BY RICHARD JEROME
Staff Writer
How dominant has the East Brunswick High School girls tennis team been in Middlesex County over the course of coach Karyn Grant’s 17 years with the Bears?
Well, to begin with, EBHS has won 17 divisional championships. That’s right, a crown for every year. What about the Greater Middlesex Conference title? Well, that’s somewhat less impressive – a mere 14 championships. Add in a couple of Central Jersey Group I titles – including last year’s – and you get the picture.
Sorry to tell the competition, but Grant’s Bears, now 5-0 in the early going, are, if anything, stronger than the 2005 edition. In their most recent contest, they shut out Westfield, 5-0, gaining a tiny bit of payback against the school that beat them in the statewide finals last fall.
“We have a really good situation,” said the coach. “We have just about everyone back, plus a wonderful little freshman, Stef Balasa, in the first singles spot. It’s kind of unique, because we have all our singles players from last year’s team, along with Stef, so it’s a real added element to the lineup.”
Balasa is a deceptive player, small and seemingly slight, but packing a real wallop.
“She’s powerful and aggressive, moves the ball really well off the ground and keeps people off-guard, because she can really hit the cover off the ball,” said Grant.
At the second singles slot is senior Anna Tarasova, who was the first singles entry for the past three years. Her strength, as Grant points out, is that she has “virtually every shot in the book. She hits deep volleys, always keeps her opponents guessing – and she’s a really strong, powerful athlete.”
One of the early success stories for EBHS is sophomore Sonia Tsay, who has moved up from the doubles team, on the strength of a dedicated regimen of offseason play. Tsay has few, if any, holes in her game now, playing solidly on the baseline, net and on her serves.
One of the unusual aspects of the 2006 Bears is that last year’s second and third singles players, senior Luiza Kiyamova and junior Kristina Moehle, are now teamed up at first doubles. That seeming demotion might suggest some bruised egos, but Grant is happy to report that both players are performing like troupers, putting the team first.
“They have a great work ethic and tremendous respect for the other girls,” said the coach. “Right now, they’re still working their way into learning doubles; at the moment, they look like two singles players on a doubles court. But they’re improving constantly in their new roles.”
The second doubles contingent consists of senior Hillary Rosen, who started at doubles last year, and sophomore Mallory Highstein, who saw some limited varsity action.
“Hillary is very strong at the net,” said Grant. “And Mallory is really consistent, hitting solid ground strokes to set Hillary up.”
One of the East Brunswick strengths this year is depth, which means that juniors Laura Strandberg and Rita Kupershteyn, two players who would certainly start for most any other team in the county, are kept in reserve.
“They’re right on the bubble,” said Grant. “But what they do is give our starters good people to practice against. That’s a very important contribution, which I appreciate tremendously – one they don’t get enough credit for.”
The Bears play Edison today in an away match, and then on Sept. 27, begin the GMC Tournament.
“Winning the conference and the county tournament are always our first goals,” said Grant. “We’ll have some stiff competition from J.P. Stevens, which always has a strong team. As far as the states are concerned, normally we just say we’ll try to go as far as we can. But this year, I think we’re going to focus equally on the states. I’m making a reassessment.”