Wu gaining steam at first singles

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

By: Rudy Brandl
   John Wu took a little time to get going as Hillsborough High’s new first singles tennis player.
   After a slow start, Wu has started to find his groove and gain some momentum as the No. 1 player in the school. The HHS senior entered the week with a nine-match win streak in regular season play.
   Since losing to eventual champion George Laffey of Ridge in the Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals, Wu has been rolling. He won four straight matches last week to help the Raiders improve their team record to 11-3.
   Wu is the Hillsborough Beacon Athlete of the Week.
   HHS head coach Larry Johnson always believed his new top gun could get the job done. It just took a few weeks for Wu to get comfortable in his new role.
   "I’ve looked forward to playing this spot," Wu said. "I don’t think there’s any major adjustment. You just have to play better since people are so much better at that No. 1 spot."
   Wu, who played second singles last spring, has elevated his game in recent weeks. He’s won a couple of three-set battles including last Saturday’s comeback victory over Cumberland Regional’s Donnie Roger. After dropping the first set 3-6, Wu recovered to take the next two sets by 6-2 scores.
   "I stopped missing as much in the second half of the match," Wu said. "He started making more errors and I was hitting more balls in. I was more consistent."
   With less than a month remaining in his high school career, Wu has simple but lofty goals. The Raiders are still in contention for the division title but must knock off Montgomery and Bridgewater this week. They also have the state playoffs coming up.
   "I hope we just play as well as we can and win as much as possible," Wu said. "We want to beat all the teams that beat us the first time."