6/11 Results.

6/11/18:

"2 play in AP, 4 play at PAC, 4 play in VP and 20 play at C.G.!":

There were four official sessions of GTA Monday Night Tennis: the first one was right up until sundown in Albion Park in Clifton as "Del Brotro" Mike Mole and "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan played a couple of "Battle of The Sexes" One-Setters against one another (as reported by Gen); one at the Park Ave. Courts in Nutley featuring a full Doubles Match (dubbed a "Revenge Rematch" by "SWAT" Rich Liu, who provided the report); another one at the Verona Park Courts featuring two Doubles Matches (as reported by "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak); and then there was the usual evening session at the Cedar Grove Courts featuring report contributions from "Bravo" Brenda Jordan, "Dominant" Dawn Peterson, "Daddy O" Paul Daddio, "The Icon" Nick Inciong, "The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan and "The Accelerator" Abhilash Gadi.

We will first go to Clifton and then to Nutley and Verona before attempting to organize all the results reported from Cedar Grove.  By the way, there is a whole lot of "4 play" in that subject line…LOL!

The Albion Park Results:                           

Mike Mole over Genalin Capan, 6-3!  Mike: 1 Ace.

Mike Mole over Genalin Capan, 6-1!  No Aces.

Gen's Notes: We played from 7:30 to 8:30.                

Samara's Notes: I thank Gen for her timely reporting of those scores.  We now head east a little for the result from Rich in Nutley.

The Park Ave. Courts Result:

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Randy Doran/Rich Liu over Keith Lewkowitz/Arunraj Nair, 6-3, 6-4, to become the New # 30 Ranked Team in the Doubles Division!  Rich: 1 Ace on Keith! 

 

The Rich Recap: This was a revenge rematch as they had beaten us last time and it also served as a good tune-up for the M2 Men's Doubles Tournament.  Both sets were competitive and Keith had a good serve while Arun, as usual, played the net well.  Randy and I just had a bit more consistency to win the match.  We will play again soon I'm sure and, who knows, Keith and Arunraj could win next time.

Samara's Notes: I thank Rich for his very timely reporting.  It is an interesting friendly team rivalry developing there.

We now head a little southwest for the results from Verona.

The Verona Park Results:

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Chris Chiaro/Adam Pienciak over Ryan Pienciak/John Rizzo, 6-3, 6-2, to become the New # 13 Ranked Team in the Doubles Division!  No Aces.

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Chris Chiaro/Ryan Pienciak over Adam Pienciak/John Rizzo, 6-4, 6-1, to become the New # 26 Ranked Team in the Doubles Division!  No Aces.

The Ryan Report: We decided to check out the new Verona Park Courts tonight.  The ball bounces weird there.  Or I'm a head-case.  Or maybe both!  For whatever it is worth, the lights were still on at 10:10.  Not sure what that means. 

Samara's Notes: First, I thank Ryan for his very timely reporting.  Second, maybe my memory is playing tricks on me, but I remember playing there four seasons ago and I think the lights were on until 11pm.  I could be wrong.

We now head north just a bit to go to Cedar Grove.

The Cedar Grove Results:

2 out of 3 Sets Women's Doubles Match:

Brenda Jordan/Dawn Peterson over Kathy Sheldon/Michelle Panzitta, 7-5, 6-4, to become the New # 15 Ranked Team in the Women's Doubles Division!  No Aces.

2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Gender Doubles Match:

Paul Daddio/Don Moya over Nathan Fernandes/Natalia Sout, 6-1, 2-6, 6-3!  Per the TMT Rules, Daddio/Moya entered the Doubles Division as the New # 68 Ranked Team.  No Aces.

The Dilly-O from Daddy O: This match qualifies my team with Don for entry into the M2.  I will also enter the MXD2 with Arlene Hyde as my partner.

Nick Inciong/Sachiko Tokuda over Elizabeth Cho/Fadia Nicolas, 6-1!  No Aces.

Nick Inciong/Sachiko Tokuda over Elizabeth Cho/Fadia Nicolas, 6-4!  No Aces.

The Nick at Nite Report: These were just a couple of One-Setters.  Sachiko was ruthless at the net!  We started a third set with 25 minutes before lights out but, after the first game, Sachiko had to leave. 

Frank Hohorst/Guy Dupoux over Jordan Bachvaroff/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-2!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: As always, I thank everyone for their very timely reporting.  It is truly appreciated.  We now turn the balance of this report over to Abhi.

The weather was perfect for tennis.  I arrived around 8:30pm and Doinks joined me to play a Doubles One-Setter where I teamed up with Elias Eid while she teamed with Kyle Eng. 

Abhilash Gadi/Elias Eid over Kyle Eng/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-4!  No Aces. 

It was a good warm-up set for Kyle, Doinks and me. 

Then Kyle teamed up with Dennis Cabanatan and we couldn't complete the whole set as the lights went off at 10pm.

Kyle Eng/Dennis Cabanatan leading Abhilash Gadi/Elias Eid, 6-5 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  Elias: 1 Ace on Kyle! 

This was a really tough set where all of us were hitting some really good shots. There were several long and competitive games.

Samara's Notes: I appreciate the timely and comprehensive report from Abhi.  He also informed me that he plans on playing the match where he will team with Chazz Weldon so that they can get ranked and qualified for entry into the M2 on Wednesday night.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

6/10 Results.

6/10/18:

"Fernanda-Fadia in OP early!":

There was just one official session of GTA Sunday Tennis: an early morning one at the Overpeck Park Courts in Teaneck that featured a GAH8 Quarterfinal Match between "The Argentine Machine" Fernanda Toker and Fadia "Finesse" Nicolas (with Fernanda reporting).

Soon after that match ended, rain resumed through most of the Northern New Jersey area which prevented "Hollywood" Frank Samara from hosting his usual GTA Sunday Tennis session (he has been unable to do so since the last Sunday in April!) and also did not allow any other GTA Tennis sessions to take place anywhere else for the balance of the day and night.

Let's go to that lone official result now!

The Overpeck Park Result:

GAH8 Quarterfinal Match:

Fernanda Toker over Fadia Nicolas, 5-7, 6-2, 6-1, to successfully defend her # 1 Rank in the Women's Division while advancing to the Semifinals of the 8th Annual Gail-ann Hamilton Memorial Women's Singles Tournament!  No Aces.

Toker's Take: We arrived at 10am and started the match at 10:15.  We finished a little before 12:40!  Fadia is a great competitor and I knew it wasn't going to be easy.  In the 1st Set, I was up 4-1 and she started playing amazingly and I couldn't handle it. In the 2nd Set and 3rd Set, she was a little bit more tired and started making some errors.  I was lucky!  I love and hate playing Fadia.  It is always very close despite the score.

Samara's Notes: I thank Fernanda for her very timely reporting.  It is truly appreciated.  She is now the first player into the Semis where she awaits the culmination of a scenario that still involves three players.  "Echo" Elizabeth Cho is already into the Quarterfinals where she is still waiting for the winner of a Round of 12 Match between "Automatic" Anna Mazur and "Energetic" Nina Kallay.           

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

6/9 Results.

6/9/18:

"Fadia-Dawn in BP, 2 at VHS, Marijus-Kaz in FP, Riz hosts 4 at NTC!":

There were four official sessions of GTA Saturday Tennis: an early one in Brookdale Park in Bloomfield featuring a GAH8 Round of 12 Match between Fadia "Finesse" Nicolas and "Dominant" Dawn Peterson (with both reporting); another afternoon one at the Verona High School Courts which featured a couple of Singles One-Setters between "The Headhunter" Ralph Bernard and "The AM Rush" Anish Mehta (with Anish reporting); yet another afternoon session at the Fellowship Park Courts in Ridgefield Park that featured a Challenge Match between buddies and Doubles partners, "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas and "Big Kaz" Mike Kazlauskas (with Mario reporting); and then an evening session at Nutley Tennis Club featuring some solid Doubles action that was hosted by "The Riz" John Rizzo.

Shockingly, no GTA Tennis results were reported from The Cedar Grove Courts.  My best guess is that we did have some of our players there, but they chose not to report their scores.  Thus, anything that took place there that day will remain unofficial.

Let's get to all of the official action now!

The Brookdale Park Result:

 

GAH8 Round of 12 Match:

Fadia Nicolas over Dawn Peterson, 6-2, 6-2, to successfully defend her # 12 Rank in the Women's Division while advancing to the Quarterfinals of the 8th Annual Gail-ann Hamilton Memorial Women's Singles Tournament!  No Aces.

 

The Details from Dawn: It was a very enjoyable match even though I lost.  My game was very off today.  Fadia has a lot of tricky shots, too. 

The Finesse File: We had fun, but Dawn and I both noticed that she did not have her usual game (level of play) on this day.  We have played before and I know when her game is really on.  Still, it was fun and I thank Dawn for scheduling it so quickly.  Also, thank you Frank, for running a wonderful GTA. :-)

Samara's Notes: I congratulate Fadia on an impressive victory and thank her for her kind words.  I also thank both of them for their very timely reporting.

We now go south a bit for a full report from Verona courtesy of Anish.

The Verona High School Courts Results:

Anish Mehta over Ralph Bernard, 6-2!  No Aces.

Anish Mehta over Ralph Bernard, 6-2!  No Aces.

The AM News: Verona Park was blocked off for the annual Valerie Fund Walk/Run, so we couldn't play there as originally planned.  We played it as a couple of One-Setters.  There were a lot of Deuce games and I had to run around a lot, but I won the important points and my serve was consistent today.  Hopefully, I can start playing different people as well in the coming weeks.

Samara's Notes: I thank Anish for his very timely reporting.  We now head quite a ways north to Ridgefield Park for the result from Marijus.

The Fellowship Park Result:

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:

Marijus Kuzavas over Mike Kazlauskas, 6-1, 6-1, to successfully defend his # 4 Rank in the Advanced Division!  Marijus: 3 Aces; and Mike: 1 Ace!

The Scoop from Super Mario: It was a good match.  He fought well and had some nice passing shots, but he just had a number of unforced errors that hurt his efforts.

Samara's Notes: I thank Marijus for his very timely reporting.  It is truly appreciated.

We now head south to Nutley and get the results from The Riz!

The NTC Results:

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Alfred Chen/Frank Hohorst over Senthil Kumar/John Rizzo, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3, to successfully defend their # 3 Rank in the Doubles Division!  Frank: 3 Aces on John (one in each set); and Senthil: 1 Ace on Frank!

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

John Rizzo/Alfred Chen over Senthil Kumar/Frank Hohorst, 5-7, 6-4, 10-8 (STB), as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 64 and # 65 Ranked Teams respectively!  No Aces.         

The Riz Report: Senthil and Frank decided to sign up as a team for the M2 Tournament.  Alfred didn't want to sign up since he only has time once a week to play. 

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

6/8 Results.

6/8/18:

"Tony-Anish 1-Setters in E.F., Doinks-Suzanne, Dbls Titles part of 25 at C.G.!":

There were two official sessions of GTA Friday Tennis: an afternoon one at the Grover Cleveland Park in Essex Fells that featured two Singles One-Setters between Tony "Sure Shot" Shiao and "The AM Rush" Anish Mehta (with both reporting); and then it was the usual evening one at the Cedar Grove Courts that featured a GAH8 Round of 12 Match between "The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan and "The Shade Shark" Suzanne Bujara (with Suzanne reporting) and the GTA Doubles Championship Match as the GTA Doubles Champions: "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak and "NC-17" Nick Caputo put their Titles on the line against the newly formed team of GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro and "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes (with Ryan reporting).  Other contributors to this report from that session were Doinks, "Killer Kat" Kathy Sheldon and "The Riz" John Rizzo.

Let's go to the One-Setters from Essex Fells first and then try to get a handle on all that happened up at Cedar Grove!  By the way, I know I had originally promised to host that Cedar Grove session.  Last minute I found out that the mother of my children would not be around to watch them as she suddenly had to work late.  It came to my attention too late to find a sitter or make other plans.  My apologies for not being there to host/organize the session…plus, I would have loved to have been there for the GTA Doubles Championship Match.

The Grover Cleveland Park Results:

Anish Mehta over Tony Shiao, 6-3!  Anish: 1 Ace on the very first point of the match!

Anish Mehta over Tony Shiao, 6-4!  No Aces.

The AM News: There were a lot of good rallies, but I played a little cleaner to take both sets.  This was never meant to be an official match since we wouldn't have had time for a proper 3^rd Set.  I think Tony's children were stranded in Cedar Grove for 20 minutes as it was.

 

The Sure Shot from Shiao: Anish and I decided to meet up for some exercise at 1:30 in the afternoon at Verona Park only to be turned away by some children's event at the courts and we decided to head to Caldwell instead.  We didn't plan to play a full match due to the time constraints as I had to take kids to Tae Kwon Do at 3:30 (plus the heat).  After about 5 minutes of warming up, I offered Anish to serve it up, first ball in.  Both sets were very close, but I didn't win the critical points to win enough games.  In a few games, I was up 40-15 only to lose the game with unforced errors and I was not able to effectively return Anish's slicing drop shots.  We both went all out and I went for broke with my topspin forehands.  The heat was taxing on our endurance, but the mission to get some exercise was accomplished. 

 

I'm okay with reporting this as a match since we somewhat did complete two sets.  If not, I will formally challenge Anish for a rank defense before the month's end and properly start the match with a rally or coin toss without any time constraints.  

Samara's Notes: While I appreciate Tony's willingness to make it a full match, I think it is always best to abide by the original intentions.  If it was never discussed or decided upon to make it an actual Challenge Match, then it should remain as two separate One-Setters as the mentality going into a full match is often very different than it would be in individual One-Setters.  Only if both competitors agree afterward to shift the result toward being a full match as it may benefit one or both of them would I then accept the score to be reported as such.

And I thank both of them for their very prompt reporting.  We now take it to Cedar Grove where we will start with the GAH8 Round of 12 Match (which I believe kicked off the festivities there) and then list the rest of the results.

The Cedar Grove Results:                                                                               

GAH8 Round of 12 Match:

Doinks Srinivasan over Suzanne Bujara, 6-0, 6-0, to successfully defend her # 7 Rank in the Women's Division while advancing to the Quarterfinals of the 8^th Annual Gail-ann Hamilton Memorial Women's Singles Tournament!  No Aces.​

 

Kris Srinivasan/Natalia Sout over Janice Wang/Suzanne Bujara, 6-3!  No Aces.  We played this from 6:15 to 7:20 or so.

 

Fadia Nicolas/Suzanne Bujara over Elizabeth Cho/Sachiko Tokuda, 7-5!  No Aces.  We played this from 8:40 to 9:20.

 

Samara's Notes: I congratulate Doinks on the dominant victory, but I also thank Suzanne for reporting all the above.  The Shade Shark (a nickname she has given herself…I'm not 100% sure if I know what it is all about, but I do like it) reported another incomplete One-Setter.  We will save that one for the end of this report the way we usually handle unfinished sets.

 

Kathy Sheldon/Michele Panzitta over Laurie Boughton/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-4!  No Aces.

The Killer Commentary: It was a tough, long set with many Deuce games.  Then Fadia stepped in for the next one and was Laurie's partner.

 

Kathy Sheldon/Michele Panzitta over Laurie Boughton/Fadia Nicolas, 6-3!  No Aces.

The Killer Commentary: It was another long set, but thankfully Michele and I won.  It was a hot and buggy night!

Samara's Notes: I thank both Kat and Doinks for submitting that first score and then solely Kat for the second.  Maybe it was a good thing I missed this session (given the muggy and buggy conditions) after all…LOL!  Doinks also gave us this next one (as did John).

Jose Gonzales/Janice Wang over John Rizzo/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-2!  No Aces.

 

GTA Doubles Championship Match:

Ryan Pienciak/Nick Caputo over Chris Chiaro/Nathan Fernandes, 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, to complete their third successful GTA Doubles Championship defense of their third reign!  In the process, Chiaro/Fernandes entered the Doubles Division as the New # 60 Ranked Team.  No Aces.

 

The Ryan Report: VERY tough match!  There were tons of long points and we were all pretty exhausted by the end.  None of us played our best, but everyone played well.  We started at 7pm and finished at 9:25.  There were no aces the whole match! 

 

Here is a breakdown....

 

1st Set: We broke them in the first game.  Then we traded games until we were up 5-4.  I was broken and then we broke Chris for 6-5.  Nick held for 7-5.

 

2nd Set: Nate and Chris switched sides and it took us a bit to adjust.  We were down 0-3.  Nick held for 1-3 and then it was 1-4.  I held for 2-4 then we broke them and Nick held to make it 4-4. Then we were down 4-5 and I was broken to level the match. 

 

3rd Set: Everyone was broken once for 2-2.  Then Nate held.  Then Nick held for 3-3.  Chris was broken to put us up 4-3.  I was broken for 4-4.  Nate held for 4-5.  The next game it went to Deuce with Nick serving.  He held for 5-5.  We then broke Chris and I held for 7-5. 

 

Samara's Notes: I thank Ryan for his timely and comprehensive reporting.  While he said they did not play their best, I know the quality that must have existed in this match.  And for it to be so close right until the end, I would think it will ultimately be at least a Nominee for Doubles Match of The Year at season's end. 

 

We now go to John for the balance of the results and then back to Suzanne for that last incomplete one.

 

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Adam Pienciak/T.J. Shah over Mike Mole/John Rizzo, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 11-9 (STB), as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 61 and # 62 Ranked Teams respectively!  John: 2 Aces on Adam!

 

The Riz Report: Adam and T.J. led 6-4 (the 1^st Set) and then were up 3-0 in the 2^nd Set before Mike and I came back and later saved 2 Match Points in the 2nd Set and then we led 9-6 in the STB before losing the last 5 points!

 

Samara's Notes: I thank John for the details.  This sounds like yet another possible Nominee for Doubles Match of The Year at season's end.  It also got the A. Pienciak/T.J. Shah team qualified for entry in the upcoming M2 Tournament. 

 

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Nick Inciong/Tony Tokuda over Tim Nguyen/Don Moya, 6-4, 6-0, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 63 and # 64 Ranked Teams respectively!  No Aces.

 

Chris Chiaro/John Rizzo over Mike Mole/Moka Pathan, 6-1!  No Aces.  

Fadia Nicolas/Suzanne Bujara leading Elizabeth Cho/Sachiko Tokuda, 2-1 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm…we started this one at 9:20)!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I thank everyone for their very timely reporting.  It is truly appreciated.       

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

6/7 Results.

6/7/18:

"Mole-Bernard in VP, 2 at Wayne, Samara hosts 19 at C.G.!":

There were three sessions of GTA Thursday Night Tennis: an evening one in Verona Park that featured a Challenge Match between "Del Brotro" Mike Mole and "The Headhunter" Ralph Bernard (which was followed by a One-Setter…and with both reporting); a concurrent session at The Nellis Drive Courts in Wayne which had two One-Setters between "The Webmaster" Senthil Kumar and "The Practitioner" Pranav Sinha (with Senthil reporting) and then the usual evening session at The Cedar Grove Courts where "Hollywood" Frank Samara finally returned to host.

Let's go to the quick scores from Verona and Wayne before we get the full recap of what transpired up at Cedar Grove!

The Verona Park Result:

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:

Ralph Bernard over Mike Mole, 6-1, 6-4, to become the New # 9 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division!  Ralph: 1 Ace.

The Mole Memo: Ralph was on with his forehand!  Fun match!

The Ralph Report: We had a lot of competitive hard-hitting rallies.  We then decided to play another set.

Mike Mole over Ralph Bernard, 6-4!  Ralph: 1 Ace.

Samara's Notes: I thank both for their very timely reporting.  It is truly appreciated.  By the way, Mike had also said that the playing time was from 7:15 to 8:30.

We now head north to Wayne.

The Nellis Drive Courts Results:

Senthil Kumar over Pranav Sinha, 6-4!  Senthil: 1 Ace!

Senthil Kumar over Pranav Sinha, 6-4!  Pranav: 1 Ace!

The Untangled Web by Senthil: Both sets were at 4-4 before I was able to close them out.  We played from 8:30 to 10pm.

Samara's Notes: I thank Senthil for his very timely reporting…much appreciated!  And now for how the session up at Cedar Grove unfolded.

When Samara pulled into the parking lot surrounding the courts of Cedar Grove, he saw that both "GDP" Guy Dupoux and "Salsa Picante" Edwin Ortega were doing the same.  Dupoux quickly headed out onto Court One where "Kerosene" Kyle Eng and "J-Wow" Janice Wang were having a hitting session/lesson.  Ortega made his way out onto Court Three to take the side of "The Bulgarian Bull" Jordan Bachvaroff as he was hitting against both "Sadistic" Syed Rashid and the "A-Bomb" Andrew Truong.  Court Two was still vacant, but it would not remain that way for long.

On Court Four we had the newly formed Mixed Doubles Team of GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro and Former GTA Women's Champ: Laura "The Aura" Gawley waiting for some worthy opposition (they were hoping it would be the current GTA Mixed Doubles Champions: "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas and "The Smackdown" Sally Pillay).  They had already worked up a good sweat in a hitting session that also included "The Riz" John Rizzo who was now sitting on the bench outside of Court Four.

Samara took a seat next to Rizzo on the bench as he noted the scene that was taking place upon his arrival.  Soon, Jordan and Andrew shifted over to Court Two where they would soon enter into a Singles One-Setter against one another.

At 7:15, Kuzavas/Pillay did arrive (as did "Hurricane" Jose Gonzales at the same time) and they would soon take Court Four for a full Non-Title Challenge Match against Chiaro/Gawley (it had to be Non-Title as Chris and Laura had yet to be ranked as a team in the Mixed Doubles Division).  Jose soon made his way to Court One for what would turn into a Doubles One-Setter.

Around 7:30, "The Apex Predator" Adam Pienciak made his arrival and took a seat next to the bench where Samara and Rizzo were sitting.

"Rowdy" Rob Gawley (aka The Rogue) arrived at 7:40 for what would be an extended cameo appearance as he stuck around to watch the excellent Kuzavas/Pillay-Chiaro/Gawley encounter. 

Ten minutes later, Sachiko "Sachi" Tokuda also pulled into the lot…but this time around, it was not alone.  She actually had a driver, her husband Tony.  Tony played with us back in the 2016 Season (it may have only been once).  On the heels of the Tokudas arrival, "The Adonis" Don Moya also made his way toward the courts.

Soon enough, Rizzo, Moya and Mr. Tokuda headed out onto Court Three to join Ortega for some Doubles action as Rashid was done for the day (he had been hitting since 5:30…he never got involved in any official action).  Mrs. Tokuda took a seat on the bench next to Samara.

At 8:05, "The Argentine Machine" Fernanda Toker arrived as she was hoping to team with Wang in a full match in order to get ranked as a team in the Women's Doubles Division.  Janice was still involved in that Doubles One-Setter on Court One.  It was turning out to be an epic outing as it would eventually go to a tough and tight Tiebreak. 

Hot on her heels was the arrival of "RK Fire" Rafaelo Kazakov at 8:10 who soon made his way onto Court Two to join the hitting session between Adam and Jordan which had unfolded along the way some time earlier in the evening.

And that was it for the arrivals of official competitors (a fairly impressive total of 19 for the evening), but later we did have Natalia "Nitro" Sout come join us (I'm guessing somewhere around 9:30) as she joined the crowd that had gathered on and around the bench alongside Court One as that became the court to watch later in the evening.

All things told, it was an action-packed session…one that will have likely ramifications on the future of both the Mixed Doubles Division and the Women's Doubles Division.

The Cedar Grove Results:

Jordan Bachvaroff over Andrew Truong, 6-2!  Andrew: 1 Ace.  They played this one on Court Two (approximate time was from 7:10 to 7:30).

2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Doubles Non-Title Match:

Chris Chiaro/Laura Gawley over Marijus Kuzavas/Sally Pillay, 7-5, 7-5, to become the New # 2 Ranked Team in the Mixed Doubles Division/Next Top Contenders!  Marijus: 1 Ace on Chris in the 1^st Set (on a second serve); and Sally: 1 Ace on Laura in the 1^st Set!

The Skinny: Chris and Laura got out to a 4-1 lead in the 1^st Set only to have it get cut to 4-3.  It was at this time in the set when Sally was on serve in a multiple Deuce game (I was too distracted by conversation to count them, but there were many!) before she managed to hold to level the set at 4-4!  Chris was then broken to hand a 5-4 lead over to Marijus as he was about to serve next.  He was broken for 5-5 (and this is when I had to leave to go compete over on Court Two), but then Laura held and Sally was broken to finish the set.  I was later told by an emphatic Sally that her hubby had a 5-2 lead in the 2^nd Set when he went on serve only to again be broken as that led to a five game rally by Chiaro/Gawley as they took this one in straight sets.  It should be said that Marijus arrived a bit tipsy (Sally drove), though it did not seem to affect his performance all that much. 

These two teams battled it out on Court Four from 7:33 to 9:30 (approximately on that end time as I was still involved in action on Court Two at the time).  Even though it was a straight-set affair, I would say it still has a chance at being a Nominee for Mixed Doubles Match of The Year at season's end as the quality was quite high throughout the contest.  It certainly was a hard-hitting, get-making and action-packed spectacle, indeed!

Jose Gonzales/Janice Wang over Kyle Eng/Guy Dupoux, 7-6 (9-7)!  No Aces.  Court One hosted this one from 7:35 to 8:22.  Jose and Janice had been down 3-5 before coming back and then it went back and forth until a Tiebreak was necessary.  Kyle and Guy were up 7-6 and had Match Point in the TB only to drop three straight points to take a tough loss!  This one also has potential to be a Nominee for One-Set Specialty Doubles Match of The Year at season's end.

John Rizzo/Tony Tokuda over Edwin Ortega/Don Moya, 6-1!  No Aces.  It was the official GTA Return of Tony Tokuda.  This one took place on Court Three and lasted from 8:01 to 8:35.

"Battle of The Sexes" 2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Doubles Match:

Adam Pienciak/Kyle Eng over Fernanda Toker/Janice Wang, 3-6, 6-1, 10-6 (STB)!  In the process, Pienciak/Eng entered the Doubles Division as the New # 59 Ranked Team while Toker/Wang entered the Women's Doubles Division as the New # 16 Ranked Team.  No Aces.  This one got underway on Court One at 8:25.  The 1^st Set finished at 9pm and the 2^nd Set was over at 9:20.  The STB lasted roughly ten minutes as the match ended somewhere around 9:30.  In order to make sure they got the match finished in time, they decided to forego the changeovers.

Frank Samara/Sachiko Tokuda over Jordan Bachvaroff/Rafaelo Kazakov, 6-4!  No Aces.  It went like this: Rafaelo held serve (30-Love, 30-15, Double Game Point and the hold), Frank held at Love, Jordan held (15-Love, Double Fault for 15-All, 15-30 then it shifted to Game Point and the hold), but Sachiko was the first to be broken (Double Fault for Love-30, Triple Break Point, Double Break Point and the break) for 1-3.  Kazakov was broken (Love-15, 15-All then onto Double Break Point, Break Point and then a Double Fault to break himself), but Samara held again (15-Love shifted to 15-30 shifted again to Game Point, Deuce, Break Point, 2^nd Deuce, Game Point and the hold) to level the set at 3-3.  Bachvaroff was then broken (Love-15 shifted to 30-15, 30-All, Game Point, Deuce, Break Point and the break) to lose the lead at 3-4, but Tokuda was broken again and this time it was at Love after hitting a Double Fault on Triple Break Point!  This served to knot the score once more, this time at 4-4.  RK Fire was also broken again (Triple Break Point, Double Break Point and the break) while Hollywood had another Love hold when he ended this one on Triple Game/Match Point!  We played this one on Court Two from 8:35 to 9:07.

The Skinny: So we managed to pull off the upset over Team Bulgaria.  As the One-Setter progressed, Jordan complained about feeling cold as it was starting to get chilly as the evening grew older.  He put a sweatshirt on over his tank top (I believe it was…perhaps it was a full short sleeve T-shirt…I honestly cannot remember).  By the end of this, he felt as if he had the chills (upon shaking his hand, he was cold to the touch).  He decided to call it a night as Ortega would take his place in the next one on this court.  But we are getting a bit ahead of ourselves, as first…

Jose Gonzales/Tony Tokuda over Edwin Ortega/Don Moya, 6-4!  No Aces.  Court Three hosted this one from 8:40 to 9:03.

Frank Samara/Sachiko Tokuda over Edwin Ortega/Rafaelo Kazakov, 6-2!  No Aces.  Here's how it went down: Sachiko was broken (Love-15 shifted to 30-15 shifted again to Break Point, Deuce, Break Point again, 2^nd Deuce, another Break Point and then the break), Edwin was broken as it went Love-15 then point for point to Break Point and then the break, but Frank was the first to hold serve (Love-15 then point for point until 30-All, a mini-shift to Game Point and then the hold) for 2-1.  Rafaelo was broken (Triple Break Point reduced to Break Point, but then the break) for 1-3, but Tokuda was broken again (30-Love shifted to Break Point and the break) for 3-2.  Ortega was also broken again (Triple Break Point cut down to Break Point, but then the break) while Samara held again (Love-15 then point for point until 30-All, a mini-shift to Game Point and then the hold…it played out exactly the same as his previous service) to go up 5-2.  And then Kazakov was broken in an epic struggle (Love-30, 15-30, Double Break/Match Point, Break/Match Point, Deuce, 3^rd Break/Match Point, 2^nd Deuce, 4^th Break/Match Point, 3^rd Deuce, 5^th Break/Match Point, 4^th Deuce, Game Point, 5^th Deuce, the 6^th Break/Match Point and finally the break) to end this one in dramatic fashion!  We also played this one on Court Two as it lasted from 9:12 to 9:46.

The Skinny: It was a nice night for the Tokudas as both Tony and Sachiko each went 2-0 this evening.  As for me, it was the second straight night of not once getting broken on serve.  This week, I feel I'm playing at a slightly higher level than I have in quite some time.   I can only hope it is a sign of things to come.

Fernanda Toker/Janice Wang leading Sally Pillay/Laura Gawley, 3-2 (Incomplete, but on serve when the lights went out at 10pm…they began this one on Court One at 9:40 and decided to forego the changeovers in the slim hopes of getting a set done)!  Prior to this, Fernanda and Janice were having a hitting session with one another since their earlier match had ended around 9:30.  When they saw that Sally and Laura had become available, they challenged them to a quick set.  If this serves as an accurate preview of the full GTA Women's Doubles Championship Match they are likely to soon play, then that should end up being an epic encounter as well.

This partial One-Setter served to close out (with quite a crowd watching it) a session that featured impactful and monumental action that may all be a preview of things to come.  Stay tuned!       

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

6/6 Results.

6/6/18:

"Boughton-Cho at C.G., Celis-Mole in VP, 4 at NTC, 4 at PAC, 14 at C.G.!":

There were five official sessions of GTA Wednesday Tennis: an early morning one at the Cedar Grove Courts that featured a GAH8 Round of 12 Match between Laurie "L-Boogie" Boughton and "Echo" Elizabeth Cho (with Elizabeth reporting); an early evening one at the new Verona Park courts featuring a full Challenge Rematch between "The Scorpion Dragon" Dino Celis and "Del Brotro" Mike Mole (with both reporting); a similarly timed session at Nutley Tennis Club featuring some Mixed Doubles action (I'll handle that part of the report); an evening session at The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley featuring some Men's Doubles action (with both "SWAT" Rich Liu and "Kaptain" Keith Lewkowitz reporting); and then it was the usual evening session at the Cedar Grove Courts that featured both a full Women's Doubles Match and full Mixed Doubles Match plus various Doubles One-Setters.  The contributors to this report from that session are "Dominant" Dawn Peterson, "The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan and "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak.

So we will start in Cedar Grove and then go to Verona and two locations in Nutley before returning to Cedar Grove to close out this report.

The Cedar Grove Result:

GAH Round of 12 Match:

Elizabeth Cho over Laurie Boughton, 6-1, 6-1, to become the New # 4 Ranked Player in the Women's Division while advancing to the Quarterfinals of the 8^th Annual Gail-ann Hamilton Memorial Women's Singles Tournament!  No Aces.  The match started at 9:10am.

Samara's Notes: I thank Elizabeth for her very timely reporting of this result and congratulate her on a very impressive victory.  She advances to the Quarters where she awaits the winner of another Round of 12 Match – "Automatic" Anna Mazur versus "Energetic" Nina Kallay.

The Verona Park Result:

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:

Mike Mole over Dino Celis, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, to become the New # 9 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division!  No Aces.

Dino Celis over Mike Mole, 7-6 (10-8)!  Dino: 1 Ace.

The Mole Memo: Total playing time was from 6:10 to 8:30.  It was a great match and then the One-Setter (even better)!  The new courts are awesome as they have just been repaved and they have lights.

The Details from Dino: It was a fun match with lots of solid shot-making.  Verona Park resurfaced their courts with a very nice color scheme just like at the US Open.  They have three courts and better lighting with park benches.

Samara's Notes: I appreciate the timely reporting from both and congratulate Mike on the full match victory….and Dino on the One-Setter which sounds like it should be a definite Nominee for One-Set Singles Match of The Year at season's end.       

The NTC Results:

2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Doubles Match:

Frank Samara/Dolores Krazanowski over John Rizzo/Denise Savino, 6-4, 6-2, to become the New # 19 Ranked Team in the Mixed Doubles Division!  It was the official GTA Return of Dolores Krazanowski.  John: 2 Aces in the 1^st Set (one on each)!

1^st Set: John held serve (30-Love, 30-15, Double Game Point and the hold), Frank held (15-Love, 15-All then onto Double Game Point and the hold), but Denise was the first one to be broken (Love-15, 15-All then onto Double Break Point, Break Point and the break) for 1-2.  Dolores held (15-Love then point for point to Game Point and the hold) to go up 3-1, but Rizzo held again (a Triple Game Point lead was reduced to Game Pint, but that was where he hit a short Ace against Dolores for the hold) to pull to 2-3.  Samara had a Love hold and then Savino was broken at Love as the score quickly went to 5-2!  Krazanowski was broken (Love-30, 15-30, Double Break Point and the break) and then The Riz held a third straight time (15-Love, 15-All and then onto Double Game Point where he hit an impressive Ace up the T against Frank for the hold) to pull to 4-5.  But Hollywood was equal to the task with a third straight hold of his own, though it wasn't easy (15-Love then point for point until 30-All, a mini-shift to Break Point, Deuce, Break Point again, 2^nd Deuce, Break Point yet again, 3^rd Deuce, Game/Set Point, 4^th Deuce, 2^nd Game/Set Point, 5^th Deuce, the 3^rd Game/Set Point and finally the hold) to take the initial set at exactly 6:58 (we had begun the set on Court Two at 6:25).  After a two minute break, we were onto the next one.

2^nd Set: Switching up their sides of service, John was broken for the first time (Love-30, 15-30, Double Break Point and the break), Dolores was broken (Love-30 shifted to 30-All, but then came Break Point and the break), Denise was broken (Love-15, 15-All then onto Double Break Point and the break), but Frank was the first to hold in this set and it was at Love for 3-1!  Rizzo held (15-Love, 15-All, a Double Fault for 15-30, Double Break Point and then a rebound to bring it to Deuce, Game Point and the hold) to pull to 2-3, but Krazanowski also held (Triple Game Point, Double Game Point and the hold) for 4-2.  Savino was broken again (Love-30, 15-30, Double Break Point and the break) and then Samara held for a fifth straight time (30-Love, 30-15, Double Game/Match Point and the hold) to get the win at 7:30!

The Skinny: Rizzo had lined up this match earlier in the week.  He and Denise team up regularly.  As for my pairing with Dolores, we had teamed once before in a non-GTA One-Setter at NTC three years ago (I believe) where we were up against a couple of guys who jumped out to a 3-0 lead only to be shocked when we took six straight games off of them for the win!  Coming into this match, Dynamic Dee called our team "Slice and Dice" as we have a similar style of play.  Well, I guess that makes me "Slice Samara" and my partner, "Dolores Dice!"  Krazanowski is an excellent Doubles partner as she knows exactly where to be on the court and she also adds a lot of zip to her slice shots whenever necessary.  It is a shame she is strictly a clay court player (due to chronic knee issues) as we actually compliment each other quite well (and not just verbally, LOL!).  Up 5-2 in the 1^st Set, Denise's beau "Bionic" Bo Folchi arrived and I feared it would be the proverbial "kiss of death" the way it was for me and my partner at the time ("San Frannie" Rose Gabriele) a couple of weeks ago.  When the score soon went to 5-4, I thought it was deja' vu all over again (ya gotta love Yogi Berra!).  But then we closed out the set and it was not until we were up 2-1 in the 2^nd Set that Bo actually came over to our court to sit and watch the balance of the match.  Although I still had some silly Unforced Errors (mostly on mistimed Overhead Smash attempts), I played much better on this outing as I'm starting to get used to the pace of the clay and managed to go unbroken on serve.  John and Denise were steady as always and Rizzo really brought it on serve.

We had a lot of fun and still had time for another one.  And here it is!

Frank Samara/Dolores Krazanowski over John Rizzo/Denise Savino, 6-2!  No Aces.  It went like this: John held at Love, Dolores held in a struggle (Love-15 then point for point until 30-All, then a mini-shift to Game Point, Deuce, Break Point, 2^nd Deuce, Game Point, 3^rd Deuce, Game Point, 4^th Deuce, Break Point, 5^th Deuce, Game Point and finally the hold), but Denise was the first to be broken (Triple Break Point to Deuce where there was some controversy as Dolores hit a slice shot to the sideline where John was properly positioned to hit the shot, but he chose not to as he thought it was out and called it as such.  We were somewhat surprised by that call as we felt it had clipped the edge of the hard sideline tape…something you find on clay courts, not on hard courts…and took a strange and straight upward bounce.  Bo, who was sitting in a chair very close to where the shot landed had called it in…even after getting up out of his chair to look at the spot.  Rizzo argued that you don't see where the ball mark ever intersects the tape, but Folchi and I…having now gone over there myself…rebutted that you would not see the edge of the ball make a mark on the edge of the tape.  I was willing to give them the point as I found the moment to be more comical than concerning, but we agreed to play the point over and they won it anyway…so it was pretty much inconsequential…to now make it Game Point, then came 2^nd Deuce, Break Point and the break) to fall to 1-2.  Frank held (15-Love shifted to 15-30 shifted again to Game Point and the hold) and Rizzo was then broken (15-Love shifted to Double Break Point shifted again to Deuce, but then came another Break Point and the break) to fall to 1-4.  Krazanowski was also broken and it was yet another battle (Triple Break Point with a hard shift all the way to Deuce and then all Game Points until 3^rd Deuce, a Break Point, 4^th Deuce, another Game Point, 5^th Deuce, Break Point and finally the break) to have her team's lead cut to 4-2, but Savino was then broken again (Love-30, 15-30, Double Break Point and the break) for 2-5.  Samara then went unbroken on the evening with another hold and also another one that did not come easy in closing out a set (Love-15 shifted to 30-15, then 30-All, Game/Match Point, Deuce, 2^nd Game/Match Point, 2^nd Deuce, then the 3^rd Game/Match Point and the hold) to end this one at 8:15 (we had started this one on Court Two at exactly 7:31)!

Afterward, Bo, Dee, John and I hit Sharkey's in Clifton for some yummy wings and other things!

Staying in Nutley, we now shift over to the Park Ave. Courts for the report from Rich (with an assist from Keith).

The Park Ave. Courts Result:

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Keith Lewkowitz/Arunraj Nair over Randy Doran/Rich Liu, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2, to become the New # 30 Ranked Team in the Doubles Division!  No Aces.  

The Rich Report: Afterwards, we told them about the upcoming M2 Doubles Tournament and they want in.  These guys fought hard while Randy and I choked hard…LOL!  The match was played from 8 to 10pm.  It was very competitive for the most part, with some good long points.  Keith was very athletic and Arunraj was a monster at the net.  Randy and I had an off night.  

The Kaptain's comments: Arunraj Nair and I played Rich Liu and Randy Doran.  Actually, the three of them played.  I mostly tapped the ball because I've had a back injury.  Anyway, Arunraj and I would like to enter the Doubles Tournament.

Samara's Notes: I thank both for their timely reporting.  It is also good to see Kaptain Keith getting back in the mix, even it if it is somewhat slowly.  It is also nice to have another team registered in the tourney.

It is now time to head west to Cedar Grove.

The Cedar Grove Results:

2 out of 3 Sets Women's Doubles Match:

Janice Wang/Dawn Peterson over Kathy Sheldon/Michele Panzitta, 6-3, 6-3, as both teams entered the Women's Doubles Division as the New # 14 and # 15 Ranked Teams respectively!  It was the official GTA Return of Michele Panzitta.  No Aces.

2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Doubles Match:

Don Moya/Fadia Nicolas over Scott Bergenfeld/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3), as both teams entered the Mixed Doubles Division as the New # 41 and # 42 Ranked Teams respectively!  No Aces.

Kyle Eng/Nick Inciong over Ryan Pienciak/Senthil Kumar, 6-4!  No Aces.

Senthil Kumar/Nick Inciong over Ryan Pienciak/Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-3!  No Aces.

Ryan Pienciak/Jordan Bachvaroff leading Senthil Kumar/Kris Srinivasan, 5-3 (Incomplete, it was at 30-15 when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I thank Dawn, Doinks and Ryan for their very timely reporting.  As always, it is greatly appreciated! 

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

6/5 Results.

6/5/18:

"Scott/Doinks host 8 at C.G.!":

There was just one official session of GTA Tuesday Night Tennis that took place at the Cedar Grove Courts with both "Ice Berg" Scott Bergenfeld and "The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan acting as the impromptu hosts (i.e. collecting the results and reporting them).

I know I had mentioned a possible delay in the issuance of this report.  There was another session that featured what would have been a new player.  Since the last name of the player will be hard to obtain, that session (which was only one match, actually) will have to remain unofficial.

Let's go to the lone official session of the evening now!

The Cedar Grove Results:

2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Gender Doubles Match:

Scott Bergenfeld/Andrew Kroessler over Jordan Bachvaroff/Kathy Sheldon, 6-3, 6-3!  No Aces.  Under the TMT Rules, Bergenfeld/Kroessler entered the Doubles Division as the New # 56 Ranked Team while Bachvaroff/Sheldon entered the Mixed Doubles Division as the New # 39 Ranked Team.

 

Scott Bergenfeld over Jordan Bachvaroff, 7-6 (7-3)!  No Aces.

 

2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Gender Doubles Match:

Kris Srinivasan/Doinks Srinivasan over Ralph Bernard/Leo Victor, 6-0, 3-6, 7-6 (7-1)!  Ralph: 1 Ace on Doinks!  Under the TMT Rules, Bernard/Victor entered the Doubles Division as the New # 57 Ranked Team.

Samara's Notes: I thank everyone for their very timely reporting.  It is truly appreciated.       

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com