Malliani is at home on courts

By: Sean Richards
   When Italy’s Eleonara Malliani learned she was coming to the Monroe Township High School as a Foreign Exchange Student, the last thing she probably thought about was playing on the girls varsity tennis team.
   Heck, back in Italy they don’t even have scholastic sports teams and to get in her tennis Malliani had to rent a court for an hour each week in her hometown of Milan.
   Enter Kelly Ryan, the mother of the family Malliani is living with during her three-month stay in America. Ryan asked Malliani in an email what she likes to do. Malliani replied "play tennis."
   A phone call to Monroe girls tennis coach Trudy Marmorek later, the rest was history. Malliani made the team and is playing second doubles with Jackie Jesus.
   To date, the two have a .500 record as the Falcons have recovered from an 0-2 start to take a 4-2 record into the Greater Middlesex Conference Championships, which got underway Wednesday at Middlesex County College.
   "I had no idea," replied Malliani with a laugh when asked if she thought she’d make the team. "This is all new to me. Back home we don’t play sports in school, so I really didn’t know what to expect."
   Any trepidation about what would follow was quickly erased when Malliani met her coach and teammates. She’s having a blast and it’s just one of many positive experiences she can take home from her time at Monroe.
   "Eleonara has fit right in," said Marmorek. "She’s a very pleasant person and a pleasure to coach. She’s a popular player on the team. And she can play tennis."
   The team of Jesus/Malliani took a 15th seed into the GMCs, which means it’s a longshot to still be around when the tournament resumes today with the semifinals and finals. Still, like the entire team itself, Malliani seems to be getting more comfortable as the season has progressed.
   "I’m getting more confident," the 17-year-old said. "The team is starting to win and we’re all having fun. It’s great because it’s an experience I’ll always remember. The team is really good and the players are really nice."
   Tennis is a fairly big sport in Italy, although not nearly as popular as soccer. Especially after the Italians won the World Cup over the summer despite entering the tournament in the midst of a scandal over game fixing in Serie A.
   Malliani says the strength of her game "is at the net." She has no plans to try to play professionally or anything, but is obviously enthusiastic about a sport she’s been playing for six years.
   "I have no idea how the rest of the year will go, but I’m – what’s the word?- optimistic," said Malliani. "I think I’m playing better and so is the team. It’s just really nice to be here and be part of this."
   As Monroe is delighted to have Malliani.
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   Entering the GMC’s, Monroe had won four straight. That streak included two wins over New Brunswick and one victory against Perth Amboy and Bishop Ahr.
   No. 1 singles player Marissa Jendras remained undefeated on the season. She entered the first round of the GMC’s as the No. 8 seed.
   "It’s a shame we didn’t make states because of the way the schedule worked out with the rainouts and bus accident," said Marmorek. "But it is nice to see the team coming around. You can just see everybody relaxing now that we’ve finally gotten some matches in."
   In Wednesday’s first-round GMC matches, Monroe’s first doubles team of Nicolette Waksmundski and Ashley Palach upset fifth-seeded Diana Hernandez and Jen Cardona of Edison, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.