GIRLS TENNIS
By: John E. Powers.
With five games left in the season, the Lawrence High School tennis team still has quite a bit to play for, according to first-year head coach Mick Cimorelli.
The season has been a success. The Cardinals earned their first state tournament victory since 1999 last Tuesday when they knocked off Willingboro 4-1.
The Cardinals were beaten by top-seed and perennial state power Moorestown, 5-0, in the Central Jersey Group III quarterfinals, beat Pennington 4-1, then lost to West Windsor-Plainsboro North 5-0 Monday. The Cardinals have a 9-6 record.
"We went into the Moorestown match with the mindset of playing the best as we could," he said. "We competed."
Moorestown, winners of the last five of six state titles and 15 straight South Jersey Group III titles, beat Hopewell Tuesday 5-0 to advance to the sectional final.
The Cardinals play Hopewell Valley Friday and Notre Dame Tuesday both at home, then play at Steinert Thursday.
"It’s been a successful season so far," Cimorelli said. "We need to keep them focused for the final two weeks. I think we can really cap it off against Steinert and Notre Dame. We lost 4-1 matches to them the first time around, but they were both winnable matches. We want to challenge the kids to win those matches."
The eighth-seeded Cardinals beat ninth-seeded Willingboro The second-doubles team of Erica Nagy and Margot Berger scored a 6-0, 6-1 victory for the Cardinals before Ashley Russo won at third singles over LeQuida Joseph, 6-3, 6-0.
Senior Michelle Drzewiecka and senior Jamasia Tucker clinched the match with their 6-1, 6-3 victory at first doubles. Second-singles player Aleeha Fazle also won, defeating Theresa Pogue, 6-2, 6-1
"Second doubles has been very consistent for us this year," first-year head coach Mick Cimo relli said. "They have been picking up points at the back end of matches. First doubles, they just play terrific together."
Willingboro won at first singles where Adebukola Ajagunna beat Sarah Rached, 6-0, 6-4. Lawrence won both doubles matches in three sets in Monday’s win over Pennington. Tucker and Erica Nagy rallied to win after dropping the first set at first doubles and Margot Berger and Jen Barrett won a third set tiebreaker at second doubles. Junior Aleeha Fazle won second singles and Russo won at third.
The Cardinals are an outstanding 18-6 in doubles play in the regular season.Rached lost a tough 6-3, 7-5 decision to North’s Jackie Tseng and Russo fell to Caroline Chang 7-5, 7-6 and 7-0 in the tiebreaker.
"It was a little frustrating," Cimorelli. "Sara and Ashley’s matches were very good matches and they lost to good players. North is one of the better schools around."

