7/25 Results.

7/25/18:

"Zapusek-Flax in Fair Lawn!":

In between the morning rains and the evening rains, there was one lone session featuring one lone match and it took place in Fair Lawn.  In the ongoing friendly rivalry between buddies, "The Z Man" Dave Zapusek and "The Flax Machine" Mike Flax, this was yet another entry in their series.  They have two go-to spots, Fair Lawn (near to where Mike lives) and Albion Park in Clifton (close to where Dave lives), whereby they take turns playing their matches against one another.  They like to get in three sets of play at each outing.  If the first two sets split, they do it as a 2 out of 3 Sets Match.  If one of them takes the first two sets, but then the third set goes the other way...they just consider it to be a Challenge Match followed by a One-Setter.  But lately, Dave has been on a roll as he has continued to win these battles in three straight sets (i.e. the 3 out of 5 Sets Match instead).  And here is the latest result from them (as reported by Dave, as always).

The Fair Lawn Result:

3 out of 5 Sets Challenge Match:

Dave Zapusek over Mike Flax, 6-3, 6-1, 6-3, to successfully defend his # 45 Rank in the Intermediate Division!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: As always, I thank Dave for his timely reporting.  Perhaps this coming Sunday (as the forecast remains sunny and clear), we will be able to work Dave (and possibly Mike) into our action after they play their usual Challenge Match against one another.

Sincerely,
Frank Samara

gtasamara5@gmail.com

7/24 Results.

7/24/18:

"Ralph-Moka at VHS, 8 play at C.G.!":

There were two official sessions of GTA Tuesday Night Tennis: the first one was at the Verona High School Courts and it featured the first of the "Grove Cup 21" Round of 16 Matches to be played.  It was between "The Headhunter" Ralph Bernard and "Instant" Moka Pathan (with both reporting); and then there was the usual evening session at The Cedar Grove Courts with the contributors from that session being "Bravo" Brenda Jordan and "NC-17" Nick Caputo. 

First we go to Verona and then to Cedar Grove.

The VHS Result:

"Grove Cup 21" Round of 16 Match:

Moka Pathan over Ralph Bernard, 7-5, 7-5, to become the New # 9 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division while advancing to the Quarterfinals of the 21^st Annual Grove Cup Men's Singles Tournament!  Ralph: 3 Aces (1 in the 1^st Set and 2 in the 2^nd Set)!

 

The Ralph Report: It was a fun, competitive match. Moka is a consistent player and you can't let up if you're going to beat him.  The 1st Set was back and forth for the most part.  The 2nd Set was much different.  I played much better, delivering a lot of winners from both sides and had two Aces (had one in the prior set) to get out to a quick 5-1 lead.  I was, of course, thinking the match was going to a 3rd Set, but then errors started creeping in and I think I let up mentally a bit since I had such a big lead (thinking ahead to the 3rd Set).  Moka then proceeded to win the next five games taking it in two straight sets...definitely a disappointing result!  I have to be a stronger closer.  I want to wish Moka good luck on his next match and beyond.

Moka's Brew: We played at the Verona High School courts from roughly 7:15 to 8:35pm. 

1st Set: We exchanged service holds until I broke to go up 4-2, but then he immediately broke back and took the next couple games to go up 5-4.  I broke him to stay in the set and then I took the final two games for the set.  

2nd Set: He really played well to start the set as he took leads of 3-1, then 5-1.  I held to make it 5-2, at which point he turned on the lights.  I got my second wind, somehow, and he made a few unforced errors as I improbably took the next five games to win the set and match.  

I want to thank Ralph for scheduling this match on such short notice and also for offering up such a competitive match.  He kept me off balance with his slice backhand and flat forehand shots.  I feel fortunate to have won. 

 

Samara's Notes: I thank both players for their timely and comprehensive reporting.  It is greatly appreciated.  I also congratulate Moka on a hard-fought yet impressive victory.  Moka is now the first player in the tourney into the Quarterfinals (and he was also the first into the Round of 16). 

 

We now head south to Cedar Grove.  We will start with the scores from Brenda and finish with the results submitted by Nick.

The Cedar Grove Results:

Brenda Jordan/Michele Panzitta over Kathy Sheldon/Robin Wilson, 6-1!  No Aces.

Kathy Sheldon/Brenda Jordan over Robin Wilson/Michele Panzitta, 6-2!  No Aces.

Brenda Jordan/Robin Wilson over Kathy Sheldon/Michele Panzitta, 6-4!  No Aces.

Non-Title Match:

Ryan Pienciak/Nick Caputo over Adam Pienciak/John Rizzo, 6-2, 6-4!  No Aces.  This was not a GTA Doubles Championship defense (even though A. Pienciak/Rizzo are a ranked team in the Doubles Division) as the reigning GTA Doubles Champions have been told not to defend their Titles until a winning team emerges from the ongoing M2 Men's Doubles Tournament.

Adam Pienciak/Nick Caputo over Ryan Pienciak/John Rizzo, 6-2!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I thank both Brenda and Nick for their very timely reporting.  As always, it is greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com  

 

 

 

 

7/23 Results.

7/23/18: 

"Jeremy's WD, Shiao-Gadi at VP, 7 play at C.G.!":

There were two official sessions of GTA Tuesday Night Tennis.  The first one was at the Verona Park Courts as Tony "Sure Shot" Shiao and "The Accelerator" Abhilash Gadi got back together to finish their in-progress "Grove Cup 21" Round of 32 Match (which they had begun this past Friday night).  And then the second one was the usual evening session at the Cedar Grove Courts with "J-Rod" Joe Rodrigues and the GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro being the contributors to this report from that session.

But before we get to all that, we first report that earlier in the day Jeremy "Got Game" Gottlieb decided that he had to make the difficult decision to withdraw from his "Grove Cup 21" Round of 32 Match against "Salsa Picante" Edwin Ortega.  Jeremy cited an increased work schedule that was now preventing him from putting this match together with Edwin ahead of the deadline for all the Round of 32 matches to be completed.  While this is a most unfortunate development (as Gottlieb is seemingly one of the more talented players in the draw), his decision is respected and understood.

Ortega now advances to the Round of 16 via a bye where his opponent will be "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas.

With that announcement now out of the way, we'll go to Verona first and then recount all that was reported from Cedar Grove.

The Verona Park Courts Result:

 

"Grove Cup 21" Round of 32 Match:

Abhilash Gadi over Tony Shiao, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, to become the New # 6 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division while advancing to the Round of 16 of the 21^st Annual Grove Cup Men's Singles Tournament!  Tony: 1 Ace! 

The Accelerated Annotation: The weather was kind enough to let us complete our 3rd Set. In that final game, I overcame Tony's forehands and won the set, 6-4 to take the match.  I thank Tony for a great tennis match.  I really enjoyed playing with you.

The Sure Shot from Shiao: We met at Verona Park at 7pm to finish the match and it was super-humid, but the clouds held onto the moisture.  Abhi was on fire and was able to move me around basically getting to just about every ball.  I went for my deep topspin forehands because I knew long rallies would tire me out, but I was lacking at net and blew a few easy put-away shots.  I congratulate Abhi for his well=deserved win and wish him the best of luck as he moves forward in the tournament!  

Samara's Notes: I thank both players for their very timely reporting.  Abhi, congratulations on a hard-fought, breakthrough victory!  Now that he is in the Top 10 of the Advanced Division, he'll be permanent removed from the Intermediate Division (as being considered overqualified for it).  Tony, kudos on your fine effort!  And I also thank both of them for getting the match finished last night...and for doing it in the full-length manner as well.

We now head slightly north to Cedar Grove.

The Cedar Grove Results:

 

Nathan Fernandes over Joe Rodrigues, 6-1!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I thank Joe for reporting that result in a timely fashion.  He also reported the next one and so did Chris...and then Chris provided the balance of the scores.

Adam Pienciak/Greg Swierczek over Chris Chiaro/Joe Rodrigues, 7-6 (7-5)!  Greg: 1 Ace on Joe!

Chris Chiaro over Adam Pienciak, 6-3!  Adam: 1 Ace on Chris!

Chris Chiaro/Kris Srinivasan over Adam Pienciak/Abhilash Gadi, 6-4!  Adam: 1 Ace on Chris!

Chris Chiaro/Kris Srinivasan tied with Nathan Fernandes/Abhilash Gadi, 3-3 (Incomplete due to lights out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

 

Samara's Notes: I thank both Joe and Chris for their very timely reporting.  It is much appreciated. 

 

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com  

 

 

 

 

7/22 Results.

7/22/18:

"Z-Flax at AP, Dino-Tommy at VP, M2 Qtr TBC part of 9 at C.G.!":

There were three official sessions of GTA Sunday Tennis even though the usual morning session hosted by "Hollywood" Frank Samara at Albion Park in Clifton was cancelled due to heavy rain in the overnight/early morning hours.  The first one, ironically enough, was at Albion and was even earlier than Samara's session would have been.  It featured a full 3 out of 5 Sets Challenge Match between buddies, "The Z-Man" Dave Zapusek and "The Flax Machine" Mike Flax (as reported by Dave).  It turns out the courts dried there in time for the usual morning session after all.

The next one was at the Votee Park Courts in Teaneck and it featured one of the last remaining "Grove Cup 21" Round of 32 Matches.  This one was between "The Scorpion Dragon" Dino Celis and "Tireless" Tommy Reszkowski (as reported by Dino).

And the third and final session of the day began in the early evening and was at the Cedar Grove Courts.  It featured the much-delayed final M2 Quarterfinal as the teams of "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas/"Big Kaz" Mike Kazlauskas and "Daddy O" Paul Daddio/"The Adonis" Don Moya finally faced off against one another (with Marijus and Paul reporting), but Mother Nature decided to mess with them further as this match remains a "work in progress!"  The other contributor to this report from that session is GTA newcomer, "Vivacious" Vivian Lee (with a score assist from Fadia "Finesse" Nicolas).

Let's get to all the action in the order it is listed above.

The Albion Park Courts Result:

 

3 out of 5 Sets Challenge Match:

Dave Zapusek over Mike Flax, 6-4, 6-1, 6-1, to successfully defend his # 47 Rank in the Intermediate Division!  No Aces.  They played from 9am to 10:40.

 

Samara's Notes: Looks like the courts at Albion dried much faster than expected.  I appreciate the very timely reporting from Dave. 

 

We now head northeast to Votee Park for the next result.

 

The Votee Park Courts Result:

 

"Grove Cup 21" Round of 32 Match:

Tommy Reszkowski over Dino Celis, 5-7, 6-3, 6-1, to become the New # 10 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division while advancing to the Round of 16 of the 21st Annual Grove Cup Tournament!  Tommy: 3 Aces!

 

The Details from Dino: He was the better player today...he had better movement than me.  I wish him good luck in the next round against Ryan Pienciak.

 

Samara's Notes: Dino had originally said they had planned on meeting for the match at 10:30.  He sent me the text of the result at 12:45, so we can safely assume that the match began and ended within those parameters.  I thank Dino for the very timely reporting of the result.  And I wholeheartedly congratulate Tommy on the very impressive victory!  This win now puts him in the running as yet another possible contender to be a Nominee for Most Improved Player of The Year at season's end.

 

The Consequences: Now that Reszkowski has entered The Top 10 of the Advanced Division, he is now considered to be overqualified for competition in the Intermediate Division.  He will be removed from it as of this date.  

 

We now shift southwest to Cedar Grove to finish out the day's action.

 

The Cedar Grove Results:

M2 Quarterfinal Match:

Marijus Kuzavas/Mike Kazlauskas leading Paul Daddio/Don Moya, 5-7, 7-5, 2-0 (with Paul serving at Deuce)!

The Scoop from Super Mario: We started the match this day and, unfortunately, it did not go to the end.  We started around 3pm.  Then, around 4pm, we had to stop due to rain.  We waited it out…waited for the courts to dry and about 30 to 40 minutes later we resumed the match. Around 5:30 or 6pm, we had to stop again as the rain resumed and this time it was not going to stop.  The current agreement is to try to finish it Monday around 8pm at Cedar Grove, but that will depend upon the weather.

The Dilly-O from Daddio: It has been a very competitive match, only a few breaks in the two plus sets.

Samara's Notes: I thank Marijus and Paul for their very timely reporting.  It is much appreciated.  Since this recap, the scheduling negotiations went back and forth between Marijus and Paul.  It is a shame they did not try to finish it on Monday night as the weather ended up cooperating after all, but the forecasts were iffy all along…so it is well understood why they opted for this coming Friday instead (the first completely rain-free day in this week's weather forecast).  And this match deserves to come to its proper end as they may well be on their way to a potential Doubles Match of The Year Nominee at season's end…as long as the 3^rd Set ends up being as close and competitive as the first two sets.

 

And we now go to Vivian for the rest of the results.

 

Sally Pillay/Vivian Lee over Fadia Nicolas/Arlene Hyde, 6-4!  No Aces.

Viv's Notes: It was fab!  I met Sally for the first time (I knew Fadia and Arlene from before). Sally and I played Doubles to get Fadia and Arlene prepped for the upcoming tournament.  Then, Arlene left and Janice Wang took her place and played…but that was soon stopped by the rain.  But, all in, it was all good!  Frank, I thank you for your help in guiding me toward the action at the Cedar Grove Courts.

Samara's Notes: I thank Vivian for providing me with such a report considering how new she is to the league.  She had reached out to me earlier that day to see if any GTA Tennis action would be taking place despite the uncertain weather situation.  I was able to guide her toward Cedar Grove and I am thankful we had players there that were so welcoming to her.  That is our league at its best!  

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com  

 

 

 

 

7/21 Results.

7/21/18:

"Mole-Capan's Battle of The Sexes at Albion!":

There was just one session of GTA Saturday Tennis and it came early in the morning as "Del Brotro" Mike Mole and "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan got together for a full "Battle of The Sexes" Match (as reported by Gen).  When rain rolled in later in the evening, it prevented the usual night session at The Cedar Grove Courts from happening.

So now we go to the result from Gen.

The Albion Park Result:

2 out of 3 Sets "Battle of The Sexes" Match"

Mike Mole over Genalin Capan, 6-2, 6-3!  No Aces.

Gen's Notes: We played from 8:20 to 9:40am.

Samara's Notes: I thank Gen for her very timely reporting.  It is much appreciated.

Best wishes,
Frank Samara

7/20 Results.

7/20/18:

"Marijus-Elmer, MXD2 Semi part of 29 (1 New) at C.G., Tony-Abhi TBC at VP!":

There were two official sessions of GTA Friday Night Tennis: the first one was the usual evening affair at The Cedar Grove Courts…except for the fact that it got underway in the late afternoon starting off with a "Grove Cup 21" Round of 32 Match between "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas and Elmer "The Glue" Agapito (with Marijus reporting) and then it also included the last of the two MXD2 Semifinal Matches as GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro teamed with Former GTA Women's Champ: Laura "The Aura" Gawley to take on the team of "The Adonis" Don Moya and "J-Wow" Janice Wang (with Chris reporting).  Other contributors from this epic session are: "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan, "Del Brotro" Mike Mole, "Instant" Moka Pathan, "The Riz" John Rizzo, "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak and "The Icon" Nick Inciong (but not necessarily in that order).

But then there was a concurrent session that actually ran later than the one at Cedar Grove…it was at Verona Park with Tony "Sure Shot" Shiao and "The Accelerator" Abhilash Gadi getting together for their "Grove Cup 21" Round of 32 Match (with both reporting).

We will now do our best to strike some semblance of order with all the scores from Cedar Grove (as there was some overlapping in the reporting…and we will leave the incomplete sets for the end) and then we will finish this report in Verona.

The Cedar Grove Results:

"Grove Cup 21" Round of 32 Match:

Marijus Kuzavas over Elmer Agapito, 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3, to successfully defend his # 4 Rank in the Advanced Division while also advancing to the Round of 16 of the 21^st Annual Grove Cup Men's Singles Tournament!  Marijus: 3 Aces (2 in the 1^st Ste and 1 in the 3^rd Set)!

The Scoop from Super Mario: The 1st Set went 0-1, 1-5 and 3-6 from my perspective.  Elmer played great offense/defense combination while I was making way too many double faults and unforced errors.  At 1-5 I tried mounting a come back, but it fell short.

The 2nd Set went 0-4, 2-5, 6-6 and then 7-6 (7-3) in my favor.  My problems and Elmer's great playing continued well into the 2nd Set.  Elmer was serving for the match at 5-2 and up 40-15 (Double Game/Match Point)!  Somehow I got lucky in saving 3 Match Points in this game.  He made a couple of easy errors and I felt that he tightened up at this moment.  He also started making double faults from that point on while before that he had none.  Meanwhile my game got a little better as I stopped making doubles and cleaned up on the unforced errors. In the Tiebreak I was up 6-1 before closing it out at 7-3, so he saved a couple of Set Points.

The 3rd Set went 0-2, 1-3 and then to 6-3 in my favor.  Again I fell behind in this one, but not as deep and was able to come back.

Overall, this was a very good match with lots of good points from both sides and a number of silly errors on both sides as well where we would lose a point which should have been won. Elmer has a good solid overall game.  His serve is a high-bouncing kick serve which is difficult to attack.  Both forehand and backhand ground-strokes are weapons for him.  And given how the match went on, I consider myself extremely lucky winning this one.  We played from about 5:20 to around 8pm (those are rough estimates as I did not check the time).

Samara's Notes: First, I thank Marijus for the very timely and extremely comprehensive reporting which is always very much appreciated.  Second, I congratulate him on an impressively hard-fought victory!  Third, I offer up major kudos to Elmer who has proven he will soon be an upper echelon Advanced Division player before long.  And fourth, I do believe this match has a chance at becoming a Nominee for Singles Match of The Year at season's end.

We are going to now go to a couple of scores sent in by Mike Mole, then a couple more from Moka before getting back to some other results reported by Marijus…and all of that is as follows.

Mike Mole over Edwin Ortega, 6-3!  No Aces.  We played from 5:30 to 6:30.

Omar Santos over Mike Mole, 7-6 (7-4)!  No Aces.  We played from 6:40 to 7:30.

Moka Pathan over Mike Kazlauskas, 6-0!  No Aces.

 

Moka Pathan over Mike Kazlauskas, 7-5!  Mike: 3 Aces; and Moka: 1 Ace!  

 

Moka's Brew: We played on the courts up the street from the regular Cedar Grove Courts because all four there were taken.  I was up 3-0, and 4-1 in the second One-Setter before Mike ran off four straight game to make it 4-5, then I broke him to stay alive and took the final two games.  They were very fun and competitive sets!

Marijus Kuzavas/Mike Kazlauskas over Mike Mole/Dan Hwang, 6-1!  No Aces.

Nathan Fernandes/Fadia Nicolas over Ryan Pienciak/Sally Pillay, 6-3!  No Aces.

Mike Kazlauskas/Sally Pillay over Dan Hwang/Fadia Nicolas, 6-3!  Mike: 5 Aces (4 on Fadia and 1 on Dan); Fadia: 1 Ace on Mike; and Sally: 1 Ace on Fadia!

MXD2 Semifinal Match:

Chris Chiaro/Laura Gawley over Don Moya/Janice Wang, 6-2, 6-4, to successfully defend the # 2 Rank in the Mixed Doubles Division while advancing to the Finals of the MXD2 Mixed Doubles Tournament!  Don: 2 Aces on Laura!

 

Samara's Notes: I thank Chris for his timely reporting of this match.  Now he and Laura will face Nick Caputo and Fadia Nicolas in the Finals.  That should be a very solid match!

 

Here are a couple more scores sent in by Ryan (he had also sent in that one he was involved in above).

 

Tito Castolo/Rob Gawley over Ryan Pienciak/John Rizzo, 6-4!  No Aces.

Nathan Fernandes/Tito Castolo over Ryan Pienciak/John Rizzo, 6-4!  No Aces.

John Rizzo then also reported the following.

 

John Rizzo/Tito Castolo over Jay Phoenix/Rob Gawley, 6-3!  No Aces.

 

Gen then submitted the following report.  All the following took place on Court One.

Van Vima/Laurie Boughton over Genalin Capan/Suzanne Bujara, 6-3!  No Aces.  It was the official GTA Debut of Van Vima.

Nathan Fernandes/Suzanne Bujara over Laurie Boughton/Genalin Capan, 6-2!  No Aces.

Gen's Notes: Nate and Suzanne were up 5-0 when we finally got on the board and won two games.  Laurie and Suzanne then started to play a Singles One-Setter when after two games they decided to scrap it so that Natalia and I could play Doubles with them instead.

 

Samara's Notes: We will get to that incomplete One-Setter in just a bit.  Let's go to Nick for one more complete score before we list all that was either incomplete or unofficial.

 

Kyle Eng/Andrew Kroessler over Dennis Cabanatan/Nick Inciong, 6-2!  No Aces.

 

Kyle Eng/Andrew Kroessler leading Dennis Cabanatan/Nick Inciong, 6-5 (Incomplete and on serve when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

 

Laurie Boughton/Natalia Sout leading Genalin Capan/Suzanne Bujara, 4-3 (Incomplete with Laurie on serve as the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces. 

Mike Kazlausas/Sally Pillay leading Dan Hwang/Fadia Nicolas, 4-1 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

Ryan Pienciak/John Rizzo over Nathan Fernandes/Tito Castolo, 10-6 (stand-alone, unofficial Super Tiebreak)!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I thank everyone who reported in such a timely fashion from Cedar Grove.  It is all greatly appreciated!  We now head slightly south to Verona for the dual report from Abhi and Tony.

 

The Verona Park Result:

 

"Grove Cup 21" Round of 32 Match (still in progress):

Abhilash Gadi leading Tony Shiao, 5-7, 6-3, 5-4 (15-0)!  No Aces. 

The Accelerated Annotation: This match is definitely the best I've played so far in my short tennis career! The match is incomplete as the lights went off right near the end of the 3rd Set.  

We started hitting around 7:30pm and the match began around 7:45 and lasted until 10:15 when the lights went off (Verona runs a bit longer than Cedar Grove).  We played 2 hours and 30 minutes of some really good tennis which had long rallies, several Deuce games and cross-court winners.  Although we would have loved to finish the match all in the same day, no one deserved to lose.  I thank Tony for a quality tennis session.  We will continue this match on a different day and try to finish it before the Tuesday deadline. 

 

The Sure Shot from Shiao: This was a long match with some serious rallies.  I am surprised that Abhi was fairly new to the game of tennis...he has a great forehand, ran down just about every ball, and is a tough contender.  I'm bummed we couldn't finish the match this day, but we will try to do so before Tuesday. 

 

Samara's Notes: I thank both for their timely and comprehensive reporting.  I also applaud both their efforts in this epic match (perhaps on its way to being yet another contender for Singles Match of The Year at season's end).  In subsequent e-mails since this initial report, Abhi said they were considering scrapping the in-progress 3^rd Set and playing a deciding 10-Point Super Tiebreak instead.

 

I must go on the record and say I think this is a very bad idea (though it is allowed in all rounds of the tourney except for the Tournament Final…and never in any Championship Matches).  And while I understand the trepidation (on the part of both players) of continuing a match so near the possible finish line, to scrap what they have done is not the solution.  First, they would likely dash the chances of this match ever becoming a Nominee for Singles Match of The Year.

 

Second, but more importantly, Shiao's rank would no longer be on the line in that scenario.  The only thing still at stake would be the elimination of the loser and the advancement of the winner.  With the weather trending the way it has since Friday night, the deadline for the Grove Cup Round of 32 will be extended from Tuesday night to Thursday night.  I hope that will inspire them to properly finish this match. 

 

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com  

 

 

 

 

7/19 Results.

7/19/18:

"Samara hosts 23 (1 return) at C.G.!":

There was only one official session of GTA Thursday Night Tennis, but it was a big one as it was the first time in over a month that "Hollywood" Frank Samara acted as host of the session.  And even though there were no "fireworks" as advertised (warned, perhaps), the courts were abuzz with great GTA Tennis action…the way it should be!

As promised, Samara pulled into the parking lot outside the Cedar Grove Courts precisely at 7pm.  At that time, two of the four courts were already occupied by GTA players.  Getting out of their cars around the same time Frank was, he saw "J-Wow" Janice Wang and a man he did not recognize.  But that man soon said, "Frank?"  It turned out to be Thomas Lee who got started with us earlier this season after "Ice Berg" Scott Bergenfeld brought him into the league from the indoor West Orange Tennis Club.  But then Thomas suffered a knee injury that took him out of action (so much so that he was recently eliminated for activity).  Soon the three of them (Thomas, Frank and Janice) headed out onto Court Three to hit with one another as Janice took solo duty in hitting against the guys (Samara thought Lee might want to split the court if he was still dealing with mobility issues).

Over on Court One, the teams of "Kevlar" Kevin Doyle/"Dominant" Dawn Peterson and "Killer Kat" Kathy Sheldon/"Bravo" Brenda Jordan already had some official action underway.  Court Two remained vacant.  And on Court Four, a Doubles One-Setter was just getting started between the teams of "Del Brotro" Mike Mole/"Lucky" Leo Victor and "The Bulgarian Bull" Jordan Bachvaroff/"Mo" Mostafa Hussaini.  But just one game in, they switched up the teams as it then became Mole/Bachvaroff versus Victor/Hussaini.  This did not seem like a good idea, but Mike said it was at the request of Leo and Mostafa.

At 7:30, "The Host with The Most" at Cedar Grove, "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan came across the street and headed out onto Court Three to make it a foursome.  Much like Carlito of WWE fame some years ago, Kris had his ever-present apple in hand and/or in his mouth as he looked like "Mr. Casual" hitting shots at the same time.  Thankfully, the apple disappeared by the time we entered into official play.

Santosh "Ever" Reddy arrived at 7:40 and sat on the bench alongside Court Four.  Five minutes later, "The Accelerator" Abhilash Gadi and "The Webmaster" Senthil Kumar both arrived.  The three then headed out onto Court Two for a hitting session.

At 7:55, "The Riz" John Rizzo and Tito "The Titan" Castolo arrived around the same time.  John allowed Tito to become the fourth player over on Court Two while Rizzo opted to sit on the bench alongside Court Four for a while.  He wouldn't be alone for long as "Kerosene" Kyle Eng arrived at 8pm.  Five minutes later, Dennis "The Menace" Cabanatan arrived and he was followed in by The Gawleys - Rowdy Rob (aka The Rogue) and Laura the Aura!  Thankfully, none of them would have to wait all that long to play.

"The Scorpion Dragon" Dino Celis arrived at 8:20.  "J-Rod" Joe Rodrigues arrived at 8:35.  And "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli arrived solely for an extended cameo appearance at 8:50 (he left at 9:45) as he was able to get some good conversation over on the bench with Samara and also Mole for a shorter period of time.

We ended up with a total of 23 official competitors on a beautiful night (weather-wise) for tennis.  We were fortunate that we had all four courts at our disposal for the entire evening.

The Cedar Grove Results:

2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Gender Doubles Match:

Kathy Sheldon/Brenda Jordan over Kevin Doyle/Dawn Peterson, 6-4, 6-0!  No Aces.  Per the TMT Rules, Sheldon/Jordan entered the Women's Doubles Division as the New # 14 Ranked Team.  Doyle/Peterson is already the # 13 Ranked Team in the Mixed Doubles Division.  Not sure when this one started or finished as they then went into the following One-Setter (and all of this action took place on Court One).

Kathy Sheldon/Dawn Peterson over Kevin Doyle/Brenda Jordan, 6-1!  No Aces.  This one finished at 8:20.

Mike Mole/Jordan Bachvaroff over Leo Victor/Mostafa Hussaini, 6-0!  No Aces.  This took place on Court Four and lasted from 7:10 to 7:37.

Frank Samara/Thomas Lee over Kris Srinivasan/Janice Wang, 7-6 (9-7)!  No Aces.  It was the official GTA Return of Thomas Lee.  It went like this: Janice was broken (Love-30 went straight to Game Point, but then it went to Deuce, Break Point and the break), Thomas was broken (Love-15 then point for point to Break Point, Deuce, Game Point, 2nd Deuce, Break Point and the break) and then Kris was the first to hold serve (Love-15 shifted to 30-15, Double Fault for 30-All, Game Point, Deuce, Game Point and the hold) for 2-1.  Frank also held (Love-15 shifted to 30-15, then 30-All, Game Point and the hold) and then Wang was broken again (Love-15 then shifted to 30-15 shifted again to Break Point and then the break) for 2-3.  Lee was also broken again (a Love-15 start shifted to 30-15, then 30-All, Game Point, Deuce, Break Point and the break) to level the set at 3-3, but then Srinivasan was broken at Love after he hit a Double Fault to set up Triple Break Point and that made the score 3-4!  Samara held again (Love-15 went straight to Double Game Point, then came Game Point and the hold) for 5-3.  J-Wow wowed the guys with a Love hold to pull to 4-5 and then T-Bone (hey, Costanza wanted that nickname!) was broken a third straight time as a 15-Love start went right to Double Break Point and then the break came on Break Point to keep the opposition alive at 5-5!  The K Man rebounded with a hold (15-Love, 15-All then onto Double Game Point which was then reduced to Deuce, Game Point again, 2nd Deuce, another Game Point and then the hold) to reclaim the lead for his team at 6-5!   

Hollywood then had his third straight hold as a Love-30 start soon shifted straight toward Game Point and the hold as we were now headed for the Tiebreak!  In the Breaker: Janice held her lone serve, and then Thomas held both of his as did Kris for 3-2.  Frank, who held serve so well all along, was the first to be broken in the Breaker as the first of his two serves led to a 2-4 score at the first changeover.  He held the second time around to pull to 3-4 and then with Wang back on serve we had the best rally of the match that ended in her team's favor for a 5-3 lead!  She was then broken on the second of her two serves for 5-4.  Lee held the first of his two serves to even things up at 5-5, but then he was broken on the second of his two serves to hand over the 6-5 lead and a Match Point to Srinivasan who was now about to serve.  He was broken on the first of his two serves for 6-6 at the second changeover.  He did hold his second, however, as his team now had a second Match Point in their favor with service returning to Samara.  He ended up holding the first of his two serves after making an incredible get which allowed him to hit a sharp cross-court angle to draw the error from Janice to serve up a 7-Up (score, that is)!  Hollywood then held his second serve as well to take an 8-7 lead for his team.  This was now the 3rd Match Point overall, but the first MP in favor of Samara/Lee.  Service now bounced back to J-Wow and she ended up getting broken as the opposition took this TB at 9-7!  We played this on Court Three from 7:35 to 8:35 (exactly one hour long!).

The Skinny: For a guy who has only been playing tennis for a couple of years now, Thomas has excellent ground-strokes (especially on the forehand side...and he credits the clinics he took at the West Orange Tennis Club).  He said he still felt sluggish as he continues to recover from the injury, but there was no noticeable slowness in his movement as far as the rest of us were concerned.  He also lamented the fact that he never held serve.  He thanked his partner for doing just the opposite (holding serve every time).  Kris has complained of not being where he needs to be level-wise as of late.  He had some really impressive moments, but also had a couple of head-scratching type errors mixed in along the way.  Janice was mostly solid and steady throughout the contest.  Frank was playing with a purpose and it showed...though he still made a few sloppy errors as well.  This one may have a shot at becoming a Nominee for One-Set Specialty Doubles Match of The Year at season's end.

Mike Mole/Leo Victor over Jordan Bachvaroff/Mostafa Hussaini, 7-5!  No Aces.  This much better-balanced One-Setter also took place on Court Four (like the one this foursome staged before) and it lasted exactly forty minutes long, 7:40 to 8:20.

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Abhilash Gadi/Tito Castolo over Senthil Kumar/Santosh Reddy, 6-2, 6-3, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 76 and # 77 Ranked Teams respectively!  Abhi: 2 Aces on Santosh!  This one got underway on Court Two at 8pm, but not sure when it ended as they then went into a One-Setter where they switched up the teams (we will get to that one later in this report).

John Rizzo/Kyle Eng over Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley, 6-1!  John: 1 Ace on Rob (the very first serve of the match!); and Kyle: 1 Ace on Rob!  Court Four hosted this foursome from 8:30 to 8:55.  Rob is another player healing up from recent injuries and dealing with mobility issues.

Jordan Bachvaroff over Dennis Cabanatan, 6-4!  No Aces.  They got the job done on Court One as this one lasted from 8:35 to 9:10.  Nobody should think they were "court hogs."  This came at a time when many players were happy to sit outside on or near the benches and chit-chat for a while.

Kris Srinivasan/Janice Wang over Dino Celis/Joe Rodrigues, 6-4!  Kris: 1 Ace on Dino!  This one took place on Court Three and lasted from 8:45 to 9:29.

John Rizzo/Kyle Eng over Leo Victor/Thomas Lee,6-1!  No Aces.  These four faced off on Court Four from 8:56 to 9:20.

Dennis Cabanatan/Laura Gawley over Jordan Bachvaroff/Rob Gawley, 6-4!  Jordan: 2 Aces (one on each); and Dennis: 1 Ace on Rob!  Court One hosted this one from 9:15 to 9:52.

Mike Mole/Kyle Eng over John Rizzo/Leo Victor, 6-2!  John: 1 Ace on Kyle; and Mike: 1 Ace on Leo!  This one took place on Court Four and lasted from 9:25 to 9:50.

Senthil Kumar/Abhilash Gadi over Tito Castolo/Santosh Reddy, 6-1!  No Aces.  Not sure when this one began on Court Two, but it finished at 9:50.

Dino Celis/Joe Rodrigues over Kris Srinivasan/Janice Wang, 6-3!  No Aces.  Considering the fact that this one did not get underway on Court Three until 9:30, they all felt fortunate to get this one done at 9:59 (with less than one minute to spare!).

All in all, it was a busy and productive session...and, more importantly...it was a whole lot of fun!

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

grasamara5@gmail.com