McDonald new tennis coach for a team that shows potential
By: RIch Fisher
A new era has dawned on South Brunswick High girls tennis, but it brings a lot of other Viking eras along with it.
Nancy McDonald takes over for long-time coach Barbara Whitman, and if the name sounds familiar, it should. McDonald is quite familiar in SBHS athletic circles.
For the past seven autumns, she served as caretaker for the Viking girls volleyball team, and she has also been the SBHS boys tennis coach for over a decade.
"I’m excited," said McDonald, a four-year tennis standout at Trenton State College." "Tennis has always been my expertise and my experience, it was just a matter of the right time and the right place happening to take the girls job.
"I had a great time with volleyball, no regrets to look back on as far as that is concerned. I know that program is on it’s way, so it’s on to the next challenge."
The challenge in McDonald’s first season is to get a lineup settled that returns just three starters from a team that went 12-5-1 overall and 8-3-1 in the Greater Middlesex Conference Red Division.
The returning starters are junior Divya Toshniwal, who went 15-7-1 at third singles last year; and the first doubles team of Meredith Ragany-Meena Ramachandra. The senior duo became the first Viking girls’ doubles team in history to reach the sweet 16 in the states last year, finishing 19-7 overall and 10-2 in the division.
After that, it’s a new cast of varsity characters.
Winning the first singles spot was freshman Ali Noll, sister to former boys state qualifier Eric Noll.
"She’s a good player," McDonald said of the left-handed hitter. "She’s pretty consistent, has a good head on her shoulders out there. She’s very focused. She earned a ranking in the Under-14 USTA Middle States, so she’s got a lot of match experience."
The other two singles spots will be held down by senior Annie Zhang and Toshniwal.
Fighting it out for doubles are the teams of junior Sindhu Shamasunder and senior Prasannah Ashokkumar, who won the second doubles title at the GMC JV tournament last year, sophomore Erika Brokaw and junior Anusha Koduru, and junior Irene Donne and senior Ambica Buddhavayapu. Sophomore Hayley Berk and freshman Caryn Engel will play JV and see some varsity time.
Despite all the newcomers, McDonald is optimistic.
"Our first and second singles are new to playing high school singles," said the coach, whose team opens Friday against a usually-tough North Brunswick squad. "It’s yet to be determined how they are out there on the court. Among the team and the challenges and matches that have happened within the team, they look like they’ll be ok. They’re poised and focused, but when push comes to shove and they’re out there for the real thing, then we’ll see how they do.
"I expect a winning season, I expect to finish in top three in the Red Division behind J.P. Stevens and East Brunswick. I really don’t know what the girls competition is like other than those two teams. I never got to see a match because I was busy with volleyball."
That was the old era. The new one is now underway.

