Boys tennis
By: Jim Green
Aaron Naar, the Lawrence High School tennis team’s new first singles player, through two matches has displayed the heart and skill that should make him a solid replacement at the top of the Cardinal lineup.
Naar, a junior who had some experience last season at second singles, has taken over the top spot from the departed Marc Nichols, who transferred to Princeton last summer. Although Naar faces more modest expectations than Nichols, he appears to be developing into an above-average first singles player.
In his first match, Naar fought off Nottingham’s Brandon Breza 6-4, 6-1, as the Cardinals cruised to a 5-0 win Wednesday at Veterans Park. He pulled out a 2-6, 6-0, 6-4 win over Ewing’s Matt Konkle two days later as Lawrence defeated the Blue Devils 5-0.
"He (Naar) has improved a great deal," Lawrence coach Pat Tarrant said. "He’s capable of playing some outstanding tennis."
While Naar helped the Cardinals (2-0 overall, 2-0 in the Colonial Valley Conference) defeat two inferior opponents, his greatest gain has been experience at first singles.
"This year, he’s going to get some experience," Tarrant said. "He’s got the game to get some big wins at one. There’s no time off at one."
That was clear in both matches, as Naar faced competitive battles even as his team was winning easily.
His match with Breza was easily the toughest the Cardinals had against Nottingham. Senior second singles player Josh Margolis, who played third singles last season, dominated the Northstars’ Dan Sosinski 6-0, 6-0. Raj Kapoor, a junior with doubles experience, won his first third singles match 6-1, 6-0 over Richard Miller.
Seniors Chad Ham and Vishal Suvagiya teamed to win 6-0, 6-1 over Phil Vetter and Anthony Neuls at first doubles. Freshmen Travis McGouhan and John Stracquantanio notched their first career wins by defeating Chris Manaois and Evan Faundez 6-0, 6-3.
The Cardinals were supposed to open their season Tuesday against a solid Hopewell Valley squad, but that match was postponed due to rain. Lawrence instead opened against the Northstars, who went 5-12 last year.
"They (the Northstars) are a young team and we’re an experienced team," Tarrant said. "They’re getting better, but we’re still a couple of notches ahead of them.
"It’s tough to say where we’re at with that match."
Lawrence then took on another young and improving squad in Ewing. The Blue Devils, who won two matches last year, were coming off a 5-0 victory over lowly Trenton.
Poor weather conditions seemed to hamper the Cardinals early in the match, particularly at first and second singles. Naar and Margolis both lost their first sets before coming back to win. Margolis defeated the Blue Devils’ Frank Wyckoff 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
"The forecast was supposed to be 60 degrees," Tarrant said. "By the end of the match, it was 40. It was tough for both teams.
"Our top two singles guys were rushing things. They got behind and came back for good wins."
Kapoor notched his second straight-sets victory with a 6-3, 6-4 decision over Tom Nelson. Ham and Suvagiya also moved to 2-0 on the year by beating Brian Lane and Ryan Mancino 6-1, 7-5.
Seniors Arpan Bhattacharya and Brian Thaler moved into the lineup at second doubles and defeated Jeremy Arulmohan and Joe Capriglione 6-1, 6-2.
"The seniors did a nice job on Friday," Tarrant said. "Second doubles was difficult (to settle). They’ll challenge again.
"I wouldn’t be surprised if they (McGouhan and Stracquantanio) ended up back at second doubles. They had a very close challenge match the other day. It went three sets, and it was 6-4 each set."
The Cardinals’ competitiveness at second doubles is indicative of the team’s overall depth. That depth should help Lawrence post another strong season despite losing its best player to a rival school.
"I like our team," Tarrant said. "I like what we’ve seen so far, and I think we’ll keep improving through the year.
"It’s a good group, and we should be very competitive."

