Kinrade becomes king of county court

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

By: Rudy Brandl
   BERNARDS — Don’t ever underestimate the mental aspect of tennis. Hillsborough High senior Thomas Kinrade proved that in winning last week’s Somerset County first singles championship.
   Kinrade knew he was going to have to win the mental war if he expected to leave The Pingry School facility with a trophy. He never expected things to get so ugly against Bridgewater-Raritan rival Billy Jiang, but Kinrade kept his composure and captured the title as the county’s top player with a 6-1, 7-6 (7-2) triumph.
   The third-seeded Kinrade avenged a prior loss to Jiang in a grueling battle that lasted over three hours. The match was marred by controversial line calls and heated words but also featured some outstanding tennis.
   Kinrade, the first Raider male to win a county first singles title since Khary Rose did it way back in 1991, is the Hillsborough Beacon Athlete of the Week.
   All the players in the field had to deal with rain delays, postponements and scheduling changes. Kinrade had to finish off Watchung Hills’ second-ranked Jacob Wolski in the semifinals before starting his championship match vs. Jiang. Kinrade had won the first set but trailed 3-4 in the second in the continuation of that match. Kinrade won three straight games to close out the second set, took a short break and prepared to face Jiang.
   Kinrade had lost in straight sets in the regular season meeting, which resulted in his No. 3 seed. However, the HHS senior also learned from the prior defeat and was determined to remain calm instead of allowing Jiang’s antics to get in his head. Jiang made a few questionable line calls and disputed close ones on Kinrade’s side of the net. Kinrade didn’t back down and certainly argued when necessary but focused more on tennis.
   "My mental toughness won me the match," Kinrade said. "I didn’t let any of that stuff affect me. I stuck to my game plan."
   No matter what happens the rest of the season, winning a county title serves as an appropriate conclusion to Kinrade’s four years as a high school first singles player.
   "This is such a big thing to me," Kinrade said. "I’ve never really played that well in the tournament. This year, I put it all together."
   "It’s absolutely awesome," HHS head coach Larry Johnson added. "That kid deserves to have his county championship his senior year. I’m incredibly proud of him."