BY SHAWN LAYTON
Staff Writer
FARRAH MAFFAI staff Junior Chris Bosoy is among the players helping the St. Joseph’s tennis team enjoy success on the hardcourts this spring and advanced to the finals of the recent GMC Tournament before falling.
METUCHEN — A trio of St. Joseph High School tennis players enjoyed successful runs at the Greater Middlesex Conference Flight Tournament this week.
Junior Christian Bosoy fought his way to the semifinals before falling in the consolation match at No. 2 singles.
"Christian played a smart tournament, and he showed a lot of patience," St. Joseph head coach Dan San Jose said. "He changed his game up a bit and, instead of relying on his big serve and coming to the net, he rallied and came to the net at the right times. He is really persistent, and he can be down love-two or love-three and really turn up his game."
Also seeing action in the semifinals and coming up short in the consolation match was the first doubles team of juniors Brian Bennett and Panos Tzetzos.
"Brian and Panos are playing smart tennis," San Jose said. "They always play one-up and one-down, and utilize the lob. Bennett is like a wall with great touch and Panos is the power guy of the duo."
Unfortunately, for the Falcons and the rest of the GMC, East Brunswick is its usual self this year, which means another team title and top honors in four out of five individual awards. The Bears are ranked second in the state, and only Old Bridge’s Jashal Patel kept them from winning all five flights. Patel was victorious at No. 3 singles.
Earlier in the week, the Falcons handed Edison a 3-2 loss in which No. 1 singles player Anthony Tunnero led the team with a 6-1, 6-2 win. Tzetsos and Bennett won in straight sets, and Bosoy went three sets before securing the win.
"Christian has been hitting a tremendous backhand," San Jose said. "I am glad he has so much energy to win the three set matches."
On Thursday, the Falcons were too much for Middlesex and cruised to a 4-1 win. Tunnero collected a pair of goose eggs, winning 6-0, 6-0, and Bosoy was tested early but finished strong, winning 7-5, 6-1. No. 3 singles player Scott Taylor also won in straight sets, 6-0, 6-4, and Bennett and Tzetsos cruised, 6-0, 6-0.
The team finished the week with a 3-2 victory over a tough Piscataway team. Tunnero rolled 6-1, 6-0, and Bosoy needed three sets to dispose of his opponent 3-6, 6-3 and 6-1. The second doubles team of freshman Hani Mayassi and sophomore Greg Fatianow secured the win with a 6-1, 7-5 win.
With the successful week, the Falcons earned a chance to compete for a state title as the team posted enough wins for eligibility. The state tournament matches are scheduled to begin at the end of the week.
For the Falcons, it is their first time in the states since the 2000 season.
"We don’t know who we’re playing yet," San Jose said. "Hopefully, we can play better than our opponent and advance to the next round. There are some pretty tough teams, but we will have to see who made it into the state tournament."