6/22 Results.

6/22/18:

"Just 2 in Nutley, only 8 play at C.G.!":

There were two official sessions of GTA Friday Night Tennis: an evening one at The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley with "Diver Down" Muhammad Haque reporting and a concurrent evening one at the Cedar Grove Courts with "Bravo" Brenda Jordan and "The Riz" John Rizzo both reporting.

Let's go to that lone report from Nutley first and then the dual recap from Cedar Grove second and last!

The Park Ave. Courts Results:

Muhammad Haque over Sam Wong, 6-4!  No Aces.

Sam Wong leading Muhammad Haque, 5-4 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

Muhammad's Memo: Amazingly, no one was there except one guy (Muhammad mentioned a name that I do not recognize) practicing serve, but soon he left.  So I was alone.  Then I saw Sam Wong was coming.  He came and we started rallying and then we played the official tennis.

I was up 5-1 at one time, but he came back before I closed it out at 6-4.  Then we started what would have been the second set.  He was leading 5-4 and as soon as I started serving, the lights went off for the night.

Samara's Notes: I thank Muhammad for his timely and detailed reporting.  We now head west to Cedar Grove.

The Cedar Grove Results:                                 

Syed Rashid/Janice Wang over Jordan Bachvaroff/Brenda Jordan, 6-4!  No Aces.

Don Moya/Janice Wang over John Rizzo/Brenda Jordan, 6-2!  No Aces.

Don Moya/Janice Wang over Kris Srinivasan/Brenda Jordan, 6-4!  No Aces.

Don Moya/Janice Wang over John Rizzo/Frank Hohorst, 6-2!  No Aces.

Kris Srinivasan/John Rizzo over Don Moya/Janice Wang, 6-4!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I thank both Brenda and John for their very timely reporting.  It is truly appreciated.       

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

6/21 Results.

6/21/18:

"2 TBC's end at PAC, Bergenfeld-Mole part of 15 at C.G.!":

The first official day of summer brought about the conclusion of two "To Be Continued" matches at The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley: "The Dark Knight" Dan Knitzer versus Carl "Buster" Brownson (as reported by both), and "SWAT" Rich Liu versus "The Bachelorette's Prize" Scott Manrose (as reported by Rich).

There was also the usual session of GTA Thursday Night Tennis at the Cedar Grove Courts that featured a Challenge Match between "Ice Berg" Scott Bergenfeld and "Del Brotro" Mike Mole (with both reporting).  The session also featured an M2 Round of 12 Match as "The Running Man" Ryan Sherry teamed with "The Riz" John Rizzo to take on William "Bombs Away" Bobila and Elmer "The Glue" Agapito (as reported by John).  There was an MXD2 Quarterfinal Match featuring "Tireless" Tommy Reszkowski and "The Argentine Machine" Fernanda Toker facing "The Adonis" Don Moya and "J-Wow" Janice Wang (also reported by John).  And "Salsa Picante" Edwin Ortega reported an epic One-Setter he had against Jay "The Rising" Phoenix that served to kick off the session.  And John reported an additional Doubles One-Setter.    

Let's go to those concluded Nutley results first and then the full recap from Cedar Grove!

The Park Ave. Courts Result:

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:

Dan Knitzer over Carl Brownson, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-4), to successfully defend his # 8 Rank in the Intermediate Division!  Carl: 4 Aces; and Dan: 2 Aces!

The TDK Replay: Buster raced to a 4-2 lead behind a textbook serve-and-volley game plan, forcing TDK to live and die by the lob (neither of us hit did a great job smashing lobs, but I was worse). The Dark Knight saved 4 Match Points on his serve while down 4-5 with well-timed deep serves and then went on to win the set in a Tiebreak.  Both halves of this match were played in the middle of the day.

Carl gave me a little bit of my own medicine with some drop shots, and completely took away my legs.  I attempted to play another opponent shortly after, but had nothing in the gas tank, thanks to Carl!

Carl's Commentary: Heartbreaker!  Not the first time I've lost Match Points and it won't be the last.  Great match, Dan!

Samara's Notes: I thank both for their timely reporting.  I congratulate Dan on a hard-fought and impressive victory, but also offer major kudos to Carl for such a fine effort.  This one has a great chance at being a Nominee for Intermediate Singles Match of The Year at season's end. 

And I am also happy to see the Park Ave. Courts in Nutley becoming the scene for so many Singles Challenge Matches. 

Speaking of which…

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:

Rich Liu over Scott Manrose, 6-1, 5-7, 6-1, to successfully defend his # 6 Rank in the  Intermediate Division!  No Aces.

The Rich Report: Scott and I finished our match.  We only had the 3rd Set left to play and I lucked out with a win, 6-1.  It was a fun match overall where 3 sets lasted over like a month or so, haha!  I congratulate Scott for continuing to play Challenge Matches.  He gave me a run for my money.  Afterwards, we played with Tim Nguyen for a while as well as Tim also showed up at PAC.  Overall, I had fun and I'm happy to make new friends.  Frank, thanks again for all you do!

Manrose Presents: I enjoyed it.  Thank you both!

Samara's Notes: I thank Rich and Scott for their kind words and also for his timely and comprehensive reporting.  "To Be Continued" matches are tough for both competitors…especially when there is just one set left to play.  I congratulate Rich on the victory, but also empathize with Scott in the loss.

We now take this report west to Cedar Grove.

The Cedar Grove Results:

Edwin Ortega over Jay Phoenix, 7-6 (8-6)!  Edwin: 2 Aces!

A Taste of Salsa: We had an impromptu One-Setter which started a little after 5pm (we hit around for a bit first).  It was our first on-court meeting in a long while and the first this season.  It was a good start for me, but then I slacked a little while up 5-3.  Jay took the next three games and I had to play a bit harder to force the Tiebreak.  The Tiebreak was almost similar as I was up 6-2 and then Jay played better to force a 6-6 situation.  Fortunately, I won the next two points to take the set.  It was hot, but fun and competitive...especially with Jay's screams of intensity and frustration.  :-)  We ended around 6pm as we both had somewhere to be by 6:30.

Samara's Notes: I thank Edwin for his timely and comprehensive reporting.  This one sounds like it could be a possible Nominee for One-Set Singles Match of The Year at season's end.  

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:

Scott Bergenfeld over Mike Mole, 6-3, 6-2, to successfully defend his # 6 Rank in the Advanced Division!  No Aces.

The Mole Memo: We played from 6pm to 7:30.  Scott's forehands were on today!  Fun match!

The Skinny from Scott: My forehand was on.  Mike was chasing down a lot of balls and he played really well.  We then played a One-Setter.

Scott Bergenfeld over Mike Mole, 6-2!  No Aces.

The Skinny from Scott: He was winning 2-0 and I came back to win the next six games!

Samara's Notes: I thank both for their very timely reporting.

M2 Round of 12 Match:

William Bobila/Elmer Agapito over Ryan Sherry/John Rizzo, 6-3, 7-5, to become the New # 49 Ranked Team in the Doubles Division while advancing to the Quarterfinals of the M2 Men's Doubles Tournament!  No Aces.

The Riz Report: This was a fun match.  Both William and Elmer are very consistent and great players.  Ryan and I did not play our best, we were down 5-2 in the 2nd Set before trying to make a comeback but just fell short!  We gave Elmer the moniker, "The Glue!"

Tom La/Arlene Hyde over John Rizzo/Dennis Cabanatan, 6-3!  No Aces.

MXD2 Quarterfinal Match:

Don Moya/Janice Wang over Tommy Reszkowski/Fernanda Toker, 7-5, 7-5, to become the New # 5 Ranked Team in the Mixed Doubles Division while advancing to the Semifinals of the MXD2 Mixed Doubles Tournament!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I thank John for seemingly taking over hosting duties as nobody involved in the MXD2 Match took it upon themselves to send me the result.  If not for The Riz, I would have been left in the dark!         

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

6/20 Results.

6/20/18:

"Liu-Nguyen in Nutley, 18 play at C.G.!":

The last official day of spring was sprung from any late rain that had originally been in the forecast as, thankfully, the precipitation waited for the overnight hours.

There were two official sessions of GTA Wednesday Night Tennis: an evening one at The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley featuring a full Challenge Match between "SWAT" Rich Liu and "TNT" Tim Nguyen (with both reporting…and Tim requested we go back to the original moniker that I had given him); and a concurrent evening session at the Cedar Grove Courts that featured the first of the M2 Round of 12 Matches as "Daddy O" Paul Daddio teamed with "The Adonis" Don Moya to take on "The Legendary" Chazz Weldon and "The Accelerator" Abhilash Gadi (with Paul reporting).  Other contributors to this report from that session are: "The Webmaster" Senthil Kumar, "The Riz" John Rizzo and Laurie "L-Boogie" Boughton.

Let's go to that lone official result from Nutley first and then the full recap from Cedar Grove!

The Park Ave. Courts Result:

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:

Rich Liu over Tim Nguyen, 6-2, 6-1, to successfully defend his # 6 Rank in the Intermediate Division!  No Aces.

The Rich Report: There was some GTA action at Park Ave.  On a warm and muggy night, I arrived at the nearby PAC around 8:15pm or so.  Tim Ngyuen was already there with Rachid Baalla and Arthur Fontanilla.  I was happy to see Tim there as we had discussed playing a full Singles Match.  I saw him play Dan Knitzer the other night and saw how consistent Tim was, so I thought it would be fun to play Singles together.  We had agreed to play soon as we had never played together before. 

After some hitting and serving practice, Tim and I played a full Challenge Match.  It was a lot of fun.  Despite the score, Tim hit so many nice balls back to me, to either kill or miss, it was fantastic!  I can't wait to play him again as it was a fun match for me!  He sustained excellent rallies with me.  I think we played for some 40 minutes or so.  I told him afterwards I had signed up for the Grove Cup and this was good practice for it.  He expressed his interest as well for being in the tournament. 

Tim's Take: Remember back in the day when you gave me the moniker of "TNT." I miss that.  Please use it again!

I was at Nutley and I had a great rally session with Rachid for about a good hour or so and then he left.  I then met up with Rich Liu for our Singles Match.  Rich played really well tonight.  He had several good slams that I could not defend.  Great going, Rich!  It was great playing with him.  He is a very good player!  We hope to match up again sometime soon.  

Samara's Notes: I thank both for their very timely, comprehensive and enthusiastic reporting.  It is truly appreciated.  Time to head west to Cedar Grove!

The Cedar Grove Results:

M2 Round of 12 Match:

Paul Daddio/Don Moya over Chazz Weldon/Abhilash Gadi, 6-2, 6-3, to successfully defend their # 70 Rank in the Doubles Division while advancing to the Quarterfinals of the M2 Men's Doubles Tournament!  Abhi: 1 Ace on Don!

The Dilly-O from Daddio: We played from 7:50 to 9:05.  Weldon/Gadi really improved their level of play in the 2nd Set as they pushed us into some long games.  Fun match!      

Samara's Notes: I thank Paul for his timely report and congratulate him along with Don on a very impressive victory over a tough team.  We now go to the rest of the gang up at Cedar Grove for their results.  I'll do my best to keep some semblance of order…and leave all the incomplete sets for the end.

Adam Pienciak/John Rizzo over Mike Mole/Joe Rodrigues, 7-5!  No Aces.

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Adam Pienciak/John Rizzo over Ryan Pienciak/Mike Kazlauskas, 6-3, 6-3, to successfully defend their # 28 Rank in the Doubles Division!  In the process, R. Pienciak/Kazlauskas entered the division as the New # 84 Ranked Team.  No Aces.

Ryan Pienciak/Mike Kazlauskas over Senthil Kumar/Kyle Eng, 6-3!  No Aces.

Kyle Eng/Janice Wang over Senthil Kumar/Elizabeth Cho, 6-3!  No Aces.

Mike Sindler/Fadia Nicolas over Kris Srinivasan/Laurie Boughton, 6-3!  Kris: 1 Ace on Fadia!

Mike Sindler/Fadia Nicolas tied with Kris Srinivasan/Laurie Boughton, 3-3 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

The Lowdown from Laurie: It was super fun tennis! :-)

Senthil Kumar/Elizabeth Cho leading Kyle Eng/Janice Wang, 5-2 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

The Untangled Web by Senthil: It was a good turnout and one court was taken for Singles by a Cedar Grove resident while another court was occupied by a GTA M2 Men's Doubles Tournament Match.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

6/19 Results.

6/19/18:

"Cho-Mazur in MP, Paul-Adam + 1 in BP, Mole-Celis part of 17 at C.G.!":

There were three official sessions of GTA Tuesday Tennis: an early morning one at the Memorial Park Courts in Rutherford featuring a GAH8 Quarterfinal Match between "Echo" Elizabeth Cho and "Automatic" Anna Mazur (as reported by Anna); an evening one at the Brookdale Park Courts in Bloomfield featuring a full Challenge Match between "Daddy O" Paul Daddio and "The Apex Predator" Adam Pienciak (as reported by Adam) followed by some One-Setters between Adam and his brother, "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak (again, reported by Adam); and then the usual evening session at the Cedar Grove Courts that featured a Challenge Match between "Del Brotro" Mike Mole and "The Scorpion Dragon" Dino Celis (as reported by Mike) plus other action, the results of which were reported by "Bravo" Brenda Jordan, GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro, "Ice Berg" Scott Bergenfeld and "The Riz" John Rizzo.

Let's go to that lone result from Rutherford first, then to the scores from Brookdale Park in Bloomfield and, finally, the full recap from Cedar Grove!

The Memorial Park Result:

GAH8 Quarterfinal Match:

Anna Mazur over Elizabeth Cho, 6-0, 6-3, to become the New # 4 Ranked Player in the Women's Division while advancing to the Semifinals of the 8th Annual Gail-ann Hamilton Memorial Tournament!  No Aces.

Anna's Annotations: We started a little after 9am and finished by 10:20.  Elizabeth is a wonderful girl and a great tennis player.  We had a lot of fun and great points.  We will play again.  :-)

Samara's Notes: First, I thank Anna for her very timely reporting.  I also congratulate her on an impressive victory as Elizabeth is definitely a very worthy competitor.  Next up for Mazur in the Semis is "The Argentine Machine" Fernanda Toker.  That should be quite a match!

We now head west to Bloomfield for the results from Brookdale Park.

The Brookdale Park Results:

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:

Adam Pienciak over Paul Daddio, 6-1, 6-3, to become the New # 3 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division!  Adam: 1 Ace!

The Apex Text: It was a lovely evening at Brookdale Park, though the humidity was still bothersome during certain moments (well, for me at least, ha!).  This was the first meeting between the two of us and we will likely schedule a rematch soon.

Samara's Notes: I congratulate Adam on a very impressive victory.  But The Apex Predator was not done as he soon found new prey upon which to pounce!

Adam Pienciak over Ryan Pienciak, 6-2!  No Aces.

Adam Pienciak leading Ryan Pienciak, 4-3 (Incomplete with Ryan serving at 3-4 and we were on serve when the lights went out at 10pm)!

The Apex Text: These were just One-Setters.  But I will soon be challenging brother Ryan to a full Singles Challenge Match.

Samara's Notes: I thank Adam for his very timely reporting.  It is truly appreciated.  Things are starting to get very interesting in The Top 5 of the Advanced Division!

Speaking of "interesting," let's hear about all the interesting things that took place up at Cedar Grove…beginning with the full Challenge Match between Mole and Celis.

The Cedar Grove Results:

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:

Mike Mole over Dino Celis, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4, to successfully defend his # 10 Rank in the Advanced Division!  Dino: 1 Ace!

The Mole Memo: We played from 6:50 to 8:40.  It was a fun match with lots of breaks of serve.

Samara's Notes: I thank Mike for his timely reporting and congratulate him on a hard-fought victory!  Even though it was a straight-setter, the match stands an outside chance at being a Nominee for Singles Match of The Year at season's end.

Kathy Sheldon/Michele Panzitta over Brenda Jordan/Dawn Peterson, 6-3!  Dawn: 1 Ace on Kathy!

The Brief from Brenda: We decided to play a Super Tiebreak instead of a full 2^nd Set and Kathy and Michelle won that one, 12-10!  Michelle is a very good player as well as being a very nice person.

Samara's Notes: I thank Brenda for her very timely reporting.  Unfortunately, that Super Tiebreak will have to be unofficial.  The only time we count them as official is when they are played in lieu of a full 3^rd Set.  So, instead it will just be the official One-Setter and then the unofficial STB that followed.

Chris Chiaro/Justin Berardo over Scott Bergenfeld/Jordan Bachvaroff, 7-6 (7-3)!  No Aces.

Scott Bergenfeld/Jordan Bachvaroff over Chris Chiaro/Frank Hohorst, 6-2!  No Aces.

Chris Chiaro/Laura Gawley over Abhilash Gadi/Pranav Sinha, 6-3!  Pranav: 1 Ace on Chris!

Chris Chiaro/Laura Gawley over Abhilash Gadi/Pranav Sinha, 6-0!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I thank Chris for his timely submission of all those results.  Scott had reported some of those as well and then he had another one that follows now.

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Scott Bergenfeld/Jordan Bachvaroff over Frank Hohorst/Guy Dupoux, 6-3, 6-3, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 82 and # 83 Ranked Teams respectively!  Guy: 3 Aces (two on Scott and one on Jordan); and Jordan: 1 Ace on Frank!

The Skinny from Scott: Overall, it was a good night of tennis!

Samara's Notes: I thank Scott for his timely reporting as well.  We now turn it over to our last contributor from that session, John Rizzo.

Guy Dupoux/Laura Gawley over Joe Rodrigues/John Rizzo, 6-3!  No Aces.

Abhilash Gadi/Laura Gawley over Joe Rodrigues/John Rizzo, 6-1!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I thank John for his timely reporting, too!  All those that take the time to submit their scores…it is always greatly appreciated!       

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

6/18 Results.

6/18/18:

"Caputo-Gottlieb in Wayne, New I-M Champ! Moka hosts 3 at C.G.!":

There were two official sessions of GTA Monday Night Tennis: an early evening one at the Nellis Drive Courts in Wayne as "NC-17" Nick Caputo and Jeremy "Got Game" Gottlieb were finally able to coordinate their schedules and play the Final of the GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament for the vacant GTA Intermediate Title.

Then there was a shortened session at the Cedar Grove Courts as severe thunderstorms that rolled through the area.  Prior to that, "Instant" Moka Pathan was able to play a couple of Singles One-Setters (against two different competitors) and he reported them.

Let's first go to that monumental result from Wayne (as reported by Nick) and then get the two others scores from Moka.

The Nellis Drive Courts Result:

GTA Intermediate Invitational Final/GTA Intermediate Title Match:

Nick Caputo over Jeremy Gottlieb, 6-4, 6-3, to become the New GTA Intermediate Champion while also successfully defending his # 16 Rank in the Advanced Division!  No Aces.

The NC-17 Screening: Hot, Hot, Hot!!!  Jeremy is a tough, young competitor.  We had fun with a ton of great points.  He ran me all over the place.  It was difficult to breathe at times for both of us and we left soaked.  We started at 6pm, ending about 7:30.  We were 3-3 in the 1^st Set when Jeremy broke me to go up 4-3.  I was able to break back to make it 4-4, then I won the last two games to take the set.  I was then up 2-0 in the 2^nd Set and Jeremy tied it at two games all.  I then went up 5-2, but Jeremy held for 5-3 and then I held for the match.  And thanks, Frank, for a great tournament!

Samara's Notes: First, congratulations to Nick!  He is now the New GTA Intermediate Champion.  That is, of course, until he cracks The Top 10 of the Advanced Division...drops the Title and leaves that division behind.  Jeremy, major kudos to you as well!  Both competitors came into this match undefeated in Singles competition in the GTA.  I suspect Gottlieb will also soon make the leap to becoming solely an Advanced Division level player.

As for Caputo, if and when that leap happens…we would not have another full tournament to fill the vacancy for the GTA Intermediate Title.  As it is, our biggest Men's Singles Tournament of the year (the annual Grove Cup Tournament) is less than a month away.  Instead, we would have the Top 2 Contenders in the Intermediate Division play a full match to determine the next New Champ.

I also thank Nick for his very timely reporting.  It is much appreciated.

We now get the word from Moka up at Cedar Grove.

The Cedar Grove Results:

Moka Pathan over Edwin Ortega, 6-1!  No Aces.

Moka's Brew: There were a lot of Deuce games to start the set as we were both finding our groove.  I got fortunate as he missed a couple of drop shots.               

Moka Pathan over Jay Phoenix, 6-0!  No Aces.

Moka's Brew: There were a lot of long rallies which I ended up being on the right side of at the end.  It was a good set despite the score because Jay gets to everything.

Samara's Notes: I thank Moka for his timely reporting as well.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

6/17 Results.

6/17/18:

"Samara hosts 9 at BP, Marijus-Dino in VP, Riz hosts 4 at NTC, then 4 at C.G.!":

There were four official sessions of GTA Sunday Tennis: finally, the usual late morning one at the Brookdale Park Courts in Bloomfield hosted by "Hollywood" Frank Samara (the last one was the last Sunday in April!); a late afternoon/early evening one in Verona Park featuring a Challenge Match between "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas and "The Scorpion Dragon" Dino Celis (reported by Marijus); an early evening one at Nutley Tennis Club hosted by "The Riz" John Rizzo and featuring an excellent Doubles Match; and then the usual evening one at the Cedar Grove Courts as Dino informed John via text that they needed a fourth player, so Rizzo went up there and hosted that session as well.  "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli made a cameo appearance there (he had hit at the Brookdale session…which we will now detail first).

Samara arrived at the park at 10:50 with his daughter Angie and son Dante.  As they approached the courts, they saw "J-Rod" Joe Rodrigues already waiting there.  Four of five of the courts on the far end were occupied, but Joe said he did not recognize anyone down there as being our players (Frank took a peek from afar and that seemed to be the case).

Frank and Joe took Court One while Angie and Dante took Court Three to hit.  Rodrigues said he would have to go in an hour or so.

Around 10:55, "The Shade Shark" Suzanne Bujara arrived and she stepped onto Court One to hit against both of the kids (which was very nice of her to do).

Dino arrived around 11am and took Joe's side of the court in hitting against Frank.  Around 11:15, both "The Legendary" Chazz Weldon and "Diver Down" Muhammad Haque arrived.  Samara stepped off Court One to allow the other four gents to play some Doubles.

As he was about to shift over to Court One to hit with Suzanne and his kids, The Tokudas (Tony and Sachiko) arrived at 11:25 and went to Court Two.  So, instead the plan was changed to have some Mixed Doubles on Court Two with Samara and Bujara versus The Tokudas.  At this time, the Samara kids decided to sit in the shade as Dante drew while Angie played games on her phone.

The Men's Doubles One-Setter had started exactly at 11:27 and the Mixed Doubles one got underway at 11:35.  Thus, when "The Webmaster" Senthil Kumar arrived at 11:40, he became "the ninth wheel" for a while.  He took the time to jog around and stretch a bit before watching the on-court action and waiting patiently.  Turns out he already knows Tony as Mr. Tokuda is a tennis coach for children up in Wayne.

Spin arrived at 12:10 and soon after that got involved in a hitting session on Court One where he paired with Angie in hitting against Frank and Dante.  We used the lower pressure (I think) balls that bounce slower which helped extend the rallies.  Angie is rapidly improving and is also implementing some fast-paced shots while Dante is getting better at a slightly slower rate (but still improving, nonetheless).

We ended up with just nine official competitors on this Father's Day session of GTA Sunday Tennis and most of us left by 1:30…leaving behind Chazz and Muhammad who had started a Singles One-Setter just before that, but ultimately did not finish it (we will find out why a little later).

The Brookdale Park Results:

Dino Celis/Joe Rodrigues over Chazz Weldon/Muhammad Haque, 7-6 (8-6)!  No Aces.  This one got underway on Court One at 11:27 and did not finish until 12:35!

Tony Tokuda/Sachiko Tokuda over Frank Samara/Suzanne Bujara, 6-3!  No Aces.  It went like this: Tony held serve (Triple Game Point cut to Game Point, but then the hold) and Suzanne was broken (Love-15, 15-All then onto Double Break Point and the break) for 0-2.  Sachiko was broken (Love-30, 15-30, Double Break Point, Break Point and the break) and Frank held (30-Love shifted to 30-All, but then came Game Point and the hold) to level the set at 2-2.  Mr. Tokuda held again (Love-15 shifted to 30-15 shifted again to Break Point, Deuce, Game Point and the hold) and Bujara was broken again (Love-15 then point for point to Break Point, Deuce, Break Point again and then the break) for 2-4.  Mrs. Tokuda held this time around (Love-15 went straight to Double Game Point and the hold) to increase her team's lead to 5-2 and then Samara held again, but it was a struggle as it went from Love-15 to 30-15, 30-All, Game Point, Deuce and then all Game Points until 4^th Deuce, Break/Match Point, 5^th Deuce, a 2^nd Break/Match Point, 6^th Deuce, Game Point and the hold to pull to 3-5.  But T-Squared held again (a 30-Love lead then collapsed to Break Point, but then it went to Deuce and Game/Match Point where the hold came on the 3^rd M.P. overall) to get the win!  We played this on Court Two from 11:35 to 12:12.

The Skinny: The more I see of Tony on the court, the more impressed I am with his game as he is a very steady and knowledgeable Doubles player.  I was not at my best on this occasion though I had some impressive moments.  Suzanne, despite some errors, continues to improve by leaps and bounds.  She had a couple of great winners that wowed the crowd.

Senthil Kumar/Tony Tokuda over Chazz Weldon/Muhammad Haque, 6-3!  No Aces.  Court One hosted this one from 12:40 to 1:15.

Chazz Weldon leading Muhammad Haque, 4-3 (Incomplete when both decided to call it a day as Chazz was dealing with stomach cramping issues and Muhammad was feeling fatigued from the heat)!  No Aces.  They got this one underway on Court One at 1:29…not sure when they called it quits.

Let's go to Verona Park for that lone result there now!

The Verona Park Result:

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:

Marijus Kuzavas over Dino Celis, 6-2, 6-1, to successfully defend his # 4 Rank in the Advanced Division!  Marijus: 2 Aces!

The Scoop from Super Mario: It was a good match in the scorching heat!  Lots of solid points!  Dino was fighting well.  He's almost back to his pre-injury form.  He just needs to tune a couple small things and he'll be kicking our butts again!

Samara's Notes: I thank Marijus for his very timely reporting and also congratulate him on an impressive victory.  We now head to Nutley for The Riz Report from NTC.

The NTC Result:

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

John Rizzo/Alfred Chen over Dan Hwang/Kyle Eng, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, to successfully defend their #68 Rank in the Doubles Division!  In the process, Hwang/Eng entered the division as the New #81 Ranked Team.  No Aces.

The Riz Report: We were down 4-5, 15-40 (Double Match Point) in the 2^nd Set before coming back!

Samara's Notes: That sounds like a possible Nominee for Doubles Match of The Year at season's end.  And, finally, let's go to Cedar Grove for the lone official result reported from there (there was a three-way hitting session afterward).

The Cedar Grove Result:

Dino Celis/Arlene Hyde over Kris Srinivasan/John Rizzo, 7-5!  No Aces.

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

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

6/14 Results.

6/14/18:

"4 play at NTC, 4 play (1 New) in BP, Scott-Jordan part of 13 at C.G.!":

There were three sessions of GTA Thursday Night Tennis: an evening one at Nutley Tennis Club as "Hollywood" Frank Samara and "The Riz" John Rizzo teamed together in an effort to help another team qualify for the M2 Men's Doubles Tournament.  That team, "The Speed Demon" Dan Praport and "The Lion Tamer" Andrew Ramer, was in the M2 last season (but last year we did not have the pre-qualification provision); there was a concurrent session at Brookdale Park in Bloomfield as "Del Brotro" Mike Mole and "The Scorpion Dragon" Dino Celis joined forces to aid in yet another team qualifying for the M2.  This team is William "Bombs Away" Bobila and his new partner (making his official GTA Debut), "Uncle" Elmer Agapito (reported by both Mike and William); and the third session was an extended one which actually began before the previous two and ended after both...it was the usual evening one at The Cedar Grove Courts with no true host presiding over the festivities.  There was a full Challenge Match between "Ice Berg" Scott Bergenfeld and "The Bulgarian Bull" Jordan Bachvaroff (reported by Scott).  We also received results from four other sources: "The Legendary" Chazz Weldon, "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli, "The Webmaster" Senthil Kumar and Rizzo (who did double duty and went up to Cedar Grove after the NTC session had ended).

Let's first go to Nutley for the comprehensive match recap, then to Bloomfield and then finally to Cedar Grove for the full report of all the action there.

The NTC Result:

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:
Dan Praport/Andrew Ramer over Frank Samara/John Rizzo, 7-6 (7-4), 2-6, 10-2 (STB), as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 74 and # 75 Ranked Teams respectively!  It was the official GTA Return of Andrew Ramer.  John: 2 Aces on Dan in the 2nd Set!

1st Set: John held serve (15-Love shifted to 15-30 shifted again to Game Point and the hold), Andrew held (Love-30 shifted to 30-All, Break Point, Deuce, Game Point, 2nd Deuce, Break Point, 3rd Deuce, Game Point, 4th Deuce, Double Fault to Break Point, 5th Deuce, Game Point and the hold), Frank held (15-Love then point for point until 30-All, Double Fault for Break Point, Deuce, Game Point and the hold), but Dawn was the first to be broken (Love-15, 15-All then onto Double Break Point and the break) for 1-3.  Rizzo was broken (30-Love shifted straight to Break Point, Deuce, Break Point again and then the break), but Ramer held again (15-Love, 15-All then onto Double Game Point and the hold) to level the set at 3-3.  Samara was broken (Love-30 shifted right to Game Point, but then came Deuce, Break Point and the break) to lose the lead for his team at 3-4.  Praport was also broken again and this time around it was at Love to knot the score once more, this time at 4-4!  The Riz held (Triple Game Point lead cut to Game Point, but then came the hold) to reclaim the lead for his team at 5-4, but then The Lion Tamer held a third straight time (a Love-15 start shifted straight to Double Game Point and the hold) to keep things alive at 5-5!  Hollywood was broken a second straight time (15-Love went right down the tubes to Double Break Point and the break), but then The Speed Demon was broken a third straight time (Love-15, 15-All, then onto Double Break Point and the break) to take us to the Tiebreak!  In the Breaker: John held his lone serve, Andrew held both of his and then Frank held his first, but hit a rare Double Fault on his second to make it 2-3!  Dan held the first of his two serves for 4-2 at the changeover and then he held his second as well for a 5-2 lead.  Rizzo held both of his serves to pull to 4-5, but then Ramer did the same to claim the set with a 7-4 TB score!  We began this set on Court Two at 7pm.  It ended at 7:45.  After a two minute break, we were onto the next set.

2nd Set: John held (15-Love then point for point to 30-All where a sideline Ace against Dan set up Game Point and then came the hold) and then Andrew was broken for the first time (Double Fault set up Triple Break Point, it went to Double Break Point and then came the break) for a 0-2 start for his team.  Frank held (30-Love shifted to 30-All, but then came Game Point and the hold) and Dan was broken yet again (and at Love for the second time) after getting things started with a Double Fault!  Rizzo held yet again (15-Love, 15-All where another sideline Ace against Dan set up 30-15, it then went to Double Game Point, then got reduced to Deuce, but then came another Game Point and the hold) for a commanding 5-0 lead!  Ramer held (15-Love shifted to 15-30 shifted again to Game Point and the hold) to get his team on the board in this set and then Samara was broken (15-Love went right to Double Break Point and the break) to have his team's lead cut to 5-2.  But Praport still couldn't hold serve (Love-15, 15-All then onto Double Break/Set Point and the break) and suddenly the match was evened up as this set ended at 8:10 (a 23 minute set)!  As we were rapidly losing daylight and a full match needed to be played in order to get Praport/Ramer ranked in the Doubles Division and qualified for the M2, we opted for the 10-Point Super Tiebreak (began at 8:11).

STB: John was broken on his lone serve while Andrew held both of his and Frank was broken on both of his as his team got off to a 0-5 start!  Dan held the first of his two serves for 6-0 at the changeover and then he held his second for a commanding 7-0 lead!  Rizzo held the first of his two serves to get his team on the board in the STB, but was then broken on his second for 1-8.  Ramer held the first of his two serves to take a 9-1 lead and set up the first of what could have been many Match Points.  He was broken on his second serve for 9-2 and the 2nd M.P., but then Samara was broken and it was over at 10-2!  The match ended at exactly 8:16 as the STB lasted only 5 minutes (some recent ones have gone as long as 15 minutes).

The Skinny: Each team was like a "Tale of Two Cities," or more accurately, a "Tale of Two Players!"  John and Andrew are both members of Nutley Tennis Club and regular players there.  Frank plays there infrequently and irregularly (same thing, I guess...LOL!) and Dan was just outright rusty (the playing surface would not have mattered) as he had last played in The Wayne Bubble back in December.  Rizzo and Ramer, "The Clay Boys," each carried the load for their respective teams while Samara and Praport were both erratic.  Dan had the most unforced errors overall and never held serve, but it is interesting to note that he was able to hold when necessary in both the 1st Set Tiebreak and the Super Tiebreak.  He was also quite the force at net as Andrew would serve big out wide to Frank's backhand (Samara was in his usual return position on the Ad court side) which would only allow a reach of a return to sail to Praport who was waiting at the net with the short put-away volley.  This was their team's most effective play as it won just enough points for their team to eke by and get the win.  Ramer has a solid game overall...a lot of height and reach which helps with overheads plus solid strokes from both sides (a very effective two-handed backhand is perhaps even more noteworthy than his forehand...though that shot is also very solid).  If Praport can shake off the rust in time for the tourney, they will be a tough out in the M2.   

And now we shift west (one town over) to Bloomfield.

The Brookdale Park Result:

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:
William Bobila/Elmer Agapito over Mike Mole/Dino Celis, 7-5, 6-4, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 76 and # 77 Ranked Teams respectively!  It was the official GTA Debut of Elmer Agapito.  No Aces.

The Mole Memo: We played from 7:30 to 9:30.  It was a fun match with so many Deuce games!  My serve failed me tonight...haha!

The Word from William: We played from 8pm to 9:40 (including the warm-up session).  It was a very close match as the lead kept on changing.  We thank Mike and Dino for playing with us on such short notice in order to allow us to qualify for the tournament. 

Samara's Notes: I think Mike and William were looking at different clocks...LOL!  Anyway, it is nice to have William back in the mix (same goes for Dan and Andrew above at NTC) and we now welcome Elmer to the league.

And now we shift west again, this time from Bloomfield to Cedar Grove.

The Cedar Grove Results:

Chazz Weldon over Jay Phoenix, 7-5!  No Aces.  This One-Setter was played from 5:30 to 6:30.

3 out of 5 Sets Challenge Match:
Scott Bergenfeld over Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-2, 6-4, 6-0, to successfully defend his # 6 Rank in the Advanced Division!  Jordan: 2 Aces (1 in the 1st and 1 in the 2nd Set); and Scott: 1 Ace in the 2nd Set!

The Skinny from Scott: It was a competitive match.  A lot of unforced errors from both sides, as usual.  We both need to stay focused and make the necessary shots.

Dan Martinelli/Natalia Sout over Joe Rodrigues/Sachiko Tokuda, 6-1!  No Aces.

The Spin from Spin: Nat gets Spin a win!  At first, it looked like the foursome was going to be Natalia, Sachiko, Joe and Syed Rashid.  However, Court One needed another player.  Joe and Syed discussed who would play and it seemed that they could not make up their minds.  I did a quick "eeny, meeny, miney moe" and it was Syed who was sent over to Court One.  With my ongoing disability, we paired Natalia and Spin against Sachiko and Joe.  Everyone played well and it was a fun set.  The duration was about 28 minutes.  Natalia rose to the occasion and covered the court beautifully knowing her partner has limited mobility.  I want to thank Natalia, Sachiko and Joe for playing with the "lame" one.  Be sure it was much appreciated by yours truly.  It was great to be back!       

Nick Inciong/Tony Tokuda over Senthil Kumar/Syed Rashid, 6-2!  No Aces.

Nick Inciong/Syed Rashid over Jordan Bachvaroff/Senthil Kumar, 7-5!  No Aces.

Nick Inciong/Syed Rashid over Senthil Kumar/John Rizzo, 7-5!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I thank everyone for their very timely reporting.  As always, it is greatly appreciated!  It is also good to see that the man known simply as "Spin" was able to get back out onto the courts again.

Best wishes,
Frank Samara
gtasamara5@gmail.com