Cougars tennis faces No. 2 Livingston today
By: Justin Feil
Jeremy Eckhardt was looking forward to another shot at the state singles tournament, but with the Montgomery High boys’ tennis team’s top-heavy schedule he lost that opportunity to have a .600 winning percentage.
Instead, Eckhardt has switched his focus to helping the Cougars go as far in the team state tournament, which after such a slow start, he’s thrilled to again be a part of.
"We started the season so poorly, and we came back," said Eckhardt, a junior at first singles. "We seem to have some momentum.
"In the beginning of the season, it was like, let’s get in the win column. For me, I’ve been on the team three years and we barely lost a game. It was a big change. It was depressing. We have a bunch of players who haven’t played varsity before. Now we’ve been winning a little more and they’re definitely more confident."
The Cougars only qualified for the North Jersey 2, Group III state tournament by winning six of seven to just reach the .500 mark by the cutoff at 6-6. Since then, the Cougars have won four more matches, including a 5-0 decision as the No. 10 seed over No. 7 Voorhees on Thursday.
"We know we’ve been competitive with Voorhees over the years," said MHS head coach John Arnold after his team improved to 10-8. "We knew they’d be about like us. We proved we were maybe a step above them in each of the positions.
"It wasn’t a real surprise. We were pretty confident even though we were the 10 seed that we could probably handle them."
The confidence level is a little lower as the Cougars prepare to play at No. 2 Livingston today. But it would soar with a win over an unfamiliar but surely talented team.
"They play all Northern teams," Eckhardt said of Livingston. "They got the No. 2 seed, so they have to be good.
"Our confidence is much different. We know we can beat Voorhees. Livingston, we really don’t know much about. They lost to Pingry, so they’re beatable. But Pingry is a good team. We lost to them too."
Eckhardt would like nothing more than to pull an upset to return to the NJ 2, Group III semifinals for the second straight season. It’s the only tournament he has left, making it his proving grounds that he belongs among the state’s elite.
"He didn’t qualify for the state tournament and he’s one of the best players that didn’t make the draw," Arnold said. "A lot of people that did aren’t as good as him."
"It’s kind of frustrating," agreed Eckhardt, a 6-1, 6-1 winner over Peter Rusinkiewicz Thursday. "Four of my losses have come against two guys. I’ve beaten a few guys that have been fair wins. I definitely wish I had made the (singles) tournament.
"I remember last year there were a bunch of guys that didn’t look that impressive. Half of them are ridiculous, really good. And then a couple are fair. A lot of it is based on who you play."
Eckhardt and the Cougars have taken on a number of the best teams around. It’s the sort of schedule they hope will benefit them today when they come up against Livingston.
"I’m sure it helps," Eckhardt said. "We’re used to playing the better teams. It’s tough going in after going against all the bad teams and coming in playing all the good teams. It’s a big jump. Last year, we had a much tougher jump. It was tough to adjust when we played Millburn."
This year, it’s been a seamless transition as shown by the ease with which MHS rolled over Voorhees, a team that used to be in their conference and remains on their regular season schedule. Livingston is a team no one on MHS has seen before.
"States are a different animal," Arnold said. "You get a chance to play some teams we don’t usually. We do have some information about who we’re playing. We know we’re not going to be just kicked out. We have to go out there and play as confidently as we can."
For Eckhardt and second-singles’ Ryan Dennie, that’s a little easier because they were in the state tournament last year. Eckhardt also was in the Cougars’ lineup for states as a freshman.
"Jeremy had varsity experience as a freshman," Arnold said, "and that helps."
He has more experience in the state team tournament than anyone in the current Cougar lineup. MHS is still young, with the promise of all but one player among their top seven graduating. Next year looks good for the Cougars, but Eckhardt still has plenty of business left this year.
"I had goals to beat Thomas (Kinrade) from Hillsborough and Roland (Liang) from Somerville," he said. "Hillsborough is the biggest one I wanted and I lost twice in three-setters. I’ve played him three times and he’s won every time I’ve won the first set and he comes back and plays really well in the other sets and wins. The only goals I’ve accomplished this year are winning against Roland twice."
Last year, Eckhardt lost to Liang. Eckhardt’s wins this year show that he has improved and just like the Cougars, he’s coming along steadily after a slow start. The slow start cost him his shot at the singles tournament, but Jeremy Eckhardt and the MHS boys’ tennis team have plenty left to play for, especially in today’s NJ 2, Group III quarterfinal action.

