Close victories the key to South Brunswick tennis winning streak

By: Rich Fisher
   If two straight losses to East Brunswick had any negative effect on the South Brunswick High tennis team, you would never know it.
   Since losing to EB in a regular-season match and a state tournament match Oct. 10-11, the Vikings reeled off five straight victories to raise their record to 11-6. South was trying to schedule a match with Bishop Ahr this week, but if it can not be done, the season has come to a successful close.
   "It’s very important to have a strong finish," coach Barbara Whitman said. "Everything is relative, though. We’re glad we had a strong finish, we’re happy with it, but the most important thing is that we’re having a good time and we’re getting better.
   "This streak should give us a lot of confidence for next year and a lot of motivation. I think they’ll be playing all winter. A lot of them have been taking lessons now, they’re a highly motivated team. But we still keep it in perspective."
   Meaning what?
   "Well, even if we weren’t winning, we would be enjoying this season because the girls are having fun and it’s a meaningful experience," Whitman said. "We would still be a tight-knit team, we’d still try to be getting better. Winning isn’t everything. Whether we’re winning or losing, we want it to be meaningful."
   Of course, it’s always a little nicer to be winning, as the Vikings have found out during the past week. Last Wednesday, they took a 4-1 victory over Piscataway, followed by a 3-2 win over Old Bridge on Thursday, and a 3-2 win over Piscataway this past Monday.
   In all three matches, third singles player Kareisha Questel and the first and second doubles teams of Kirthika Sutharanam-Megha Parikh and Brittany McMurren-Nitra Prasad came up victorious. In the 4-1 win over Piscataway, first singles Kalpana Sampale was also a winner.
   As witnessed by the two 3-2 matches, one of the trademarks of South Brunswick this season has been the ability to pull our close matches.
   Against Old Bridge, the contest was tied 2-2 with Sutharanam-Parikh still playing against Rachel Lefkowitz-Sam Mushnick. The Viking duo had lost the first set 5-7,l the came back for 6-3, 6-2 wins. In Monday’s win over Piscataway, Questel was playing the deciding match against Josephina See, and came up with a 6-3, 6-2 victory.
   "She was really focused out there," Whitman said of Questel. "She knew it was all on her and she stayed focused the whole time.
   "In all the close situations we always come through. We’re able to handle the tight spots and that’s what makes champions. When you come into the tight spots, you have to make happen what you want to make happen. That’s how Chris Everet always won. In a tight match she always was the winner."
   And these days, so is South Brunswick.
   SECOND SERVES: Although the varsity season may or may not be over, the JV tournament is this weekend. "I hope the varsity players come out and support the JV girls, just like the JV came out and supported the varsity all season," Whitman said.