Hillsborough halts Vikes run in states

By: Rich Fisher
   The dream of glory got a boost last Thursday, but came to a sudden halt on Tuesday.
   Five days after stunning second-seeded West Windsor-Plainsboro South in the Central Jersey Group IV tennis tournament, 10th-seeded South Brunswick High dropped a 5-0 decision at 6th-seeded Hillsborough in Tuesday’s semifinals.
   Despite the loss, it could not take away from an outstanding tournament effort by the 10th-seeded Vikings, who upset the 7th and 2nd seeds en route to the semis.
   The big one came last Thursday, when South Brunswick shocked Mercer County power WW-PS. The Pirates finished second in the Mercer County Tournament and are perennially in the hunt for a Central Jersey title.
   South got a break when Pirates second singles player Annie Scharfstein missed the match with a pulled groin muscle. That forced the Pirates to move third singles up to second, and insert a JV player into third singles.
   "They were short-handed, but that was still a nice win for us," coach Nancy McDonald said. "They always have a strong team, so it was a good win for our program and our girls played well."
   The Vikings took advantage of the reshuffling, as Divya Toshniwal and Ambica Buddhavayapu won at second and third singles. Second doubles Prasannah Ashokkumar and Sindhu Shamasunder also won.
   All three Viking wins were in straight sets, although Toshniwal’s match with Nisha Javeri was not easy as the scores were 7-5 and 6-4.
   At Hillsborough, the Raiders first and second singles buzz-sawed to 6-0, 6-0 wins and first doubles also won in straight sets. Buddhavayapu won her first set, 6-4, before losing 6-1, 6-1, and Ashokkumar-Shamasunder took a 6-1 first set before dropping two heart breakers, 7-5, 6-4.
   "Hillsborough’s first and second singles players are two of the top players in the state," McDonald said. "The second doubles match went for three-and-a-half hours. Despite the team score being 5-0, it could just as well have been 3-2. But we’ll get ’em next time."
   On the individual front, the Vikings first doubles team of Meredith Ragany-Meena Ramachandra had some success in the NJSIAA state doubles tournament last weekend.
   The duo opened by defeating Cinnaminson’s Anna Schlupp and Kim Kronberger, 6-3, 6-0 in Saturday’s first-round match. That was followed by a 6-3, 6-1 win over Wallkill Valley’s Caitlin Lang and Katie Ayres Sunday. In third round, the two fell to Millburn’s Julie Fulop and Gabrielle Pritsker, 6-1, 6-2.