Game Point which was soon cut down to Deuce which was where Dan hit an excellent Backhand Volley winner for Game Point...and from here forward I could no longer remember who hit what winners...as it then went to 2nd Deuce, Game Point, 3rd Deuce, Break Point, 4th Deuce, Game Point, 5th Deuce, Game Point and the hold) to tie things up at 3-3!  But from there, Frank held (30-Love where Dan hit a winner for 30-15, Double Game Point which was where Dan blew a volley to allow the hold), Dan was broken and this time it was at Love as Frank hit drop shot winners to bookend the game at beginning and end and then Samara held again (un-returned serve for 15-Love, 30-Love where Dan whipped out another sizzling return winner for 30-15 which was where Frank hit a roller over the tape that seemed like he had just dipped the ball in super glue just prior to the shot as it absolutely hugged the net on the way down...so much so that Dan, who was nearby, could not make a play on it...and now it was Double Game/Match Point where Frank blew an overhead to cut his own lead down to Game/Match Point where he would find redemption when he scored with a laser-like passing shot winner that seemingly went right through Dan who was waiting near the net for it, yet could not make a play on it!  We played this one on Court Two from 8:15 to 8:45.

The Skinny: Afterward, Praport told Samara that while he could see that Samara sometimes had some timing issues with some of the prep for his shots, overall his placements were even better than they were three or four years ago (the last time these two did battle).  On the flip side, Frank told Dan that his amazing get-making abilities have returned to form (likely only GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro and "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes can match Praport in this regard) and now most of the rust has been shaken off as well.  The two hope to soon face one another in a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match which should be interesting if it is anything like this One-Setter was.  If both of these players can continue to return to past form, they each may once again make an impact upon the Advanced Division as they had done not all that long ago.

Frank Samara/Tom La over Dan Praport/Genalin Capan, 6-1!  No Aces.  Here's how it went down: Dan held serve (Tom hit a wicked winner for Love-30, but then Frank blew a volley and Dan hit a winner of his own on the way to Game Point where Dan made an awesome get/volley winner combo for the hold), Frank held at Love as Tom hit a drop shot winner and then back-to-back winning Overhead Smashes on the way to Triple Game Point and then Frank earned his hold with an un-returned serve, but Genalin was the first to be broken (Dan hit a winner for 15-Love and then it went point for point as Gen hit an un-returned serve along the way, but Tom also hit a winner and then once it got to 30-All, Tom hit another winner to set up Break Point, it then went to Deuce, Break Point again where Frank hit an amazing winner to get the break) for 1-2.  Tom held (an un-returned serve for 15-Love, 15-All, Double Fault for 15-30, another un-returned serve for 30-All, Game Point where Dan hit a lob return winner for Deuce, but then came Game Point and the hold), Praport was broken (Frank hit a winning drop shot return for Love-15, it was 15-All before heading to Double Break Point as Tom hit a vicious volley winner along the way, it was then Break Point where Dan made another electrifying get/passing shot winner combo to make it Deuce, then came Break Point, 2nd Deuce where Frank hit a high-powered return winner for Break Point and then came the break), Samara held again (Love-15 went straight to Double Game point as Frank had hit two winners and an un-returned serve along the way, but then Tom blew a volley to make it Game Point where Tom found redemption when he scored with a venomous volley winner to secure his partner's hold) and then Capan was broken again (Triple Break/Match Point where Tom blew a volley to make it Double Break/Match Point, but that was where the break came) to take the loss.  We played this one on Court Two from 9pm to 9:25.

In the next one, Dan and Gen decided to switch up their service sides.  All other things remained the same.

Frank Samara/Tom La over Dan Praport/Genalin Capan, 6-2!  Dan: 2 Aces on Frank!  The dirty lowdown: Tom held serve (started with a Double Fault, but then went straight to Double Game Point as he hit an incredible winner along the way and then Dan made one of the sickest gets I've ever seen, but his team still lost the point, Frank blew a volley to make it Game Point, but then came the hold), Dan held (15-Love where Tom hit a winning Overhead Smash for 15-All and then it was straight to Double Break Point, but then it shifted to Deuce where Dan scored with a deceptive slice Ace against Frank for Game Point and then another un-returned serve secure the hold), Frank held (Frank hit a drop shot winner and Gen blew a volley on the way to 30-Love, it then went 30-15, Double Game Point and the hold) and Genalin held (15-Love, an excellent rally for 15-All, 15-30 which then shifted to Game Point, Deuce, Game Point again where Tom hit a net-cord winner for 2nd Deuce, Game Point again, 3rd Deuce, Game Point yet again and finally the hold) as we were all on serve at 2-2.  But from there, Praport was broken (un-returned serve for 15-Love where Frank hit a winner for 15-All and then Dan hit an Ace that just caught the outside of the T-line to victimize Frank once again for a 30-15 lead only to see Tom whip a wild winner for 30-All which was where Dan had a winner of his won for Game Point, Deuce where Tom hit a drop shot winner to set up Break Point and then came the break), Samara held again (Love-30 where Frank hit a winner for 15-30, then it went to Double Break Point which then rebounded to Deuce, Game Point and the hold) and Capan was then broken again (Love-15 where Gen hit a winning lob for 15-All, but then it was straight to Double Break/Match Point as Tom hit a drop shot winner along the way, it then went to Break/Match Point and then that is where the break came) to get another "L!"  This one was also contested on Court Two and it lasted from 9:28 to 9:58...the lights went out soon after!

The Skinny: Do not let the scores of these two Doubles One-Setters fool you as they both felt far more competitive then they seem on the surface.  All four played well.  The biggest difference-maker was Tom as he aggressively finished off many points while up at the net.

Let's now head up to Cedar Grove where we will first get a full match result from Laurie, then some scores from "Dominant" Dawn Peterson and...

The Cedar Grove Results:

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:
Lena Pyatski over Laurie Boughton, 6-0, 6-0, as both players entered the Women's Division as the New #12 and #13 Ranked Players respectively!  Lena: 5 Aces!

Laurie's lament: What a strange night for me, to say the least...LOL!  At any rate, you see the score...Lena whooped me!  I have no comment, except HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!  I think it lasted an hour and a half?  More?  Less?  It seemed like an eternity to me, so I have no clue on the time...LOL!

I honestly have no excuses.  Lena played a defensive game using great placement and it worked perfectly.  I felt like I had never played tennis in my entire life.  I played that badly.  I was almost ready to switch to golf, but then peeps had me play Doubles, and I got my game back. :-) 

OMG…and as I was down 0-4 in the 1st Set, I thought "OMG, WHAT IF SHE DOUBLE BAGELS ME?"
And I soooooooooooooooo know better than to have negative thoughts, but I did, and I self-fulfilled my own horror story…hahahahaha!

HOWEVER, I shall never ever give up...next time I'll whoop her!  And, if not, at least I cannot do worse than a double bagel. ;) 

At least we both got into the competing Women's Division now…hahahahahahahahahhaha!  I can hardly wait...pfffffffffffffffffffffffffttttttttttt!  Good night!

Samara's Notes: I thank Laurie for that very entertaining write-up and I also congratulate Lena on a very impressive victory.  We now go to Dawn.

Kevin Doyle/Dawn Peterson over Mike Mole/Kathy Sheldon, 6-4!  No Aces (apparently).

Mike Mole/Laurie Boughton over Kevin Doyle/Dawn Peterson, 9-7!  No Aces (apparently).  They did it "old school" style by playing out the games rather than going to the Tiebreak.

Samara's Notes: I thank Dawn for sending in those scores.  "Coach" Dino Celis made a cameo appearance there that night and he witnessed this last one.

We now go to Syed for the balance of the results.

Jose Gonzales/Syed Rashid over Dave Zhu/Rafaelo Kazakov, 6-0!  No Aces (apparently).

Tito Castolo/Syed Rashid leading Dave Zhu/Rafaelo Kazakov, 5-3 (Incomplete when the lights went off at 10pm)!  No Aces (apparently).

Samara's Notes: I thank Syed for his timely reporting as well.  When everyone steps up like this, it is always greatly appreciated.

Also, Jay "The Rising" Phoenix and "The A-Bomb" Andrew Troung had begun their GTA Intermediate Invitational Quarterfinal Match with one another there that night until Andrew had to bow out due to illness.  He offered to forfeit the rest of the match to Jay, but Mr. Phoenix would not have it.  They decided to then continue it on Sunday morning…and it is in that report where you will find out who emerged victorious.

All the best,
Frank Samara
gtasamara5@gmail.com
862-596-3354








 

5/17 Results.

5/17/17:               

"2 play at AP, Kaz-T.J., Nate-Ryan part of 16 at C.G.!":                               

There were two sessions of GTA Wednesday Night Tennis: a session of just two (a One-Setter featuring "Mr. Science" Mike Mole vs. "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan, with Gen reporting) at Albion Park in Clifton and then a long one throughout the evening at The Cedar Grove Courts which started with the GTA Round of 16 Match between "Big Kaz" Mike Kazlauskas and "Teej" T.J. Shah (as reported by Mike) and then went onto have a 2 out of 3 Sets Match (not a Challenge Match) between "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes and "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak in the later session which was co-hosted by Gen, "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan and "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli all along the way.

So we will first go to the lone result from Albion Park, then to the recap from Mike and then turn the rest of this report over to Kris, Gen and Spin.

The Albion Park Result:

Mike Mole over Genalin Capan, 6-3!  No Aces.

Gen's Notes: We played this from 6:45 to 7:30, but we started hitting around 5:30.

Samara's Notes: I thank Gen for her timely reporting of that result.  And now we go to the result from Mike.

The Cedar Grove Results:

GTA Intermediate Invitational Round of 16 Match:

Mike Kazlauskas over T.J. Shah, 7-5, 6-0, to successfully defend both his # 10 Rank in the Advanced Division and his # 12 Rank in the Intermediate Division while also advancing to the Quarterfinals of the GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament!  Mike: 1 Ace in the 1^st Set.

The Big Kaz File: The Cedar Grove Courts were occupied by the Cedar Grove High School Boys Team, so we decided to play on the courts down the road.  In the 1^st Set, T.J. started on serve and held his first two service games.  I held my first, but then got broken for 1-3.  Then I picked up my game and took the next 4 games to go up 5-3.  I failed to serve it out for the set, and then T.J. held his for 5-5. Then I held my serve, and broke T.J. for the set.

In the 2nd Set, I picked up my game a little.  I started serving more aggressively and hitting more aggressive ground-strokes. I held my serves and broke T.J. on his service games.  T.J. had a chance to break me in the last game as it was Double Break Point.  However, I was able to serve it out for the match.

Samara's Notes: I thank Mike for his timely and comprehensive reporting.  I also congratulate him on the victory.  He now advances to the Quarters where he awaits the winner of Pienciak vs. "The Annihilator" Nihar Panda.

We now turn this report over to Kris with input from both Gen and Spin along the way.

It was quite a late night for me and Doinks as we attended the spring concert in Sairaj's school.  But, we did get to see many of our players in action starting early.  I'm pretty in the dark as to the scores as I was casual seeing Spin in action.  You'll hear from him on some of the scores but there's a good chance he has not taken notes of all the matches. 

I did get to see Natalie Guzman and Aaron winding up as we came over to Court 2.  Dino Celis played the role of Coach and being present in the tennis arena is more therapeutic and healing to him than the rehab sessions likely are.  There was a Doubles Match going on between Jordan and Jorge against Santosh and Rajan.  T.J. was involved in a Doubles Match and played without his usual pal, Rajan. 

Earlier, Mike Kaz had won handsomely in the Singles Match against T.J., 7-5, 6-0!  T.J. apparently ran out of steam perhaps due to the steamy weather.  Kaz was then involved in a Doubles.  Spin teamed up with Levy to play against Laurie and Kaz (first?) and then Raj Taylor.  Dawn and Brenda were the early birds and they were leaving.  Jose was in a Doubles Match. 

Dave Zhu joined us to play Doubles along with Drew Kroessler, who had already played 2 One-Setters.

Samara's Notes: I thank Kris for that recap and his introduction to the session.  It appears that many players decided not to report their scores which is very disappointing, but I'm not about to chase them down at this time as I've been dealing with sluggish internet issues for about a week now (not to mention a myriad of other issues I have to deal with regularly).

I will now go to the scores reported via text from Gen and then Spin (he had absolutely no internet as of last night!).  I will then go back to Kris for the balance of the results and allow him to close out this report.

Mike Kazlauskas/Levy Lorenzo over Dan Martinelli/Genalin Capan, 6-2!  Mike: 2 Aces on Spin in the same game (the first game of the match)!  This one finished at 8:50.

Levy Lorenzo/Dan Martinelli over Raj Tailor/Laurie Boughton, 6-4!  Raj: 1 Ace on Spin.

Samara's Notes: I thank both Gen and Spin for their very timely reporting.  Gen had the first of the two One-Setters above as 6-3, but I went with Spin's report of 6-2.  And now we go back to Kris.

Kris Srinivasan/Andrew Kroessler over Dave Zhu/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-3!  Dave: 1 Ace on Kris!

Dave had some really great topspin shots that jammed Drew and he was also serving well.  He had a lovely Ace on me serving it on the Tee and then deviating.  An easy 2-Love lead by Dave and Doinks was wiped out with a 5-game run by us.  The momentum shifted just briefly as Dave managed one more hold before folding up.

Kris Srinivasan/Dave Zhu over Andrew Kroessler/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-4!  No Aces.

Drew was ready to call it a day but as T.J. was too tired and Dino, still recuperating, were the only players on the bench, Drew was magnanimous enough to play one more set.  Drew and Doinks started off very well to take the first four games, giving us enough motivation to fight our way back into the match.  We ran them aground, but not without a fight.  We prevailed despite a couple of close games to secure a 6 game run.

It was then just some hitting for the last 15 minutes.  There was a lot of noise coming from the other side as Ryan Pienciak was battling Nate in a singles match.  Pounding and screeching sounds of the shoes by Ryan indicated that Nate was running him ragged.  Ryan also ran Nate around a bit, but the lanky man had the upper hand.  Apparently they played two sets with plenty of rallies as Nate was making mincemeat of his eager and energetic (in the beginning) opponent.  They managed to finish just before closing time.  Ryan said that Nate kicked his ass off!  I only wanted to know if it was one cheek or both. Well, he can't sit for a while.  I did get the score from the "kick master".

2 out of 3 Sets:

Nathan Fernandes over Ryan Pienciak, 6-1, 6-2!  No Aces.  This was not a rank defense for Fernandes as Pienciak is solely in the Intermediate Division and also still active in the ongoing GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament.

Earlier in the evening, Nate had stamped his authority in the Mixed Doubles Match he had played where he had teamed with Dawn.

2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Doubles Match:

Nathan Fernandes/Dawn Peterson over Moka Pathan/Kathy Sheldon, 6-2, 6-3, to successfully defend their # 34 Rank in the Mixed Doubles Division!  In the process, Pathan/Sheldon entered the division as the New # 46 Ranked Team.  No Aces.

Nate is on a roll and it would be a good time for him to take on Anish Mehta and GTA Champion: Chris Chiaro in Singles.  It was a great turnout and non-stop GTA action to light up the Cedar Grove arena on this warm summer-like night.  Cheers!

Samara's Notes: I thank Kris for all he does for the GTA up at Cedar Grove.  I also once again acknowledge Gen and Spin for their contributions and support.  But they cannot be expected to track down every result that occurs there.  Again, it is disappointing to know that several scores must have fallen through the cracks after we have had such a good, steady run of reporting as of late.

All the best,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

862-596-3354