6/15 Results.

6/15/17:               

"Riz-Dain 1-Setter at NTC, Gen/Kris host 24 at C.G.!":                               

There were two sessions of GTA Thursday Night Tennis: a small one at Nutley Tennis Club as "The Riz" John Rizzo faced "DVD" Dain VanDeventer in a One-Setter; and then the usual large one at The Cedar Grove Courts with "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan and "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan acting as co-hosts ("Stealth" Omar Santos also reported his one result directly along with some commentary).

We will first grab the result from The Riz, then go to Gen for the early part of the Cedar Grove session and then we will turn this report over to Kris for the balance of that session.

The NTC Result:

Dain VanDeventer over John Rizzo, 7-5!  No Aces.  John had been up 4-1.

Samara's Notes: I thank John for reporting that result.  We now go to Gen for her report from Cedar Grove.

The Cedar Grove Results:

Andrew Truong over Genalin Capan, 6-3!  Andrew: 2 Aces!  We played this one on Court 3 from 6:14 to 6:42.

Moka Pathan over Mike Mole, 6-2!  No Aces.  They played this one on Court 4.  It started simultaneously as the above Singles One-Setter but concluded a few minutes earlier. 

Mike Mole/Andrew Truong over Moka Pathan/Genalin Capan, 6-4!  Andrew: 2 Aces on Genalin!  We played on Court 4 from 6:45 to 7:15. 

Mike Mole/Jose Gonzales over Moka Pathan/Genalin Capan, 7-5!  Mike: 3 Aces on Moka; and Jose: 1 Ace on Gen! 

Gen's Notes: Mike and Jose took lead at 4-2, and then we tied it up 4-4.  Then they took the lead 5-4.  Then it went to 5-5.  Mike and Jose then took next two games for the win.  We played this one on Court 4 from 7:18 to 7:56.

After this set, Moka and I were done for the night.  Kris and Jay Phoenix were next up to take on the winners. 

Samara's Notes: I thank Gen for that recap.  We now go to Kris for the balance of this report (with a brief assist from Omar).

It was perfect weather for tennis and there was a good turnout of GTA players who turned up to have some fun.  Unlike Wednesday, there was no logjam of would-be competitors becoming bystanders as  play got started early featuring Gen, Moka, Andrew and Mole.  A well spread-out crowd ensured continuous play and all four courts were put to use throughout the evening.

There were a few close intense matches that were quite exciting.  It was great to get Guy Dupoux and Cliff Pierre-Louis into our Doubles mix.  They are pretty solid and can run like deer.  First off, they smoked me and Laurie Boughton by playing some exciting tennis.  Their serves were awesome and we got whipped at the net resoundingly.  We eked out some unforced errors from them and managed to get a couple of games.  Playing with Tito Castolo was a different proposition for Guy and Cliff…what with all his angles and change of pace!  We certainly hope to see more of them in the future.

My son Sairaj was great with his backhand shots and he mixed up his play beautifully.  Laura Gawley was as solid as ever.  First with Sairaj and then with Doinks, she got to rule the proceedings.  Dave Zhu and Janice Wang were impressive to win in an hour long epic battle.

It was equally exciting on the other side with Ryan Pienciak and Mike Kazlaskas having a go against Dan Hwang and Jordan Bachvaroff.

The Tiebreak on the adjacent court ensured full throttle cries from Jay Phoenix…which were delightful...:-).  Edwin Ortega and Jordan got knotted by the magic spun by Rob Gawley with Jay putting full effort into his consistent play.

In the beginning, it looked like Andrew, Mole and Jose were going for booming serves with all the multiple Aces.  All in all, it was terrific action all over!

The rest of the results:

Sairaj Srinivasan/Laura Gawley over Kris Srinivasan/Christine Toth, 6-3!  No Aces.

Mike Mole/Jose Gonzales over Jay Phoenix/Kris Srinivasan, 6-3!  Jose: 1 Ace on Kris.

Mike Kazlauskas/Ryan Pienciak over Jordan Bachvaroff/Jay Phoenix, 6-3!  No Aces.

Jordan Bachvaroff/Dan Hwang over Mike Kazlauskas/Ryan Pienciak, 6-4!  No Aces.

Mike Kazlauskas/Ryan Pienciak over Jordan Bachvaroff/Dan Hwang, 7-6 (7-5)!  No Aces.

Guy Dupoux/Cliff Pierre-Louis over Kris Srinivasan/Laurie Boughton, 6-2!  Guy: 1 Ace on Kris!

Dave Zhu/Janice Wang over Laura Gawley/Doinks Srinivasan, 7-6 (8-6)!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: This one sounds like a possible Nominee for One-Set Specialty Doubles Match of The Year.  I now turn it back over to Kris. 

Jay Phoenix/Rob Gawley over Jordan Bachvaroff/Edwin Ortega, 7-6 (7-5)!  No Aces.

Kris Srinivasan/Tito Castolo over Guy Dupoux/Cliff Pierre-Louis, 6-2!  No Aces. 

Omar Santos/Doinks Srinivasan tied with Dave Zhu/Laurie Boughton, 5-5 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

The Stealth Report: We had a 4-0 lead and then they won five games in a row.  I finally stopped the bleeding when I held at Double Game Point.  The lights then went out with Dave serving at Break Point!

The K has his say: It was a nice comeback from being down Love-4 by Dave and Laurie to then win five straight games.

Jay Phoenix/Rob Gawley leading Jordan Bachvaroff/Edwin Ortega, 5-3 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

Tito Castolo/Janice Wang leading Guy Dupoux/Cliff Pierre-Louis, 3-1 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

It was yet another great night full of GTA action!  Cheers!

Samara's Notes: I thank Kris for all his hard work on behalf of the GTA…managing the court situation up there at Cedar Grove, collecting the scores and then providing us with such comprehensive reports.  Kudos to the K Man!

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

862-596-3354

6/14 Results.

6/14/17:               

"Hwang-Bobila, W2 Final part of 28 (1 return) at C.G.!":                               

There was one epic session of GTA Wednesday Night Tennis at The Cedar Grove Courts with "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan acting as host and featuring the last of the GTA Intermediate Invitational Quarterfinal Matches…this one between "The Voice" Dan Hwang and William "Bombs Away" Bobila.  Dan and Kris both provided commentary for this consequentially monumental encounter.

But because Kris was so preoccupied with the battle above, we have additional scores (some duplicated) submitted by "The Argentine Machine" Fernanda Toker, "Dominant" Dawn Peterson, "Stealth" Omar Santos, "The Levitator" Levy Lorenzo, Dennis "The Menace" Cabanatan, "The Webmaster" Senthil Kumar and GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro.

We now turn this report over to Kris (with all additional results inserted where appropriate).

It was certainly an epic night of GTA Tennis which was well predicted by Frank earlier in the day.  The turnout was incredible, but the woes of a prolonged Singles Challenge Match bring the agony of an extended wait on the bench.

Was it worth it?  Absolutely…for we got to watch one of the best GTA matches that I have seen from two outstanding players who gave their all and more!  It is one for the books and deserves to be nominated as the Singles Match of The Year thus far. 

William Bobila was the first to come and was well-prepared with chair and the works.  I did come with a chair as well, but ended up standing throughout the night.  Dan Hwang apparently was running late.  I hurried to play a quick set as I had planned to watch the Men's Singles Match.  Quick it was, indeed (my game…:-)!

The W2 Women's Doubles Tournament Final had already started on Court 1.  We had some non-tournament GTA matches happening throughout the night on Courts 2 and 4 and later on Court 1 after the Women's Doubles Tourney Final.  The Men's Singles Match would occupy Court 3 for the entirety of the night, having started around 7:15 and getting wrapped up just in time at 9:55.

I am not aware of many of the scores with many teams in the mix and a constant stream of players moving in and out of the various courts.  The atmosphere was electric and reverberating in tennis theatrics.  We had a standout crowd with quite a few who didn't even get to play.

To my knowledge, I didn't see Dan Martinelli (aka Spin), Genalin Capan and a few others who did not play for the night.  It was a stadium-like atmosphere, with spectators sprawled over the East, West and Northern sides.  There was a small contingent of spectators on the West side bench rooting for Bobila.  It could be easily called his "box" in the stands.  It was one of those nights that saw the most Filipinos, with Bobila having his own "Entourage."  We can safely say it was "Little Manila"...hahaha!

The Cedar Grove Results:

Tito Castolo/Dawn Peterson tied with Joe Rodrigues/Vinnie De Benedetto, 4-4 (Incomplete when Tito had to leave to pick up his wife)!  No Aces (apparently).

Tom La/Dawn Peterson over Kris Srinivasan/Vinnie De Bendetto, 6-3!  No Aces.

W2 Women's Doubles Tournament Final:

Fernanda Toker/Anna Mazur over Doinks Srinivasan/Kathy Sheldon, 6-1, 6-0, to win the 2017 W2 Women's Doubles Tournament plus become the New # 2 Ranked Team (i.e. Top Contenders) in the Women's Doubles Division!  No Aces.

The Consequences: Toker/Mazur are now entitled to the next Title shot at the reigning GTA Women's Doubles Champions: Laura Gawley and Sally Pillay.

Jordan Bachvaroff/Marie Salamon over Jay Phoenix/Sairaj Srinivasan, 6-3!  No Aces.

Chris Chiaro/Mike Kazlauskas over Joe Rodrigues/Jonathan Hegarty, 6-0!  No Aces.  It was the official GTA Return of Jonathan Hegarty.

Mike Sindler/Jonathan Hegarty over Levy Lorenzo/Marie Salamon, 6-3!  No Aces. 

Chris Chiaro/Tom La over Jordan Bachvaroff/Ralph Bernard, 6-0!  No Aces. 

Senthil Kumar/Omar Santos over Tito Castolo/Natalia Sout, 6-3!  No Aces.

Omar Santos/Dennis Cabanatan over Senthil Kumar/Natalia Sout, 6-3!  Omar: 1 Ace on Natalia.

The Stealth Report: There were multiple Deuce games seesawing between Game Points and Break Points!

Chris Chiaro/Tom La over Jordan Bachvaroff/Ralph Bernard, 6-1!  No Aces.

Tommy Reszkowski/Laurie Boughton over Fernanda Toker/Anna Mazur, 6-2!  No Aces.

Tommy Reszkowski/Laurie Boughton leading Fernanda Toker/Anna Mazur, 5-3 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

Omar Santos/Dennis Cabanatan leading Senthil Kumar/Natalia Sout, 1-0 but serving at Break Point (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

GTA Intermediate Invitational Quarterfinal:

William Bobilla over Dan Hwang 5-7, 6-2, 6-4, to become the New # 13 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division and the New # 2 Ranked Player in the Intermediate Division while advancing to the Semifinals of The GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament!  Dan: 1 Ace in the 2nd Set!

The Voice speaks: Time of the match was from 7:15 to 9:55.  William played a consistent game.  His lethal backhand and solid running kept him in many points and also dictated many more.  The match felt well-paced and of high quality.  Unfortunately, I made a few key errors in the middle of the 2nd Set and late in the 3rd Set and William did well to capitalize on the situation.

Overall, I am pleased with the quality of this match.  Of course, a win would have felt better. :-)  Nonetheless, he played well in the key points.  Kudos and good luck to William in the next round!

The K has his say: This was a classic match that had a treasure trove of amazing serves, terrific shots and placements.  This was a very high quality match that showcased the superior skills of both the players.  They went toe to toe and literally had to be on their toes in every point. 

I got to watch the match after the first few games once I finished my match in a hurry.  William was serving up 3-2 having just gotten a break.  William got to hold in a very tight game.  Down 2-4, Dan came up with one of the best service games to stay close in the set.  Bobila had another excellent hold despite a solid fight from Dan, pushing him close to clinching the set at 5-3!  To Dan's credit, he played fearlessly and had a comfortable hold of his own, forcing Bobila to close the set.  It was a tough game in which Dan prevailed and, with a sudden burst of momentum, he then secured the next two games to seal the 1st Set…but not without having to fight for every point!  There were some moments of frustration for Bobila.

The first point of the 2nd Set was an intriguing gesture on the part of Bobila who seemed to throw away the point without making any effort.  It sure threw Dan off and me off wondering if he was going to throw away the game.  But then, he stayed in the points somewhat relaxed without throwing in everything like he did in the 1st Set.  This was a classic move upon reflection as it certainly had an effect in Dan's subconscious mind.  After a couple of relaxed games, Dan took his pedal off the accelerator.  It was at this time when Bobila made his aggressive move and the subtle dynamic of the force coming off his demeanor had the right effect.  He got the break and Dan started making quite a few unforced errors.  The result was the shift in momentum and its imploding effects. 

The 3rd Set was on an even keel with both players holding their own.  We got to see scintillating shots, serves like missiles from Bobila, nice kick serves from Dan, superb topspin shots by Bobila countered effectively by slices and thumping forehand shots by Dan.  The match was riveting and it saw an incredible number of winners, excellent rallies and superior volleys.  This match brought the best of both the players where only the 2nd Set proved to be an aberration from the entirety of the match in having produced the most errors.  Save for that, this match was won by both players on their own merits.  So how did Dan end up losing?  It was in the crucial game after the match was tied 4-All in the 3rd Set where he blew the first two points after having constructed both so beautifully.  For the first time, he was somewhat defensive and that cost him a dear point.  Still, this fella was gutsy and gutted it out hard to Deuce…but then it was such a strain mentally.  He was absolutely calm the entire match.  So was Bobila who stayed mentally tough as well.  But then, he was well supported by his Entourage who were encouraging and goading him constantly.  They were probably a bit too talkative at tines and that likely distracted Dan, but then he took it in the stride.  He was a perfect gentleman and a fair play/straight shooter…to the point that he potentially lost a crucial point that cost him the game and the match to some extent.  He was serving and his second serve was a fault that Bobila did not call out but instead played.  Dan simply hit out Bobila's return of serve.  This gave the break to Bobila to go up 5-4 in this deciding set.  These two guys acted classy and the best gesture came when Dan hugged Bobila after the match, a true gesture of genuine respect for each other.  Hats off to both the guys for their exemplary attitude, game and sportsmanship! On a lighter note, Bobila was looking desperately for Ben Gay after the 2nd Set.

Overall, it was an outstanding match with two winners in tennis.  These guys each belong near the top of our Advanced Division and they both have enhanced the stature of our league.  They will end up contributing more to the improved performance of our other players by elevating their games to keep up with them.  Dino Celis got to enjoy the match alongside me for the latter half and was able to see their solid plays and misses at close quarters.  I generality like to play, but it was a privilege to watch the match.

Congratulations to both the players and to Bobila on his win!  He looks pretty strong to go all the way. But then, he has already proven that he belongs in the Advanced Division.  Cheers!

Samara's Notes: Kudos to both players on their extraordinary effort!  Congratulations to William on such a hard-fought victory!  And thanks to Dan for his excellent commentary.

Bobila now advances to face Jay "The Rising" Phoenix in the Semifinals where the other Semi will feature "The Annihilator" Nihar Panda taking on "Tailor Made" Raj Tailor. 

As always, I thank Kris for hosting GTA Tennis up at Cedar Grove and then following it all up with such a colorful and comprehensive report.  I also thank everyone else who contributed to this report.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

862-596-3354

 

 

 

6/13 Results.

6/13/17:               

"Mehta-Bachvaroff part of 21 (1 new) at C.G.!":                               

There was one epic session of GTA Tuesday Night Tennis at The Cedar Grove Courts with "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan acting as host and featuring an impromptu 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match between "The AM Rush" Anish Mehta and "The Bulgarian Bull" Jordan Bachvaroff…the result of which has now rocked the Advanced Division.

We now turn this report over to Kris (with a minor assist from "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli).

It was a sultry night which had very little effect on the enthusiasm of the players who wanted to play some GTA Tennis.

What a night it turned out to be for Jordan in his Singles Match against Anish.  It indeed deserves to be the highlight of the night plus the entry of a new player, Sonata Servetkaite, brought in by Sally Pillay.

The Cedar Grove Results:

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:

Jordan Bachvaroff over Anish Mehta, 7-6 (8-6), 6-3, to become the New # 2 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division!  No Aces.

The K has his say: The match started when we had fewer players, but as more players showed up…they would end up waiting a bit.  The 1st Set was a nail-biter and a very close affair.  Anish was serving well and mixed up his aggressive shots well with his slices which were very effective.  But Jordan, who relishes playing Singles, was able to muscle in his topspin forehand and he also did well to run when pushed.  A tight loss, like this one in a Tiebreak in the 1st Set, inevitably has its effects.  It was reflected in the 2nd Set, but still both players fought tooth and nail for every point.

Samara's Notes: Congratulations to Jordan on a very big win here!  He is now the Top Contender to the GTA Championship held by "King Crush" Chris Chiaro.  So Chiaro's next defense in the month of June should come against Jordan if they can put it together in time.  Because once the Grove Cup Men's Singles Tournament starts sometime in July (likely to begin early in the month), the reigning GTA Champ at that time will then be asked to refrain from defending their Title until a new Top Contender emerges from that tourney.

We now turn it back over to Kris.

Dave Zhu/Doinks Srinivasan over Sairaj Srinivasan/Jay Srinivasan, 6-2!  No Aces. 

There were plenty of good attacking shots and some nice passing shots by Jay and a Sairaj, but it was their unforced errors that wreaked their chances of closing out the games.

Bob Fattal over Elias Khawam, 6-3!  No Aces.

This match took place in the early stages.  There were plenty of good shots and running to make it interesting.

Guy Dupoux/Cliff Pierre-Louis over Bob Fattal/Elias Khawam, 6-3!  No Aces.

I wanted Bob to play with Cliff, but Bob and Elias seem to be another pair of "Inseparables", comfortable as a team.  Cliff and Guy can play attacking shots, but they did get a good fight from Bob and Elias.

Dan Martinelli/Sally Pillay over Nathan Fernandes/Sonata Servetkaite, 6-4!  Sally: 1 Ace on Nate (a great angled one to start things off); Spin: 1 Ace on Sonata; and Sonata: 1 Ace on Spin!  It was the official GTA Debut of Sonata Servetkaite.

It was a good match that saw a newcomer in Sonata who had some nice returns of serves and ground-strokes.  She is also learning to play more consistently.  Spin was a charging bull, ready to attack at the first opportunity with Sally supporting him very well.  Nate was pretty good in marshalling his resources very well, making it very competitive and close enough.

Samara's Notes: Spin's contribution to this report was the Ace count…which is very interesting.  Now once again, we go back to Kris.

Levy Lorenzo/Ryan Pienciak over Kris Srinivasan/T.J. Shah, 6-4!  No Aces.

It was a good match which we controlled well in the first half only to give it away after leading 4-2!  Levy was brilliant with his gets and efforts.  Ryan was solid at the net as he generally is.  T.J. did splendidly well for us, but both of us fell short…especially the last two games.

Nathan Fernandes/Levy Lorenzo over Kris Srinivasan/Ryan Pienciak, 6-4!  No Aces.

Levy, arriving this night in style in a Mustang, would display his horsepower in full force and he made a big impact.  Nate is back with his magic touch.  Ryan was good for us to keep the match in good balance.

Dave Zhu/Rob Gawley over Tito Castolo/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-2!  No Aces.

Tito Castolo/Doinks Srinivasan over Dave Zhu/Rob Gawley, 6-2!  No Aces.

Tito and Doinks redeemed themselves well as they upped their game and got a better handle on Rob's slices and dices.

Kris Srinivasan/Sally Pillay over Anish Mehta/Sonata Servetkaite, 6-2!  Anish: 1 Ace on Kris!

Anish was nice to be the fourth player with Spin opting to sit out to chill and chat with Dino who made his grand appearance in the later part of the evening.  It was good to play against Anish who was serving well and he uses his slices effectively.  Sonata got to play one more set for the night and she will come a long way as she plays more with us.  After a shaky start, Sally found her groove and there was a nice trading of net plays between her and Anish.

I got to hit a bit with Anish for 15 minutes or so before we round it up for the night.  All in all, it was a good bit of action with Jordan stealing the limelight indeed!  Cheers!

Samara's Notes: As always, I thank Kris for hosting GTA Tennis up at Cedar Grove and then following it all up with such a colorful and comprehensive report.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

862-596-3354

 

 

 

6/12 Results.

6/12/17:               

"Liu-Doran at PAC, 20 play at C.G.!":                               

There were two sessions of GTA Monday Night Tennis: One was at The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley featuring a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match between "Richie" Rich Liu and "Ravishing" Randy Doran (with Rich reporting) and the other was at The Cedar Grove Courts with Dennis "The Menace" Cabanatan, GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro, Bob "The Lob" Fattal and "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan all reporting (Kris had captured the results from Chris and Bob, but they provided the correct scores…and Kris did not get the results from Dennis who covered what took place earlier in the evening).

So we first go to Rich (with a quick comment from Randy) and then the multi-layered reporting of Dennis, Chris, Bob and Kris to finish this report.

The Park Ave. Result:

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:

Randy Doran over Rich Liu, 6-2, 6-1, to become the New # 42 Ranked Player in the Intermediate Division!  Rich: 1 Ace.

The Liu News: I started off doing well leading 2-0, but was unraveled by Ravishing Randy's smoothness and consistence as he got into his groove.  We had long rallies that Randy consistently won as I eventually committed unforced errors over and over again.  It was a fun match overall despite the lopsided score.  

Ravishing raves: In all fairness, Rich is testing out a new racquet and it will take him some time to get comfortable with it.  

Samara's Notes: I thank both for reporting this result along with the details and commentary.  We now head up to Cedar Grove.  

The Cedar Grove Results:

Dennis Cabanatan/Tom La over Raj Shah/Jordan Bachvaroff, 7-6 (7-3)!  No Aces (apparently).

Dennis Cabanatan/Tom La over Rob Gawley/Tito Castolo, 6-4!  No Aces (apparently).

Kris Srinivasan/Sairaj Srinivasan over Mike Mole/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-4!  No Aces.

Bob Fattal/Elias Khawam over Brenda Jordan/Dawn Peterson, 6-4!  No Aces.

Bob Fattal/Brenda Jordan over Elias Khawam/Dawn Peterson, 6-2!  No Aces.

Nathan Fernandes/Dan Martinelli over Kris Srinivasan/Mike Mole, 6-2!  No Aces.

Kris Srinivasan/Janice Wang over Nathan Fernandes/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-4!  No Aces.

Nathan Fernandes/Jordan Bachvaroff over Chris Chiaro/Janice Wang, 6-3!  No Aces.

Chris Chiaro/Janice Wang over Joe Rodrigues/T.J. Shah, 6-4!  Joe: 1 Ace on Chris.

The K has his say: Dino Celis came to chill out a bit.  There was a decent crowd and we got to use three of the courts most of the time.  Cheers!

Samara's Notes: I thank all those who contributed to this report in such a timely manner.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

862-596-3354

 

 

6/11 Results.

6/11/17:

"M2 at PAC (1 new), Samara hosts 10 (1 new) at AP, 13 play at C.G.!":

There was three sessions of GTA Sunday Tennis: an early morning one at The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley featuring the M2 Round of 13 Match between the teams of GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro/"Lean Daddy" Dean Delgado and "The Speed Demon" Dan Praport/"The Lion Tamer" Andrew Ramer (with Dan reporting), the usual mid-morning to early afternoon one at Albion Park in Clifton (hosted by "Hollywood" Frank Samara) and an evening session at The Cedar Grove Courts co-hosted by "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan, "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas and "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan.

We will first go to Nutley for the result from there (i.e. The Praport Report).  Then we will detail all the comings and goings at Albion (via Samara).  And then we will finish with the combined report from Kris and Gen.

The Park Ave. Courts Result:

Dan Praport/Andrew Ramer over Chris Chiaro/Dean Delgado, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, to become the New # 51 Ranked Team in the Doubles Division while advancing to the Quarterfinals of the M2 Men's Doubles Tournament!  It was the official GTA Debut of Andrew Ramer.  Andrew: 1 Ace on Dean in the 2nd Set.

The Praport Report: We started hitting around 8:15am and got the match started around 8:25.  It was already very hot and humid considering it was still early in the morning.  The match ended around 10:05.

The Champ chimes in (addressing Samara's concerns about another possible "ringer" entering the league): Ramer is good, but I think he fits in well with our group.  We just cannot schedule another match this early again.

Samara's Notes: I thank Dan for his detailed and timely report.  I welcome Andrew to the league.  I also congratulate both on a very impressive victory.  I thank Chris for his honest assessment of Andrew's skill set.  And I had a feeling the early scheduling of the above match was not going to favor The Party Boys (Chris and Dean).

We now take it up to Albion!    

It was 11:05 when "Hollywood" Frank Samara pulled up to the courts  Upon his arrival, he saw that "Coach" Dino Celis had once again been instructing "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli and putting him through the paces in another intense workout session as The Doc continues to seek to drop some pounds.  This time around, this unique display took place on the South Court.

The two of them were mostly finished with the workout session, but they took a break to speak to a new recruit that comes to us by way of Ayman Elbatanony.  Her name is Suzanne Bujara and she is relatively new to tennis.  Ayman has been giving her some tennis instruction over at Holster Park.

She is very nice and fits in quite well with us attitude-wise.  We soon found out that she was not nearly as "rank" a beginner as she thought she was.  She has potential and just needs more time out on the courts.

On the North Court, we once again had the same two guys from last week (aka The Bald Brothers).  But due to the high heat, they bailed by 11:20.

And on Center Court, a Doubles One-Setter was already underway as "The Legendary" Chazz Weldon was teaming with his MXD2 Mixed Doubles Tournament partner, "LP" Lena Pyatski as they faced off against "Vintage" Vinnie De Benedetto and "The Mel Man" Melvin Hyman (making his first trip to Albion).

At 11:10, Jay "The Rising" Phoenix made his way to the courts.  Samara was soon hitting solo against Jay and Suzanne on the South Court while Spin was taking a breather after his workout.  It was agreed upon that Frank would team with Suzanne to take on Jay and Spin.  Once the North Court became available, the four of them decided to get their One-Setter started over there as that court featured more shade (a much sought after commodity on this 90 degree day!).  We got it underway at 11:25.

At 11:35, "Dominant" Dawn Peterson made her way to the courts.  She only had to wait about ten minutes before getting the chance to hit a bit and then become part of the second Doubles One-Setter to take place on Center Court.

At noon, "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes was the tenth and final competitor to arrive.  The sweltering conditions likely kept many competitors away.

It should also be said that Samara's cousin, "KC" Kathy Carroll mistakenly arrived at Albion on Saturday afternoon rather than Sunday.  She is still recovering from an injury and looking to just "dip her toes a bit" to see how she feels as she heals.  I guess she was unable to return on Sunday, but we hope to see her at the courts in the near future.

Now, let's get to the scores!

The Albion Park Results:

Chazz Weldon/Lena Pyatski over Vinnie De Benedetto/Melvin Hyman, 6-2!  No Aces.  They got this one underway somewhere near 11am on Center Court and it ended at 11:45.

Jay Phoenix/Dan Martinelli over Frank Samara/Suzanne Bujara, 6-3!  Jay: 1 Ace on Suzanne.  It was the official GTA Debut of Suzanne Bujara.  It went like this: Spin held serve (Jay hit a winning Overhead Smash in the first point and then another winner in the next point for a 30-Love lead, it then went to 30-15 and then Double Game Point where Frank blew an attempted drop shot to allow the hold), Frank held (Frank hit a drop shot winner for 15-Love on the way to Triple Game Point, then it was at Double Game Point where Spin hit a winner to cut that lead to Game Point, but then came the hold), Jay held (an un-returned serve for 15-Love and then a very impressive return winner from Frank for 15-All, but then it was on the way to Double Game Point with another un-returned serve along the way and then it was soft and short Ace on Suzanne for the hold) and Suzanne also held (Love-15 then point for point until 30-All as Frank hit two drop shot winners along the way and then another drop shot led to Game Point and then came the hold) as we were all on serve at 2-2!  Martinelli held again (three consecutive un-returned serves set up Triple Game Point, then a Double Fault for Double Game Point and then it was on Game Point where Spin hit a winner to secure his own hold) and Samara held at Love (after starting things off with a winning Backhand Volley) to keep things even at 3-3!  But from there, Phoenix held again (an un-returned serve and a winner from Spin on the way to Triple Game Point which got reduced to Game Point, but then came the hold) while Bujara was broken (Double Fault for Love-30, 15-30, Double Break Point and the break) to fall to 3-5.  The Doc held a third straight time as Love-15 shifted straight to Double Game/Match Point as Spin hit a winner along the way while Jay hit a whopper of a winner to seal the deal on this one!  We played this on the North Court from 11:25 to 11:55.

The Skinny: The workouts seem to be having a positive effect on Spin as there is a bit more spring in his step.  Jay has been coming on strong lately as he continues to improve.  Frank played much better than he did in his poor showing at Cedar Grove on Friday night.  And Suzanne outperformed the low expectations that she delivered to everyone prior to her initial performance.

Chazz Weldon/Lena Pyatski over Melvin Hyman/Dawn Peterson, 6-4!  Dawn: 1 Ace on Lena.  Center Court hosted this one from 11:52 to 12:43.

Nathan Fernandes over Jay Phoenix, 6-1!  No Aces.  They started this one on the South Court at 12:10.  Not sure when it ended as it went right into another one which we will get to just a little later in this report.

Dan Martinelli/Vinnie De Benedetto over Frank Samara/Suzanne Bujara, 6-3!  Vin: 2 Aces on Suzanne; and Spin: 1 Ace on Suzanne!  Here's how it went down: Suzanne was broken (Vin hit a winner for Love-15 where Frank made a great get/winner combo for 15-All, but then it went straight to Double Break Point where a Double Fault ended matters), Spin was broken (Suzanne hit a nice return winner for Love-15 which was answered by a nice get/winner combo by Spin for 15-All, but then this one also went right to Double Break Point, then it was at Break Point where the break came), Frank was broken at Love as Vin hit a winning return to get things started, but then Vinnie was the first one to hold (Spin made an impressive get/drop shot winner combo for 30-Love, it then went to Triple Game Point and then Double Game Point where Vin scored on Suzanne with a slow Ace to the corner) to go up 3-1.  Bujara rebounded with a Love hold as Vin blew an overhead to get things started and she also had an un-returned serve along the way as well, but Martinelli also held (Frank hit a drop shot winner and then Suzanne hit a winner of her own to make it Love-30, but then two un-returned serves shifted it to 30-All where a slow and short Ace once again caught Suzanne by surprise as it set up Game Point, then the game went to Deuce, Game Point again and then the hold) to go up 4-2.  Samara held (Suzanne hit another winner and Frank hit a Backhand Volley winner on the way to Triple Game Point before his lead was cut to Game Point, but then came the hold) to pull to 3-4.  But from there, De Benedetto held again (Frank blew a drop shot attempt for 15-Love and it was off and running to Triple Game Point where Frank made another quick get/winner combo to reduce it to Double Game Point only to have a sideline Ace on Suzanne secure the hold) and then Newbie Bujara was broken as she started off with a Double Fault and then Spin hit a winner for Love-30 where another Double Fault set up Triple Break/Match Point, the break came on Double Break/Match Point and this one was then in the books!  We played this one on the North Court from 12:10 to 12:42.

The Skinny: Suzanne's level of performance improved in this one except for that last game where she was broken which was pretty much the only time she looked like a newbie the entire session.  Still, she had fun and so did the rest of us.  She is a welcome addition to the league.  And, thankfully, she lives close to Albion...so I expect we will continue to see more of her.  Thanks to Ayman for sending her our way.

Nathan Fernandes over Jay Phoenix, 6-1!  No Aces.  This second One-Setter ended on the South Court at exactly 12:49.  The reason this could not be recorded as a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match is the fact that Phoenix is still in the active draw of the still ongoing GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament.

After taking a breather, Nate and Jay went back out on the court (I think it was Center Court this time around) for an extended hitting session that went all the way until 1:45.

Meanwhile, Frank, Spin and Dino had a bull session in their usual spot up the hill from the courts out on the sidewalk that ran until just shy of 2pm.

We now head up to Cedar Grove for the combined report from Kris, Marijus and Gen.

The Cedar Grove Courts:

Marijus Kuzavas/Sally Pillay over Kris Srinivasan/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-3!  No Aces.

Marijus Kuzavas/Sally Pillay over Kris Srinivasan/Ryan Pienciak, 6-4!  Marijus: 1 Ace on Kris!

We were down 1-5 before recovering some lost ground.  But Marijus and Sally were rock solid and look like the Mixed Doubles team to beat in the ongoing tourney.

Marijus Kuzavas/Sally Pillay over Ryan Pienciak/Janice Wang, 6-3!  No Aces.

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:
Levy Lorenzo/Jordan Bachvaroff over Jose Gonzales/Sairaj Srinivasan, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2), to successfully defend their # 55 Rank in the Doubles Division!  In the process, Gonzales/Srinivasan enters the division as the New # 63 Ranked Team.  No Aces. 

Levy Lorenzo/Genalin Capan over Rafaelo Kazakov/Edgar Valentina, 6-1!  No Aces.  They played this one on Court Four from 8:50 to 9:20.

The K has his say: Gen was absolutely brilliant in her match that saw Levy putting everything into his game against an almost consistent Rafaelo and a great serving Edgar, who was also very effective in his drop shots.  It was a well-balanced match that was close and captivating.  Cheers!

Rafaelo Kazakov/Edgar Valentina over Levy Lorenzo/Genalin Capan, 6-4!  Edgar: 1 Ace on Gen.  This one also took place on Court Four as it started immediately after the previous encounter and finished just in time right before 10pm! 

Gen's Notes: The first game set the tone for the rest of the match as Rafaelo held serve in a game that became a 10-Deuce struggle!  There were a couple more multiple Deuce games in the set.  Rafaelo and Edgar had leads of 4-2 and then 5-2.  That was where Edgar had held for 5-3, but then Levy held and Kazakov was broken as we pulled to 4-5. Then I was on serve and it was 30-All, Break/Match Point, Deuce, 2nd Break/Match Point, 2nd Deuce and then on the 3rd Break/Match Point it was Rafaelo who hit a shot that hit the top of the tape and then rolled down on our side of the net for the win!

Samara's Notes: I thank Kris, Marijus and Gen for submitting their scores in a very timely manner and for also providing details as well.
 
Best wishes,
Frank Samara
gtasamara5@gmail.com
862-596-3354

6/9 Results.

6/9/17:

"Samara hosts 22 (1 return) at C.G. incl. M2 1st Rounder!":

GTA Friday Night Tennis took place at The Cedar Grove Courts where "Hollywood" Frank Samara once again acted as host.  The Main Event would be the first of the M2 Round of 13 Matches to be played with the team of "The K-Man" Kris Srinivasan and "The Webmaster" Senthil Kumar taking on "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli and "Vintage" Vinnie De Benedetto.  Here now are the comings and goings of the session.

Samara pulled into the parking lot earlier than expected at 6:45.  Upon his arrival, he saw that on Court One there was  Miroslav "Mirav" Glavic hitting against his buddy "The Ambidextrous Machine" Herb Reiner.

Court Two and Court Three were both vacant, so Samara asked Bob "The Lob" Fattal to join him on Three for a hitting session (and also to hold as many courts as possible).

And on Court Four, it was some Singles action as Jay "The Rising" Phoenix and "The Electrifying" Elias Khwam were facing each other in  a One-Setter.

At 6:50, "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes arrived.  Samara asked him to take his place on Court Three while Frank would then shift over to Court Two to hold that one.  The strategy was sound as the GTA had all four courts (not counting Herb and Mirav until they left at 8pm) under its control the entire evening.

At 6:55, both "Big George" Jorge Solano and De Benedetto pulled into the parking lot.  Samara invited them over to Court Two to hit against each other.

Fifteen minutes later at 7:10, Kris walked across the street and quickly assessed the situation.  He then determined that he wanted Court Three for his M2 Match.  So he asked Nate and Bob to shift over to Court Two and they were kind enough to do so.

Kris and Jorge were hitting against Vin until Spin arrived at 7:15 and took his rightful place next to his partner.  Senthil arrived just minutes later and replaced Jorge in the hitting session until they got the actual match underway on Court Three at exactly 7:26.

"The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan came across the street at 7:30 just as "ME" Michel Encarnacion was pulling into the parking lot.  We haven't seen Michel since last fall.  The two of them were able to start hitting on Court Two as, by that time, Nate and Bob had come over to Court Four hot on the heels of that Singles One-Setter between Jay and Elias.  Jay had left, but Elias stuck around to team with his buddy Bob to face Nate and Jorge.

The players kept coming: "Latino Heat" Jose Gonzales at 7:35, "Richie" Rich Liu at 7:40; "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak at 7:45 and, at that same time, "Coach" Dino Celis arrived to make an extended cameo appearance; "Magic" Mike Mole at 8pm, Natalia "Nitro" Sout at 8:10; The Gawleys (Rowdy Rob and Laura the Aura) and "The Levitator" Levy Lorenzo at 8:15, and Tito "Touch" Castolo and "2 Tall" Dave Zhu at 8:30.

This gave us an impressive total of 22 competitors for the session.

Time to get to the scores!
 
The Cedar Grove Results:

Jay Phoenix over Elias Khawam, 6-1!  No Aces.  This one took place on Court Four from 7pm to 7:24.

M2 Round of 13 Match:
Senthil Kumar/Kris Srinivasan over Dan Martinelli/Vinnie De Benedetto, 6-1, 6-0, to successfully defend their # 11 Rank in the Doubles Division while also advancing to the Quarterfinals of the GTA M2 Men's Doubles Tournament!  In the process, Martinelli/De Benedetto enters the Doubles Division as the New # 61 Ranked Team.  No Aces.

1st Set: Spin was broken (Spin made an amazing get/winner combo for 15-Love, it shifted to 15-30 where Senthil scored with a winning Backhand Volley to set up Double Break Point and then Senthil hit another winning volley for the break), Kris was broken (Senthil blew an overhead for Love-15 and Vin hit a volley winner for Love-30, it went to Triple Break Point where an un-returned serve made it Double Break Point and then it went to Break Point where a Double Fault caused Kris to break himself), Vin was broken (got off to a 30-Love start and then Senthil hit a winning volley for 30-15, it then went to 30-All and Game Point which was where Spin blew a volley for Deuce only to have Vin hit a vicious winner for Game Point, then it went to 2nd Deuce and Break Point where Senthil hit a winning Overhead Smash for the break) and then Senthil was the first to hold serve (Kris hit a winning Overhead Smash for 30-Love, but then Senthil blew an overhead for 30-15, it went to 30-All where Kris hit a winning volley for Game Point which was where Senthil made a great get that led to getting the point and earning the hold) to go up 3-1.  From there, Martinelli was broken again (Love-30 shifted to 30-All with two un-returned serves, it then went to Game Point where Vin blew a volley to make it Deuce, it was Break Point where Spin scored with a surprising hybrid of a passing shot and a lob to bring it back to 2nd Deuce, but then Spin blew an overhead to set up another Break Point and then Senthil scored with a venomous volley winner for the break), Srinivasan held (an un-returned serve for 15-Love, then 30-Love where Senthil blew a drop shot attempt to make it 30-15, it then went to 30-All and another winning volley by Senthil set up Game Point where another un-returned serve secured the hold) and then De Benedetto was broken again (Senthil hit a winning Overhead Smash for Love-15, then two un-returned serves shifted it to 30-15, it was 30-All where Vin scored with a passing shot winner for Game Point, but then Kris hit a Backhand Volley winner for Deuce and then Vin blew a volley to set up Break/Set Point only to have Kris blow a drop shot attempt to bring it back to 2nd Deuce where Kris redeemed himself with a winning Overhead Smash to set up the 2nd Break/Set Point where Kris scored with yet another winning Overhead Smash to earn the break) to end the set exactly at 7:54 (it had begun on Court Three precisely at 7:26).  One minute later, they got the next one underway.

2nd Set: Kris held at Love as Senthil hit a winning Overhead Smash, Vin blew a volley, Senthil hit another winning Overhead Smash and then Senthil hit a Backhand Volley winner for the break, Spin was broken (Vin hit back-to-back winning volleys for 30-Love, it was then Triple Game Point where Senthil hit a sizzling passing shot winner for Double Game Point, it then went to Game Point and Deuce where Senthil a winning volley for Break Point, and un-returned serve returned the game to 2nd Deuce, but then came Break Point and the break), Senthil held (Spin hit a winning lob for Love-15, Senthil hit a winning Overhead Smash for 15-All, an un-returned serve made it 30-15 and then Kris hit a winning Overhead Smash to make it Double Game Point where a truly un-returnable serve secured the hold), Vin was broken (Kris hit a winner for Love-15, it was 15-All where Senthil hit a winning Overhead Smash for 15-30 and then Vin blew a volley to set up Double Break Point where Kris hit a net-cord-aided winner for the break), Srinivasan held again (Vin hit a winning Overhead Smash for Love-15, an un-returned serve made it 15-All and then it went straight to Double Game Point where another un-returned serve secured the hold) and then Martinelli was broken again and this time it was at Love as Senthil hit a winner followed by a winning volley for Love-30 and then when it was Triple Break/Match Point, Kris hit a victorious volley winner for the break and the match (which ended at exactly 8:13)!

The Skinny: I know we say it all the time, but it is true...this one was a lot closer than the simple score indicates.  As you can see by the point-by-point breakdown above, Spin and Vin had their chances...several of them, in fact!  They just failed to convert as they were less consistent than their competitors.  While Kris had his impressive moments, it was Senthil who was once again an MVP of the match in which he was involved as he was such a steady and also forceful presence at the net.  His net play dictated most of the tempo of the match.  He seemed...at least to me...like he was the true difference-maker in this one.  But kudos to all competitors on a spirited effort.  It was fun to watch as the atmosphere was both competitive yet still somewhat lighthearted.  

Nathan Fernandes/Jorge Solano over Bob Fattal/Elias Khawam, 6-0!  No Aces.  Court Four hosted this foursome from 7:28 to 7:48.

Ryan Pienciak/Jorge Solano over Bob Fattal/Elias Khawam, 6-1!  No Aces.  Also played on Court Four, this one lasted from 7:49 to 8:09.

Jose Gonzales/Doinks Srinivasan over Rich Liu/Michel Encarnacion, 6-4!  No Aces.  It was the official GTA Return of Michel Encarnacion.  This took place on Court Two from 7:50 to 8:30.

Levy Lorenzo/Jorge Solano over Ryan Pienciak/Bob Fattal, 6-4!  Ryan: 2 Aces on Levy; and Bob: 1 Ace on Jorge!  Another face-off on Court Four…this one lasted from 8:20 to 9pm.

Senthil Kumar/Kris Srinivasan over Nathan Fernandes/Frank Samara, 6-4!  No Aces.  It went like this: Kris was broken at Love as Nathan hit a winning Overhead Smash to start things off and then Senthil blew a volley along the way, Frank was broken (Kris hit a vicious volley winner for Love-30, then 15-30 where Kris unleashed a wicked Overhead Smash winner for Double Break Point which was where Nate hit a winner of his own for Break Point, but then came the break), but Senthil was the first to hold serve (Nate blew an overhead for 15-Love, Frank made a great get on the way to 15-All, but then it was off and running to Double Game Point as Kris hit a winning Overhead Smash along the way and then came the hold) to make it 2-1.  Nathan also held (Love-15 shifted to Double Game Point as Kris blew a volley and there was an un-returned serve along the way, Kris hit a passing shot winner to cut it to Game Point, but then Kris blew a volley to allow the hold), but Srinivasan held again (Senthil hit a winning volley for 15-Love, there was an un-returned serve for 30-Love, then it went to 30-15, Double Game Point and the hold) for 3-2.  Samara was broken again (15-Love went straight to Double Break Point as Frank blew an overhead and then also blew a drop shot attempt and then Senthil hit an Overhead Smash that landed on top of the tape to convert into a net-cord-aided winner for the break) and then Kumar held again (Frank blew a volley to make it 15-Love, it then shifted straight to Double Break Point as Nate hit both a winning Overhead Smash and then another winner, but then it shifted to Deuce, Game Point, 2nd Deuce, Game Point again where Frank blew another drop shot attempt to allow the hold) for a rather commanding 5-2 lead.  Fernandes also held again (Nate hit a winning volley and then Frank hit a mishit Overhead Smash winner to set up 30-Love, it then went to 30-15, Double Game Point, then Game Point where Nate hit a winner to secure his own hold) and then The K Man was broken (30-Love shifted to 30-All, Game/Match Point, Deuce, Break Point, 2nd Deuce, Break Point again and then the break…could not remember who hit what winners in this game as I had to catch up with scores from other courts) to have his team's lead cut to 5-4!  But Hollywood failed yet again to hold (Frank hit a winning Overhead Smash for 15-Love, but that went straight to Double Break/Match Point as Kris hit a whipping Backhand Volley winner and Senthil hit a scorching winner of his own along the way and then Frank hit a rare Double Fault to end this one unceremoniously) to take the loss!  We played this on Court Three from 8:20 to 8:55.

The Skinny: There clearly was a weakest link in this contest and it was Samara who displayed some of the worst tennis he has ever played in quite some time!  Fernandes was so dejected after the loss that he went home soon afterward.  Kris was so concerned about this unusual development that you thought he might just call a search party to try to track down Nate the Grieving!

Rich Liu/Tito Castolo over Dave Zhu/Michel Encarnacion, 6-1!  No Aces.  This was contested on Court Two from 8:45 to 9:05.

Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley over Mike Mole/Natalia Sout, 6-2!  No Aces.  This one got underway on Court One somewhere around 8:50 (after a lengthy hitting session) and I'm not sure when it ended.

Senthil Kumar/Dan Martinelli over Jose Gonzales/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-2!  No Aces.  Court Three hosted this action from 9pm to 9:28.  After this, Doinks went solo in hitting against both Gonzales and Mole.

Levy Lorenzo/Ryan Pienciak over Frank Samara/Kris Srinivasan, 6-2!  No Aces.  Here's how it went down: Frank held (Frank hit an impressive winner for 15-Love, it was 30-Love where Kris blew a volley for 30-15, it then went to Double Game Point where Kris blew another volley for Game Point which was where an un-returned serve secured the hold), Ryan held (a truly un-returnable serve for 30-Love, then 30-15, Double Game Point, Game Point and the hold), Kris held (30-Love, 30-15, Double Game Point where Ryan hit a lightning-quick reflex short-angle Backhand Volley winner for Game Point, Deuce where Frank hit a roller of a winner for Game Point and then came the hold) and Levy held at Love as Ryan secured the hold with one of his monster Overhead Smash winners as we were all on serve at 2-2.  But from there, Samara was broken (15-Love shifted to Double Break Point, Break Point and the break), Pienciak held again (Love-15 then point for point until 30-All, Game Point and the hold), Srinivasan was broken (15-Love, 15-All and then onto Double Game Point, cut down to Deuce, Break Point and the break) and then Lorenzo held again (15-Love where Kris hit an emphatic Overhead Smash winner for 15-All, but then it was straight to Double Game/Match Point as Kris blew back-to-back volleys and then Ryan hit a roller of a winner to break the hearts of his opposition while securing the hold of his partner) for the win!  We played this on Court Four from 9:05 to 9:35.

The Skinny: There are three games there (the three before the last one) where I no longer noted who hit what winners as running out of time was my primary concern.  My level of play crept up somewhat, but not enough.  Both Kris and I were prime examples of inconsistency…often making great plays only to follow them with foolish errors.  Meanwhile, Ryan and Levy were much more consistent.  Lorenzo was the steady presence roaming the baseline while Pienciak was the aggressive force up at the net…it was a deadly combo!

Rich Liu/Tito Castolo over Dave Zhu/Jorge Solano, 6-4!  Dave: 1 Ace on Tito.  They got this one underway on Court Two at 9:10.  Once Court One became available, they shifted this action over to that court instead.  It finished at 9:48.  From there, they played a 10-Point Super Tiebreak just for fun and I never collected the score for that one since it would be meaningless anyway.

Kris Srinivasan/Mike Mole tied with Ryan Pienciak/Doinks Srinivasan, 4-4 (Incomplete when the lights went off at 10pm)!  No Aces.  They started this one on Court Four at 9:37 and decided to forego the changeovers, but they still weren't able to get to a full and proper conclusion.

Still, it was an exciting way to end an epic session.

Sincerely,
Frank Samara
Gtasamara5@gmail.com
862-596-3354

6/8 Results.

6/8/17:               

"Samara hosts 29 (1 new) at C.G. incl. MXD2 1^st Rounder!":                               

There was GTA Thursday Night Tennis at The Cedar Grove Courts (hosted by "Hollywood" Frank Samara, who ended up showing up after all).  This session also featured the first of The MXD2 Mixed Doubles Tournament Round of 14 Matches to be played as "T-Rez" Tommy Reskzowski teamed with "The Argentine Machine" Fernanda Toker to take on "The Accelerator" Abhilash Gadi and "Laidback" Laurie Boughton.   

Samara somewhat surprisingly arrived at the courts at 7:30 to see all four full of GTA action (well, one court had just finished a One-Setter and it turned into a conversation as three players waited for a fourth to arrive).  This was on Court One as GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro, "J-Rod" Joe Rodrigues and "The Bulgarian Bull" Jordan Bachvaroff were talking to "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli through the fence.

On Court Two, Frank saw William "Bombs Away" Bobila and Fred "Supa Dupa" Suba teaming together against "Magic" Mike Mole (more on his new moniker a little later) who was paired with an unfamiliar face.  This new player is a friend of William and Fred's and his name is Edgar Inclan.  It turns out the four of them had already played a One-Setter and then switched teams for this second one.

On Court Three, it was the team of "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes and "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan squaring off with "Ragin" Rajan Shah and "Teej" T.J. Shah.

And on Court Four it was The Main Event of the night, the MXD2 Round of 14 Match which had already gotten underway somewhere around 7pm after a 10 to 15 minute hitting session.

"Bravo" Brenda Jordan was on the bench alongside Court Four watching that match.  She also gave a prior result to Samara.  Right around this time, "Coach" Dino Celis arrived to make an extended cameo appearance for the balance of the evening (the same thing Spin was doing as he was resting up for his upcoming M2 Round of 13 Match on Friday night).

Frank shied away from becoming the fourth player on Court One in order to get caught up with all the scores and comings and goings at the courts.

At 7:35, "The Headhunter" Ralph Bernard arrived and became the fourth man on Court One.  "Latino Heat" Jose Gonzales arrived just a little too late for that opportunity.  He was OK with it as he needed time to stretch anyway.

"The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan was the next to hit the scene when she crossed the street to the courts around 7:55…about the same time that "Kevlar" Kevin Doyle returned from getting some beverages between on-court action.  Five minutes later, "Salsa Picante" Edwin Ortega arrived and joined the growing throng of people on that bench alongside Court Four (meanwhile, the bench alongside Court One was "Hecklers Central" with Frank, Spin, Dino and a revolving cast of characters along the way).

At 8:15, "The Webmaster" Senthil Kumar and "The Sin Man" Mike Sindler arrived at the same time to see the backlog that was already taking place.  Luckily, Samara convinced them to stay because Mike would be invited to action on Court One less than ten minutes later while Senthil would become a participant on Court Four five minutes after that.

At 8:25, "The Levitator" Levy Lorenzo also hit the scene.  And five minutes after that, three more came: "Stealth" Omar Santos, "Drill Instructor" Don Moya and "J-Wow" Janice Wang.

And at 8:40, Tito "Touch" Castolo was the final arrival and would become the 29^th official competitor of the session.  Had Spin played, we would have hit 30!

It was an awesome session and here now is the official action.

The Cedar Grove Results:

William Bobila/Mike Mole over Fred Suba/Edgar Inclan, 6-0!  No Aces.  It was the official GTA Debut of Edgar Inclan.  Not sure of the start or stop times, but it took place on Court Two.

Joe Rodrigues/Jordan Bachvaroff over Kevin Doyle/Brenda Jordan, 6-1!  No Aces.  Much like the previous score, do not know the start and stop times…but this one took place on Court One.

William Bobila/Fred Suba over Mike Mole/Edgar Inclan, 6-2!  No Aces.  This one finished on Court Two at exactly 7:37.

Nathan Fernandes/Kris Srinivasan over Rajan Shah/T.J. Shah, 6-3!  Rajan: 1 Ace on Nate.  Not sure when this one got underway on Court Three, but it finished at 7:50.

MXD2 Round of 14 Match:

Tommy Reszkowski/Fernanda Toker over Abhilash Gadi/Laurie Boughton, 6-3, 6-3, to successfully defend their # 8 Rank in the Mixed Doubles Division while also advancing to the Quarterfinals of the GTA MXD2 Mixed Doubles Tournament!  In the process, Gadi/Boughton entered the Mixed Doubles Division as the New # 35 Ranked Team.  Tommy: 3 Aces (2 on Laurie, 1 on Abhi); and Abhi: 3 Aces (2 on Tommy, 1 on Fernanda)!

The Skinny: Brenda said that she saw the four of them hit for ten to fifteen minutes and then the match likely got underway on Court Four somewhere around 7pm.  The 1^st Set ended at 7:35.  Two minutes later, they started the 2^nd Set.  The match finished at 8:25.

Edgar Inclan over Mike Mole, 6-3!  No Aces.  Court Two hosted this one from 7:40 to 8:10.

Chris Chiaro/Joe Rodrigues over Jordan Bachvaroff/Ralph Bernard, 6-4!  Ralph: 1 Ace on Joe.  After starting off down 0-1, Chris and Joe took it straight to 5-1 before having their lead cut to 5-4!  Only then could they close it out and get the win.  This battle occupied Court One from 7:45 to 8:15.

Jose Gonzales/Rajan Shah over Kris Srinivasan/T.J. Shah, 6-4!  No Aces.  Somehow, The K Man managed to separate The Inseparables!  This took place on Court Three from 7:55 to 8:45.

Edwin Ortega/Doinks Srinivasan over Kevin Doyle/Brenda Jordan, 7-6 (7-5)!  No Aces.  This Mixed Doubles action was hosted by Court Two from 8:15 to 9:10.

Chris Chiaro/Joe Rodrigues over Ralph Bernard/Mike Sindler, 6-2!  No Aces.  They got this one done on Court One within the time period of 8:25 to 9pm.

Senthil Kumar/Frank Samara over Nathan Fernandes/Levy Lorenzo, 6-4!  No Aces.  It went like this, but it should be noted that there were a couple of games…the sixth and seventh…where I could not note who hit what winners where and when as I had to catch up with the results coming in from other courts…and plus, time was of the essence: Nathan held serve (the first point of the match may have been the best one and it led to 15-Love and then it went point for point until 30-All as Nate hit a winning volley and Senthil hit an even more impactful one along the way and then it was Break Point where Levy hit a winning volley of his own to bring it back to Deuce and then Game Point where Frank blasted a short-angle return winner right off the court for 2^nd Deuce, but it went back to Game Point and then the hold), Frank held (Senthil hit a winning volley for 15-Love, then 15-All before going straight to Double Game Point where another volley winner by Senthil secured the hold), but Levy was the first to be broken (a 15-Love start went straight to Double Break Point as Senthil scored with two big, winning Overhead Smashes along the way and then came the break) for 1-2.  Senthil was also broken and it was at Love after Frank blew a volley to set up Triple Break Point and then Fernandes held again (Nathan made an absolutely great get that led to 15-Love, then 15-All went right to Double Game Point as Frank blew an overhead along the way, but then back-to-back blown volleys by Levy led to Deuce, but then came Game Point and the hold) to reclaim the lead at 3-2.  Samara was broken (Love-15 then point for point to Break Point, Deuce, Game Point, 2^nd Deuce, Break Point and the break) as his team fell to 2-4, but Lorenzo was broken again (30-Love shifted to 30-All, Game Point, Deuce, Game Point, 2^nd Deuce, Break Point, 3^rd Deuce, Break Point and the break) and Kumar then held (Triple Game Point was reduced to Game Point only to have Senthil hit his most emphatic volley winner yet for the hold) to knot the score at 4-4!  Nate the Great was broken (another winning volley by Senthil made it Love-15, it went to 15-All only to then go straight to Double Break Point, but then bounce back to Deuce and then another Break Point where Senthil yet again hit a winning volley for the break) and then Hollywood held (Love-15 where Frank hit a nice winner for 15-All which would then head straight to Double Break Point as Senthil blew an overhead along the way, but then the rebound to Deuce as Frank hit another winner during that ascension only to go back to Break Point yet again, then 2^nd Deuce where Frank hit a surprising passing shot winner to set up Game/Match Point where Frank hit a "freeze ray" slice of a winner right down the middle that froze both Nate and Levy as each one thought the other should play it and that sealed the deal on a game of redemption for the man also known simply as The Wood) to get the win!  We played this on Court Four from 8:30 to 9:20.

The Skinny: Nate was his usual get-making self and perhaps just slightly less consistent than usual.  Levy actually made a few amazing gets that did not get noted above as they likely took place during the couple of games where such things did not get noted (though a couple occurred during losing efforts in those particular rallies).  Frank was hot and cold (to be expected when one only plays a couple of times a week).  It was actually Senthil who was The MVP in this one as he was such a steady force at the net with his well-placed and perfectly timed winning volleys and Overhead Smashes.

Tito Castolo/Janice Wang over Omar Santos/Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-0!  No Aces.  They started this one on Court Three at 9pm.  Not sure when it ended as they went right into another one which we will get to later in this report.

Rajan Shah/Don Moya over T.J. Shah/Mike Sindler, 6-2!  No Aces.  This was contested on Court One from 9:05 to 9:37.

Edwin Ortega/Doinks Srinivasan over Jose Gonzales/Laurie Boughton, 6-3!  No Aces.  This Mixed Doubles action took place on Court Two from 9:15 to 9:42.  After Jose left, Edwin continued hitting against both ladies until the lights went out for the night.

Chris Chiaro/Levy Lorenzo over Senthil Kumar/Kris Srinivasan, 6-3!  Chris: 1 Ace on Senthil; and Senthil: 1 Ace on Levy!  This foursome faced off on Court Four from 9:25 to 9:52.

Mike Sindler/Don Moya leading Joe Rodrigues/Mike Mole, 3-1 (Incomplete at 9:59 when all four decided to end it right there before the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

The Skinny: Mole hit a blasting forehand that befuddled Moya who thought it surely should have gone into the net.  Well, it did…sort of…as it sizzled right thru the tight gap of space between the net cord tape and the detached net below.  We on the sidelines point out what actually happened, but then joked that it was a magic shot.  That led to us calling Mr. Mole, "Magic Mike!"  He then said, "I like that one!"  Well, of course he does.  So, inside of just a few weeks, he has gone from "Holy Moly" to "Mr. Science" and now to "Magic Mike."  Safe to say that like so many before him, he has been thoroughly corrupted by the GTA…LOL!

Tito Castolo/Janice Wang leading Omar Santos/Jordan Bachvaroff, 5-3 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

Afterward, there was a brief bull session featuring most of the players that stuck around until the end.  Despite the dropping temps, it was a fun evening that may have felt like April weather-wise…but it did seem like summer attitude-wise.  I think we are in for an entertaining and eventful summer this season.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

862-596-3354