Bulldogs impress in states

Boys tennis

By: Jim Green
   The Hopewell Valley Central High School boys tennis team is now 2-for-2 when it comes to its season goals.
   The Bulldogs’ first goal was to have someone reach the second day of the Mercer County Tournament. Freshman second singles player Matt McGranaghan, who reached the semifinals of the tournament, took care of that in late April. The Bulldogs’ second goal was to have a solid showing in the state tournament.
   Did they ever.
   The sixth-seeded Bulldogs cruised past 11th-seeded Monroe 5-0 Monday in the first round of the Central Jersey Group II sectional tournament at Timberlane. Hopewell Valley won each of the five flights in straight sets, easily its most impressive performance of the year.
   They then fell to third-seeded Manasquan 3-2 Thursday, narrowly missing a trip to the sectional semifinals.
   Hopewell Valley (6-5), which sneaked into the state tournament with a tough win over Notre Dame in its last match before the tournament’s cutoff date, is playing its best tennis of the year at the right time.
   "Our goal was to get into the state tournament and win one match," Hopewell Valley coach Tony Suozzo said. "I’m happy we made it to the state tournament and got to the second round."
   Hopewell Valley has a powerful 1-2 punch at the top of its lineup to thank for its season-ending run. Senior first singles player Adam Friedland has led the way the entire season, and against Monroe he again set pace for the Bulldogs. Friedland moved his record to 8-4 with a dominant 6-0, 6-1 win over Monroe’s Frank Senatore.
   McGranaghan, who has been nearly as consistent as Friedland, improved to 10-4 with a 6-1, 6-1 win at second singles.
   "The last week or so, Adam (Friedland) and Matt (McGranaghan) have paced the team," Suozzo said. "They’re real focused and real consistent, and that filters down to the rest of the team."
   And the rest of the team played against Monroe the way Friedland and McGranaghan have all year.
   Junior David Rose won his third singles match 6-1, 6-1 over John Roman. The Bulldogs first doubles squad of senior Marc-Andre Basile and junior Eric Fengler defeated Matt Sweeney and Chris Worman 6-0, 6-2. And the second doubles pair of sophomore Dan Spencer and junior Will Fassbender topped the Falcons’ Justin Bauman and Ken Stanley 6-2, 6-1.
   The match against Monroe was originally slated to begin at 3:45 p.m., but was moved up to 2:30 p.m. because of unfavorable weather forecasts. While they were able to get the match in, the Bulldogs still had to fight through harsh winds and cloudy skies.
   "The weather conditions weren’t ideal," Suozzo said. "We were lucky to get through it."
   Hopewell Valley’s problem in the second round wasn’t the weather; it was the match-up.
   Manasquan, like Hopewell, is strongest at the top of its lineup. Friedland and McGranghan both were defeated, while Rose and the Bulldogs first doubles team came up with wins.
   Dan Spencer and Rohit Singh, who took over at second doubles, played a tough match but fell 6-4, 6-1, as the Bulldogs were denied the upset.
   "Their (Manasquan’s) No. 1 player is ranked eighth in the state," Suozzo said. "The two area they’re strongest at are the two areas we’re strongest at. Most matches we go into, we get at least one point out of the top two spots."
   Although the Bulldogs have seen their state-tournament run come to an end, they still have plenty of tennis left to play. There are four matches remaining on the Hopewell Valley schedule, beginning with a trip to face a tough Lawrence team at 3:45 p.m. today.