The Monroe High School girls’ tennis team completed the fall campaign with a 12-8 record and will lose just one player to graduation.
That player, captain Christina Venetucci, will be missed. The senior held down the second singles spot and played a key role in the team’s turnaround from an 8-8 record last fall, according to Coach Trudy Marmorek.
Venetucci was 18-2 overall, losing only to Colonia and Woodbridge.
"Christina is our leader on and off the courts," Marmorek said. "She is also a very talented player. I always counted on her to come through when the matches were 2-2, and we won a lot of 3-2 matches this year."
Although Venetucci will be missed, Monroe will have six starters back including sophomores Kristen Jandola and Kaitlyn Schobert.
Jandola, a quick player who seems to return almost every shot, won 15 matches at first singles.
She entered this season off an impressive freshman campaign, and should continue to improve as she matures over the next two seasons. In addition, her presence and experience should help her younger teammates as they develop.
Playing third singles, Schobert overcame a difficult start and went on to win nine matches. She will likely move to second singles next year.
The first doubles pairing of juniors Meredith Blumenstock and Leah Solebello ended up at .500, while freshman Lorin Mordecai and sophomore Kristina Cuesta continually improved in the second doubles spot. Blumenstock and Solebello are both candidates for the third singles post.
In addition, Marmorek noted that sophomore Kim Gobac, a good all-around athlete, is coming on as a tennis player, and freshman Ashley Widmer has much potential.
Marmorek, who just completed her seventh season as the Falcons’ coach, is encouraged by the progress her team made this season, and is optimistic that the Monroe program will continue to grow in coming seasons.
"We’re very encouraged by this year’s performance and we ended the season on a high note," Marmorek said. "Our team qualified for the state tournament and we did well [11-5] in the [Greater Middlesex Conference] Gold Division. Hopefully, we’ll be even better next year."
The Falcons will have to recover from the loss of Venetucci; however, this year provided the team with the experience that can help a young team develop into a contender for years to come.