12/14 Results.

12/14/17:

"14 play at The Bubble!":

There was just one session of GTA Thursday Night Tennis as there were no results reported from The Cedar Grove Courts.  "Hollywood" Frank Samara acted as the host (in terms of collecting the scores) of the Night Owls session up at The Wayne Bubble organized by "The Riz" John Rizzo. 

The Wayne Bubble Results:                 

Joe Rodrigues/John Rizzo over Mike Sindler/Frank Hohorst, 8-6!  No Aces.  This was the first official action of the night as they got this one underway on Court Two at exactly 9:12.  They decided to play out the games rather than go to the Tiebreak.

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Tom La/Nick Caputo over Chris Chiaro/Senthil Kumar, 5-7, 6-4, 6-1, to successfully defend their # 96 Rank in the Doubles Division!  Nick: 2 Aces on Chris in the 1^st Set!  This one took place on Court One from 9:13 to right around 11pm.

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Anish Mehta/Ryan Sherry over Frank Samara/Don Moya, 6-3, 6-3, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 140 and # 141 Ranked Teams respectively!  Anish: 3 Aces (2 on Frank – 1 in each set and 1 on Don in the 2^nd Set)! 

1^st Set: Don held at Love as he started off with an un-returned serve, Frank followed that with a winning Overhead Smash, then there were two more un-returned serves to close out the game, Anish was broken (a truly un-returnable serve for 15-Love, a corner Ace on Frank for 30-Love, a Double Fault to make it 30-15 and that sent the momentum all the way to Break Point where another Double Fault served to break himself) and Frank held serve (Don hit a winning volley and then he hit a winning Backhand Volley which was then followed by an un-returned serve to set up Triple Game Point, but then a furious return winner from Anish followed by another winner from Anish shifted the momentum all the way to Deuce…and from here I no longer remember who hit what winners as it was all Game Points up until 3^rd Deuce and then all Break Points until 5^th Deuce, Game Point and finally the hold) for 3-0!  Ryan held (a truly un-returnable serve for 15-Love, then it was 15-All before an un-returned serve and a winning volley by Anish made it Double Game Point and then came the hold) and then Moya was broken (Frank blew a volley for Love-15, then Don hit an excellent passing shot winner for 15-All, it then went to 15-30, Double Break Point where back-to-back un-returned serves made it Deuce only to have Frank blow another volley to set up Break Point once again where a Double Fault caused the break) for 3-2.  Mehta held (Triple Game Point, Double Game Point and an un-returned serve to secure the hold) and then Samara was broken (Ryan hit a ripping return winner for Love-30, an un-returned serve for 15-30 where Ryan then hit a net-cord-aided winner that bounced right over the waiting racquet of Don at the net to make it Double Break Point where Anish that hit a raging return winner for the break) to lose the lead for his team at 3-4!  Sherry then held again (a truly un-returnable serve to once again start off his game followed then by blown volleys from both Don and Frank to set up Triple Game Point, it then went to Double Break Point where Don blew another volley to allow the hold) and then The Adonis was broken again (a truly un-returnable serve set up Triple Game Point, but then a Double Fault made it Double Game Point, then Game Point and another Double Fault to bring it to Deuce where an un-returned serve brought it back to Game Point, 2^nd Deuce and another un-returned serve set up Game Point once again, but then it went to 3^rd Deuce where Frank blew an overhead which set up Break/Match Point and then came the break) as Mehta/Sherry took six straight games for a great comeback to take the set which we started on Court Three at 9:25 and it ended at 9:55.  We then all agreed to try to make it a full match and we went into the next set three minutes later.

2^nd Set: Anish was broken (Love-15 shifted straight to Double Game Point with two un-returned serves along the way, but then it was reduced to Deuce and then Break Point where Anish hit a shot that had a lot of slice on it and it then landed on the top of the net where it seemed like it was going to spin and roll its way over only to continue its little dance along the top of the tape where it then dropped back down on his side of the court for the break) and Don held serve (15-Love shifted to 15-30 shifted again to Game Point, Double Fault for Deuce, Game Point and another Double Fault to make it 2^nd Deuce, then Game Point where Don hit a blistering passing shot winner for the hold) to go up 2-0.  Ryan held (Don hit yet another amazing passing shot winner for Love-15, but then it went right to Double Game Point with an un-returned serve along the way, it was then cut to Game Point where another un-returned serve secured the hold) and then Frank was broken (Anish hit a rocking return winner for Love-15, it was then 15-All before heading right to Double Break Point where back-to-back blown volleys by Ryan made it Deuce, another Break Point, 2^nd Deuce where Ryan hit a big-time Overhead Smash winner to set up another Break Point and then came the break) to level things at 2-2.  Mehta held (Ryan hit another crushing Overhead Smash winner to make it 30-Love, it shifted to 30-All where an un-returned serve set up Game Point, a Double Fault for Deuce, a big sideline Ace against Don to set up Game Point…and I could no longer remember who hit what winners here as it went to 2^nd Deuce, Game Point, 3^rd Deuce, Game Point, 4^th Deuce, Break Point and a big corner Ace on Frank for 5^th Deuce, Game Point, 6^th Deuce, Game Point and a mishit volley by Ryan to secure his partner's hold) and Moya was broken (Love-15 soon shifted to 30-15 with an un-returned serve along the way, but then it shifted again to Break Point right after Ryan hit another one of his sharp-angled Backhand Volley winners and then came the break) for 2-4.  Sherry was also broken (an un-returned serve for 15-Love, then 30-Love, 30-15, Double Game Point then cut down to Deuce and then Break Point where Don hit a victorious volley for the break) to have his team's lead cut to 4-3, but then Samara was broken again (30-Love shifted to 30-All, then an un-returned serve set up Game Point, but then came Deuce, Break Point and the break) to fall to 3-5.  The AM Rush then held again (an un-returned serve followed by yet another Backhand Volley winner by Ryan made it 30-Love, it shifted to 30-All where Frank blew a volley to set up Game/Match Point and then came the hold) to get the win!  The match ended at 10:45.

The Skinny: Moya took a step back from his performance level the previous night at The Bubble (the Wednesday night session) while his partner Samara took at least two steps backward!  It was really an off night for Frank as he seemingly never found the timing on what should have been put-away shots (volleys and overheads).  Mehta got off to a slightly slow start, but once he got rolling he was firing on all cylinders…and his artillery is fierce!  But the biggest story of the match was the noticeable improvement from Sherry.  He is much more consistent than he was in the past.  He not only plays solid defense, but also likes to use his height and range up at the net to finish off points in an offensive manner.  Ryan, ably supported by the firepower of Anish, put on quite an impressive display.

2 out of 3 Sets:

Tony Shiao over Dennis Cabanatan, 6-3, 6-4!  No Aces.  This does not count as a rank defense for Shiao as he is solely in the Advanced Division while Cabanatan is solely in the Intermediate Division.  This took place on Court Four from 9:50 to 11:03.

Mike Sindler/Frank Hohorst over Joe Rodrigues/John Rizzo, 6-3!  No Aces.  Not sure when this one began or ended on Court Two as it came hot on the heels of their previous One-Setter and then went right into another one as I believe they intended this to be a full match…but, alas, it was not to be (see what follows).

Mike Sindler/Frank Hohorst leading Joe Rodrigues/John Rizzo, 4-3 (Incomplete when Rizzo had to take a call around 10:50)!  No Aces.

Don Moya/Ryan Sherry leading Anish Mehta/Frank Samara, 3-2 (Incomplete when they had to stop at 11:02 as it was time to end the session)!  Don: 1 Ace on Frank.  Here's how it was going: Anish held serve (back-to-back winners by Anish made it 30-Love, it then shifted to 30-All right after Don hit a blast of a Backhand Volley winner, but then Ryan blew a volley to set up Game Point and then came the hold), Ryan held (an un-returned serve for 15-Love, it was then 15-All where an un-returned serve followed by a vicious volley winner by Don made it Double Game Point where another un-returned serve secured the hold), but Frank was the first to be broken and it was at Love as Frank blew a volley while Don hit a successful volley winner along the way and then Don earned the break with a burning winner to make it 1-2!  Don held (Ryan hit a whopper of an Overhead Smash winner to make it 30-Love, then there was a Double Fault for 30-15 where a big Ace up the T against Frank set up Double Game Point, it was then on Game Point where Ryan hit his most impressive Backhand Volley winner of the night) for a 3-1 lead, but then Mehta held again (got off to a Love-30 start, but then Don blew a volley and the momentum soon shifted all the way to Game Point where an un-returned serve secured the hold) to pull to 2-3, but then we all knew we were out of time!  This one had gotten underway on Court Three at 10:48 and we knew from the outset that it was highly unlikely we would finish it by 11pm (or soon after).

The Skinny: While this was technically not a loss, it only served to make Samara feel like an even bigger loser than he had felt earlier as he was the only one not to hold serve in this makeshift half-set.  To add insult to injury, he was broken at Love!  Yep, it was a rough night for old Hollywood!

Sincerely,
Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

 

12/13 Results.

12/13/17:

"12 (14?) play at The Bubble!":

There was just one session of GTA Wednesday Night Tennis as there were no results reported from The Cedar Grove Courts.  "Hollywood" Frank Samara acted as the host (in terms of collecting the scores) of the Night Owls session up at The Wayne Bubble organized by "The Riz" John Rizzo.  

While there were actually 14 competitors at The Bubble session, I only collected the scores that featured twelve of the players as I did not bother to attempt to grab the results from Court Two as first it was Ted Cedroski going up against Vlad Smolyanskiy in what we presume was at least two Singles One-Setters.  So, whatever action Ted and Vlad were involved in will have to remain unofficial. 

The Wayne Bubble Results: 

2 out of 3 Sets Women's Doubles Match:

Fadia Nicolas/Jeanette Pegg over Kathy Sheldon/Robin Wilson, 7-5, 6-2, to successfully defend their # 19 Rank in the Women's Doubles Division!  In the process, Sheldon/Wilson entered the division as the New # 29 Ranked Team.  No Aces.  This was the first official action of the evening as it got underway on Court Three at 9:23.  The 1^st Set ended at 10:08 and the match had finished by 10:48. 

Rafaelo Kazakov/Sean McHugh over Kevin Doyle/Sam Senowitz, 6-3!  Sam: 4 Aces (2 on each)!  They got this one going on Court One at 9:27.  Not sure when this set ended as it went right into another one that was unable to be completed (we will note it at the end of this report). 

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

John Rizzo/Don Moya over Frank Samara/Dino Celis, 6-1, 6-2, to successfully defend their # 57 Rank in the Doubles Division!  No Aces.  We did not gain access of Court Four until 9:33 (as this is the one court of the four occupied by others until 9:30 on Wednesday nights).  After a seven minute hitting session, we began the match at 9:40 (and we went into it with the idea of it being a full match). 

1^st Set: Dino was broken (John hit an excellent passing shot winner and Frank blew an easy volley on the way to Triple Break Point, but then an un-returned serve followed by a blistering passing shot winner from Dino soon brought about a bounce back to Deuce, but then came another Break Point and then the break), Don held at Love as he started off with an un-returned serve and Frank blew another volley on the way to Triple Game Point where John hit a winning Overhead Smash to secure his partner's hold and Frank was broken (Don blew a volley for 15-Love, but then Don hit a winner for 15-All, it was then at 15-30 where an un-returned serve made it 30-All, then Break Point and another un-returned serve made it Deuce, Game Point, 2^nd Deuce, Break Point and the break) to start off down 0-3!  John was also broken (an un-returned serve for 15-Love, but then Don blew a volley and the momentum soon shifted to 15-30 only to then shift again to Game Point, Deuce, Break Point and the break) to allow the opposition onto the scoreboard, but from there Celis was broken again (John hit a winning drop shot return and then Don hit a drop shot winner for Love-30, a truly un-returnable serve made it 15-30 where Don hit a sizzling passing shot winner for Double Break Point where John had a highly impressive drop shot winner for the break), Moya then held again (an un-returned serve for 15-Love and a bit later it was a truly un-returnable serve to set up Triple Game Point, but then a Double Fault brought that down to Double Game Point where an un-returned serve secured the hold) and Samara was broken again (Love-15 shifted to 30-15 as both John and Don blew consecutive volleys, it was then 30-All where Frank hit a winning Overhead Smash to set up Game Point, it was then Deuce where Don hit a winner to set up Break/Set Point where he then made an excellent get winner/combo to end the set…which finished at exactly 10:05).  There was a two minute break before the next set started.  Samara and Celis would switch their service sides in this next set. 

2^nd Set: John held (John hit a winner and then Don made a great get/winner combo for 30-Love, it then shifted to 30-All, Game Point, Deuce where an un-retuned serve set up another Game Point where Don whacked an excellent Backhand Volley winner to secure his partner's hold), Dino was broken (Love-15 where Frank hit a vicious volley winner followed by a whipping winner from Dino to shift it to 30-15, but then Don hit a blazing return winner for 30-All and then a Double Fault set up Break Point and then came the break) and then Don held (started with a Double Fault, an un-returned serve for 15-All, 15-30 and then a shift to Game Point with a winning volley from John along the way and then another volley winner by John to secure his partner's hold) as his team took another 3-0 lead.  But then Frank finally held (15-Love then point for point to Game Point as John blew a volley along the way and then came the hold) to get on the board in this set, but then Rizzo held again (Love-15 where Don hit an emphatic Overhead Smash winner for 15-All only to then blow a surefire volley to make it 15-30 which was where Frank blew an overhead to bring it to 30-All where an un-returned serve set up Game Point and then another locked down the hold) to go up 4-1.  Celis was broken again and this time it was at Love as he hit a Double Fault to make it Love-30 and then he hit another on Triple Break Point to break himself and fall to 1-5!  Moya was finally broken as he started off with two consecutive Double Faults, then John hit a winning volley for 15-30 only to then blow a volley to set up Double Break Point where Don hit a winner to cut that to Break Point, but then came the break) to have his team's lead cut to 5-2. Samara, however, was broken once more in the end (Love-15 where John blew a volley for 15-All where an un-returned serve made it 30-15 which was where Frank blew a volley to bring it to 30-All, it then went to Break/Match Point which was where the break came) to finish the match at exactly 10:32! 

The Skinny: The match looks more lopsided than it felt…at least from my vantage point.  The primary difference in the 1^st Set was Moya always held serve while everyone else was broken.  In the 2^nd Set, Rizzo and Samara added their names to the list of at least having held serve once.  Celis, who has quite the big serve, was never able to dial it in enough to hold at least once throughout the entire contest.  Furthermore, his mobility is still limited from the knee surgery he had earlier this year.  He is truly hitting some nice shots (both backhands and forehands), but until his agility returns to its previous levels…it is hard for him to split the court enough to keep things balanced against teams prepared to exploit that deficiency as it currently stands. 

Frank Samara/John Rizzo over Don Moya/Dino Celis, 6-3!  Don: 2 Aces (one on each); Dino: 1 Ace on John; and John: 1 Ace on Don!  It went like this: Dino held serve (John made a great dig into a stabbing get/winner combo to start this one off at Love-15, it was then at Love-30 where Don hit a winning volley for 15-30, then it was Double Break Point where Dino hit the corner Ace against John to bring it to Break Point where Don hit a monster Overhead Smash winner to make it Deuce which was where Dino hit a scorching passing shot winner to set up Game Point and then came the hold), John held (Don hit a sizzling passing shot winner of his own and Frank blew a volley on the way to Triple Break Point, but then John hit a winner followed by an un-returned serve on the way to Deuce which was where Frank hit a winning Overhead Smash to set up Game Point, then it was 2^nd Deuce where Frank hit a volley winner more vicious than the previous Overhead to set up Game Point once again and then John hit a roller over the net for a winner and to secure his own hold), Don held (Love-15 where Don hit a winning lob for 15-All and then he hit a sideline Ace against John for 30-15, it then went to 30-All, Game Point and the hold) and Frank held at Love as it started with Don blowing a volley, Frank making a great get/winner combo which he then followed with an even better winner to set up Triple Game Point where he locked in the hold with an un-returned serve as we were all on serve at 2-2!  Celis was the first to be broken (Love-15 where Don then hit an awesome Overhead Smash winner followed by a venomous volley winner to shift it to 30-15, but then Frank hit a winning drop shot return for 30-All and it then went to Break Point and the break) while Rizzo held again (15-Love where Dino hit a blast of a winner which then reversed the momentum as it would then go to 15-30, then it was 30-All where Dino hit a crushing return winner to set up Break Point, but then came the sideline Ace on Don to bring it to Deuce where back-to-back un-returned serves took it to Game Point and then the hold) for 4-2!  Moya also held again (Don made a great get/winner combo for 15-Love, then John hit a drop shot winner for 15-All which was where Frank blew a volley for 30-15 where he was then punished with a T-line Ace from Don which set up Double Game Point and then came the hold) to pull to 3-4, but then Samara also held again (John hit a winning drop shot volley to set up Triple Game Point where perhaps an overeager Frank, in trying to hit a winner, slapped a shot into the top of the tape which then dropped down on his side of the net for Double Game Point, but then came the hold) while The Scorpion Dragon was then broken yet again (an un-returned serve for 15-Love, it went to 30-Love before shifting to 30-All, it then went to Game Point, but a Double Fault brought it to Deuce and then it was Break/Match Point where Don blew a volley to end this one just in time) to take the loss at 11:05 (we got this one underway on Court Four at exactly 10:34)! 

The Skinny: Having time for one more set, we decided to switch up the teams and this match-up proved to be more balanced.  Celis finally broke the curse of being the only one always broken on serve as he finally held to open the set.  But that was where his good fortune ended as each member of the opposing team always held serve as did Dino's own partner.  So, again, that was the main differential factor in this one.  One funny thing to note is that John told Frank after Samara's hold at Love that it may very well be his last Love hold of the 2017 Season.  Just one point away from a second straight Love hold, Frank may have been a bit too amped up when he hit that shot into the top of the net…thus denying himself the chance to prove Rizzo wrong.  Oh well! 

Rafaelo Kazakov/Sean McHugh tied with Kevin Doyle/Sam Senowitz, 6-6 (Incomplete when the session ran out of time)!  No Aces.  This one was also played on Court One.  I thank Kevin for sending me their scores and other details.

Sincerely,
Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

 

12/12 Results.

12/12/17:

"Riz hosts 17 at Bubble!":

There was just one session of GTA Tuesday Night Tennis as the rain mixed with light snow made any session at The Cedar Grove Courts impossible.  So it was just the Night Owls session up at The Wayne Bubble hosted by "The Riz" John Rizzo. 

We now turn this report over to John.

The Wayne Bubble Results:

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Senthil Kumar/John Rizzo over Dan Praport/Rich Liu, 6-2, 6-1, to become the New # 16 Ranked Team in the Doubles Division!  Rich: 2 Aces on John!

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

John Rizzo/Don Moya over Senthil Kumar/Rich Liu, 7-5, 6-1, to become the New # 57 Ranked Team in the Doubles Division!  Don: 2 Aces (one on each); and John: 1 Ace on Rich!

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Mike Sindler/Ryan Sherry over Joe Rodrigues/Pranav Sinha, 6-3, 6-3, to become the New # 116 Ranked Team in the Doubles Division!  No Aces.

Tony Shiao/Tom La over Dan Hwang/Dennis Cabanatan, 6-2!  No Aces.

Dan Hwang/Dennis Cabanatan over Tony Shiao/Tom La, 7-5!  No Aces.

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Ryan Pienciak/Nick Caputo over Chris Chiaro/Frank Hohorst, 6-1, 6-1, to become the New # 126 Ranked Team in the Doubles Division!  No Aces.

Ryan Pienciak/Chris Chiaro over Frank Hohorst/Nick Caputo, 6-1!  No Aces.

Frank Hohorst/Nick Caputo over Ryan Pienciak/Chris Chiaro, 6-1!  No Aces.

Frank Hohorst/Nick Caputo leading Ryan Pienciak/Chris Chiaro, 5-4 (Incomplete when the session ran out of time)!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I thank John for collecting all these scores and reporting them in such a timely fashion.  Too bad that last set did not have time to get finished as yet another 2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match could have been completed.  There was a lot of movement in the Doubles Division on this occasion.  

Sincerely,
Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

 

12/10 Results.

12/10/17:

"Kat/Kev/Riz host 20 at The Bubble!":

There were two sessions of GTA Sunday Tennis, both of which were the usual Night Owls session up at The Wayne Bubble organized by "The Riz" John Rizzo.  Rizzo, however, was not at the earlier of the two sessions so "Killer Kat" Kathy Sheldon and "Kevlar" Kevin Doyle picked up the slack and acted as the impromptu hosts of that session in reporting the results in a very timely (and, in the case of Kevin, very detailed manner).

The would-be usual morning session at Albion Park in Clifton that is always hosted by "Hollywood" Frank Samara could not be conducted due to the snowfall the previous day (Saturday).  As such, we missed out on what would have been the last official Sunday session of the 2017 Season.

It is now up to The Bubble we go to get the results from Kat, Kev and The Riz in that order. 

The Wayne Bubble Results:                 

The 3 to 5pm session:

Susan Senowitz/Robin Wilson over Kathy Sheldon/Marie Easton, 7-5!  No Aces.

Kathy Sheldon/Robin Wilson over Marie Easton/Susan Senowitz, 7-6 (7-5)!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I thank Kathy for her very timely submission of those scores.  We now turn this report over to Kevin.

Brenda and I got to play a full 2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Doubles Match against Dawn Peterson and Vlad Smolyanskiy.  Our match was so intense that I did not collect any scores from any of the other courts (sorry).  We, The Night Owls, had action on three of the four courts.

Kathy Sheldon will send in the Women's Doubles scores as she, Robin Wilson, Marie Easton and Susan Senowitz had a couple of really good sets on Court Two according to Robin.

Also, Rafaelo Kazakov, Susan Koshy, Jeanette Pegg and Deep (who works at The Bubble) played on Court Four in what looked to be a "Battle of The Sexes" style match.

Samara's Notes: Nobody reported anything from that last foursome, so whatever they did will have to remain unofficial.  We now go back to Kev.  

2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Doubles Match:

Kevin Doyle/Brenda Jordan over Vlad Smolyanskiy/Dawn Peterson, 10-8, 6-3, to successfully defend their # 9 Rank in the Mixed Doubles Division!  In the process, Smolyanskiy/Peterson entered the division as the New # 57 Ranked Team.  No Aces.

Anyway, Brenda and I were able to finally come out on top of Dawn Peterson and Vlad Smolyanskiy in this mixed doubles match, but it was quite a battle.

The 1st Set started on Court Three at about 3:10 and ended at 4:17 (Dawn noticed the time).  Brenda and I started slowly.  After winning the first game, we quickly found ourselves down 2-4 as Vlad and Dawn came on strong as they both had their first serves working really well.  However, we managed to regroup, starting with Brenda holding serve when we really needed it, to climb back to a 3-4 deficit.  At that point the set turned into a see-saw like, closely contested battle.  We eventually found ourselves down 5-6 and up against the wall again.  We then managed to tie it up at six all, in another tough game with several long rallies.  At that point, we all elected to forego the Tiebreaker and just keep playing out the games until one team won by two.  After a few more long competitive games, we ended up tied at 8-All…but luckily, in the 17th game I was able to hold serve which brought us to a 9-8 lead.  It was Vlad's turn to serve and, as I previously mentioned, he had his first serve humming all night so it was a challenging situation.  Luckily for us, Vlad double-faulted once which helped Brenda and I get him into an Ad-Out/Break Set Point score.  The game, and set, then appropriately finished with another long rally as Brenda, at the net, ended it with a hard winner up the middle, giving us the 10-8 win!

Dawn and Vlad both really played very consistently the whole afternoon and didn't give away anything to Brenda and me.  Everybody had to earn their points and we were fortunate to come out on top in that 1st Set.

We didn't have much time to rest between sets as we only had the courts until 5pm.  I think we were all feeling it a little bit, but we had to start the next set almost immediately, at around 4:20. 

I think everyone felt a little tired in the 2nd Set and we all had to reach down and gut it out.  Brenda and I jumped out to a 1-0 lead, but of course they came right back to win the next game and tie it at 1-All. The 2nd Set was still very competitive, but we all started to make an error here and there, perhaps due to being a little tired.  Brenda and I finally went up 3-1, and then up until 5-3 it was a battle right to the end.  Things finally ended in the next game with another long rally (of course) to give us the win.  The 2nd Set ended at 4:53.  It was a fun match between two closely matched teams.

Samara's Notes: I thank Kevin not just for his timely reporting, but also all the details as well which are greatly appreciated.

We now turn this report over to John who has the scores from the second session.

The 6 to 8pm session:

Tom La, Dan Hwang and Arthur Fontanilla all hit with the kid working (Deep), but I don't think they played anything.

Pranav Sinha/Syed Rashid over John Rizzo/Alex Hohorst, 6-2!  No Aces.

Pranav Sinha/Syed Rashid tied John Rizzo/Alex Hohorst, 2-2 (Incomplete when Pranav had to leave)!  No Aces.

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Ryan Pienciak/Paul Daddio over Jordan Bachvaroff/Ryan Sherry, 6-2, 6-2, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 133 and # 134 Ranked Teams respectively!  Paul: 2 Aces; and Jordan: 1 Ace!

Ryan Pienciak/Jordan Bachvaroff over Paul Daddio/Ryan Sherry, 6-4!  No Aces.

Paul Daddio/Ryan Sherry over Ryan Pienciak/Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-2!  No Aces.

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Joe Rodrigues/Frank Hohorst over Anish Mehta/Mike Sindler, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 135 and # 136 Ranked Teams respectively!  Anish: 2 Aces; and Frank: 1 Ace!

Samara's Notes: I thank John for collecting all those scores and reporting them in such a timely fashion.

Sincerely,
Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

 

12/8 Results.

12/8/17:

"4th Friday Night Bubble Party has 16 players!":

There was just one session of GTA Friday Tennis and it was the fourth GTA Friday Night Tennis Party at The Wayne Bubble with both "Hollywood" Frank Samara (in terms of reporting the results for the GTA) and "The Riz" John Rizzo (coordinating the registration efforts, booking the courts, supplying the food and beverages, etc.) hosting it. 

We need at least twelve competitors to make it worthwhile and we ended up, instead, with the ideal amount of 16 players (four courts with four players each).  And it easily could have been 20 had we been willing to pull people off (but we don't do that when you pay $20 for two hours worth of action) as "The Adonis" Don Moya had started playing a One-Setter (only played one game once he noticed our 16th player had arrived). 

"RK Fire" Rafaelo Kazakov had registered a day before, but did not arrive until 8:50 (the starting time is 8:15) and we already had a full boat of 16 competitors.  While he initially did not understand how a late arrival could take his place, it was explained to him that those paying to play (and already out there) are counting on getting involved in official Singles or Doubles action (and not just a three-way hitting session).  Late arrivals often lead to odd amount situations...so if we can get someone to even things out, we will do that for the benefit of all involved. 

On top of all that, the two hosts (Samara and Rizzo) willingly sat out of this event to accommodate all the others.  So, again, it very readily could have been a session featuring 20 players rather than just sixteen.

There was a humorous moment right at the beginning of the session as Rizzo announced who the foursomes would be on each court (as he had planned this earlier based pretty much on skill level and/or knowing which players would prefer to play Mixed Doubles).

When John told "Hurricane" Jose Gonzales that he would be on Court Four with "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak, "NC-17" Nick Caputo and "DC-10" David Caicedo (i.e. the court with the heavy hitters), Jose made a face that could only be described as being one of extreme disappointment.

The only problem was that he did it right in front of Ryan and Nick!  Well, Mr. Pienciak immediately called him out on this and it became a running joke for the rest of the evening as Jose's new makeshift moniker became "The Face Maker!"  It was even better when Gonzales later exclaimed (after a couple of sets) that he felt like he needed a pacemaker...yes, "The Face Maker" was in need of a pacemaker!  LOL!

Well, all's well that ends well as they actually had some really solid action together and, ultimately, there were no hard feelings...at least, I think there weren't any...DOH!

And "The Scorpion Dragon" Dino Celis and "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli arrived together at 9:50 to make a late cameo appearance and then stayed on and hung out in the lounge area with Frank and John until the end of the session.

Let's get to the action!

The Wayne Bubble Results:

Mike Mole/Levy Lorenzo over Ray Spadaro/Fausto Murg, 6-2!  No Aces.  This one took place on Court One from 8:25 to 8:52.

Don Moya/Laurie Boughton leading Muhammad Haque/Dawn Peterson, 1-0 (Incomplete when Moya stepped off to allow Paul Mallick onto the court...which was Court Two...and this happened at 8:41, they had started this aborted set at exactly 8:33)!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: Due to the brevity of that would-be One-Setter (just one game), I have not included Mr. Moya in the overall count of competitors during the course of the session.

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:
Ryan Pienciak/David Caicedo over Jose Gonzales/Nick Caputo, 6-4, 6-4, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 131 and # 132 Ranked Teams respectively!  Jose: 2 Aces on Ryan (one in each set)! 

The Skinny: This match got underway on Court Four at precisely 8:32.  The 1st Set finished at 9pm and they soon launched into the next set.  The entire match itself was over at 9:42.  From there, they went into an additional One-Setter with the same two teams facing each other (we will offer up that score later in this report).

2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Doubles Match:
Tommy Reszkowski/Fernanda Toker over Rich Liu/Fadia Nicolas, 6-0, 6-4, to successfully defend their # 8 Rank in the Mixed Doubles Division!  In the process, Liu/Nicolas entered the Mixed Doubles Division as the New # 56 Ranked Team.  Tommy: 1 Ace on Rich in the 2nd Set.

The Skinny: They got it started at 8:38 on Court Three.  Seventeen minutes later (at 8:55), the 1st Set was already in the books and Rich was ready to throw in the towel!  But he got some encouragement from Rizzo and Samara sitting nearby in the lounge area and it became something of a different story in the 2nd Set as Liu/Nicolas jumped out to a 2-0 lead and then it went 2-1, 3-1 until it became tied up at 3-3.  From there, the match shifted back into the favor of Reszkoswki/Toker as they went up 4-3 before it was knotted up once more at 4-4!  The more experienced tandem of Tommy and Fernanda then took the last two games to close this one out at 9:32, but at least it was much more competitive and interesting in that last set.  And that led to the same two teams facing off again in a subsequent One-Setter (which we will get to later).

Paul Mallick/Laurie Boughton over Muhammad Haque/Dawn Peterson, 6-2!  Laurie: 1 Ace on Dawn!  They played this one on Court Two from 8:45 to 9:27.

The Skinny: There was some desire to switch things up (in terms of players changing courts) between Courts One and Two, so we told the above foursome to just hit while waiting for the action to finish on Court One (to be detailed next) as that One-Setter was already at 5-4.  Of course, whenever anyone is waiting for a set or match to be finished fast, The Murphy's Law of Tennis dictates that it will drag on as long as possible...as you can now see for yourself below.

Levy Lorenzo/Fausto Murg over Mike Mole/Ray Spadaro, 7-6 (9-7)!  No Aces. 

The Skinny: Levy and Fausto had been up 5-2.  It was at 5-4 when Samara and Rizzo notified them that a switch would be made after the set ended.  Next it was tied at 5-5, then Lorenzo/Murg went up again at 6-5.  But then Mole/Spadaro won the next game which forced the Tiebreak!

In the Breaker: Ray was broken on his lone serve, while Fausto was broken on his first but held his second for a 2-1 lead.  Mike held both of his serves to put his team up 3-2.  Levy was broken on the first of his two serves for 2-4 at the changeover, but then he held his second for 3-4.  Spadaro was broken on the first of his two serves to knot the score at 4-4, but then he held his second to go up 5-4.  Murg was broken on the first of his two serves to go down 4-6 and set up Match Point (which I believe to be the first one of the entire set, though I'm not entirely sure...I did not see any when the score was at 5-4 prior to the TB).  Fausto then held his second serve to pull to 4-6, but it was still the 2nd Match Point.  Mole was broken on the first of his two serves for 6-6 at the second changeover and then he was broken again to lose the lead for his team at 6-7 to set up the 3rd Match Point which was the first one for the opposition.  Lorenzo was broken on the first of his two serves for a 7-Up score, but then he held his second for an 8-7 lead which was now his team's 2nd M.P. and the 4th one overall.  And then Spadaro was broken to end this Breaker in dramatic fashion at 9-7!  This down to the wire struggle had begun on Court One at 8:53 and it finished at 9:40...actually not all that long for a confrontation so closely contested!

Samara's Notes: Given the fact that it had four Match Points and a 9-7 score, I think this may have a fairly solid chance at being a Nominee for One-Set Doubles Match of The Year at season's end.

From there, the switch was made with Levy and Ray being invited over to Court Two for some Mixed Doubles action while Paul and Muhammad would head to Court One for Men's Doubles.

Tommy Reszkowski/Fernanda Toker over Rich Liu/Fadia Nicolas, 6-0!  Tommy: 2 Aces (one on each)!  This one took place on Court Three and lasted from 9:35 to 9:55.

The Skinny: Tommy and Fernanda managed to feed Rich and Fadia a second bagel for the evening (I guess the chips and cookies in the lounge were not enough!), but this one lasted a bit longer and was a little more competitive than the 1st Set of the full match played earlier.  From there, Tommy and Rich had a nice hitting session with one another.

Levy Lorenzo/Dawn Peterson tied with Ray Spadaro/Laurie Boughton, 5-5 (Incomplete when both teams were very respectful of the time parameters for the session and stopped this one at 10:16...it had begun on Court Two at exactly 9:43)!  Ray: 1 Ace on Dawn; and Laurie: 1 Ace on Dawn!

Jose Gonzales/Nick Caputo over Ryan Pienciak/David Caicedo, 6-3!  Jose: 1 Ace on David.  Court Four hosted this foursome from 9:45 to 10:13. 

Fausto Murg/Paul Mallick over Mike Mole/Muhammad Haque, 6-2!  Fausto: 2 Aces (one on each)!  They played this on Court Three from 9:45 to 10:27.

After the session ended, Samara, Rizzo, Mole and Liu went to the nearby Taphouse Grille for food and drinks. 

All the best,
Frank Samara
gtasamara5@gmail.com

12/7 Results.

12/7/17:

"13 play at The Bubble!":

There was just one session of GTA Thursday Night Tennis as there were no results reported from The Cedar Grove Courts.  "Hollywood" Frank Samara acted as the host (in terms of collecting the scores) of the Night Owls session up at The Wayne Bubble organized by "The Riz" John Rizzo. 

The Wayne Bubble Results:                 

Senthil Kumar/Rich Liu over Joe Rodrigues/Syed Rashid, 7-5!  Rich: 1 Ace on Syed!  They played this one on Court Two from 9:25 to 10:05.

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Nick Caputo/Ryan Sherry over Tom La/Frank Hohorst, 7-5, 6-3, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 129 and # 130 Ranked Teams respectively!  Nick: 1 Ace on Frank in the 2^nd Set.  They got this one underway on Court Three at 9:27.  Not sure when it ended as it went into an additional One-Setter that went unfinished…more on that one later in this report.

Pranav Sinha/Don Moya over Frank Samara/John Rizzo, 6-1!  Don: 1 Ace on Frank.  It went like this: Frank was broken (John hit a winning volley for 15-Love, but then he blew a volley for 15-All, then a Double Fault made it 15-30, then it was at Double Break Point where Don hit a volley winner for the break) and then Pranav held serve (an un-returned serve for 15-Love, a Double Fault for 15-All and then Don hit a winning volley followed by a truly inspired Backhand Volley winner to make it Double Game Point, another Double Fault to cut the lead to Game Point, but then came the hold) to go up 2-0.  John held (an un-returned serve for 15-Love, but then Pranav hit a winner and Don hit a winning volley to make it 15-30 where two consecutive un-returned serves shifted it to Game Point where Frank hit a winning volley to secure his partner's hold), but Don also held (Don hit another amazing Backhand Volley winner for 15-Love, then hit a corner Ace against Frank for 30-Love, it went to Triple Game Point, but then he hit a Double Fault to make it Double Game Point which was where Pranav hit a winning volley to secure his partner's hold) for a 3-1 lead.  Samara was broken again (Love-15, an un-returned serve for 15-All and then Don hit a ripping return winner which soon sent the momentum to Double Break Point where Pranav hit a highly impressive winner for the break) while Sinha held again (started with a Double Fault, but then it was off and running to Double Game Point as he first had an un-returned serve and then Don hit two consecutive volley winners and then the hold came next) to increase his team's lead to 5-1.  Rizzo was then broken at Love right after Don hit yet another winning volley to set up Triple Break/Match Point!  We played this one on Court One from 9:35 to 9:55.

The Skinny: Moya hit the court with all guns blazing (he even had his forehand working for him on this occasion) and he was ably supported by Sinha who was also quite steady along the way.  Meanwhile, Rizzo said he felt exhausted and like he was running around with "Fred Flintstone feet!"  Samara was not much better in his efforts to move around the court.  And thus, soon the sluggish sloths were swept off the court!  Thankfully for them, things would improve throughout the evening.

Tony "Sure Shot" Shiao was a late arrival and he then took the place of Moya in this next one.

Frank Samara/John Rizzo over Tony Shiao/Pranav Sinha, 6-2!  No Aces.  Here's how it went down: John was broken (Frank blew what should have been a sure volley winner to make it Love-15, then at 15-All it was Pranav hitting a  whipping winner which was followed by a nice get/lob combo by Tony to set up Double Break Point, it went to Break Point which was where Tony hit a winning volley for the break), Tony was broken (Pranav blew a volley for Love-15, an un-returned serve for 15-All, but then it went straight to Double Break Point where Tony blew a volley to break himself), but Frank was the first to hold serve (Love-30, 15-30 where John blew a drop shot attempt to set up Double Break Point which was soon bounced back to Deuce where Frank hit an excellent passing shot winner to set up Game Point where he then made a nice get/winner combo to lock down his own hold) to go up 2-1.  Pranav was broken (15-Love, Double Fault for 15-All and then on the way to Double Break Point where Frank once again badly blew a surefire volley winner to make it Break Point where he then hit a redemptive volley winner for the break) and Rizzo held (30-Love where Tony hit a winning Overhead Smash for 30-15, it then went to Double Game Point, Game Point and the hold) to make it 4-1.  Shiao was then broken again (15-Love, Double Fault for 15-All, 15-30, another Double Fault to make it Double Break Point and then the break) to fall to 1-5, but then Samara was also broken (15-Love then point for point until 30-All as Pranav hit a winner along the way, it then had the mini-shift to Break Point where Frank badly blew an overhead to break himself) to have his team's lead cut to 5-2.  But then Sinha was broken again (it went 15-Love then point for point until 30-All as Tony hit a winning volley to start it off, John also hit a winning volley, Tony then blew a volley, then there was an un-returned serve and then Tony blew another volley for the mini-shift to Break/Match Point which is where this one ended) to take the loss.  This one was also played on Court One and it lasted from 9:59 to 10:25.

The Skinny: Shiao jumped right into the fray with just the shortest of hitting sessions to get warmed up and it showed.  Yes, he did have some impressive moments…but his unforced errors outweighed his winners.  Sinha also slowed down a bit from his previous set.  Meanwhile, both Samara and Rizzo got their respective acts together.  Frank still hit some overcooked shots (as "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan often likes to say), but they were born from aggression…so at least there was now some spirit in his stride.  He and John were both moving around the court much better in this one.

Joe Rodrigues over Senthil Kumar, 6-3!  Joe: 1 Ace.  This one took place on Court Two from 10:07 to 10:26.  After the previous Doubles One-Setter on this court, the four players split up for Singles action as Court Four had become available once an outside foursome left it around 9:30.  The other Singles One-Setter went as follows.

Syed Rashid over Rich Liu, 6-4!  No Aces.  This one got underway on Court Four around 10:10.  Not sure when it ended as it was soon followed by a hitting session.

Frank Samara/John Rizzo over Joe Rodrigues/Pranav Sinha, 6-4!  Pranav: 1 Ace on John.  The dirty lowdown: Pranav held (Frank hit a drop shot winner and then John hit a winning volley for Love-30 only to then go off the rails as he then blew three consecutive volleys which caused him to let out a raucous roar as it was now Game Point and then came the hold) and then Frank was broken at Love as Joe hit a winning drop shot volley to set up Triple Break Point where Pranav then hit a winning drop shot for the break to make it 0-2!  Joe was broken (Joe hit a net-cord-aided winner for 15-Love, a Double Fault to make it 15-All where he then hit an un-returned serve followed by a venomous volley winner by Pranav to set up Double Game Point where Frank hit a winning Overhead Smash to make it Game Point, it then went to Deuce, Break Point where Pranav then blew a volley to allow the break) to allow the opposition onto the scoreboard, but then John was also broken (an un-returned serve for 15-Love which was where Frank badly blew what should have been a surefire overhead winner to make it 15-All, then another un-returned serve established the path of point for point until 30-All where a rare Double Fault set up Break Point and then came the break) to fall to 1-3.  Sinha was broken (Love-30 where Joe hit a winner to make it 15-30 where John hit a winner of his own for 30-All, it then went to Double Break Point where a T-line Ace against John cut it to Break Point, but then came the break) while Samara then held (15-Love, 15-All and then onto Double Game Point as Frank hit a vicious volley winner to set that up and then he closed his hold with an un-returned serve) to level things at 3-3!  Rodrigues held (two consecutive un-returned serves for 30-Love, it was then 30-15 where John blew a drop shot attempt to set up Double Game Point and then came the hold), but Rizzo then held at Love as he started off with an un-returned serve and then followed that with a drop shot winner and was then off and running to knot the score once more at 4-4!  The Practitioner was broken again (Pranav hit a winning volley for 15-Love, it shifted to 15-30 right after Frank hit a drop shot volley winner, it then was 30-All where John hit a winning volley to set up Break Point and then came the break) and then Hollywood held again (Love-30 where Joe blew a drop shot attempt and then Frank made a spirited get/winner combo to set up Game/Match Point, but then it went to Deuce and Break Point where Frank made another great/get winner combo to make it 2^nd Deuce where Frank then hit a winner to set up the 2^nd Game/Match Point where John then finished things off with a winning volley) to get this one done just in time!  We played this one on Court One from 10:28 to 11:01.

The Skinny: After the previous One-Setter, Shiao had noticed that Rodrigues and Kumar had just finished their Singles One-Setter on Court Two.  Tony seemed keen on playing some Singles while Joe was now open to the idea of playing some Doubles.  Senthil was willing to play more Singles, so it would soon be a Shiao-Kumar One-Setter on Court Two (which we will get to next) while we played the above Doubles One-Setter.  When Rodrigues was on serve and at Double Game Point to go up 3-0, Rizzo chalked it up to losing steam and perhaps they were about to suffer another sound defeat like they did in their first One-Setter of the evening.  But a combination of motivation and a second wind soon kicked in as Frank and John then crawled their way back into this contest.  With a 5-4 lead, Rizzo made Samara aware of the fact that there was just four minutes left before 11pm (when all the action should cease or, at least, do so soon after).  Of course, whenever you want to close things out quickly…you will usually then end up in a prolonged game.  The final game was not only the best one of the set, but the entire evening (well, on Court One…can't speak for the other action elsewhere).  It was a fun way to close out the night and even the team on the losing side could hold their heads up high for a fine effort as well.

Senthil Kumar over Tony Shiao, 7-6 (7-5)!  No Aces.  Shiao was up 5-1…not in the Tiebreak, but in the set itself!  Kudos to Kumar for quite the comeback!  They played this on Court Two from 10:28 to 11:10.

Nick Caputo/Ryan Sherry leading Tom La/Frank Hohorst, 4-3 (Incomplete when they stopped this action on Court Three at 11:07…not sure when it got underway as it immediately followed the full match they played earlier).  No Aces.     

Sincerely,
Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

 

12/6 Results.

12/6/17:

"13 (14?) play at The Bubble!":

There was just one session of GTA Wednesday Night Tennis as there were no results reported from The Cedar Grove Courts.  "Hollywood" Frank Samara acted as the host (in terms of collecting the scores) of the Night Owls session up at The Wayne Bubble organized by "The Riz" John Rizzo. 

While there were actually 14 competitors at The Bubble session, I only collected the scores that featured thirteen of the players as I did not bother to attempt to grab the results from Court Two as first it was Ted Cedroski going up against Henry Mendoza in one or two Singles One-Setters and then Ted faced Vlad Smolyanskiy in one after that as well.  So, whatever action Ted was involved in will have to remain unofficial.

The Wayne Bubble Results:

2 out of 3 Sets Women's Doubles Match:

Kathy Sheldon/Jeanette Pegg over Susan Koshy/Robin Wilson, 6-3, 6-1, as both teams entered the Women's Doubles Division as the New # 27 and # 28 Ranked Teams respectively!  No Aces.  This was the first official action of the evening as it got underway on Court Three at 9:10.  Not sure when it ended, but likely well before 10:30.  Afterward, the four ladies socialized for quite a while.

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Kevin Doyle/Sean McHugh over Vlad Smolyanskiy/Sam Senowitz, 6-3, 6-3, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 127 and # 128 Ranked Teams respectively!  Sam: 2 Aces (1 on Kevin in the 1^st Set and 1 on Sean in the 2^nd Set)!  This got officially underway on Court One at 9:12.  Not sure when it finished as it led right into a Doubles One-Setter where Mendoza took the place of Smolyanskiy (more on that one a little later).

Don Moya/Paul Mallick over Frank Samara/John Rizzo, 6-3!  Paul: 1 Ace on Frank!  It went like this: Frank held serve (Love-30 shifted to 30-All right after Don blew a volley, but then it went to Break Point where an un-returned serve brought it to Deuce and then Don blew another volley to set up Game Point where another un-returned serve secured the hold), Don held (Paul hit a vicious volley winner for 15-Love, but then he blew two consecutive volleys to shift it to 15-30, it then went to Double Break Point where an un-returned serve brought it to Break Point where Paul hit a crushing Overhead Smash winner to make it Deuce which was where Frank hit a very nice volley winner to make it Break Point again, then it went to 2^nd Deuce back-to-back un-returned serves took it to Game Point and then the hold), John held (an un-returned serve for 15-Love only to go straight to Double Break Point where Don blew a volley to make it Break Point and then it went to Deuce with another un-returned serve bringing it to Game Point, 2^nd Deuce, Game Point again and then the hold) and Paul also held (an un-returned serve for 15-Love and then a corner Ace against rank for 30-Love, it was then 30-15 where Don hit a volley winner to make it Double Game Point and then came the hold) as we were all on serve at 2-2.  Samara was the first to be broken (two consecutive un-returned serves for 30-Love, but then a hard shift to Break Point as Paul hit a scathing return winner along the way and then came the break), but Moya held again (started with a Double Fault and then it was point for point until 30-All where Frank blew a volley to set up Game Point, then came Deuce where Paul hit another punishing Overhead Smash winner to set up Game Point once again which Don finished off with a winning volley) to go up 4-2.  Rizzo also held again (Don hit another winning volley to make it Love-15 where an un-returned serve made it 15-All and then it was point for point until 30-All where another un-returned serve set up Game Point where John secured his own hold with a truly great get/winner combo) to pull to 3-4, but Mallick also held again (Don scored with a scorching volley winner for 15-Love, it then went to 15-All, 30-15 where an un-returned serve set up Double Game Point and then another un-returned serve secured the hold) to go up 5-3.  Hollywood was then broken a second straight time (Don hit an awesome Backhand Volley winner for Love-15 where an un-returned serve made it 15-All only for Don to then hit a winning Overhead Smash and a blazing return winner on the way to Double Break/Match Point which is where this one ended) to take the loss!  We played this one on Court Four from 9:42 to 10:17.

The Skinny: On Wednesday nights, usually the Night Owls group accesses two of the four courts at 9pm and picks up the other two at 9:30 as there is another group there that has those two courts booked until then.  On this evening, however, we got three of the four courts at 9pm as that earlier group just needed one this time around.  Paul Mallick, who made his official GTA Debut at last week's Friday Night Bubble Party, was one of the four players on Court Four while we were waiting to take it over at 9:30.  As we had Samara, Rizzo and Moya all sitting in the lounge area, John came up with the idea of inviting Paul to stick around for some Doubles.  Once Rizzo had the chance to pitch him the offer, Mallick was immediately game for it.  We felt the best balance would be to team Paul with Don.  Turns out that Mr. Mallick was a stronger player than we realized (we never really got to see him play last Friday) as he is very steady (especially at the net) and also hits a very solid forehand.  He is also quite the consistent server.  Moya was hot and cold as he was serving strong and closing out points when he could get to the net, but he seemingly could not get his forehand going.  Rizzo found his groove sooner than Samara did as Frank was the only one of the four to be broken on service and it happened twice…which was truly the only difference in an otherwise close contest.

So going into the Rematch One-Setter, Rizzo thought it best to switch up the service sides as it would enable him to serve first (given the fact that he had been the stronger server in the previous contest).  Meanwhile, Moya and Mallick decided to switch up their return of service sides.

Frank Samara/John Rizzo over Don Moya/Paul Mallick, 6-4!  Don: 3 Aces (2 on John and 1 on Frank)!  Here's how it went down: Don held (Love-30 where a second-serve corner Ace on John made it 15-30 and then it went to Double Break Point where a sideline Ace against John reduced it to Break Point where an un-returned serve brought it to Deuce and still another made it Game Point where Don then scored with a laser-like passing shot winner for the hold), John held at Love as he started off with three consecutive un-returned serves and then Don badly blew what should have been an easy volley winner on Triple Game Point to allow the hold, but Paul was the first to be broken (Frank hit a winner and then Paul blew a volley to make it Love-30, then it was 15-30 where a Double Fault set up Double Break Point where an un-returned serve cut it to Break Point, but then came the break) for 1-2.  Frank held (an un-returned serve for 15-Love, 30-Love, 30-15 where an un-returned serve set up Double Game Point and then another un-returned serve secured the hold) to increase his team's lead to 3-1, but Moya held yet again and this time it was at Love as a truly un-returnable serve made it 15-Love where a corner Ace against Frank made it 30-Love and then another truly un-returnable serve set up Triple Game Point and then came the hold to pull to 2-3.  Rizzo was then broken at Love as it truly became The Don Show as first he hit a winning lob that just sailed over the attempted Windmill Overhead Smash by Frank, then Don hit a winning Overhead Smash which was then followed up by a whipping return winner to set up Triple Break Point where Don scored with another Overhead Smash winner for the break and to level the set at 3-3!  But Mallick was broken again (Don hit a winning volley for 15-Love, a Double Fault made it 15-All, then it was 30-15 followed by 30-All where John hit an emphatic Backhand Volley winner to make it Break Point where Frank then scored with a precise passing shot winner for the break) while Samara held again (30-Love where Don hit a roller of a return over the net for a winner to make it 30-15 only to have it then go to Double Game Point where an un-returned serve secured the hold) to put his team up 5-3.  The Adonis held yet again (a truly un-returnable serve for 15-Love, a Double Fault made it 15-All, another truly un-returnable serve for 30-15, then Double Game Point and another Double Fault to cut that lead to Game Point where Frank scored with another precision passing shot winner to bring it to Deuce where an un-returned serve set up yet another Game Point and still another truly un-returnable serve secured the hold) to pull to 4-5!  The Riz responded with a hold of his own (Frank badly blew what should have been an easy volley winner to make it Love-15 and that was where John stepped up with an amazing get/winner combo followed by a truly un-returnable serve on the way to Double Game/Match Point where Frank squandered another great get made by John to once again blow an otherwise surefire volley winner to reduce the lead to Game/Match Point where John got the job done on his own with an un-returned serve to get the hold) for the win!  This one was also played on Court Four and it lasted from 10:20 to 10:52.

The Skinny: While Moya lamented the fact that he never truly got his forehand going, he at least could have the satisfaction of clearly being the most dominant server of the night.  Rizzo, save that one Love break, was quite solid in that regard as well.  Samara finally found his footing in this one (except that one game at the end where he almost unwillingly sabotaged his partner's service) and made a true impact on the outcome here.  Meanwhile, Mallick was starting to run out of gas as he had already played plenty of tennis before joining us for Doubles.

Henry Mendoza/Sean McHugh leading Kevin Doyle/Sam Senowitz, 3-0 (Incomplete when Mendoza sustained an injury and had to stop playing)!  Sam: 1 Ace on Henry!  This was the third set of action on Court One.  Not sure if it was just a muscle cramp that caused Henry to stop or if it was a bigger issue with his knee.  Hopefully, he will make a speedy recovery and be OK to play tennis in the near future.

Sincerely,
Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com