BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer
This is the year that A North and the Shore Conference should catch up to Dave Kretzmer’s Marlboro Mustangs.
Last year’s No. 1 team lost its first three singles players, including Andrew Sharnov, the first Freehold Regional District player to win the NJSIAA single championship. That leaves the door open for a number of contenders to come to the forefront.
One of those teams is Manalapan, which figures to be battling it out with Ocean Township for the top spot in the division this year, a year after things blew up for the Braves.
Manalapan was expected to have some epic battles with Marlboro last spring, but the team’s top two players, Grant Van Rensberg and Alex Pritsker, left the team for personal reasons.
They are back this spring as team players and the Braves loom as one of the team’s to beat in the Shore.
First-year coach Lisa Brennan has a deep lineup that is more than just Pritsker and Van Rensberg, but their presence does signal the team’s return to the big time (two years ago, the Braves lost the Shore Conference Tournament final to Marlboro).
“We had conversations about last year,” said Brennan. “They’ve returned with a renewed commitment to the team. It’s been awesome.
“We’ve really been a team this year,” she added. “Everyone is supporting each other. They realize they can do it [win A North].”
In Pritsker (first singles) and Van Rensberg (second), the Braves probably have the division’s best tandem and a big leg up on the competition.
Dave Levy has settled in at third singles, and he’ll be a consistent winner.
Manalapan is loaded at doubles, so loaded that Brennan is still looking for the right combinations. Steve Bialick and Andrew Toker have established themselves as the second doubles tandem, while Phil Katz, Derrick Cowit, Andy Liu and Dan Jacobs are all vying for the two spots at first doubles. Manalapan has gotten off to a nice 2-0 start.
Graduation hit the Mustangs hard, putting them in the very unfamiliar position of having to rebuild. The cupboard certainly isn’t bare, and the Mustangs will remain one of the Shore’s top teams, only not the best. Gone, along with Sharnov, are reliable Steve Morris and Landon Goodman, who were as good a singles lineup as the District has seen.
Ariel Roytenberg moves from first doubles to the prestigious position of first singles, a position occupied over the years by some of the finest players in district history. Matthew Schwartz and Ilian Gamburg, who played doubles like Roytenberg, will follow him to the singles lineup. The Mustangs open their schedule this week.
At Freehold Township, coach Phillip Pender will be looking to improve on last year’s 6-12 season with the return of four starters, including Anson Ajhne at first singles. Benjamin Kahn returns at second singles, and newcomer Austin Schindel, a sophomore, will be playing third singles.
Kyle Matthews, the lone senior on the team and a returner, will team up with Brian Schwartz at first doubles, and Noah Catkin and Philip Levin will play second doubles.
With just one senior, the Patriots are still young, but getting more and more experienced with each match. They could be ready to make the jump to the post-season, but they have to deal with the most difficult division in the conference.
Howell is another team looking to move forward. Cristy Callahan’s Rebels took steps in that direction last year, going 5-17 and being more competitive with the division’s better team. They do return a veteran lineup that should help them continue moving forward.
Stephen Rogers returns at first singles. Dan Parisi and Eric Thompson round out the singles lineup.
Matt Stein and Matt Freid, and Dominick Lick and Nick Grassi are the doubles teams.
Freehold Borough was a state playoff team in 2005, going 14-7 and should return to the post-season this spring. What Brian Donahue’s Colonials would like to do this year is make a run at the B North title, where nemesis Wall stands in the way.
The Colonials have a seasoned lineup led by Kamir Kapor and Kevin Sun at first and second singles. Newcomer Ray Verma is playing third singles. Fred Yick and Kevin Chou and among the doubles players. Freehold Borough is off to a fast start at 2-0.
Colts Neck will be relying on its singles lineup, which returns intact. Matt Loving, Parth Parikh and Jared Placitella are back at first through third singles. Loving and Parikh are just sophomores, but will benefit from the experience they gained in 2005, and will be better prepared for play at the varsity level in high school. Placitella is a senior.
Joe Ades and Krishan Parikh are playing first doubles, and Ari Ades and Mike Winderman are at second doubles.