LHS tennis achieves a lot

GIRLS TENNIS

By: Mike Molaro
   When head coach Mick Cimorelli looks back at his first year with the Lawrence High School girl’s tennis squad, he’ll see a season filled with more highs than lows.
   The 10-9 record, including a gutsy 3-2 triumph over The Pennington School with a patchwork lineup, speaks volumes for a team that surprised a lot of people along the way.
   "It was a good season for us," Cimorelli said. "We had a couple of close matches that I would’ve liked to have back, but overall we were solid. We met many of the expectations I had for the team. That win over Pennington really stands out. We were missing a couple of players and won at second and third singles and our second doubles team won it for us."
   The Cardinals also earned their first state tournament victory since 1999 and defeated Willingboro, 4-1, in the opening round of the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III Tournament. Lawrence fell in the second round to eventual Group III state champion Moorestown.
   This year’s Mercer County Tournament was a tough time for the Cardinals as they had two first-round matches against West Windsor-Plainsboro South, two against Princeton, and one against Stuart Country Day School.
   "Everyone went out in the first round," added Cimorelli. "The MCT is the luck of the draw and we had an extremely tough draw at each slot."
   Lawrence completed it season by defeating Trenton, 5-0, with straight-set wins at each position on Oct. 24 and falling to WW-P South, 6-0, on Oct 26. The Pirates had two seniors who didn’t see action this season and the Cardinals agreed to play three doubles teams.Against the Tornadoes, senior Sarah Rached at first singles (6-0, 6-0), sophomore Ashley Russo at second singles (6-1, 6-0), and senior Michelle Drzewiecka at third singles (6-2, 6-0) started the romp. The domination continued with senior Jamasia Tucker and junior Erica Nagy at first singles (6-0, 6-0) and sophomore Jen Barrett and senior Peria Azhir at second doubles (6-0, 6-0).
   Lawrence is losing four seniors but returning three players next season. After that, though, the cupboard is pretty bare.
   "Our three players coming back potentially are our top three singles players," Cimorelli said. "We are very raw behind them. We are looking for recruits and hoping that our junior varsity players work hard in the summer."
   The Cardinals have laid a solid foundation for the future with a winning season and a talented returning core unit. If they can get the numbers they’re looking for, next year could pay huge dividends.