Vikings try to figure out tennis lineup as season approaches

By: Rich Fisher
   It’s cutdown week on the South Brunswick High tennis courts, as coach Nancy McDonald tries to whittle approximately 10 players down to a seven-girl starting lineup.
   This week and next week will feature ladder challenge matches as the Vikes try to replace four graduated starters and, for a little while at least, an injured sophomore.
   Ali Noll, who claimed the first singles spot and went 9-11 as a freshman last season, has yet to practice due to a rib injury. McDonald is unsure when Noll will return, but hopes she can start to practice by next week. The Vikes opener is Sept. 7.
   "She hurt it around the first of August, it could have been stress or an over-use type of injury," McDonald said. "It’s a little setback for now and it’s a shame because she really feels like she’s ready to step up in that first singles spot this year."
   Until Noll’s return, the lone returning starters in the challenge matches are seniors Divya Toshniwal, who went 9-9 at second doubles last year, and Sindhu Shamasunder, who combined to go 13-2 at second doubles with the graduated Prasannah Ashokkumar.
   Despite a lack of varsity experience, McDonald still feels there is enough talent for the Vikings to at least equal last year’s 13-5 record, which included a 10-4 Red Division mark in the Greater Middlesex Conference.
   "The talent is there, it’s just that we don’t have much experience at the varsity level," said McDonald, whose team will once again try and challenge East Brunswick and J.P. Stevens. "They haven’t played the EB’s or the JP’s or West Windsor type caliber teams in singles. Only Divya knows what’s going to happen there.
   "But I think they’ve had enough match experience on a the JV team, to where I think they’ll have some success. Without Ali we definitely have to pull points from everywhere in the order. It always comes down to bottom of order and how deep you are, I think we have pretty good depth. I had 30 girls come out and kept 23, so I didn’t have to do a major cut."
   Several newcomers are used to winning, as the Viking JV had a 7-0 record last season.
   Other than Toshniwal and Shamasunder, others who are vying for spots in the lineup, are seniors Irene Donne, Anusha Kodoru and Priyanka Gehlot, juniors Hayley Berk and Brooke Adelung and sophomores Erin Kurkela, Karen Sendner and Leah Suttner. Donne and Kodoru got a taste of varsity play but were mainly JV performers.
   "Basically, whoever doesn’t make the top three as singles players will be in the mix for doubles," McDonald said. "That usually pans out as to who are the best doubles players. Anyone can hit the ball back and forth playing singles, but they’re not all good doubles players.
   "They’re all really working very hard. They’re playing two out of three set matches in the heat so they’re getting in shape. Most of them have played all summer and are in pretty good shape. It’s just a matter of working through this process of elimination."
   LOBS: McDonald has a new JV assistant coach this year in Sandra Lucarella, who played tennis in high school and is a guidance counselor at SBHS.