Tennis team finds right doubles mix

Lawrence boys tennis

By: Jim Green
   With a huge upheaval of his roster and poor preseason weather conditions to deal with, Lawrence High School boys tennis coach Pat Tarrant knew it would take a while for him to find the right lineup.
   It took seven matches and more than two weeks of the regular season, but it appears the Cardinals finally have found the right combination of seven players. With junior Travis McCaughan returning from a back injury to take over at third singles, previous third-singles player Derek Cao, a senior, has shifted to second doubles, forming a potent combination with freshman Mike Cohen and turning both spots into positions of strength for Lawrence.
   The result has been two wins in three matches for the Cardinals, including a 4-1 triumph over Allentown on Monday at Lawrence Middle School. In order to qualify for the state tournament, Lawrence (4-3) must go at least 2-2 in its four remaining matches before the May 3 cutoff. The four matches — which are sandwiched around next week’s Mercer County Tournament — include away dates at Hopewell Valley, Pennington and Trenton and a home match against powerful West Windsor-Plainsboro South.
   "Now we need to get that big win," Tarrant said. "We need to get that win against a team that’s maybe just a little better than us that we have to bleed for."
   The second doubles team of Cao and Cohen have gone 3-0 since being teamed together for the first time in Lawrence’s 5-0 win over Ewing on April 13. The team’s most impressive performance came Friday, when it posted a 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-3) win for the Cardinals’ only point in a 4-1 loss to Notre Dame at Mercer County Park. Cao and Cohen came back to win the third set in a tiebreak after falling behind 5-3.
   "Derek Cao and Mike Cohen had a big win," Tarrant said. "That’s going to be a big spot for us. First doubles is still finding themselves. Second doubles is starting to play well."
   The rest of the Lawrence lineup did not fare quite so well against Notre Dame, failing to win a single set despite having a chance in every one.
   "We struggled Friday," Tarrant said. "Every match we were in."
   On Monday against Allentown, Cao and Cohen cruised to a 6-0, 6-1 win over Dan Zaffos and Brian Cheng. The first doubles squad of junior Dustin Kong and sophomore Roshan Bhagat improved to 3-2 as a team, knocking off Zach Strobino and Craig Strashinsky 6-3, 6-2. Sophomore Jamie Ciccone beat Colin Odell 7-5, 6-1 at second singles, and McCaughan evened his mark at 2-2 with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Mike Saczicz.
   Junior John Stracquatanio, still adjusting to the pressures of playing first singles, dropped a 6-4, 6-4 decision to Dusty Englehardt.
   "He’s struggling a little bit with his confidence," Tarrant said. "Hopefully, he’ll come around later in the year."
   McCaughan’s return has given the lineup more balance from top to bottom, putting less emphasis on the need to get a win from any one spot.
   "It’s strengthened the entire lineup by moving Derek Cao to second doubles," Tarrant said. "Travis is an excellent ball striker. Having him in the lineup is very much a positive for us."
   With a steady lineup in place, the Cardinals now appear poised to make a run at a return to the state tournament.
   "It took a long time," Tarrant said. "Before the season, we had no time to do this. With our young team, it was a challenge. Now it’s set."
• NOTES: Against Ewing, Stracquatanio, Ciccone, McCaughan and both doubles teams posted straight-sets wins. The Cardinals lost to a strong West Windsor-Plainsboro North squad 5-0 on April 11, with Stracquatanio impressively taking Knights No. 1 Wayne Jenq to three sets.
   The Cardinals will visit 1-4 Pennington at 4:15 p.m. Friday. The preliminary round of the Mercer County Tournament will be held Tuesday at Mercer County Park, with the finals next Thursday.