Boys tennis
By: Jim Green
A high school boys tennis team losing its state tournament first-round match 3-2 on the road hardly can be called a disappointment.
That was the case for 10th-seeded Lawrence, which fell to seventh-seeded Ridge on Friday in the first round of the Central Jersey Group III section at Copper Springs Health and Tennis Club.
"It was a good match, real tough," Lawrence coach Pat Tarrant said. "I thought our guys played well. They (the Ridge Red Devils) might have been a little better."
The match, originally scheduled for Thursday but rained out, was moved to the indoor facilities of Copper Springs on Friday. It was the first time the Cardinals played indoors since at least 1990, when Tarrant first became an assistant coach at Lawrence.
"I think the guys enjoyed it (playing indoors)," Tarrant said.
The Cardinals’ enthusiasm showed through in their play, as they came up with their most inspired performance of the year. Junior Aaron Narr and senior Josh Margolis led the way, posting wins at first and second singles, respectively. Narr defeated Ridge’s Jake Cutler 6-3, 6-3, while Margolis topped the Red Devils’ Dave Laffey 6-2, 6-2.
Normally the Cardinals, who rely on depth, would be thrilled to receive wins at first and second singles in a state tournament match. Unfortunately for Lawrence, though, the bottom three spots of the lineup are Ridge’s strength.
"The Ridge coach said they normally lose at first and second singles," Tarrant said. "The bottom part of their lineup is very strong. They have good depth."
Lawrence put up a strong fight in two of the bottom three matches. The Cardinals first doubles team of seniors Chad Ham and Vishal Suvagiya won the first set of their match 6-4 before dropping the last two 6-2, 6-2. Junior Raj Kapoor lost his third singles match 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) to Ridge’s Brandon Liebeskand.
"Raj (Kapoor) lost a very tight match," Tarrant said. "He’s playing very well."
The only part of the Lawrence lineup that struggled to put up a fight was second doubles, where senior Arpan Bhattacharya and freshman Travis McGouhan lost a 6-1, 6-1 decision. Tarrant, though, was pleased with the effort of his entire team.
"We had a real good shot," he said. "It was a very good match. Everybody played well."
The second doubles team responded Monday with a strong effort against Peddie at LHS. Bhattacharya and McGouhan dropped a three-set decision as the Cardinals lost their third straight match 4-1 to a solid Peddie squad. The Cardinals (7-6) braved harsh winds and foreboding skies to push three matches to three sets against the prep school.
"We can play in the wind," Tarrant said. "You just have to go out and play."
After the teams grew accustomed to the conditions, the two sides settled in for an entertaining match.
"Both teams seemed fine once they started playing," Tarrant said. "Both teams played pretty well."
Ham and Suvagiya bounced back from their three-set loss in the state tournament to post a 0-6, 6-2, 6-1 win over Peddie’s Iyan Bhattachaya and Todd Roffman.
Kapoor continued his strong play in a 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 loss to Peddie’s Josh McGuiness.
Bhattacharya and McGouhan, meanwhile, lost their first set 6-1 before fighting back to take the second 7-5. The Peddie second doubles team of Brian Wong and Derrick Guneratne proved too strong, though, taking the third set 6-4.
Tarrant was pleased with the way Bhattacharya and McGouhan rebounded from their state-tournament defeat.
"Second doubles came back and lost a very good match," he said.
The Cardinals then topped Hamilton 5-0 Tuesday. Kapoor moved up to first singles and defeated the Hornets’ Will Dizon 6-3, 6-1.
Senior Brian Thaler played second singles, winning 6-4, 6-3 over Richard Miktus, while Bhattacharya notched a 6-2, 6-1 win over Andre Lee at third singles.
Freshmen John Stracquantanio and Travis McGouhan teamed to win at first doubles. Danny Mejia and Jason Wilcox filled in at second doubles and recorded a 6-1, 6-1 victory.
Lawrence, which played Steinert on Wednesday, will look to continue their season-ending push when they face a strong Hopewell Valley squad at 3:45 p.m. today at LHS. Lawrence also has matches with Notre Dame and West Windsor-Plainsboro South remaining on its schedule.
Even though the Cardinals have been eliminated from the state tournament, Tarrant expects his team will continue to be focused as the season winds down.
"We have some big matches left," he said. "You want to have the best record you can. I don’t sense that our guys are going to drop off at all."

