BY WAYNE WITKOWSKI
Staff Writer
One of the few new faces on Brick Memorial’s boys tennis team this spring is the new head coach.
Don MacCarrick takes over for Ron Gerlufsen, who had to resign when he took a school assistant principal’s position at Brick Memorial. MacCarrick had served effectively as junior varsity coach at the school.
“I didn’t get a chance to see these guys last season because the junior varsity played its matches elsewhere while the varsity played its matches,” said MacCarrick. “Everybody’s doing well, but I’ll get a better idea on how they’re doing and the talent out there after a few weeks of the season.”
That began this week as MacCarrick takes over a proven program that has four straight winning seasons, including a 12-7 mark last season, and four straight trips to the NJSIAA and Shore Conference tournaments.
“He [MacCarrick] knows how to interact with the players, just like Mr. G,” said Chris Pimentel, a veteran at third singles. “Those are big shoes to fill, and Mr. G is sorely missed, but Mr. MacCarrick is doing a great job.”
All three singles players return, including seniors Colin Przybylowski, who finished fourth in the Ocean County singles tournament and was 15-7 in first singles; Nick Cittadino, who was 15-6 and third in the county tournament in second singles; and Pimentel, who was fifth in third singles in the county tournament and finished 15-7. Brick Memorial finished in a tie for fourth place with Pinelands in the county tournament team standings, its best finish ever.
“Our coach has high expectations; we’re looking for a great year,” said Cittadino. “I’ve been working with our assistant coach at improving my second serve. My first serve has a lot of power. And a big part of my game again will be keeping the ball in play with not a lot of unforced errors.”
“We’re looking pretty good right now,” said Pimentel, whose brother, Jonathan, is playing his final season at St. Peter’s College. “We’re pretty strong with so many players back, and that’s a huge advantage. We have confidence in each other. Everybody has gotten better and we have good chemistry. One player would go up to another and say, ‘Let’s go out and hit.’ “
Pimentel, who said he has a solid serve like his older brother, has worked on improving his backhand.
“Ron [Gerlufsen] did a pretty good job of getting these guys ready,” said MacCarrick. “They’re really athletic, which helps make up for any deficiencies they may have.”
Dan Yarborough, a junior who broke into the lineup at first doubles late last season, is back there with senior Mike McGowan, who moves up from second doubles. Three seniors rotate in second doubles – Ryan Coyle, Mike Heard and Kyle White.
Brick Township, meanwhile, has a rebuilt lineup from a 7-9 season a year ago.
“We have a lot of seniors this year [no juniors] and not a lot of varsity experience,” said coach Bob Hudak. “But they’ve been playing tennis for three years. We should be pretty competitive at all five spots but not really good at any one of them.”
Dave Concardora, a senior, moves up from first doubles to first singles, replacing graduated Kyle Venerable, thanks to his reliable ground strokes.
“If he keeps the ball in play and cuts down on mistakes, he can give himself a chance in matches,” said Hudak. “He’s doing pretty good. He improved a lot from last year, but it’s tough going up from doubles to first singles.”
Brian Borga, a senior, likewise moves up from second doubles to second singles because of his consistent play. Ray Fayad, a sophomore who played primarily on junior varsity last season, is looking for a solid season at third singles.
“He has really improved from last year,” said Hudak of Fayad. “He plays a good net game and is hitting the ball really hard. He has really nice strokes and his serve is really nice.”
The Darcy twins, who are seniors, are in doubles. Sean Darcy joins sophomore A.J. Kolsea in first doubles. Myles Darcy and senior Anthony Penna are in second doubles.
Sophomore Steve McNellis also is expected to come up from junior varsity, where he will play first singles, for some varsity action this season. Hudak said he also has four promising freshmen.