Lawrence girls tennis
By: John E. Powers
The Lawrence High School girls tennis team finished its season with a sub-.500 record. But that’s a misleading mark, since the Cardinals accomplished quite a bit.
Head coach Sue Bunn’s club finished 6-10, but qualified for the state tournament, where it lost a first-round Central Jersey Group IV match to North Brunswick.
That match a 3-2 loss gave a very good picture of just what kind of season the Cardinals had. Four of the matches were played out to three sets.
"It was one of those kind of deals," Bunn said. "It was a great match, and we had some really, really good matches. We were competitive throughout the season, and the kids never gave up on themselves. They were thrilled to make the states, but they were disappointed when we lost such a close match. When you get that close, you can taste it. That gives our players a taste of, ‘OK, we made it, but lets get to the next level.’"
The Cardinals will be losing several seniors to graduation. No. 1 player Samantha Walker, who finished with a 3-14 record, and No. 3 player Cathy Aksamit, who was 7-10, will be lost. Senior Michelle Ferozan, who played second doubles with sophomore Aleeha Fazle, also will graduate.
It was Sept. 12 when Bunn switched doubles partners. She paired freshman Ashley Russo with junior Jamasia Tucker and Fazle and Ferozan. Russo and Tucker started out playing at second doubles, but won a challenge with Fazle and Ferozan. Russo and Tucker became the No. 1 doubles squad and finished 8-8-1 as a team, while Ferozan and Fazle went 7-10.
"Russo and Ferozan weren’t working out, and we changed things up," said Bunn, who also coaches the Lawrence softball team. "I could have kept the teams the same, but I don’t look at it that way. I firmly believe that the strongest team should be playing. What it comes down to is that doubles is like a marriage. You have to be happy with your partner, or it’s going to be miserable."
No. 2 player, junior Sara Rached, finished 8-9 and will enter the 2006 season as the probably No. 1 player.
"She had a couple of good wins, one against the Trenton girl early on and a good win against North Brunswick," Bunn said. "She’s inspired. She went away this past summer and really didn’t have much time to practice, but she’s pretty pumped up to work hard."

