By Rich Fisher, Sports Editor
The South Brunswick High tennis team is in the midst of the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament, but prior to the early-season conference showdowns the Vikes managed a significant achievement.
After missing out last year, SBHS has returned to the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV tournament by virtue of a 4-1 victory over Old Bridge Monday. That left the Vikes at 4-4, the required .500 mark teams needed by Tuesday to get into the states.
”We had a tough early-season schedule and we still got in,” coach Nancy McDonald said. “It’s a great boost for us, team-wise.”
Not to mention, individually, as junior Ali Noll won on Monday to raise her record to 5-3. That gave the junior a .625 winning percentage, which qualified her for the individual state tournament (the requirement is a .600 percentage).
”Ali, match for match is getting better and better, she’s playing really well,” McDonald said. “She’s had to play some really tough matches. A five-match week, which we had last week, is a lot of tennis for singles players.
”And we played great teams with West Windsor South, J.P. Stevens, East Brunswick and North Brunswick, which isn’t having a great year but Ali lost to their girl last year and beat her this year. She’s had a good week of tennis.”
The Vikes hoped that Monday’s win was the start of a good week of team tennis, as they were coming off three straight losses to talented West Windsor-Plainsboro South, East Brunswick and J.P. Stevens.
That left a state berth hanging in the balance, but McDonald was not about to tell her team.
”A lot of times when you say something it’s in the back of their minds,” the coach said. “When you’re playing a team the first time through the schedule you really don’t know who’s returning, what are their strengths and whether they have some new phenom you haven’t heard about.
”That’s enough to deal with. Let alone having to win to get in the states. So we were more focused on the Old Bridge part and just winning against them. We dealt with the state thing after that.”
This week, they’re dealing with the county thing, which began with the first two rounds Wednesday after press time.
Noll was seeded third at first singles, Haley Berk was fourth at second and Erin Kurkela fifth at third. The first doubles team of Suttner-Karen Sendner was fourth and the second doubles tandem of Heather Hui-Christine Wotton was fourth.
The semifinals are scheduled for today (Thursday) and the finals for Saturday, weather permitting.
