5/16 Results.

5/16/17:               

"Fernandes-Mole at AP, Kris/Spin host 20 at C.G.!":                               

There were two sessions of GTA Tuesday Night Tennis: a session of just two (a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match featuring "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes vs. "Mr. Science" Mike Mole, with Mike reporting) at Albion Park in Clifton and then one in the evening at The Cedar Grove Courts with "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan reporting the majority of scores for the session with "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli reporting his results which came in the latter stages of the session. 

So we will first go to the lone result from Albion Park, then to the combined report from Kris and Spin.

The Albion Park Result:

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:

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

The Mole Memo: They played from 6:10 to 7:30.

Samara's Notes: I thank Mike for his very timely reporting of the result (via text within the same hour…and he did the same the day before and I neglected to thank him for that one as well).

We now turn this report over to Kris. 

It was indeed an irresistible day for GTA Tennis and the only thing that stopped an early start was, yes, the "clickity clack, clickity clack"...hahaha!  Oh yes, the Pickle Ballers were in action and I can't help thinking about one of the finest reports from Spin on his thoughts about Pickle Ball.  We all can relate to that, but I was also happy for the Picklers when I saw how excited they were at the conclusion of their session.

Samara's Notes: The only Pickler I would be happy to see at Cedar Grove is Kellie Pickler!  We now go back to Kris. 

It was good to see some GTA players waiting to grab the tennis courts at 7:30pm pronto. Notable amongst the attendees were Marijus Kuzavas/Sally Pillay along with Rob and Laura Gawley (who have been somewhat missing in action here for a while).

We had our regulars (who always make it exciting) as well as the players who have just started coming recently.  The presence of GTA players was resounding and from 7:30pm forward it was "game on" until the lights shut down the action as all the courts were littered with GTA bugs...:-).  I couldn't help mentioning the bugs as the warm temps got to see some of the real bugs and Joe Rodrigues even swallowed a few of them the previous day for some extra protein that boosted his game.

The Cedar Grove Results:

Jordan Bachvaroff/Syed Rashid over Kris Srinivasan/Andrew Kroessler, 6-4!  No Aces.

It was a close match that we lost on a few casual shots, but full credit to Syed for consistent and well-placed shots.  Jordan did well on both serves and ground-strokes…especially his gets to a few of our shots that looked like they would be winners.

Marijus Kuzavas/Sally Pillay over Senthil Kumar/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-1!  No Aces.

It was a contrasting match with Marijus and Sally playing crisp shots whilst Senthil and Doinks had yet to find their rhythm.

Chris Chiaro/Laura Gawley over Lou La Forgia/Rob Gawley, 6-1!  No Aces.

I was surprised at the score as Lou was playing attacking shots, but they were all resoundingly countered by Laura.  It was clearly Laura's night and, with Chris playing an almost error free game, they would rule Court One the entire night.  Rob was clearly rusty as his signature slices and drop shots were falling short. With just a couple more days into tennis, Rob will be back to his wily self. 

2 out of 3 Sets:

Don Moya/Janice Wang over Rajan Shah/T.J. Shah, 6-3, 6-3!  No Aces.

It certainly looked like a solid match in which Janice and Don prevailed with consistent play.  Both T.J. and Rajan, "The Inseparables", played attractive shots but the net game made a big difference.  Janice was sublime in her shots and Don, with his free flowing ground-strokes and serves, put constant pressure on their opponents. 

Jordan Bachvaroff/Syed Rashid over Rafaelo Kazakov/Andrew Kroessler, 6-3!  No Aces.

This set was played for quite sometime and I suspect that they had long rallies and prolonged games.

Nathan Fernandes/Marijus Kuzavas over Senthil Kumar/Tito Castolo, 6-4!  No Aces.

It was Nate's day.  He was a satisfied man after having taken out Mike Mole, 6-2, 6-3, earlier at Albion Park.  Nate was playing his usual best and was supported well by Marijus.  Yes, Nate had vanquished the haunting "Mole Ghost" and we will be seeing the effect of it for days to come.  Senthil was playing as a mere shadow of his usual self and that was no "frightening ghost" for a laughing Nate.  Tito was not as sharp as usual.  Still, Senthil and Tito gave a good fight.

Chris Chiaro/Laura Gawley over Kris Srinivasan/Sally Pillay, 6-1!  No Aces.

Laura was simply superb and played an aggressive game, approaching the net at the right time and hitting consistently.  Chris played a clean game.  Sally played hard, but both of us couldn't close some crucial points and our errors proved costly.  It's fair to say we were outgunned by our opponents.

Nathan Fernandes/Janice Wang over Marijus Kuzavas/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-4!  No Aces.

Janice was on a roll and so was Nate.  Apparently, Doinks and Marijus still gave a good fight.

Lou La Forgia/Rob Gawley over Dan Martinelli/Tito Castolo, 6-2!  Rob: 1 Ace on Spin.

The Spin from Spin: Tito and Spin were never in this one at all.  Lou and Rob dominated us from the start.  Crafty Rob was dropping shots all over the place.  Lou's serves and angle drop shots equaled and surpassed even Tito's.  Lou wanted to team with Rob because they lost earlier in the evening.  Tito and Spin were the poor slobs paying for their previous loss.  At one point I looked at Lou and Rob from across the net and pleasantly shouted, "you guys suck!"

The K has his say: It was a frustrated Lou (after losing to Laura and Chris) who took the fight to Tito and Spin on Court Three.  Earlier, Lou was gracious enough to let me play against Laura and Chris.  His attacking shots were instrumental for putting pressure and Rob then got some of his "mojo."  You never discount Spin as he gives it all for every point he plays.  Tito missed on some of his signature drop shots and placements.  Otherwise, it could have been a closer match.

Chris Chiaro/Laura Gawley over Senthil Kumar/Kris Srinivasan, 6-2!  No Aces.

Chris and Laura were having a rollicking night and we were left to lick our wounds.  We just couldn't penetrate them in our rallies.  On the contrary, they just bamboozled us on some of the points.  It was one of those nights where it was not enough for us serving to be up 40-Love and then be able to hold.  It is safe to say that we got a good shellacking. 

Lou La Forgia/Rob Gawley tied with Dan Martinelli/Tito Castolo, Incomplete at 1-1 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

The Spin from Spin: It would seem Rob and Lou still weren't done doling out more pain.  It was 9:35 (I got to Cedar Grove late around 8:40) and after the first One-Setter, it was quite conceivable that they could get this one done in the 20 minute or so timeframe.  Rob and Lou went up 1-0 and then it was my turn to serve.  That service game went to 19 Deuces and lasted about 20 minutes long!  At one point, Rob said Spin was tired.  Spin does not like when someone accuses him of being tired.  The game ended in dramatic fashion as, at Ad-In, I hit a great serve just as the lights were going out.  Tito thought the serve was un-returnable because of the outage.  However, Lou saw the ball and returned it sharply.  Spin saw the returning spheroid and returned it down the line past Rob who at this point thought the contest was over.  It was grand stuff!  We were all in agreement that we need to meet up again to play another set.

The K has his say: This last incomplete One-Setter ended on a fitting note reflecting the charged atmosphere.  It was just two games, but it took an eternity as Spin was serving seemingly for forever and would see multiple Deuces (did he say 19?!?! Then it's a sure nominee for a one game analysis).  He managed to hold his serve (in the dark, I should say), but the highlight was the fighting spirit on display.

Samara's Notes: 19 Deuces may in fact be a record (hard to say when sometimes peeps say that they must have went 20 or so Deuces…and we do not nominate singular games, unfortunately).  And I think these two teams should try to make it a full 2 out of 3 Sets Match if they ever get the chance and have the time to do so.

We now go back to Kris for his final thoughts.

It turned to be a great night of "Krispy Kreme" action.  Tonight (Wednesday night) is expected to be quite warm, but we should see plenty of action as it will be summer-like.  So stock up on lots of fluids and have a good one!  Cheers!

Samara's Notes: As always, thanks to both Kris and Spin as both of them light up the scene at Cedar Grove and fortify it as the home base for GTA Weeknight Tennis.   

All the best,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

862-596-3354

 

 

 

5/15 Results.

5/15/17:               

"2 play at AP, Mel/Spin host 16 at C.G.!":                               

There were two sessions of GTA Monday Night Tennis: a session of just two (a One-Setter featuring "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes vs. "Mr. Science" Mike Mole, with both reporting) at Albion Park in Clifton and then one in the late afternoon to late evening at The Cedar Grove Courts with "The Mel Man" Melvin Hyman reporting the first score of the day (his One-Setter against "RK Fire" Rafaelo Kazakov) and then the full later session was hosted by "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli ("Dominant" Dawn Peterson also sent in her scores directly as well).

So we will first go to the lone result from Albion Park, then to the recap from Mel and then turn the rest of this report over to Spin.

The Albion Park Result:

Nathan Fernandes over Mike Mole, 6-4!  Nate: 1 Ace.

The Mole Memo: They played from 6 to 7pm.

The Spin from Spin: Nate approached me saying that he had a result from AP.  So I said, "You and Mike?" and then I said "6 for you" and before Nate could give me the final score I said "6-4?"  He was greatly impressed with my predictive powers.  Let it be said however, I did have a one in five chance of getting it right!

Samara's Notes: Yeah, if I was Spin, I would not rush out to play the lottery just yet.  And now we go to the result from Mel.

The Cedar Grove Results:

Melvin Hyman over Rafaelo Kazakov, 7-5!  Mel: 1 Ace.

The Mel Man delivers: Late Monday afternoon action at Cedar Grove.  It was a hard-fought match as usual with many great shots by Raffi, but Mel hung in there with tough defense to get the "W". 

Samara's Notes: I thank Mel for reporting that result in a very timely manner.  And now we let the man known as Spin take it away.

Once again, it was a text from Kris Srinivasan motivating me to head to Cedar Grove even though the winds were strong and gusting.  

Upon my arrival Brenda Jordan, Dawn Peterson and Kevin Doyle were having a hitting session desperately waiting for someone to arrive.  I would be that someone.  

On another court, we had the likes of Jordan Bachvaroff, Jorge Solano and Rafaelo also engaged in a hitting session.  One court was empty and another was inhabited by interlopers.  

The cooler temperatures and gusty conditions led to a weaker than normal turnout and court space would not be a priority.  Though the conditions were not ideal, it did not damper the spirits of those in attendance.  The winds did fade later and the last ninety minutes of play were quite refreshing.  Dino Celis stopped by for an extended cameo.  

Dan Martinelli/Dawn Peterson over Kevin Doyle/Brenda Jordan, 6-4!  No Aces.

The Spin from Spin: This was a fun set.  Everyone played quite well.  Dawn and I were rolling and up 4-2 when Brenda and Kevin started their assault.  They knotted the score at 4-4 before Dawn and I shut the door.  After this set, I had to leave.  I had left four friendly furry felines in one of our spare bedrooms with no food, water or a litter basket.  They were not going to starve or die of thirst, but I was afraid they would use the hardwood floors as a litter basket.  Thankfully, they co-operated and did not leave me any surprises.  

Upon my second arrival, Nathan and Jordan were battling Jorge and Chris Chiaro whilst Kevin and Brenda teamed again to face Dawn and Rafaelo.

Rafaelo Kazakov/Dawn Peterson over Kevin Doyle/Brenda Jordan, 6-4!  No Aces.

Nathan Fernandes/Jordan Bachvaroff over Chris Chiaro/Jorge Solano, 7-6 (8-6)!  Jordan:  1 Ace on Jorge.

The Spin from Spin (with an assist from Nate): I was told that this One-Setter should be considered as a Nominee for One-Set Doubles Match of The Year at season's end.  Chris, who forgot his tennis shoes, was doing a "Spin Doctor" and wearing his football spikes the whole night!  Nate found a way to send Chris to the floor and luckily he did not sustain injury.  Chris and Jorge were down 2-5.  Then they were up 6-4 in the Tiebreak!  Nate and Jordan came back to save two Match Points!

Kris Srinivasan/Joe Rodrigues over Ryan Pienciak/Doinks Srinivasan, 7-5!  No Aces.

Rafaelo Kazakov/Tito Castolo over Levy Lorenzo/Dawn Peterson, 6-3!  No Aces.

Tito Castolo/Dawn Peterson over Levy Lorenzo/Rafaelo Kazakov, 6-4!  No Aces.

Chris Chiaro/Dan Martinelli over Nathan Fernades/Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-2!  No Aces.

The Spin from Spin: Stepping into this One-Setter, Spin realized and announced he was the weakest link in this affair.  When Chris is your partner (with our without tennis sneakers), nothing is a given.  We took the last four games to seal the deal to come away with an impressive victory. 

Kris Srinivasan/Dan Martinelli over Chris Chiaro/Doinks Srinivasan, 7-5!  No Aces.

The Spin from Spin: Oh, this was the fun set of the night!  Everyone involved had a great time in this one.  Kris hit dapper angles that a "spiked" Chris had trouble getting and Spin found a second and a third wind running down almost everything in sight.  With Chris and Doinks smartly striking the ball, we did all we needed to do to secure the win.  This set could have easily gone the other way.

Nathan Fernandes/Joe Rodrigues tied with Ryan Pienciak/Jordan Bachvaroff 5-5, (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

Notations from Nate: With Nate and Joe up 5-4, Nate had a chance to claim victory at 6-4…but he double faulted to send the set to 5-5 and then the lights went out and the set was sadly incomplete.

Afterwards, a few of the GTA faithful (Doinks, Kris, Nate, Dino and me) hung out for 15 minutes or so reveling in the great fun that this night produced.  We also discussed how over the next few days the temperatures will soar like an eagle into the high 80's and low 90's.  So hydrate and be smart!

dmartinell@aol.com

Samara's Notes: As always, thanks to Spin for stepping up as "The Co-Pilot" (in this scenario, Kris would be "The Pilot"…and not our real life "Pilot" Greg Swierczek) for the GTA up at Cedar Grove. 

All the best,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

862-596-3354

 

 

 

5/14 Results.

5/14/17:               

"Kris hosts 4 at C.G. on Mother's Day Sunday!":                               

As it turns out, there was one session of GTA Mother's Day Sunday Tennis: a small one in the morning at The Cedar Grove Courts hosted by the most frequent host, "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan.

A little later in the morning, "Big Kaz" Mike Kazlauskas sent an e-mail to the group once he arrived at Albion Park in Clifton and was surprised to see nobody there (he must have missed the Friday memo from "Hollywood" Frank Samara stating that he would not be hosting a session there no matter the weather).  "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli said he did a drive-by past Albion (not sure what time) only to see no one there either.

We now turn this report over to Kris.

 

It was a beautiful Sunday and we capitalized on the lovely weather to play some GTA Tennis in the morning as Suresh Poosala would be flying back later in the afternoon.  The morning session started around 10:30am and ended by 1:15pm.

 

The Cedar Grove Results:

 

Sairaj Srinivasan over Suresh Poosala, 7-5!  No Aces.

 

Sairaj and Suresh were the first to hit the tennis courts and a Singles One-Setter between them was already planned.  We were curious to see if Sairaj would play a consistent game and, more importantly, handle Suresh's smart and tricky play.  As expected, Suresh did get to Sairaj with his slices and placements.  To Sairaj's credit, he was not flustered but figured out his opponent's game after the initial three games.

 

When I hit the courts with Jay, the match was in balance tied at 3-All, but soon it would be 4-3 with Suresh leading.  A tight game ended in 4-All, but it was Suresh again leading 5-4.  It was all confident play by the kiddo as he ramped up his game and went onto win the next three games.  Besides an attacking backhand, Sairaj came up with some attractive forehand shots as well.  He was mixing it up well by showing variety in his play to showcase multiple skill sets.  It was a well-deserved win for Sairaj that was acknowledged graciously by Suresh.

 

Kris Srinivasan/Jay Srinivasan over Sairaj Srinivasan/Suresh Poosala, 7-5!  No Aces.

 

We started off planning to play a Best of 3 Sets to see who was going to come out stronger.  It was a break of serve in the first round as each player lost his serve.  Jay, on his second service game, double faulted thrice for an easy break.  Sairaj was the first to hold and we were catching up from there on in until we got to hold and get a couple of breaks to lead again and ended by winning the last game which was a lengthy battle.

 

Sairaj Srinivasan/Suresh Poosala over Kris Srinivasan/Jay Srinivasan, 6-4!  No Aces.

 

It was another set that saw a see-saw battle for many points.  It was a good start with everyone holding their serves.  We then lost our footing and were behind 2-4.  We could have easily gone down 2-5 as the next game went for multiple Break Points on my serve.  We dug in hard and ended up holding the crucial game.  Careless errors cost us the next game.  Down 3-5, we needed the break on Sairaj's serve.  It was a marathon battle as the game went to multiple Deuces.  We had 8 Break Points and blew them all!  Some of them were easy put-aways.  We then saved a couple of Match Points.  The penultimate point was an agonizing miss of my topspin shot which was played carefully, but went just long.  The winning point was a lovely winner from Suresh as Jay returned Sairaj's serve straight to Suresh.  We could have won this game quite a few times, but the most painful loss of point was Sairaj's return to my deep shot that wouldn't have cleared the net but Jay put it away going across our opponent's court.  But it was good to see both teams win a set, each thus keeping the match in balance.

 

Samara's Notes: My guess is that Kris is trying to say Jay broke the plane of the net to hit the return from Sairaj which would not have cleared the net anyway.  Not sure exactly what Kris means in that breakdown of "the most painful loss of point."  Anyway, we go back to Kris for his final thoughts.

 

We had to wind up for the day as Suresh would be flying off shortly.  It turned out to be good fighting tennis all through the day with plenty of noises echoing off the courts.  Cheers!

 

Samara's Notes: As always, thanks to Kris for all he does for the GTA up at Cedar Grove. 

 

All the best,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

862-596-3354

 

 

 

5/12 Results.

5/12/17:

"Kris-Suresh, W2 Semi part of 22 at C.G. as Samara hosts!":

GTA Friday Night Tennis at The Cedar Grove Courts was hosted by "Hollywood" Frank Samara and the session ended up being an epic one...both in terms of important matches and the overall turnout of players over the course of one continuous session - 22 official competitors!

One of those two important matches actually got started prior to Samara's arrival as usual Cedar Grove host, "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan took on his good buddy "Sure Thing" Suresh Poosala in a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match as Suresh was also making his official GTA Return.

The other one of those two important matches was the scheduled W2 Women's Doubles Tournament Semifinal Match between the top seeded team, "The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan and "Killer Kat" Kathy Sheldon faced the only team with a win under their belt in this tourney thus far, "C.A.T." Christine Toth and "Laidback" Laurie Boughton.

Coming into this night, Samara's primary concern was noting the points (and helping out with the score and/or calls, if necessary) of the W2 Semi.

Samara pulled up to the courts at 6:50pm (much better than his anticipated 7:30 arrival).  As he got out of his car, he saw that Court One was vacant.  Court Two had "The Ambidextrous Machine" Herb Reiner hitting against his pal, "Mirav" Miroslav Glavic.

On Court Three, Kris and Suresh were still in the 2nd Set of their full Challenge Match.  And on Court Four, "The Vin Man" Vinnie De Benedetto and "Bravo" Brenda Jordan were warming up the tandem of Kathy and Doinks.  They eventually played an unofficial 10-Point Super Tiebreak just to get the feeling of some score points rather than solely hitting the ball.

Given the fact that it was a nice and sunny day (albeit a bit on the cool side, but also slightly warmer than some other days earlier this week), the temps had dropped somewhat precipitously as it had become quite a chilly night (many of the GTA faithful later said they grew used to it during the course of this week which felt more like mid-March than mid-May!).

The good news was the fact that as the night progressed, the entire scene of all four courts was all GTA...and that's the way it would stay for the entire evening (which helped us avoid having many logjam situations). 

At 6:55, both Toth and Boughton arrived separately.  They soon took the place of De Benedetto and Jordan on Court Four as they then hit against their soon-to-be opponents, Sheldon and Srinivasan (the match would officially get underway at 7:15).

Five minutes later, "Ice Berg" Scott Bergenfeld made his way toward the courts.  We initially told him to practice alone on Court One in order to hold it.  But then Kris and Suresh finished their Singles match and were now looking to play Doubles.  So that meant Scott had to then shift over to Court Three while Vin left the bench (where Frank and Brenda still sat) to go make it a foursome.

Jordan, in fact, was eager to play as she would have to leave at 8pm.  It seems that Kris may have overheard this and asked if she wanted to take his place, but Brenda insisted that it remain the four guys and she would take a shot at the fact that more players should soon be on the way.

At 7:10, "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli pulled into the parking lot and then he found a spot on the bench next to Frank and Brenda alongside Court Four.  When both GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro and "Big George" Jorge Solano arrived separately ten minutes later, the two of them were then joined by Spin and Brenda for Doubles on Court One.

It was somewhere around this time that "The Webmaster" Senthil Kumar sent a text message to Samara to see if it was already a logjam situation at the courts.  Frank's reply was "not yet" and Senthil then responded he should arrive around 8pm.

At 7:40, four players all arrived at the same time - "Latino Heat" Jose Gonzales, Tito "Touch" Castolo, "Drill Instructor" Don Moya and "J-Wow" Janice Wang.  The team of Gonzales/Castolo would soon see action against Chiaro/Solano on Court One.  And then Moya and Wang did not have to wait much longer as they split up to get some Doubles with Bergenfeld and Poosala on Court Three.

True to his word, Senthil arrived at 8pm and he once again brought his cousin, "Diligent" Dinesh Vishanathan.  Their timing was perfect as Herb and Miroslav were just leaving Court Two at that time.  So Martinelli and De Benedetto then joined Kumar and Vishanathan over there for some Doubles.

They got that Doubles One-Setter underway at 8:05 just as "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak arrived.  So he had to sit on the bench with Samara for a while before getting a chance to play.  Five minutes later, "The Levitator" Levy Lorenzo pulled into the lot and then joined them on the bench to watch the W2 Semi.

And at 8:20, "2 Tall" Dave Zhu did the same, but chose to check out the scene on Court One instead.  He was the last official arrival of the night (as far as actual competitors go).

But at 8:50, "Coach" Dino Celis rolled into the lot to make an extended cameo appearance.

Enough chit chat, let's get to the scores!

The Cedar Grove Results:

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:
Kris Srinivasan over Suresh Poosala, 7-6 (7-4), 6-0, to successfully defend his # 15 Rank in the Intermediate Division!  In the process, Poosala made his official GTA Return and also returned to the I-M Division as the New # 41 Ranked Player.  No Aces.

The Skinny: Not sure when this one began or ended on Court Three, but it was good to see Suresh back in the mix.  Whenever we see a contrast of set scores like this, we can almost always rightfully assume that the guy who ate the bagel simply ran out of gas.

W2 Women's Doubles Tournament Semifinal:
Doinks Srinivasan/Kathy Sheldon over Christine Toth/Laurie Boughton, 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, to successfully defend their # 4 Rank in the Women's Doubles Division plus advance to the Finals of the GTA W2 Women's Doubles Tournament!  No Aces.

1st Set: Laurie held serve (Love-15 where Christine hit a winning Backhand Volley for 15-All, then it went to 30-15, Double Game Point and the hold), Kathy was broken (30-Love, 30-15 where Christine hit a winner to make it 30-All and then Laurie hit a vicious volley winner...many of her volleys are best described as semi-Overhead Smashes and she almost always brings them downward onto the court at an angle to then hopefully send them off the court...to set up Break Point and then came the break) and Christine held (an un-returned serve made it 15-Love, it then went to 30-Love, 30-15, Double Game Point and the hold) as her team jumped out to a somewhat surprising 3-0 lead!  Then, Doinks held at Love after starting off with three consecutive un-returned serves, Boughton was broken (Love-15, 15-All and then onto Double Break Point right after Doinks hit a nice passing shot winner to set up Double Break Point where Kathy then hit a winning lob for the break) and Sheldon held (an un-returned serve made it 30-Love, but then a Double Fault cut that lead to 30-15 only to have it go to 30-All which was where Laurie blew a volley to set up Game Point where another un-returned serve secured the hold) to level things at 3-3!  But from there, Toth held again (Laurie blew a volley for Love-15, but then it shifted straight to Double Game Point right after Laurie scored with another one of those venomous volley winners only to then have her blow another volley to cut the lead to Game Point where possibly the most truly un-returnable serve of the entire match locked down the hold), Srinivasan was broken (started with a Double Fault, 15-All, another Double Fault for 15-30 and then Christine hit an awesome Backhand Volley winner to set up Double Break Point where Laurie then hit what has to be described as a volley into a roller over the net winner for the break) and Boughton then held at Love after getting things started with a winning volley as this initial set ended on Court Four at 7:45 (they had begun the match at 7:15).

2nd Set: Kathy was broken (Triple Break Point where an un-returned serve cut it down to Double Break Point, then it went to Break Point, Deuce, another Break Point and then the break) and Laurie held serve (15-Love, 15-All and then onto Double Game Point with an un-returned serve along the way, but then a winning lob by Doinks cut it to Game Point where the best rally of the match thus far...and possibly for the entire contest...led to a hold of serve) as her team got up 2-0 in this set.  But then Doinks held in a struggle (a very well-executed passing shot winner by Doinks for 15-Love, but then she blew a volley for 15-All only to then go up Double Game Point to then have that reduced to Deuce where Laurie hit a winning volley for Break Point and then another excellent rally led to 2nd Deuce where Doinks made a great get/passing shot winner combo for Game Point only to have Laurie hit a winner to bring it to 3rd Deuce which was where Doinks hit another winning lob to set up another Game Point which was where Laurie whipped out another winning volley to make it 4th Deuce, but them came Game Point and the hold) and Christine was broken (un-returned serve for 15-Love and that was where Doinks hit yet another winning lob for 15-All which was where Doinks hit an aggressive Overhead Smash winner to make it 15-30 and then it shifted to Game Point, but then came Deuce and another extended rally to set up Break Point where yet another marathon rally eventually led to the break!) to tie things up at 2-2!  Sheldon was then broken again (off to a Love-30 start where Kathy then hit a winning Backhand Volley for 15-30, then it went to 30-All and then Break Point where Christine hit a vengeful volley winner for the break), but then Boughton was also broken (Doinks blew a volley for 15-Love, but then Christine blew a volley for 15-All, it then went to 15-30, 30-All and Break Point where Doinks delivered a scorching return winner for the break) to even things up again, this time at 3-3!  Srinivasan held again (started with a Double Fault, 15-All, 15-30 where an un-returned serve made it 30-All, then it was Break Point where Doinks hit a winning lob to bring it to Deuce and then she hit an amazing passing shot winner to set up Game Point which she finished off with another un-returned serve for the hold), but Toth held as well (Kathy hit a whopper of a return winner for Love-15 which was where Laurie hit a volley/drop shot winner combo for 15-All and then Laurie hit another one of her victorious volley winners for 30-15 which was where Christine hit a winner of her own to set up Double Game Point and then came the hold) to knot the score once more at 4-4!  Killer Kat was then broken yet again (15-Love, 15-All where another extended rally led to 15-30, then came Double Break Point and the break) to fall to 4-5, but Laidback Laurie was also broken again (Doinks was now the one to score with the volley into a roller over the net for the winner combo much like Laurie did earlier and that set up a Love-15 start which was where Christine then blew a volley for Love-30, it went to Triple Break Point, then down to Double Break Point before the break came) to keep this match alive at 5-5!  The Marathon Woman then held yet again (Christine hit a winning roller over the net for Love-15, it was then Love-30 where Doinks hit another sizzling passing shot winner for 15-30 and then she scored with an emphatic Overhead Smash winner for 30-All which she then followed up with an excellent get/winner combo to set up Game Point which she again capped with an un-returned serve for the hold) to put her team up 6-5 and then C.A.T. was broken and it would be at Love as Doinks hit another wicked passing shot winner to start things off and then Laurie blew a volley to set up Triple Break Point which is where the break then came at 8:46 (this set had gotten underway at exactly 7:47)!

At this point, the two teams had a decision to make.  They could either play a full 3rd Set or opt for a 10-Point Super Tiebreak to determine who would advance to the Finals (in this scenario, the Women's Doubles Division rank of Sheldon/Srinivasan would no longer be on the line).  Much to the approval of the onlookers, all four ladies decided this one should go the distance...so a full 3rd Set got underway at 8:48!

3rd Set: Doinks was broken (Double Fault set up Triple Break Point, an un-returned serve cut that down to Double Break Point, then came Break Point and the break), Laurie was broken in a battle (Christine blew a volley for Love-15, then it went to Love-30, 15-30 where Doinks hit a winning volley to set up Double Break Point where Christine hit a winning volley to make it Break Point which was where she then followed up with a winning Backhand Volley for Deuce, it went to Break Point again, then 2nd Deuce, Game Point where Doinks score with a Backhand Volley winner for 3rd Deuce and then an un-returned serve set up Game Point once again, then it went to 4th Deuce, Game Point yet again, 5th Deuce where Doinks hit a winner for Break Point and then came the break) and then Kathy was the first to hold serve in this set (Love-15 and then an un-returned serve for 15-All, 15-30 where Christine blew a volley for 30-All and then Doinks hit a winning lob to set up Game Point and then came the hold) to go up 2-1.  Christine was broken and again it was at Love as Kathy hit a winning return for Love-15 and then Doinks hit a winner to make it Love-30 which was where Kathy then hit a winner to set up Triple Break Point only to have Doinks hit yet another one of her patented topspin lob winners for the break and now a 3-1 lead!  Srinivasan was then broken again (started with a Double Fault and then Laurie hit a winning volley for Love-30, it then went to 15-30, Double Fault for Double Break Point where an un-returned serve cut it to Break Point, then it went to Deuce and then another Break Point which was where Kathy blew a volley for the break) to have her team's lead cut to 3-2, but Boughton was also broken again and this time it was at Love as Laurie blew a volley for Love-15, it was then Love-30 where Doinks hit another winning lob to set up Triple Break Point where Doinks hit yet another winner for the break and to put her team up 4-2!  Then, Sheldon held again (it was a 30-Love lead, then 30-15, then Double Game Point where Kathy hit a winning lob to secure her own hold) and Toth was broken again (Love-15 where Doinks hit a wicked winner for Love-30 and she then followed that with an equally walloping winner to set up Triple Break/Match Point, then it went to Double Break/Match Point where Laurie hit a winning volley to cut it down to Break/Match Point where the rally led to Christine being set up for a winning volley and she took a swing at the ball while it was still on the fly only to then wonder where it went!  The ball had just firmly wedged itself in the triangular-shaped hold that separates the racquet head from the handle...a hole in one!  While that may be good in golf, that ends up being a blown volley in tennis.  Laurie took the racquet from her partner's hands, walked up to the net and then poked it out for the would-be winner as she was half-jokingly stating that it had never hit the ground and was therefore still in play.  But it actually was no longer in play once the momentum of the action had stopped.  This match ended in such strange fashion, but it did not diminish the fine effort that all four ladies had just put forth...as this battle (despite the somewhat lopsided 3rd Set score) was one for the ages!  The match officially finished at 9:28!

The Skinny: While all four competitors had their shining moments, it was Doinks who was the true difference-maker (aka MVP) in this epic contest.  Many of those on the sidelines watching the match marveled at her technique...especially the hybrid topspin forehand that she hits that veers somewhere between being a low lob and a high-arching passing shot winner.  She burned both Christine and Laurie with that shot several times while they were up at the net.  The way she always held serve in that pivotal 2nd Set while her partner Kathy could not...though it should be noted that the holding pattern between those two partners then reversed itself in the 3rd Set.  And even though that final set lacked some of the drama of the one that preceded it, this match is still the one to beat this season for Women's Doubles Match of The Year.

The Consequences: The top-seeded team in this tourney, Srinivasan/Sheldon, now finds itself in the Finals where they may have to wait a while as there is still a Quarterfinal and then a Semifinal to be played in the W2 before the other team will arrive in the Finals.  The Quarter features "The Argentine Machine" Fernanda Toker teaming with "Automatic" Anna Mazur as they face "Stay-Cay" Stacy Casais and "LP" Lena Pyatski.  The winner of that match will then advance to the Semis where they will meet "Super Trooper" Sue Koziol and Gail "Storm" Schrimmer who got there via a bye once Brenda backed out of the Quarterfinal due to injury issues (she was scheduled to team with her usual partner, "Dominant" Dawn Peterson).  The eventual 2017 W2 Champs will then be the next Top Contenders to the reigning GTA Women's Doubles Champions: Laura "The Aura" Gawley and "The Smackdown" Sally Pillay.

Kris Srinivasan/Vinnie De Bendetto over Scott Bergenfeld/Suresh Poosala, 6-2!  Scott: 1 Ace on Vin (a cheap one as it was a soft slice after a series of previous blasts); and Kris: 1 Ace on Suresh!  They played this one on Court Three from 7:15 to 7:45 (it mirrored the 1st Set of the W2 Semi).

Chris Chiaro/Brenda Jordan over Dan Martinelli/Jorge Solano, 6-0!  No Aces.  Court One saw this one get done in just 15 minutes (7:28 to 7:43)!  Brenda said she had to go by 8pm and her partner Chris obliged her wishes.

Jose Gonzales/Tito Castolo over Chris Chiaro/Jorge Solano, 6-4!  No Aces.  Court One also hosted this one.  It lasted from 7:50 to 8:35.

Don Moya/Suresh Poosala over Scott Bergenfeld/Janice Wang, 6-3!  Scott: 1 Ace on Don (another cheap slice by Scott's own admission).  This took place on Court Three as it started exactly at 7:53 and finished precisely at 8:28.

Dan Martinelli/Vinnie De Benedetto over Senthil Kumar/Dinesh Vishanathan, 6-3!  Spin: 1 Ace on Dinesh on Match Point!  Score one for Spin and Vin (self-described as "The Old Guys") as this one was contested on Court Two from 8:05 to 8:33.

Ryan Pienciak/Janice Wang over Levy Lorenzo/Don Moya, 7-5!  Don: 1 Ace on Ryan.  This took place on Court Three from 8:32 to 9:17.

Kris Srinivasan/Dave Zhu over Senthil Kumar/Dinesh Vishanathan, 6-4!  No Aces.  Court Two hosted this one from 8:38 to 9:16.

Jose Gonzales/Jorge Solano over Tito Castolo/Suresh Poosala, 6-2!  No Aces.  They got this one done on Court One as its duration was from 8:40 to 9:10.

Jose Gonzales/Tito Castolo over Don Moya/Janice Wang, 6-1!  No Aces.  This one took place on Court Three as it lasted from 9:20 to 9:49.

Senthil Kumar/Jorge Solano over Ryan Pienciak/Dinesh Vishanathan, 6-3!  No Aces.  Contested on Court One from 9:22 to 9:52.

Levy Lorenzo/Dave Zhu over Kris Srinivasan/Suresh Poosala, 6-4!  No Aces.  These four faced off on Court Two from 9:23 to 9:58.

Samara thought he was not going to get to be a part of the official action on this particular evening as the W2 Semi did not finish until 9:28.  But Doinks wanted him to get involved and she was willing to play.  So was Laurie.  Frank questioned who would be the fourth.  Sitting right next to him on the bench, Spin pondered aloud: "What am I?  Chopped liver?!?!"

Samara wrongfully assumed that The Doc would be homeward bound to make sure there would be a timely feeding of his seven cats.  But Martinelli decided that his family of felines could wait just a bit longer so that he could accommodate his buddy and try to get a One-Setter in before the clock struck ten to dash the lights precisely at that time!

Doinks wanted to team with Spin and we decided to forego the changeovers in the hopes of getting this one done in time.  Frank went into it with no warm-up hitting whatsoever.  Would we get it in on time?

Frank Samara/Laurie Boughton leading Dan Martinelli/Doinks Srinivasan, 4-3 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm...we got it going on Court Four at 9:35)!  Spin: 1 Ace on Laurie.  Going off of memory immediately after the lights went out, here's how the flow of the games were going until we were so rudely interrupted: Frank held (Love-15 shifted to 30-15 shifted to Break Point, Deuce, Game Point and the hold), Spin held (started with a slow and low Ace against Laurie, then 15-All before being onto Double Game Point and the hold), Laurie held (Triple Game Point lead cut down to Game Point, but then the hold) and Doinks held (Love-15 shifted to 30-15, 30-All, Game Point and the hold) as we were all on serve at 2-2.  Samara held again (15-Love, 15-All then onto Double Game Point and the hold), but Martinelli was the first to be broken (15-Love then went straight to Double Break Point which then shifted to Deuce, Game Point, Double Fault for 2nd Deuce, Break Point and the break) to fall to 2-4!  Boughton was also broken (15-Love also went right to Double Break Point, but then came the break) to have her team's lead cut to 4-3.  Srinivasan went up 15-Love, then it was 15-All and then it was lights out!

The Skinny: It was a shame we could not get this one done as we were all having a lot of fun.  Still, Spin and Doinks were happy to avoid a loss.  And, actually, that should not even have been a foregone conclusion as this one seemed like it could have been heading for a Tiebreak in a prolonged struggle that could have gone either way.  Despite the incomplete conclusion, it still seemed to be a fitting way to end an epic session.

All the best,
Frank Samara
gtasamara5@gmail.com
862-596-3354








 

5/11 Results.

5/11/17:               

"Mitra-Praport in Nutley, Kris hosts 22 (1 return) at C.G.!":                               

There were two sessions of GTA Thursday Night Tennis: an evening session which began at The Demuro Courts in Nutley, but soon had to be transferred to The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley (featuring a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match between "The Chef" Sukumar Mitra and "The Speed Demon" Dan Praport, as reported by both) and then the usual evening session at The Cedar Grove Courts hosted by the most frequent host, "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan.

We first go to the recap from Nutley.

The Park Ave. Result:

 

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:

Dan Praport over Sukumar Mitra, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, to become the New # 30 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division!  No Aces.

The Chef's Dish: I can't believe I am writing to you about a match after such a long time.  I met up with Dan and we played an interesting match.  We started out at one side of Nutley (Demuro) and ran out of daylight when Dan was leading 3-2 in the 1^st Set.  Then we had to drive over to Park Ave. to finish it.  Both of us were coming back from a long recess, but we played with the same spirit as before.  Congrats to him!

The Demon demonstrates: I met Kumar at The Demuro Courts in Nutley at 7:30.  We decided to try to get a match in.  I was leading 3-2 at around 8:15 and the lights were still not on so we decided to check out The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley.  When we got there, all four courts were empty and the lights were on.  It could once again be a great spot for the GTA.  I plan on calling the Township of Nutley on Friday to find out why the lights still are not on at Demuro.  Anyway, we continued playing at Park Ave. and I ended up winning the 1^st Set, 6-3.  The 2nd Set Kumar won 6-4.  The 3^rd Set I was up 5-0 and Kumar fought back to make it 5-3.  I ended up winning the 3^rd Set, 6-3.  Kumar's patented spin/slice drop shot was in full effect.  He must have dropped at least 10 to 15 balls just a foot over the net.  

Samara's Notes: I thank both of them for their very timely reporting.  I congratulate Dan on a hard-fought victory and also offer kudos to Kumar for his fine effort.  Praport returns solely to the Advanced Division as he established himself as strictly being an "A" Division-level player when he cracked The Top 5 some years ago. 

 

I also concur with Dan that the Park Ave. Courts would be a great place for some GTA Weeknight Tennis action once again.  I have often noticed when driving by there (day or night) that hardly anyone plays there anymore.  I would be willing to host some sessions to revive the GTA scene there.

 

By no means should this be seen as competition for the Cedar Grove sessions.  Quite the contrary, I think the league is growing so big that we need to have concurrent sessions to give our players some options as Cedar Grove sometimes has a logjam situation.  Plus, many of our players reside in the Nutley/Lyndhurst area (and some even further east) and would find this spot to be more convenient.

 

We now turn this report over to Kris.

 

We knew beforehand that some players had already indicated that they would not be playing on this night.  One of them, Dan Martinelli (aka Spin) being our captivating host of recent times.  Also, Samara's presence impacts the turnout significantly and he also wasn't going to come.  By all means, a low turnout was in the cards.

 

When GTA Champion: Chris Chiaro showed interest and intent to play, an e-mail blast was sent out.  As it turns out, Chris did change his plans…but the message must have done wonders…for we would see a night with a solid GTA presence with non-stop jamming.

 

From occupying two courts at the outset of the evening, we got to enjoy the monopoly of all the courts halfway through the night.  The first part of the night was quite pleasant and enjoyable to play even though the temps did dip later.  There was plenty of spirited action, one-sided results, amazing plays and some disappointments as well.  It was all worth it and the atmosphere was charged with excitement, animated and enthusiastic action.

 

The Cedar Grove Results:

 

William Bobila/Fred Suba over Levy Lorenzo/Jorge Solano, 6-0!  No Aces.

 

William and Fred make for great doubles partners as they can play a teasing game.  With two earnest competitors playing against them, Fred and Will were relentless and thorough.  Jorge would exclaim at the end of the night that these two guys were "berry good, berry good."  Jorge and Levy were indeed outgunned and Levy would get his first bagel for the night.

 

Nathan Fernandes/Joe Rodrigues over Moka Pathan/Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-1!  No Aces.

 

Nate and Joe played a superior game and their attacking shots and placements never let Moka and Jordan settle into a rhythm.  Together, they played so well that it didn't look like Moka and Jordan had a shot for a comeback.  And they didn't for they were up against two guys who were simply on a roll.  Nate is well-known for his game, his gets, volleys and overhead "smackaroos," but Joe is probably the most underrated top player for when he has his serves going and his ground-strokes in attack mode, he can be deadly. 

 

Jorge Solano/Fred Suba over Levy Lorenzo/William Bobila, 6-2!  No Aces. 

 

Jorge was happy to separate the Bobila/Suba combo and, with Fred, he played an ecstatic game that reflected well upon the result.

 

Moka Pathan/Kris Srinivasan over Nathan Fernandes/Joe Rodrigues, 6-4!  No Aces.

 

Jordan stepped out to let me play against the winners of the earlier match.  I did get to see their earlier match as they stamped their authority.  So it was a good challenge for us and we started off well by winning the first game.  It was close for sometime and all the players were dishing out good stuff.  Moka was missing his shots in his previous match but, in our match, he was able to shake off his lethargy and (with some spine-chilling noise coming from his partner) he started firing on all cylinders.  The angles of some of his shots were so acute, that it was insane!  His backhand down-the-line shots started coming off proper as well.  Nate was still punishing in his own ways and Joe continued to play an attacking game (his reflex to a few missiles thrown at him were incredible!).  The pace of the game was so high that it drew errors on both sides.  We took the first solid lead going up 4-2, but I was broken after multiple Game Points.  It was even all the way through the entire match and the finish was wrought upon our opponents by Moka's handsome winners in the end game.  It was a tough match, indeed.  You don't get an easy win from Nate and Joe.

 

Moka Pathan/Kris Srinivasan over Levy Lorenzo/Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-0!  No Aces.

 

The winners got to play Levy and Jordan.  After an intense set that really kept us on our toes in every point, this was more relaxed and, with Moka finding his touch, he was ruthless to the hapless two chaps on the other side.  Levy would get to eat another bagel, but that would not dampen his spirits.

 

Senthil Kumar/Ryan Pienciak over Lou La Forgia/Mike Mole, 6-3!  No Aces.

 

It looked like a solid One-Setter with four good players.

 

Lou La Forgia/Senthil Kumar over Mike Mole/Ryan Pienciak, 6-3!  Mike: 1 Ace on Lou!

 

This was indeed a very fine match in which all the players sparkled.  Mike's serve was like a double-edged sword.  His kick serves were coming off nicely and some of them were unplayable.  But some Double Faults on his part and great returns from the other side turned the tables as he would lose twice on his serve after multiple Deuce games.  The break of serve in those two games made the difference upon the ultimate result.

 

Ryan Pienciak/Tito Castolo over Senthil Kumar/Kris Srinivasan, 6-0!  No Aces.

 

I was sitting for some 40 minutes and it was getting cold and chilly.  I thought of calling it a night, but stayed around to see the results.  We had 20 minutes left and I was still in a half-state of thaw.  A quick defrost might have helped, but that would happen only later after a warm shower.  It was a somewhat chaotic and rushed set that ended in less than 18 minutes…handing us a bagel and joining Levy's club for the night.  I was serving up 40-Love in the penultimate game only to give it away.

 

Don Moya/Janice Wang over Levy Lorenzo/Edwin Ortega, 6-3!  No Aces.

 

I asked Levy to team up with Don to play against Edwin and Janice to make it close, but he would join his Filipino compatriot instead to get another licking for the night.  His reaction at the end of the match: "Let's play one more!"  It was like he was playing in a casino...:-).  The more you lose, the more you want to play to make up for the loss...:-).  He would play one more and left for home with some "moolah" intact as his team was saved by the lights in the next match.

 

Don Moya/Janice Wang leading Levy Lorenzo/Edwin Ortega, 5-2 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

 

I did see some of the match.  Both Edwin and Levy played hard and their efforts were great, indeed.  Don and Janice make a solid pair and not an easy one to beat.  Levy rued on his winless night, but you've got to give it to the man's boundless spirit and enthusiasm.  So, he does have his wins!

 

Rajan Shah/Doinks Srinivasan over T.J. Shah/Dinesh Viswanathan, 6-3!  No Aces.  It was the official GTA Return of Dinesh Viswanathan.

 

It was a good match that saw consistent play from T.J. and Rajan.  So it was left to Doinks and Dinesh to have an effect on the ultimate result.  Doinks fared pretty well most of the time.  Dinesh had some good plays, but some of the errors were ill-timed and left his team holding the bag.

 

T.J. Shah/Dinesh Viswanathan over Rajan Shah/Doinks Srinivasan, 7-5!  No Aces.

 

It was a good showing by T.J. and Dinesh in this set that had an effect on their opponents who made more errors.  Nevertheless, it was a close and intense match with an exciting finish.

 

Joe Rodrigues/Tito Castolo over Nathan Fernandes/Laurie Boughton, 6-3!  No Aces.

 

Nate was nice to sit out earlier in the evening to allow me to play.  He was again the "go-to person" to play against tough opponents.  He was gracious to team up with Laurie to play against Tito and Joe.  Laurie goes great with long and deep rallies.  Tito can be a tricky fellow with guided drop shots and sneak attacks.  So it was also tough for an already tired Nate to be all over the court. 

 

Laurie probably got a raw deal as she couldn't play another set with Nate and Joe departing.  We were one short and had only 22 minutes left.  She instead got to hit a bit with Doinks and Dinesh.

 

Rajan Shah/T.J. Shah leading Lou La Forgia/Mike Mole, 4-3 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

 

This was one of the last matches that never got to finish with the lights going out at 10pm.  It turned out to be a close match.

 

All in all, it was a very busy night of GTA Tennis that saw plenty of passionate play.  We could have tweaked some of the combinations of players, but the desire for continuity of play ends up in a crap shoot at times.  Cheers!

 

Samara's Notes: As always, thanks to Kris for all he does for the GTA up at Cedar Grove.  Tennis is his passion and it shows!  Kudos!

 

All the best,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

862-596-3354

 

 

 

5/10 Results.

5/10/17:               

"Santos-Ortega in Wayne, 2 at AP, Phoenix-La in Nutley, Spin hosts 16 (1 new) at C.G.!":                               

There were four sessions of GTA Wednesday Tennis: a morning one that went into the early afternoon at The Nellis Drive Courts in Wayne (featuring a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match between "Stealth" Omar Santos and "Eddie O" Edwin Ortega, as reported by Edwin), a late afternoon/early evening one at the Albion Park Courts in Clifton (as reported by "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan), an evening session at The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley (featuring a GTA Intermediate Invitational Round of 16 Match between Jay "The Rising" Phoenix and "The Hitman" Tom La, as reported by Jay) and then the usual evening session at The Cedar Grove Courts hosted by "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli (with an assist from usual host, "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan and also "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes along the way).

So this report will flow in that order.  We first go to Edwin's recap from Wayne.

The Nellis Drive Result:

 

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:

Edwin Ortega over Omar Santos, 7-6 (8-6), 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), to become both the New # 22 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division and the New # 6 Ranked Player in the Intermediate Division!  Edwin: 2 Aces; and Omar: 1 Ace!

The Eddie O Memo: We played at The Nellis Drive Courts in Wayne from 9:45am to 12:15pm.  It was a long match with the two Tiebreaks, but also plenty of Deuce games.  In the 3rd Set, I was down 3-5 and serving to stay in the match.  If Omar had been able to break me, he would have won it.  Instead, I was able to come back and force that second TB.

Samara's Notes: I thank Edwin for his very timely reporting...just a little over an hour after the match via text.  I congratulate him on a hard-fought victory and also offer kudos to Omar for his fine effort.  At least for now, this is the match to beat for Intermediate Match of The Year at season's end.

 

We now go to Gen for her notes from Albion Park.

 

The Albion Park Result:

 

Mike Mole over Genalin Capan, 6-4!  No Aces.

 

Gen's Notes: We played this from 4:30 to 5:10, but we first started hitting around 3:30.  It was a pretty good One-Setter considering the last time Mike and I hit was probably sometime in March.  During this One-Setter, Dino Celis and Jen Elgart had a practice session on Center Court.  We waited until 6pm for Christine Toth, but she never arrived.

 

Samara's Notes: I thank Gen for her timely reporting as well…much like Edwin, via text and soon after it all ended.  What they did not know is that Christine sent an e-mail to Jen (not Gen…LOL!) at 4:50 which explained she had an emergency situation at work and would be unable to make it (she copied me on this). 

 

We now go to Jay's recap from Nutley.

 

The Park Ave. Result:

 

GTA Intermediate Invitational Round of 16 Match:

Jay Phoenix over Tom La, 1-6, 6-3, 6-0 (via forfeit of entire last set), to both successfully defend his # 20 Rank in the Advanced Division and his # 4 Rank in the Intermediate Division plus advance to the Quarterfinals of the GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament!  Tom: 1 Ace in the 2^nd Set.

 

Jay has his say: We played from 5:30 to 7pm at The Park Avenue Courts in Nutley.  After the 2nd Set, he retired due to a leg injury (a calf problem) and he insisted that I take the match. 

 

I was not happy winning this way because he had won the majority of the games and I knew he was the better player based on our history of playing against one another over the last five years.  I have never beaten him before.  Nevertheless, I will accept the forfeit.

 

Samara's Notes: It is a tough way to win and I appreciate the fact that Jay was willing to give Tom the chance to continue the match at a later date.  But if that is Tom's will, then that is the way it should be.  I know he has had a history of injuries and other issues…which is why he has been somewhat hesitant to get involved in full 2 out of 3 Sets Singles Matches in the past.  I also thank Jay for his timely reporting of this result.

 

The Consequences: Phoenix now advances to the Quarters where he will face "The A-Bomb" Andrew Truong.

 

We now turn this report over to the man known as Spin.

 

Upon my 8pm arrival, the Cedar Grove Courts were already laced with the GTA faithful doing battle on three of the four courts.  One court was to be occupied by two interlopers playing singles for the entire Wednesday night stanza.  

 

It turned out to be a non-factor on this eve because the turnout was only moderate.  However, the action was intense even though the attendance was a little lower than normal.  It was surprisingly cool out which may have kept the numbers down.  It was more like late March than early May.

 

The Cedar Grove Results: 

 

First, the scores via Kris:

 

The K has his say: When I made my grand entrance, two doubles matches were already in progress.  I hit with two non-GTA players and then Mike Kazlauskas arrived.

 

Jordan Bachvaroff/Brenda Jordan over Kathy Sheldon/Dawn Peterson, 7-6 (7-1)!  No Aces.

 

Kris Srinivasan/Natalie Guzman over Tito Castolo/Aaron Goldberg, 7-5!  No Aces.  It was the official GTA Debut of Aaron Goldberg.

 

Tito Castolo/Aaron Goldberg over Kris Srinivasan/Natalie Guzman, 6-4!  No Aces.

 

Tito Castolo/Aaron Goldberg leading Kris Srinivasan/Natalie Guzman, 4-4 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  Kris: 1 Ace on Aaron; and Natalie: 1 Ace on Aaron!

 

The K has his say: Aaron was swinging freely, using his baseball skills to strike the ball.  He had quite a few attractive shots.  Natalie's efforts were phenomenal and she played great.  Tito was his usual wicked self.  It turned out to be a fun session. Cheers!

 

Dennis Cabanatan/Doinks Srinivasan over Dan Martinelli/Syed Rashid, 7-5!  No Aces.

 

Dan Martinelli/Syed Rashid over Dennis Cabanatan/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-4!  No Aces.

 

The Spin from Spin: Oh how cocky Syed and I became in the first One-Setter.  Up 4-1 and rolling, it looked like Doinks and Dennis were going to go down in a ball of flames.  On the changeover and down 1-4, Doinks said to Dennis, "It's time for a comeback!"  Doinks has powers!  A spark was ignited and it was Syed and Spin crumbling and Doinks and Dennis pouncing.  We were like hapless gazelles on the Serengeti dropping the set at 7-5!

 

The second One-Setter was more of the same as we again went up 4-1.  What's up with going up 4-1 only to watch helplessly as Doinks and Dennis again stormed back to knot the score at 4-4?!?!  Deja' vu!!!  With Syed and Spin up 5-4 and Doinks serving on Match Point, Doinks took pity on the hapless lads and Double Faulted us to victory.  It was a fun match and Doinks and Dennis were great opponents. 

 

And now for scores via Nate (that Kris had also sent):

 

Nathan Fernandes/Mike Kazlauskas over Raj Tailor/Syed Rashid, 6-0!  Mike: 2 Aces on Syed; and Syed: 1 Ace on Mike!

 

The K has his say: A bagel was served to Syed and Raj without the cream cheese!

 

Nathan Fernandes/Raj Tailor over Mike Kazlauskas/Kris Srinivasan, 6-2!  No Aces.

 

Lou La Forgia/Jordan Bachvaroff over Nathan Fernandes/Mike Kazlauskas, 6-2!  No Aces.

 

Nathan Fernandes/Mike Kazlauskas over Lou La Forgia/Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-4!  No Aces.

 

Lou La Forgia/Jordan Bachvaroff leading Nathan Fernandes/Mike Kazlauskas, 5-3 (and 30-All, but Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!

 

It's a shame this one didn't get done as it was originally intended to be a full 2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match!

 

As mentioned before, it was a bit chilly…but the action was fast and furious.  Dino stopped by late for a cameo (again, with phone in hand which it seems he cannot put down!).  Lou made it through the night without snapping any strings.  Maybe he was a tad tired from last night!

Samara's Notes: Once again, I thank the Doc for doing the hosting duties…and also his colorful reports!

Samara signing off! 

 

5/9 Results.

5/9/17:               

"Spin hosts 17 at C.G.!":                               

GTA Tuesday Night Tennis at The Cedar Grove Courts once again turned out to be better than expected, even though the weather throughout the day was fairly good this time around.  The GTA also had to contend with the return of The Pickle Ballers on Tuesday nights (occupying all four courts until 7:30)! 

We now turn this report over to Cedar Grove's "other host with the most": "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli (with an assist from usual host, "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan, along the way).

After a day of worry and pulling weeds, an evening of GTA Tennis would be just what the doctor ordered.  An early evening e-mail from Kris was a welcome sight. 

However, Kris's famous "Flash Alert" e-mail carried some bad news as well.  The "clickity clack, clickity clack" of The Pickle Ballers would once again fill the air at Cedar Grove.  Yes, those pesky pickles are back in town bringing that annoying sound of plastic being struck by wooden paddles!  However, there is a ray of light with those PB'ers…they dabble only in Pickle Ball and do not stick around to play tennis.  

 

I arrived at 7:30 to see a GTA contingent of 8 or so strong amassing on the sidelines ready to invade.  My timing was perfect as The Pickle Heads were finished and were already pulling up the tape they use to down-size the playing area and were ready to head home.  

 

We then stormed the Bastille and, at my suggestion, I asked that we occupy as many courts as possible to quell any hostile takeovers.  We were able to commandeer 3 courts and, five minutes later, Janice Wang and Don Moya arrived to take the fourth court.  

 

As it would turn out, occupation was unnecessary as everyone who came to play was of GTA pedigree.  Dino Celis would arrive as a late cameo sans crutches.  He did sport a brand new phone, the Samsung Galaxy 8+.  Several months ago we had a conversation in which I stated the Windows format is almost dead in the US.  He retorted, "I'll always have my Windows Phone!"  Samsung is an android phone.  Nuf said!!!

 

Now we go to the scores and comments.

 

The Cedar Grove Results:

 

William Bobila/Fred Suba over Dan Martinelli/Ralph Bernard, 6-4!  No Aces. 

 

The Spin from Spin: As well as Ralph and Spin played, William and Fred played better.  They both get to just about everything and their serving (first and second serves) is well-placed and strong.  For a 6-4 score, this set took a long time to complete.  William and Fred would make a fine Men's Doubles Team.

 

Samara's Notes: They have already told me their desire to be in the upcoming M2 Men's Doubles Tournament (they have pre-registered, I guess you can say).  I hold off officially announcing it until we move further along with the ongoing GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament.  We will also soon start the MXD2 Mixed Doubles Tournament, but again…we need the ongoing W2 Women's Doubles Tournament to come closer to conclusion first.  And now we go back to Spin.

 

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

 

Don Moya/Janice Wang over Nathan Fernandes/Brenda Jordan, 7-5!  No Aces.

 

The Spin from Spin: These two sets consumed a lot of time.  They started around 7:45 and it would be the only sets they would play.  The first One-Setter's score was deceiving as many times we overheard Brenda say to Nate, "That was my fault, Nate, my fault."  One would think they lost this set.  With the final result of the second contest, maybe Brenda should have kept on saying it.

 

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Chris Chiaro/Joe Rodrigues over Jose Gonzales/Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-2, 7-5, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 54 and # 55 Ranked Teams respectively!  No Aces.

 

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Lou La Forgia/Ryan Pienciak over Kris Srinivasan/Tito Castolo, 6-3, 6-4, to successfully defend their # 37 Rank in the Doubles Division!  In the process, Srinivasan/Castolo entered the division as the New # 56 Ranked Team.  No Aces.

 

The Say from The K: Tito and Kris were up 3-0 in the 2nd Set, only to see that lead evaporate.  They were up again 4-3, but some silly miscues and greater concentration from Lou and Ryan sealed the deal.

 

Anish Mehta over Ralph Bernard, 6-4!  No Aces.

 

Nathan Fernandes/Tito Castolo over Lou La Forgia/Ryan Pienciak, 6-1!  No Aces.  

 

Chris Chiaro tied with Anish Mehta, 5-5 (Incomplete went the lights went out at 10pm)!  Anish: 1 Ace.

 

The Spin from Spin: This incomplete One-Setter will be known as the "Saved by the Bell" set.  Billed as a battle between # 1 and # 2, it lived up to the hype.  With time running out and Chris up 5-3, he could have put Anish away.  Maybe it was a case of Chris getting too eager to "get 'er done" or maybe it was Anish upping his game to avoid the loss…but with Chris dropping both games 9 and 10, he was certainly on the ropes when the lights went out.

 

Samara's Notes: I hope this is a preview of Chiaro's next GTA Championship defense as Mehta is now the Top Contender.  We now go back to Spin for his final thoughts (much like Jerry Springer's…LOL!).

 

It was a great night for GTA Tennis.  As the temps cooled, the action got hotter.  A lot of stars from the GTA came out tonight and they were smacking the tennis balls with power and accuracy.  Lou may have set the new standard in power tennis by snapping strings on two different racquets on this night.  

 

On the lighter side, Kris, Spin, Nate, Dino, Janice and Don had a fun conversation that lasted until 10:44!  Kris had to leave that conversation early only to return to recover someone's hat (Fred Suba's).  Kris informed us that he called Nate and Dino, but neither took the call.  So Kris had to return.  The question begs: Is it better not to have a phone or to have one and not answer it???

Samara's Notes: I got a call from Fred (while I was at home) to ask me to follow up on his missing cap.  I then sent text messages to both Kris and Spin as I figured at least one of them might be there hosting.  Thanks to Spin for acting as host and providing us with this very comprehensive report.    

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

862-596-3354