Viking tennis teams sharp at the start

By: Rich Fisher
   The Cranbury School tennis team feels like it should pick up some wins this season, and the Vikings wasted little time in proving they could pull out the close ones.
   The Vikes squeaked out several tight individual victories to earn the team win against young-but-talented Kreps. There were also some easy wins, as Mike Meyers prevailed 6-0, 6-0, and the doubles team of Aidan Milner and Will Rogers won 6-1, 7-5.
   "Mike showed patience and baseline skills," coach Barbara Rogers said. "Aidan and Will used teamwork and consistency to overcome a strong comeback attempt by their opponents. "
   The doubles team of Pat Chen-Amanda Chen worked its way out of a 1-0 deficit to win its match in a tiebreaker. Newcomers to the varsity team — Pat Hoerner, Ria Brij and John Marsh — also squeaked out wins in a tiebreaker.
   Aajay Vithala and Alex Pele lost their match, 1-6, 3-6, to a tough doubles team that attacked at the net. Chris Allunario and Jason Trenkle ended their match in a tie.
   "An early season victory helps boost the team’s confidence," coach Barbara Rogers said. "They played tough in some close situations to come up with this win. The players still have plenty of things to work on including footwork and court positioning."
   The JV team also had a successful start, taking a 5-1 win over Kreps.
   At first doubles, Pat Stehn-Matt Keele won 8-5, while Tucker-Anderson-Drew Holland won 8-1 at No. 2.
   "Pat and Matt had a tough match, but teamwork and better focus in the end helped them to close out the match," coach Susan Paterson said. "They got very aggressive closing in at the net and decided to take more chances with shots.
   "The number two team was helped by Tucker’s excellent serve and Drew’s put-aways at the net."
   There were also easy wins at No. 3 and 4, as Surbi Ugra-Rachel Amico won 8-2 and Steven Holt-Olivia Huang won 8-1.
   "Surbi and Rachel make a great partnership," Paterson said. "Steven hit the big shots and Olivia consistently kept the ball in play."
   At No. 5, newcomers Ethan Barron and Tim Beach won 8-0.
   "They’re enthusiastic and determined players this year," Paterson said. "We should see many more successes with this partnership over the course of the season."
   The lone loss was at No. 6, where Kate Mayes and Sammi Sicherman fell, 8-4.
   But they came back after being down 5-0," Paterson said. "Better communication and more consistency helped them to shake off nervousness."