Knights face Hightstown in states today
By: Justin Feil
Wayne Jenq admits to being frustrated at points during this boys’ tennis season.
After going 11-6 at first singles for West Windsor-Plainsboro North last year, Jenq has put together a similar record this season.
"This year, I felt a lot more pressure to perform than last year," said the Knight junior. "Last year, there was no pressure to perform well. Now there’s pressure to live up to those expectations. Last year, I had nothing to lose. I just played as hard as I could. It would matter to the team, but I had nothing else to lose.
"I’ve been frustrated in my matches this year. It’s hard to live up to those expecations."
Nothing was more frustrating to Jenq than a 5-0 loss to Hightstown three weeks ago. But Jenq and the Knights have another shot at the Rams when they play at Hightstown 4 p.m. today in the Central Jersey Group III opener.
"It’s a revenge thing," Jenq said. "We recently won a close match against Hopewell Valley. That got us pumped up for it. We’re going into it focused. We won’t get sidetracked on other things. Our focus is just to win."
Jenq’s first priority is to take care of the first singles point that he lost, 6-4, 6-3, to the Rams’ Ben Harms.
"It was actually not him," Jenq said. "I beat myself. I made all the unforced errors. He would put the ball back in play and I would make an error and get angry with myself.
"I think it was during the match that I started to realize what was happening. I was done by so much I couldn’t get back in the game."
This time, the Knights come in with a focused approach to Hightstown, a team that plays smart and tries to force its opponents into errors.
"I like everyone’s chances," said WW-PN head coach Albert Paulsson, whose team is 10-4. "It’s a different style of play that we have to adjust to. Hightstown is a competitive team and they play a different style. If we can adjust to their style, everyone stands a good chance of winning the second time around.
"They got everything back. Our guys would think they put a shot away and it’s coming back. They test your patience. Our guys got a little frustrated. They got a little anxious."
Practice on Friday was dedicated to addressing the Hightstown style and it went well, according to Paulsson.
The rematch with the No. 3 seed Hightstown not only means another chance for No. 6 seed WW-P North, but it provides the only chance to the semifinals of the CJ III state tournament. The Knights reached the second round last year.
"It’s a lot different," Jenq said. "In addition to getting back at them, our motivation and intensity will be a lot higher. We have to win to advance in states. Our mindset is to focus and win.
"I believe we should just start off where we ended last year and try to advance farther. I think it’s a must-win for us."
The Knights are still trying to take the jump to the next level. In their fourth season, Jenq’s third on varsity, the North boys are starting to pull together at the end of the year.
"I think we’ve had a pretty good year," Jenq said. "It’s not tremendously better than last year, but I think we’ve grown into more of a team. We’re still in the early stages as a program of trying to make a name for ourselves like Princeton and South have done for years. We need to win to prove we’re able to contend with the really good tennis programs."
Today, that means dealing one of the other area teams a tournament-ending loss. It’s something that the Knights have been looking forward to since the pairings came out, but something that started with a loss to the Rams at the end of April.
"We definitely want another opportunity to play them," Paulsson said. "They were definitely a little shell-shocked that they lost that match. We have a chance to play them and hopefully get a better result."
Wayne Jenq and the Knights have had enough frustrating moments this season. Against Hightstown, they have a chance to deal one back.