Tennis team doubles the fun

Lawrence boys tennis

By: Mike Molaro
   Like a proud father watching his children grow and mature, Lawrence High School’s Pat Tarrant was beaming after Tuesday’s first- and quarterfinal-round Mercer County Tournament action at Mercer County Park.
   And the fifth-year head coach had great reason to smile, as four of the Cardinals’ five entries advanced into the second round.
   Lawrence’s first-doubles tandem of junior Dustin Kong and sophomore Roshan Bhagat fell in the opening round to Princeton’s duo of sophomore Andrew Bergman and freshman David Zheng, 6-2, 6-1.
   Even in defeat, though, the Cardinals showed promise.
   "Princeton is a real tough team," Tarrant said. "Dustin and Roshan continue to develop and will become a solid tandem."
   Junior John Stracquatanio advanced at first singles with a straight-sets victory over Hightstown junior Karthik Sundaram, 6-4, 6-4, before losing to senior Chris Hoeland of Princeton, 6-0, 6-0, in the second round.
   At second singles, sophomore Jamie Ciccone defeated Trenton junior Jwyanza Weekes, 6-1, 6-3, in the first round but fell to senior Vikray Gupta of Princeton Day School in the second round, 6-0, 6-1.
   Junior Travis McCaughan won his first-round match at third singles, 6-0, 6-4, over Hamilton junior Jon Russo but fell to senior Apurva Davholkar of West Windsor-Plainsboro North in the second round, 6-3, 6-2.
   The Cardinals’ second-seeded second doubles team of senior Derek Cao and freshman Mike Cohen outlasted Notre Dame sophomores Rob Alisop and Andrew McConnell in three sets, 6-7 (7-3), 7-6 (7-3), 6-1. It was the second time Cao and Cohen defeated the Irish duo.
   Cao and Cohen fell in three sets in the second round to junior Jeff Drake and sophomore Dan McGruthur of Hopewell Valley, 6-7 (7-4), 7-5, 2-6.
   All in all, it was a hugely successful day for the Cardinals.
   "Jamie (Ciccone) and Travis (McGaughan) both had chances to win their matches," Tarrant said. "Derek and Mike played three tiebreaker sets in two matches.
   "Everyone on our team gained a lot of experience. Except for Derek, everyone is an underclassman. This is definitely a position to build on. I told the guys, ‘Next year, we will take it another step.’"
   Lawrence on Monday fell to WW-P South, 5-0, to fall to 4-5 on the season. It was the first loss of the season for the second doubles tandem of Cao and Cohen (4-1), and it came by the score of 6-3, 6-0 to the Pirates’ Ben Cornfield and Greg Kelly.
   The final score may not reflect it, but the Cardinals again stepped up against an opponent that has the talent to win a state championship.
   "I saw good things from everybody," Tarrant said. "The games were close. We are a young team, and we gave them a good battle. People may see 5-0 and think it was a rout. It definitely wasn’t."
   Cao and Cohen recorded a 6-2, 6-4 triumph at second doubles on April 20 for Lawrence’s only win in a 4-1 setback to Hopewell Valley.
   "This was a big win for Derek and Mike," Tarrant said. "HoVal is good, and they are deep. Our first doubles had some chances."
   Despite what some people may see as growing pains, the Cardinals are right on track — or maybe even ahead of schedule.
   "This is basically a new team from last year, and we are improving," Tarrant said. "Our first doubles and second doubles teams are together for the first time. All three singles players are new to those positions. They have experience at doubles last year, but this is their first year at singles.
   "This is the first time in almost a decade that we lost a lot of players to graduation and don’t have a lot of people coming back. It’s a learning year for everyone, but we are having fun and playing well."
   The Cardinals (4-5) need some cooperation from Mother Nature to earn a spot in the state tournament. With next Tuesday’s May 3 cutoff looming, Lawrence needs a .500 record by that point.
   Last Friday’s match against Pennington was postponed because of inclement weather, and the Cardinals have a match scheduled for Friday against Trenton. If Lawrence wins, it is in the state tournament with a 5-5 record.
   The challenge is that Trenton is the Cardinals’ last scheduled match before the May 3 deadline. Should that match be postponed because of rain, which has been forecasted for Friday, they’ll have to scramble to move a match up to have the opportunity for that .500 record.
   "The weather hasn’t helped us this year," Tarrant said. "The guys know that it’s ‘win and in’ against Trenton. If that match is postponed, we’ll need someone else to play us.
   "We have a couple of options. We can try to reschedule Pennington or try to move either Steinert or Notre Dame up on the schedule. All we want is a shot. That’s all we are asking for."
   The Cardinals have overcome a lot of odds this season. They might do it one more time.