WEST WINDSOR: WW-PS tennis slips past Knights

Richardson seals Pirate win

By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
   The West Windsor-Plainsboro South boys tennis team’s hopes for a sixth straight Mercer County Tournament title on Wednesday got a big boost this past Tuesday.
   The Pirates held off rival WW-P North, 3-2, just in time as the county coaches prepared for the MCT seeding meeting that was scheduled for Thursday night. Jim Giovacchini was encouraged by what he saw Tuesday.
   ”It was exciting,” said the Pirates head coach. “We could have lost, 4-1. We could have lost, 3-2. We won, 3-2. We also could have won, 4-1. It was just exciting.
   ”I knew North was going to be good this year,” he added. “We lost a lot and they didn’t. It made for an interesting match.”
   The Pirates’ win wasn’t sealed until Julian Richardson rallied to overtake Brandon Frank in a heated second singles match, 1-6, 7-6 (11-9), 6-1. Last year, Richardson played third singles for the Pirates. Tuesday’s win goes down as his first big win of his junior year.
   ”It was a tremendous win for Julian,” Giovacchini said. “The first set was a one-sided affair. He was down in the second and managed to keep it close. He forced that set into a tiebreak, which went to 11-9. That’s unbelievable.”
   Twice, Richardson fought off match points before taking the set and riding the momentum into the clinching third set. WW-P South also won at first singles and first doubles to remain perfect this season, and perfect in the series history.
   ”We’re pretty happy about that,” Giovacchini said. “We’ve never lost to them yet. We hope to keep it that way. We’re one of only a couple sports among the two schools that still have not lost to North. They look forward to that match every year, as I’m sure North does.”
   Richardson spent much of the first half of his match encouraging Peter Ku, a freshman playing third singles for the Pirates. Ku won the first set against Evan Samet, but it was the Samet who rallied with a 7-6 (7-4) second-set win before closing out a the Knights’ final point with a 6-2 third-set win after Richardson had decided the team outcome.
   ”Their kid was tough and kept coming forward and putting pressure on Peter,” Giovacchini said. “Peter couldn’t come up with goods in the end, but it was a great learning experience for Peter.”
   The Pirates’ Demetri Vrahnos, elevated all the way from first doubles last year, was a 6-2, 6-4 winner over Tim Wu, but his win wasn’t nearly as easy as it appears.
   ”Demetri was playing great, especially early on,” Giovacchini said. “But Tim did not give up. He ran off four straight games in the second set to make it 5-4. Demetri fortunately was good enough to close the door and not go into a third set. Tim Wu is a dangerous player. It’s always nice to win in straight sets and not have to worry about a third.”
   The WW-P North second doubles team of Abishy Pandita and Jun Yoshitake was an easier winner, 6-4, 6-0, for the Knights’ first point, but every other flight went to three sets.
   The Pirates’ Daniel Ng and Abhinay Tumati won, 6-1, 2-6, 6-3, at first doubles. Ng returns at first doubles after winning the county title last year with Vrahnos and that experience helped when South trailed, 3-2, in the third set. Experiencing a narrow win this early in the year will be crucial down the road for all the Pirates.
   ”Peter could have won his match,” Giovacchini said. “He had five or six match points. Brandon could have won his. He had at least two match points. Our first doubles was down, 2-3, in the third. Overall, it was close.”
   On Tuesday, though, it was the Pirates that came up with two of three tiebreakers and a big win from Vrahnos at the top of the ladder to gain momentum heading into the start of the MCT on Monday.
   ”It was a good tune-up and a good gauge,” Giovacchini said. “North is going to be one of the top two teams in the county tournament this year.”
   The Pirates hope that Tuesday’s win means they will be there as well.