BOYS TENNIS
By: Tim Falls
It’s a good thing Matt McGranaghan likes competition.
He’ll see enough of it at first singles for the Hopewell Valley Central High School boys tennis team.
McGranaghan has already faced one of the best players in the Colonial Valley Conference, Steinert’s John Yu. Yu recorded the Spartan’s only win in a 4-1 Hopewell Valley victory April 5.
Yu won, 6-2, 7-6 and 7-4 in the tiebreaker. It was a match McGranaghan didn’t feel he was at his best.
"It was an off day," said McGranaghan. "He was playing better, that’s the bottom line."
McGranaghan also played in the toughest match in the Bulldogs’ sweep of Pennington on April 6.
McGranaghan defeated Pennington’s Alex McDonald, 7-5, 6-2.
Even with the win, McGranaghan still didn’t feel he was at his best.
"I wasn’t playing my game," the Hopewell Valley senior said. "I was letting him control the play."
McGranaghan collected the win by waiting for McDonald to make mistakes.
It’s not McGranaghan’s usual tactic, but it worked.
"I like to be the aggressive one," said McGranaghan. "I was able to push it to his weaker side. It pushed him off his game and forced him to make the mistakes. He had his share of winners and good shots."
McGranaghan and McDonald were the last to finish. Aubrey Holmes, the first Hopewell Valley to record a win, took second singles, 6-0, 6-0, while Nick Maida won third singles, 6-2, 6-0.
Steve Deitchman and Blake McArthur won first doubles, 6-3, 7-5, and Jeff Drake and Alex Sheidler won second doubles, 6-2, 6-0. McGranaghan likes a tough match and is looking forward to facing the other top players in the CVC.
"I like to play a tough match, it’s the most fun," said McGranaghan. "It’s more fun when its more tough. It’s the most fun when you and your opponent are both playing well."
McGranaghan might not have been at his best against Yu, but the rest of the Hopewell Valley team handled Steinert easily enough.
Holmes swept Steinert’s Mike McDonald, 6-0, 6-0. Maida defeated Andrew Holsman, 6-1, 6-0, Deitchman and McArthur won first singles, 6-4, 6-4 and Sheidler and Drake won second doubles 6-3, 6-0.
McGranghan had another tough match against a too tough West Windsor-Plainsboro South team.
McGranaghan claimed his first set against the Pirates’ Shintaro Mori, but dropped the next two to lose, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3.
Holmes took Hopewell’s only match in the 4-1 loss to WW-P South.
Holmes won second singles, 6-2, 6-1, over Steven Fernandez.
Pennington’s McDonald led the Red Raiders past Gill St. Bernard’s, 4-1 with a 6-2, 6-2, victory at first singles on Tuesday.
Jon DeHeus claimed third singles for Pennington, 6-0, 6-1, while Brian Arbeiter and Josue Rivera won first doubles and Andrew Lokai and Dan Cellars won second doubles.

