MONTGOMERY: Ren wins SCT third singles title

Frosh helps Cougars to second

By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
   Mitchell Ren has adjusted quickly to high school tennis.
   The Montgomery High School freshman was as scalding as the weather on his way to the third singles championship at the Somerset County Tournament on Sunday.
   ”It felt really good,” Ren said. “It is a big deal for me. It’s my first year playing high school tennis.”
   The top seed lived up his billing by beating the heat to breeze to the crown. He was a 6-3, 6-1 winner over Bridgewater-Raritan’s Eric Chang in the semifinals and 6-1, 6-0 quarterfinals winner over Bernards’ Tait Ehrenclou on Saturday. Ren stopped second-seeded Andrew Graziano of Ridge, 6-3, 6-0, Sunday, to give the Cougars one win over Ridge that they needed Sunday.
   ”Basically, in the beginning I was grinding and working every point,” Ren said. “Once I had the lead, I was going for more shots and working the ball around.”
   The Cougars finished three points behind Ridge for the team title when the Red Devils won the first and second doubles flights. The Cougars’ Christian Aurup and Shehab Saad reached the second doubles final as the second seed before falling to Ridge.
   ”They were on fire,” said MHS head coach John Arnold. “They played very well. Their serve is coming along. We have a relatively new kid with Shehab playing along with Christian, who’s been playing (varsity) a while.”
   MHS would have needed a Ridge loss at first doubles and a win at second doubles to forge a tie. The Cougars could only wonder what-if they had been given a little more respect before the start of the tournament.
   ”I think it was a bit of a surprise to everyone but us,” Arnold said of the second-place finish. “It was a good thing. We would have liked a better draw.”
   First-singles’ Michael Goldman lost to the top seed and eventual champion Steven Wu of Hillsborough in the semifinals and second singles’ Vincent Chang lost to eventual champion Eric Hsu of Bridgewater-Raritan in the quarterfinals. Nate Seton and Justin Chang lost in the first doubles semifinals. MHS still found plenty of positives in the runner-up team finish.
   ”It’s an improvement from last year,” Ren said. “I think we can do better than that. We had some opportunities and we missed out. People don’t talk that much about Montgomery, but it shows we’re a good competitor in this county.”
   The Cougars will play for the chance to show how good they are beyond the county boundaries. At 2-2, they must at least split their first two matches of this week to reach the .500 level for qualifying for the state tournament. They play J.P. Stevens today after Monday’s scheduled match against Watchung Hills.
   ”I think we have a good chance,” Ren said. “I think we have pretty good depth with this team going from singles to doubles. I think we can compete with the top teams in the county.”
   Adding Ren to the lineup helps. He steps in for Dan Nuzzaci, who played third singles last year before graduating. Ren hasn’t had any problems. He has just one loss this season and a championship now.
   ”We’re trying to impress on him how big this is,” Arnold said. “He doesn’t totally get it. It’s a pretty big deal to win the counties as a freshman.
   ”I don’t know that he feels any pressure ever. He just goes out and plays his game. He’s pretty versatile. He’s an all-courter. He moves very well. That’s probably his strength. He’s good and he’s solid and he’s improving every match.”
   Ren grew up playing tennis and played several Middle States tournaments while in middle school. It helped prepare him for the jump to high school tennis.
   ”I might have more experience than some of these people,” Ren said. “It’s sort of different playing kids in my age group. I’m playing mostly sophomores and juniors. It’s about the same level of play that I’m used to. There are some really good players out there in third singles.”
   Ren had to make a big decision to become one of the best. He gave up baseball after his eighth grade year to focus on tennis.
   ”I was actually pretty competitive in baseball,” Ren said. “I was in AAU.”
   Ren gave it up for the chance to become a better tennis player. He hasn’t looked back as he’s made himself into a quick contributor, and a county champion, with the Cougars.
   ”In the beginning or the season, I was a little nervous, a little tight,” he said. “I’m used to it now and I’m going out and just playing.”