By: Rich Fisher
The one good thing about being the 5th-seeded South Brunswick High tennis team, as opposed to being top-seeded and undefeated West Windsor-Plainsboro South team, is that when the two meet today in the Central Jersey Group IV Tournament, all the pressure is on the Pirates.
Of course, that might not mean much if WW-PS (15-0) comes out and smokes the Vikings with two-set victories up and down the lineup.
But if South Brunswick (14-2) comes out with some grittiness in today’s (Thursday’s) match and battle the Pirates point for point, it could make things interesting. The one problem with being the favorite as well as the defending CJ IV champion is the pressure mounts if you are in danger of being upset.
"They have all their returning players from last year," coach Nancy McDonald said. "They graduated their first singles player but they’ve got three solid ‘first singles-like’ singles players. That’s my take on it. Our guys are all playing first singles players (today).
"So, I try to tell them that the more consistent they are, the longer they stay in a rally, the more pressure the other guy feels and they start trying to end things quickly. And when you do that you make mistakes, which could lead to some errors, which could lead to a momentum change.
"I’m telling them not to do anything they’re not capable of doing. Stay in a rally with them, and let them make the first move."
South Brunswick reached the semis by breezing past 4th-seeded Sayreville, 4-1. Najeeb Hussain and Mike Finkelberg won in dominating fashion at second and third doubles, while Niket Khanna-Arjun Kumble and Edward Rodionov-Nick Dau won two-setters at first and second doubles.
"We had two quick singles wins," McDonald said. "They were off the court very quickly. All we needed was a doubles win, and both doubles teams went 7-6 tiebreakers in the first set. So it was in no way a walk-over. If you lose that first, you never know what will happen in the second.
"But they hung on and they both won, so we avoided any trouble."
The Vikes opened states with a 5-0 win over Hunterdon Central last Thursday. Arjun Sapra won at first singles, and the rest of the gang followed suit.
If the Vikings can upset WW-PS, they would play the Hillsborough-East Brunswick winner for the sectional title on Monday.
"We’re playing to win," McDonald proclaimed.
