South prepares for Hammer time

By: Ken Weingartner
   The South Brunswick boys’ tennis team is ready to bring out the Hammer. Sean Hammer, that is.
   After missing the first couple weeks of the season because of a wrist injury, Hammer is expected to soon return to the Vikings’ lineup. Coach Nancy McDonald said Hammer will look to play his way back into the third singles spot he occupied last season, when he went 17-5 and placed third in the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament. Andrew Tsang has played third singles during Hammer’s absence and went 3-3 in SB’s first six matches.
   "Sean has been cleared to play, even though he’s got a little tendinitis in the wrist," McDonald said. "It might be one of those chronic things that he’ll just have to play through. Andrew has been doing very well at third singles for us. He’s really held his own. Whoever ends up at third singles, they’re going to be an asset there. But we’re looking forward to getting Sean back in the lineup. That should give us more strength in doubles as we get ready for GMCs and states."
   South Brunswick was 3-3 after a 4-1 win over Piscataway Tuesday. Shangril Shah (5-0) continued his strong play at first singles with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Samil Patel while Steven Yu and Tsang both won their singles matches by 6-1, 6-1 scores. The first doubles team of Paul Cooper and Shishir Sharma improved to 2-3 this season by winning in straight sets.
   On Monday, the Vikings lost 4-1 to GMC Red Division stalwart East Brunswick. Shah picked up SB’s lone point with a straight set win over Ross Cohn, who usually plays second singles for the Bears.
   "I think EB is going to be the team to beat," McDonald said. "They’re very strong from first singles through second doubles. I don’t see anyone knocking them off."
   Shah was denied a match against East Brunswick’s two-time GMC champ Vivek Subramanian, but the two most likely will meet in the finals of this year’s GMCT at the end of the month.
   "Shangril hasn’t really been challenged yet," McDonald said. "Subramanian will be the No. 1 seed for the GMCs, based on being the returning champion, and I think Shangril will be the No. 2 at that position. It should make for an interesting GMC Tournament."
   Last week, South Brunswick won 5-0 over Woodbridge. Yu played first singles, and notched a three-set triumph over Shane Jeglinski, while Tsang won in three sets at second singles and Mashuk Billah had a straight set win at third. Cooper and Sharma won at first doubles while Jon Eddy and Nikhil Devulapalli won at second doubles.
   With her lineup returning to full strength, the main concern now for McDonald is the weather. Not only could it be a factor in preparing for the GMCT, but also in trying to reach the state team tournament.
   "For us being 3-3 at this point, trying to qualify for states is a concern," McDonald said. "That’s a concern for all the teams. I don’t think it should be a problem, but we’re hoping that things go our way. You’d hate to get a bunch of rainouts and come up short for qualifying at 3-4 or something."