Replacing your first two singles players is a challenge for any tennis team. Itwas especially challenging for Freehold Township, a teamthatwas close to joining the Shore’s elite. The Patswere 13-6 last spring and finished second to perennial championMarlboro in the Shore Conference ANorth Division.
Freehold Township would have been expected to challenge theMustangs againwith their doubles teams intact and third singles starter Brian Schwartz. But what to do about No. 1 and No. 2 singles? Enter the Jedlinski twins, Francis and Carl, freshmen who have made the Pats an even stronger teamin ’08.Witness the fact that they are in a three-way tie with Christian Brothers Academy andMarlboro for first place in the division, with each having one loss.
Head coach Phil Pender said he knew about Francis and Carl well before they stepped foot in Freehold Township, and they’ve had the impact he expected.
Francis Jedlinski is playing first singles and has been outplaying older, stronger players with his ground strokes.
Carl Jedlinski is playing second singles and has displayed an ability to wear opponents down.
“Carl is very consistent,” said Pender. “He was able to turn it around after losing the first set againstMiddletown South.”
With the Jedlinski twins fortifying the first and second singles slot, the returning Pats have picked up where they left off last season: winning.
Philip Lavin, a junior, and Matthew Pfeffer, a sophomore, are together for the second straight year. They qualified for the states in ’07.
Senior co-captains Austin Schindel and Matt Juron are playing second doubles. They provided the winning point in the team’s 3-2 victory over Christian Brothers Academy earlier in the season.
The CBA match and the Pats’ home match with defending champion Marlboro onApril 16 were “a real measuring stick for us,” according to Pender.
What the Mustangs found is that Marlboro has reloaded (they lost their first singles player to graduation) and is still the team to beat.
Marlboro put itself right back in the A North huntwith a 3-2win over the Patriots. It was the Pats’ (6-1) first loss of the year.
TheMustangsmay not have the stars as in the past, but they are capable of getting a point at any position, and that’s why they were able to get past Freehold Township on the road.
Hitesh Daggabuti, who played third singles in ’07, is playing second singles. As a senior, he has loads of experience, and he used it to win a three-set marathon with Carl Jedlinski. Daggabuti won 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
Brian Lisser,whowas playing doubles in 2007, is at third singles, where he won a big match for Marlboro. He pulled out a backand forth first set in a tiebreaker, 7-6, (1) and then grabbed the second set 6-2.
DerinGoodman andAdamOrchant,who had doubles experience last year, but not as a team, are the team’s first doubles combo.
Richie Guh heads the second doubles teamwithDavid Eisner, a frosh,withAfshin Himani seeing time with him.
It was Guh and Eisner who pulled out a dramatic three-set win that gave the triumph toMarlboro.
They rallied to win the first set, 7-5, and then dropped the second set to Schindel and Juron, 6-4. The third set couldn’t have been more pressurized, going to a tiebreaker that Guh and Eisner won, 7-5 for the 7-5, 4-6, 7- 6 (5) victory and a 3-2Marlboro win.
With Marlboro, Freehold Township and CBAhaving traded wins against each other (CBA beat Marlboro 3-2) the division title will be up for grabs in the second half of the season. Today, Freehold Township is at CBA for their rematch. On April 30 CBA visits Marlboro. And, the match that will most likely settle the division oneway or the other won’t be untilMay 5,when the Patriots visit Marlboro.
Colonials defending B North champions
Freehold Borough has emerged in the last couple of year as the district’s best team. The Colonials, now coached by Larry Boice, are looking to hold on to their B North title this spring, and they have theirwork cut out for them. The Colonials are 5-1 with their lone loss to rival Ocean Township, 3-2. The rematch is April 30 in Freehold. They will need that win to catch the Spartans.
Ocean and Freehold Borough are two of the best teams in the Shore again.
The Colonials are a veteran team returning three singles players and first doubles team.
Senior co-captains Kevin Sun and JeremyGoldman are playing second and third singles. The trio helped the Colonials pull out a 3-2 win over Monmouth Regional last week that kept the Colonials one game in back of Ocean.
Greg Zimmerman and SidMelkote, who played second doubles for the Borough last spring, havemoved up to first doubles. Zimmerman, a senior, and Melkote, a sophomore, have benefited from a year of playing together. Their teamwork gives them an edge in matches.
The newcomers to the lineup are the second doubles teamof juniorMihieKhokhanni and senior Nischay Rege.
Freehold has been getting solid play from both doubles teams providing them with a balance that all winning teams require.
“We’re looking forward to a strong season,” noted Boice.
Back inANorth, ColtsNeck (3-2) is looking to be a state playoff team. They return all but one doubles player from the squad thatwent 11-10.MikeWindeman,Matt Loving and Parth Parikh form an experienced singles line-up. Windeman is a junior while Loving and Parikh are senior veterans.
Ari Ades and Stephen Daniels play first doubles, with Krishan Parikh and Dillon Sullivan, a freshman and only new face in the line-up, at second doubles.
Manalapan is rebuilding with a young team led by junior Mitchell Rosenberg at first singles; Derrick Cowit (senior) and BrandonMillman (junior) complete the singles lineup.
Philip Katz (senior) and Nolan Bilder (sophomore) are the first doubles tandem, and freshmen Mauro DeTrizio and Enrique Martinez are playing second doubles.
At Howell, sophomore Antonio Grassia has been one of the area’s better first singles players.
Alex Courtney and Nick Grassi round out the singles trio.Both are underclassmen.
Steve Bonk and Kevin Gaskill are the first doubles tandem, with Jon Broschart and Andrew Lacombe playing second doubles.