Lawrence boys tennis
By: Jim Green
The young Lawrence High School boys tennis team got its first taste of victory Monday.
After drawing a tough opening home match against Colonial Valley Conference power Princeton last Friday, the Cardinals received a reprieve with a match against Hamilton at Shady Brook Park. All three Cardinal singles players picked up their first wins at their new positions, helping Lawrence to a 5-0 win.
The Cardinals, who lost to Princeton 5-0, evened their mark at 1-1.
"We played a tough opener on Friday," Lawrence coach Pat Tarrant said. "We’re just trying to get some experience. Our lineup’s still coming together."
Junior John Stracquatanio got off to strong starts in both his sets Monday and cruised to a 6-2, 6-2 win over the Hornets’ Matt Pellegrino. The match was a nice rebound for Stracquatanio, who received a rude introduction to first singles with a 6-0, 6-0 loss to Princeton star Chris Hoeland on Friday.
"I guess it’s good to have one win under the belt," Stracquatanio said. "I’m just trying to get a positive record."
Against Hamilton, junior Jamie Ciccone notched a 6-0, 6-1 win over Andre Lee at second singles, while senior Derek Cao knocked off Jon Russo 6-1, 6-4 at third singles. Both Ciccone and Cao lost in straight sets against Princeton.
"That’s always a plus after a tough match like we had on Friday," Tarrant said. "He (Stracquatanio) is our most experienced player, so I don’t think he was fazed by Friday. But I think it was important for some of our other guys to play well today."
The first doubles team of seniors Dice Kutsamato and John Lin also cruised to their first win as a team, topping the Hornets’ Kevin Perkins and Steve Rehder 6-0, 6-0.
After the Cardinal singles players and first doubles team left the court victorious, Lawrence had clinched the win over Hamilton. But it was still important for Tarrant to see progress from his inexperienced second doubles team.
The second doubles squad of junior Vik Gulati and sophomore Matt Hedden, which was coming off a 6-1, 6-1 loss to Princeton, dropped its first set to Hamilton’s Chris Aur and David Wilkes 7-5. Much to Tarrant’s delight, though, Hedden and Gulati stayed positive and came back to take the next two sets 6-2, 6-2 for the victory.
"After the first set, they were really struggling," Tarrant said. "You get a lot of experience winning a match like that."
With the Cardinal players starting to hit their stride, even more good news should be coming soon. Junior Travis McCaughan, the Cardinals’ second most experienced player, should return from back soreness within a week. When he does, he will challenge for a singles position, with a likely landing place of third singles.
"When you can put somebody like that back in a singles position, it just effects the rest of the lineup," Tarrant said. "You need depth."
You also need a strong No. 1, and Stracquatanio seems to be on the path to getting there.
"I’m younger, so I don’t have as much experience," he said. "As a first singles player, people try to look up to me. I just want to do my best."
Stracquatanio, who is replacing graduated star Aaron Naar at first singles, was not discouraged by his loss to Hoeland, who captured the Mercer County Tournament title at second singles last year.
"I really wasn’t expecting anything from that match," he said. "I would have been happy if I got a game."
The Cardinals know that the CVC upper echelon of Princeton and West Windsor-Plainsboro South is an exclusive group. In this rebuilding year, they’re just looking to remain in that second tier of teams.
"We want to be in the top half of the CVC and make states," Stracquatanio said. "We’re not trying to be as good as Princeton or the Windsors. We’re trying to rebuild."
Lawrence next will face Trenton at 3:45 p.m. today (Thursday) at the middle school.
"We’re looking to get more experienced," Tarrant said. "We’re trying to get more consistent and to get guys to react to how a match is going."

