3/30/18:
"27 players (1 return) compete on Good Friday Night at The Bubble!":
There was a very special session of GTA Good Friday Night Tennis at The Wayne Bubble. We say "special" because we returned to the four-plus hour format we had implemented two weeks prior to honor the sendoff of one of the most admired and respected competitors in the league - "The Levitator" Levy Lorenzo. That session ended up becoming known as "Levypalooza" as that event came much closer to mimicking the larger Season Opener and Closer parties (aka "Bubblepalooza") we had in the past rather than our usual GTA Friday Night Party sessions.
For the Friday night in between, we returned to the traditional two hour format (8:15 to 10:15). A late surge in registrations the night before and all that Friday suggested we had made a mistake returning to the shorter and tighter (16 players maximum) session as we had to turn away a half dozen players.
That led to us coming back to the larger, more open format this time around...but earlier than those others in the past (7pm to 11:30 instead of 8:15 to 12:30 or so). Our gut instincts were on the money as we ended up having 30 registrants (just like "Levypalooza") once again. However, three late cancellations caused the ultimate number of competitors to drop to 27.
Per the usual, "Hollywood" Frank Samara promoted the event while "The Riz" John Rizzo went into his usual organizer mode (for these Bubble events) as he began collecting registrations and making plans for snacks, beverages, etc.
Rizzo's usual focus was primarily the registrations and then the above accommodations and then together with Samara he also made sure that all those that attended had their fair share of court time at The Bubble.
And some of the attendees brought their own food while also partaking in the "BYOB - Bring Your Own Beer" billing also announced along the way. One fine gent (who brought snacks for everyone) made his first appearance at a GTA event in quite a few years - "The Silver Fox" Howard Bersch. He looked very much the same as the last time we had seen him. He ended up playing similarly, too...which is why we were stunned to learn he will turn 80 years old in a few months. It was an absolutely amazing outing for someone on the verge of becoming an octogenarian!
Another competitor who never ceases to amaze us is "The Samson of Seasons" Sam Wong. He truly made some incredible gets during this session. So we were also somewhat surprised to find he is in his mid-60's. Competitors like Bersch and Wong continue to prove that age is nothing but a number. All that matters is how youthful you look and feel...and we are happy to see that the sport of tennis enables them to retain their youth...kudos to both and all other like them in this league!
Before I go further with the details of how this session unfolded, I just want to once again thank The Riz for offering up his time, services and funds to host this event for the benefit of the GTA. And I acted as the host of the session in the traditional sense of how we use the term "hosting", i.e. I collected the scores of all the action along the way.
Usually in my results write-ups, I detail the order of entry and/or appearance as the session progresses...but not this time around! There were just too many people to note...and they came in waves! All I will say is was yet another epic session that we plan to continue in a similar fashion (i.e. four hours plus) for the next two weeks until it is time to say "sayonara" to The Wayne Bubble for this season (until next fall).
We also once again thank "Master MC" Mark Cipollini who let us run a little long (i.e. overtime) while he began his clean-up routine as he runs things up at The Bubble. We were happy to have him join us this time around (as he declined to do so at "Levypalooza") to become one of the 27 competitors for the evening.
Let's get to the action!
The Wayne Bubble Results:
Tom Heidt/Laurie Boughton over Howard Bersch/Suzanne Bujara, 7-5! Tom: 2 Aces (one on each and back-to-back in the same game)! It was the official GTA Return of Howard Bersch. This was the first official action of the evening as it got underway on Court Four at 7:15 and finished at 7:50. The reason why such a length set lasted only 35 minutes was that they decided to forego the changeovers.
Fadia Nicolas/Astrid Kaiser over Kathy Sheldon/Dawn Peterson, 7-5! No Aces. This Women's Doubles action occupied Court Two from 7:20 to 8pm. Like the Mixed Doubles One-Setter above, they also opted to forego the changeovers. That is not true of the next two One-Setters, however.
Marijus Kuzavas/Sally Pillay over Rich Liu/Sam Wong, 6-4! No Aces. Like the One-Setter above, this one also got underway at 7:20. It ended a little sooner, though...exactly at 7:53. The reigning GTA Mixed Doubles Champions were tested just a bit by this Men's Doubles duo.
Ryan Pienciak/Mike Mole over Nick Caputo/Paul Mallick, 6-3! Ryan: 1 Ace on Nick; and Nick: 1 Ace on Ryan! This Men's Doubles action took place on Court Three (aka The Show Court) from 7:25 to 7:54.
Dan Knitzer/Doinks Srinivasan over Senthil Kumar/Suzanne Bujara, 6-1! Dan: 1 Ace on Suzanne. This Mixed Doubles One-Setter was contested on Court Four from 7:55 to 8:25. They decided to forego the changeovers in this one.
Tom Heidt/Laurie Boughton over Howard Bersch/Genalin Capan, 6-4! No Aces. This Mixed Doubles One-Setter was conducted on Court One from 8:03 to 8:45.
Ryan Pienciak/Nick Caputo over Elias Eid/John Crespo, 6-1! Nick: 1 Ace on Elias. This Men's Doubles action took place on Court Three and lasted just eighteen minutes (8:04 to 8:22). Ryan and Nick jumped out to a 5-0 lead before Elias and John were able to get on the scoreboard and avoid a bagel.
The Skinny: Elias just brought John into the league last Sunday as they subbed at the later Night Owls session at The Bubble. They had a fairly easy straight-set victory over Liu and "Stingray" Ray Spadaro. Based off of that performance, we felt we would need to put them up against one of the strongest tandems we could offer (Pienciak/Caputo). Later in the evening, we found some more well-balanced match-ups for them. They are definitely a solid team and it is evident that they enjoy playing together.
Samara's Notes: This was my first time meeting Mr. Crespo. Like his buddy, Mr. Eid, he is a very nice guy and yet another solid addition to the league. I'm pleased to report both plan on attending our outdoor sessions throughout the season as well.
Mike Mole/Paul Mallick over Rich Liu/Sam Wong, 6-3! No Aces. Court Two hosted these two teams from 8:04 to 8:33.
Marijus Kuzavas/Sally Pillay over Ryan Sherry/Astrid Kaiser, 6-4! Ryan: 2 Aces on Marijus! This was excellent Mixed Doubles action on Court Three as they appropriately put on quite a show on "The Show Court!" The duration was from 8:29 to 9:06. The reigning GTA Mixed Doubles Champs were truly tested by the makeshift team of Sherry and Kaiser (who had never even met before). Ryan may have been the overall MVP in this one. Much like Caputo, Sherry will be one to watch in the upcoming GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament.
Kathy Sheldon/Dawn Peterson over Ralph Bernard/Fadia Nicolas, 6-3! No Aces. These four faced off on Court Four from 8:33 to 8:58. And, yes, you read that result right! Fadia was putting the blame on herself and was also saying the pairing did not mesh. As we wanted Ralph and one of the three ladies to remain on the court for the next One-Setter there, Sheldon (along with Samara) convinced Nicolas to give it one more try with Mr. Bernard. We will see how that one went a little later in this report.
Senthil Kumar/Dan Knitzer over Elias Eid/John Crespo, 6-4! No Aces. There were also no changeovers during this encounter on Court Two which lasted from 8:37 to 9:12. This was a well-balanced match-up that all involved seemed to enjoy...which was a good thing as we had no choice (due to the options at hand later on) to give the two teams a rematch later in the night.
Ryan Pienciak/Doinks Srinivasan over Nick Caputo/Suzanne Bujara, 6-0! No Aces. Court One hosted this one from 8:48 to 9:08. Despite the bagel score, they said there were many lengthy games in this one.
Ralph Bernard/Fadia Nicolas over Sam Wong/Genalin Capan, 6-1! Sam: 1 Ace on Ralph on a second serve! This Mixed Doubles affair took place on Court Four from 9:08 to 9:32. Ralph and Fadia fared much better the second time around...hence, the old adage, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again!"
Paul Mallick/Laurie Boughton over Mike Mole/Howard Bersch, 6-2! Mike: 1 Ace on Laurie on a second serve! This was contested on Court Three from 9:09 to 9:41...quite lengthy when you consider the fact that they decided to forego the changeovers in this one.
Nick Caputo/Tom Heidt over Rich Liu/Ryan Sherry, 6-0! Nick: 1 Ace on Rich! This got done on Court One. Another shutout where the games went long as it took 25 minutes to finish (9:13 to 9:38). It was "eat a bagel, feed a bagel" for Mr. Caputo in his last two sessions here.
Marijus Kuzavas/Doinks Srinivasan over Ryan Pienciak/Sally Pillay, 6-4! Ryan: 2 Aces on Doinks! Some more excellent Mixed Doubles action that this time around took place on Court Two and lasted from 9:14 to 9:46. We thought we came up with another test for The Champs, but the competitors decided to switch things up as they took the courts. Turns out that Marijus and Doinks are a team in an ongoing USTA Mixed Doubles Tournament right now, so they also wanted to get some practice together.
Senthil Kumar/Dan Knitzer over Elias Eid/John Crespo, 6-3! John: 1 Ace on Dan! The rematch from Court Two just a bit earlier in the evening now took place on Court Four. It ran from 9:36 to 10:06. As some of the competitors were starting to call it a night (Senthil being one of them), this enabled three of the guys to remain on the court while Ralph Bernard took Mr. Kumar's place. And we will get to that one later.
Ralph Bernard/Fadia Nicolas over Sam Wong/Suzanne Bujara, 6-2! Ralph: 1 Ace on Suzanne! Court One hosted this one from 9:41 to 10:05. With regard to the Bernard/Nicolas tandem, as Meat Loaf once sang: "Two out of three ain't bad!"
Rich Liu/Laurie Boughton over Tom Heidt/Genalin Capan, 7-5! No Aces. It seemed like there was a comedy show going on over on "The Show Court", Court Three, as this set lasted from 9:46 to 10:34. Much laughter taking place here as all four seemed to be having a lot of fun in this one.
Frank Samara/Ryan Sherry over Mike Mole/Paul Mallick, 6-1! No Aces. It went like this: Ryan held serve (Triple Game Point, Double Game Point, Double Fault for Game Point, but then the hold), Paul was broken (Love-15, 15-All then onto Double Break Point with a rebound to Deuce, Game Point, 2nd Deuce, Double Fault for Break Point and then teh break) and Frank held (Love-15 went straight to Double Game Point and the hold) for a 3-0 lead. Mike held at Love to get his team on the scoreboard, but from there it was Sherry holding again (30-Love, 30-15, Double Game Point and the hold), Mallick getting broken again (a Double Fault set up Love-30, 15-30, Double Break Point and the break) and then Samara holding again (Love-15 once again went straight to Double Game/Match Point, but then it went to Game/Match Point before the hold there) to get the win! We played this on Court Two from 9:52 to 10:18.
The Skinny: It was hard figuring out what the teams should be. Samara felt that Mole and Sherry should likely be split as they both have a hard-hitting style with swing-away forehands coupled with big serves. Mallick also has some big forehand shots, but also seems to do a lot with finesse and volleys at the net. So Ryan opted to team with Frank as it is a rare opportunity for him to do so and the two gelled together right away. It was off and running so fast that it was hard for Mike and Paul to try to catch up in time. It also helped that Samara had "the fresh legs" in this one while the other three competitors had already logged many miles this session. Meanwhile, Sherry once again demonstrated how he is quickly emerging as a true force in this league.
Dan Knitzer/John Crespo over Ralph Bernard/Elias Eid, 6-4! Ralph: 1 Ace on John! Court Four hosted this foursome from 10:08 to 10:38. Buddies Elias and John decided to split up in this one. It almost seemed appropriate as Knitzer and Crespo were color-coordinated and looked like Team Black and Green. They are also similar in body-type, lithe and lean. They ended up making for a good combo.
Marijus Kuzavas/Mark Cipollini over Ryan Pienciak/Nick Caputo, 6-4! No Aces. This most anticipated encounter of the evening would have been better served (for potential spectators, at least) being played on Court Three, the Show Court. But, as it turned out, it ended up being on Court One. We knew that we wanted to get Mark involved with the three heaviest-hitters we had in attendance (Kuzavas, Caputo and Pienciak) and this one did not disappoint! It lasted from 10:12 to 11:01!
The Skinny: Pienciak/Caputo (who look to be a steady team this season) jumped out to a 4-1 lead. Serving at 3-4, Kuzavas struggled through a game that had at least eight or nine (perhaps ten, even) Deuces and many Break Point opportunities for the opposition before he was able to hold and level it at 4-4. That ended up being the pivotal game as he and Cipollini managed a five-game straight comeback for an impressive victory in what was clearly the highest quality outing of the entire evening. Nick said he wants a rematch when he hasn't already played four sets prior...and Ryan was already putting the challenge out there to Marijus and his partner (not in attendance), "Big Kaz" Mike Kazlauskas, as the Kuzavas/Kazlauskas duo are the reigning GTA Doubles Champions.
John Rizzo/Ryan Sherry over Frank Samara/Sam Wong, 6-1! Sam: 1 Ace on John! Here's how it went down: Sam held (30-Love, a big corner Ace against John to set up Triple Game Point, then came Double Game Point and the hold), John held at Love and then Frank was the first to be broken (Love-30, 15-30, Double Break Point and the break) for 1-2. Ryan held (15-Love then point for point to Game Point and the hold) while Wong was broken (15-Love, 15-All then onto Double Game Point which was then reduced to Deuce, a Double Fault for Break Point and then the break) for 1-4. Rizzo held again (30-Love, 30-15, Double Game Point and the hold) while Samara was broken again (15-Love then point for point until 30-All and then a mini-shift to Break/Match Point and then came the break) to take the loss! We played this on Court Two from 10:20 to 10:42.
The Skinny: Samara planned on just being "one and done" at this session in order to allow others to play, but before he could walk off of Court Two from his previous win with Sherry, Rizzo informed them both to stay out on the court as John was going to team with Ryan while Sam wanted to team with Frank. It turns out that the Rizzo/Sherry tandem looks to become another steady team this season as John realizes that his usual partner indoors at The Bubble, "The Adonis" Don Moya, may become more scarce once we soon transition to strictly outdoors action.
Sally Pillay/Fadia Nicolas over Doinks Srinivasan/Genalin Capan, 6-3! Doinks: 1 Ace on Fadia! The Show Court (Court Three) hosted this Women's Doubles action from 10:37 to 11:11. The ladies were eager to face off against one another and they finally got this chance late in the evening. As it was winding down and there was no further demand for each court, they got to start another one which we will get to in a bit.
Tom Heidt/Laurie Boughton over Rich Liu/Suzanne Bujara, 6-4! Tom: 1 Ace on Suzanne. This Mixed Doubles action took place on Court Four from 10:45 to 11:19. Tom and Laurie had jumped out to a 5-0 lead before Rich and Suzanne managed to make it interesting getting as close as 5-4. Afterward, Liu said how impressed he was (as many of us are) with Bujara's improvement since the last time he saw her play.
Mike Mole/John Crespo over Ralph Bernard/Dan Knitzer, 6-1! Ralph: 2 Aces (one on each)! This was conducted on Court Two from 10:46 to 11:13. They decided to forego the changeovers in order to make sure to get it done in time. They had time remaining, so they went into another one which we will note in just a while.
John Rizzo/Ryan Sherry leading Sam Wong/Elias Eid, 4-2 (Incomplete as it had to be cut short in order to end the session close to on time)! No Aces. Court One hosted this one from 11:05 to 11:32.
Sally Pillay/Fadia Nicolas leading Doinks Srinivasan/Genalin Capan, 4-3 (Incomplete as they ended this one at 11:30...they had launched into it on Court Three at exactly 11:12)! No Aces.
Mike Mole/John Crespo leading Ralph Bernard/Dan Knitzer, 4-2 (Incomplete as they ended this one exactly at 11:31...they jumped into this one on Court Two at 11:14)! No Aces.
It ended up being quite the enjoyable and productive session...which is why we plan to continue this format for the remaining two weeks (though they will be from 8:15 to 12:30 or so) and quite likely next season (i.e. in the fall and into the winter) as well. We thank all those who were a part of it.
Sincerely,
Frank Samara
gtasamara5@gmail.com