Colonials shake up SCT with upset win

BY TIM MORRIS Staff Writer

When the girls tennis Shore Conference Tournament (SCT) had separated the contenders from the pretenders, there was one surprise team still standing when the semifinals were played – Freehold Borough.

The Colonials crashed the SCT party, reaching the semifinals for the first time in school history. They did with two impressive wins, the first over the tournament’s most successful team, Marlboro, and then against the defending champion, Manasquan, both by 3-2 counts.

“This team has overachieved,” said coach Jon Block. “They far exceeded my expectations.

“They met every challenge we’ve asked them to meet,” he added. “Every position has come up big for us in our many 3-2 wins.”

It was a 3-2 win over defending tournament champion Manasquan that signaled the Colonials arrival as one of the elite teams in the conference. To upset the second-seeded Big Blue, the Colonials had to overcome Manasquan’s home court edge and the fact that they had the No. 1- ranked player in the state in Tahlia Smoke.

At Manasquan’s facilities, there are just three courts. It creates a situation where the doubles teams have to sit and wait their turn. By the time it’s their turn to play, they are well aware of the score. The smaller courts bring the crowd more into the play and the Big Blue fans would let the Colonials know whom they were rooting for. But, despite playing on hostile hard courts, the Colonials not only survived, they thrived under the pressure.

“To win, our second singles and doubles had to play their best matches of the year and they did,” said Block.

Smoke was first off the court to give the Big Blue the expected 1-0 lead, but, shortly thereafter, Freehold’s Erica Yih had a straight set 6-2, 6-2 win in the books for the Colonials evening the match.

Manasquan would win at third singles with Laura Turner to take a 2-1 lead.

To pull off the upset, the Colonials would have to sweep the doubles matches.

Freehold’s second-doubles tandem of Lauren Kurlander and Taruja Karmarker evened the match with a three-set 6-1, 0- 6, 6-3 victory.

Now, it was up to Diana Mak and Kaitlen Chou. They fell behind Haley Mc- Neel and Paige Foley losing the first set 3- 6. They came back to take the second, 6-3, and then prevailed in a pressure-packed tiebreaker in the third set, 7-6, winning the breaker, 7-4.

“Everything was on the line and they didn’t get shook up about it,” Block said of his first-doubles team.

In round 16, Freehold Borough drew Marlboro, not only the most decorated team in SCT history, but a team it had never beaten before.

Freehold Borough put history behind it with a 3-2 win. Yih and Wendy McDermott won at second and third singles to give the Colonials a 2-1 edge heading into doubles. Yih survived in three sets against Marlboro’s Danielle Dellaccio, winning 6- 2, 2-6, 6-1.

It was Chou and Mak who provided the winning point, again winning another three-set marathon. They won the first set 7-6 in a tiebreaker, then lost 1-6 in the middle set. The Colonial pair roared back taking the decisive third set, 6-1.

Marlboro’s win came at first singles where freshman Michelle Dassa won in straight sets confirming that she is the Freehold District’s No. 1 player, and at second doubles where Rachel Ger and Marissa Cohen also registered a straightset victory.

Unfortunately for Freehold Borough, the Colonials drew their nemesis in the semifinal on Oct. 2, undefeated No. 1 Wall. It was another 3-2 decision, but this one went to the Crimson Knights in Holmdel (neutral sites for the semifinal round).

Wall had already beaten Freehold Borough 3-2 in its Class B North Division match. The same script played out in Holmdel.

McDermott and the doubles tandem of Kurlander and Karmarker won in straight sets for Freehold’s two points.

Freehold opened play in the Central Jersey Group III section of Thursday against Ocean Township and beat the Spartans, 4-1, to improve to 12-3 for the season.

Mariel Weisbart’s straight-set win at first singles led a Borough sweep at singles. Yih and McDermott also won in straight sets. Kurlander and Karmarker picked up Freehold’s fourth point.

Waiting for the No. 3 Colonials in the state sectional semifinal is No. 2 seed, Wall. The Colonials have to believe at some point there has to be a 3-2 decision with the Knights that goes their way. Maybe it will come in the state tournament.

Weisbart, a freshman, and Yih qualified for the NJSIAAA singles tournament, and Mak and Chou qualified for the doubles tournament. It’s the first time the Colonials have had many players make it to the states.