Hun wins MCT girls’ tennis title

Freshmen help Raiders capture sixth straight

By: Justin Feil
   The Hun School girls’ sense of confidence after winning five straight Mercer County Tennis Tournament team titles was masked slightly by the questions around its new lineup.
   Never before, at least in the last 20 years, had the Raiders had three freshmen in their lineup. Kara Shoemaker at third singles, Ali Deitchman at first doubles and Rachel Greene at second doubles are all up from the Hun Middle School team. Making matters all the less certain was that Hun had gotten just one match in this season leading into Monday’s opening round.
   "The freshmen were a concern," said Hun coach Joan Nuse. "The doubles were a concern. Each doubles having a freshman was a concern. I definitely thought that putting them together with an older player would help to balance the experience and help our younger kids. But our young kids are quite talented."
   The Raiders, young and old, were tested but pulled through to win three flights and finish third in another to secure their sixth straight county championship Wednesday. Hun finished with 33 points, eight more than second-place West Windsor-Plainsboro South. Princeton High, led by Priya Joshi’s second-place finish in the first singles flight, was third. The Raiders and the Pirates, who were the last team to win five straight county crowns, were tied after Monday’s first two rounds after both advanced all five flights.
   Hun, however, put three flights into the finals and all three won. Hillary Drewry, who captured the second singles crown over South’s Annie Scharfstein, was the only head-to-head matchup of the two teams in the finals.
   "I think we are really happy we’re still in control," said Drewry, who also won at second singles last year. "It’s nice to have won six even though I’ve only been here for two. We have a pretty young team. We have three freshmen and they’ve only played one match. The doubles have meshed pretty quickly."
   Hun’s first doubles team of Anna Wiinberg and Deitchman won in three sets over the Pirates’ Allison Kempf and Lesley Norris in the semifinals before winning the flight with another three-set comeback over Hopewell Valley. Shoemaker also won in three sets over a Hopewell player, top-seeded Alexis Devaney.
   "I don’t know if confident would be a word I would have used," Nuse said. "I knew we had to do well. I knew we had tough matches ahead of us. I wasn’t sure how things would shake out. The first doubles semifinal was big."
   Wiinberg and Deitchman trailed, 5-3, in the third set of the semifinal before rallying to win. It was the second title for Wiinberg, who was a new player last year in the Raider lineup, and first for Deitchman.
   "Last year, we had three seniors who had won it," Wiinberg said. "This year, having three freshmen was completely different."
   Added Deitchman: "We were confident coming into it. We were both nervous. I didn’t know what to expect because I didn’t play any of these teams before Monday. She helped me kind of know what was going on."
   The freshmen have been welcomed to the lineup with open arms. That has helped make them comfortable quickly.
   "We’re definitely a younger team but it works," Deitchman said. "The seniors and juniors who have been there before, they helped us. They don’t treat us like little freshmen."
   Deitchman and Shoemaker picked up the first gold medals of their high school careers. Shoemaker breezed through her first three matches before finally losing a set in the final to Devaney. She came back to win the third set.
   "She just started playing really well," Shoemaker said. "I started not focusing and she started getting into it. I just refocused (in the third set) and I wasn’t really worried about it."
   Shoemaker also took a calm approach to her first county tournament. She was happy it helped her aid the Raiders in a win.
   "We were just hoping we would all do well," said Shoemaker, a Princeton resident. "We weren’t worried about winning. We were worried about doing well.
   "I’m very happy with how I’ve been playing. I had some good competition."
   At first singles, Caitie Druker lost to eventual champion Adrienne Markinson of Pennington, but rebounded to beat Joelle Nitzberg of WW-P South for third place. Druker and Wiinberg are the only seniors on the Hun team.
   "It definitely means a lot winning senior year," said Wiinberg, a Basking Ridge resident. "In terms of competition, this year it was a lot tougher. I have a new partner so it’s a new experience."
   Greene and partner Lauren Latella reached the semifinals at second doubles before losing a three-set marathon with Stuart Country Day eventual champions Sarah Horton and Alex Abud. Both Hun players will return next year.
   "I think we have a good mold for next year," said Drewry, who is a junior. "The freshman, they’ll definitely grow and become stronger. Hopefully we’ll get in some new players. And we have a good JV this year, so they can help."
   Hun isn’t thinking about next year yet. After a hard-fought win Wednesday, the Raiders are happy to enjoy their sixth straight county crown.
   "Today was so stressful," Nuse said. "It was unbelievable, there were so many close matches. It was so close, especially in doubles. It’s a relief. This one’s a relief."