Pirates prevail despite changes
By: Justin Feil
The Mercer County Tournament was the first test of the season for the West Windsor-Plainsboro South boys’ tennis team.
Consider it a resounding success.
The Pirates’ tournament did not start the way they had hoped when they lost their first singles’ Shintaro Mori in the first round, but the other four flights all won out to deliver a third-straight MCT title by five points over runner-up Hun on Thursday.
"This was way sweeter," said Pirates head coach Jim Giovacchini. "This was by far the sweetest with what we had to deal with and losing Shintaro in the first round.
"Two years ago, we won only two flights and won. If you win four flights and you can still only tie possibly, something’s wrong. We could have ended up sharing the title. Dave Holland saved our day."
Holland, a sophomore at Princeton Day School, beat Hun’s Lance Goulbourne in the first singles semifinal before going on to win gold with a win over Steinert’s Jon Yu. It was Goulbourne that had knocked out Mori in the first round. Three of the Pirates’ flights were able to take care of business themselves when they were matched in finals with Hun.
At second singles, Steven Fernandez beat Wilder Sampson. At third singles, Leland Richardson beat Chris Martin. At second doubles, Piray Sekar and Stewart Fernandez beat Jack Barrett and Ren Gates. The Pirates’ Dennis Tuan and Ben Cornfeld won the first doubles flight over Princeton High’s Aaron Maltby and Chris Nesi.
WW-P South also won the bottom four flights to take the county crown last year. And despite losing just two players, there were players in different spots throughout the Pirates lineup.
Steven Fernandez was in his first year in the singles lineup. He bumped down Richardson, who’d won last year’s MCT second singles title, to third singles. Tuan finished last year at first doubles, but the senior was not even in the Pirates’ lineup at last year’s MCT after winning a doubles title as a sophomore.
"It means a lot to me (to win)," Tuan said. "I wasn’t here last year to be a part of it. It’s a great ending to my tennis season."
He and Cornfeld, who was paired with Greg Kelley last year when they won the MCT first doubles flight, never played even a single match together last year. Stewart Fernandez didn’t finish last year on the varsity, though he and his brother had won the MCT second doubles title last year. Sekar is in his first year with the varsity. He played two doubles matches and one singles match last year.
"It feels good," the junior said. "It’s like of like I’m one of the elites for West Windsor. I’m proud of what I did."
Steven Fernandez made the biggest jump, vaulting from second doubles where he’d been victorious in the MCT last year, all the way to second singles.
"Freshman year," Giovacchini said, "he was cut from the team. Sophomore year, he was at second doubles. Junior year, he wins the county at second singles. It’s amazing."
Fernandez’s season didn’t start as smoothly as he had hoped. A loss to Hopewell Valley’s Aubrey Holmes in the regular season raised some doubts, but he delivered the title as the No. 3 seed at the MCT.
"I wasn’t confident in winning after the first round because my forehand was off," Fernandez said. "In the second round, my forehand was on and my confidence went up. I knew I had to do it for the team, knowing how much winning my match meant for the team.
"I felt a lot of pressure knowing I had to do it. I like pressure. It makes me play better."
Fernandez felt more pressure than any of his Pirate teammates did on the second day. He just wanted to live up to the high standards established by WW-P South tennis teams.
"I knew everyone was going to win," Fernandez said. "It’s more satisfying to know we’re really deep and know we’re really good. I knew it was going to be up to me. I knew if I lost, there was the potential the team would lose. I had to do it."
Giovacchini was happy to see Fernandez come through with a straight sets win to help secure the championship. It was part of a convincing run for the bottom four flights. Giovacchini sees the tournament as a step in confirming the Pirates’ strength despite all the changes to the flights.
"Dennis, he’s one of the best at doubles in the state," Giovacchini said. "His partner isn’t too shabby either. Ben is a two-time champion now. Piray is great. He hadn’t won anything and he go over a big hurdle by winning a tournament this summer. He and Stewart played great.
"And Steven played outstanding," he added. "Leland moved down and was great. Both doubles played outstanding. Our doubles don’t lose. Our doubles are good. I had a lot of confidence in them."
With the MCT title defended, the Pirates will have even more confidence when their next test comes.

