By Justin Feil, The Packet Group
There are some nice boys on the Hillsborough High School tennis team, but that doesn’t mean that they wanted to share the Somerset County Tournament title.
The Raiders sent four flights to the finals to position themselves as the favorite going into the championship day Sunday. Pawel Mankowski and Will Henderson remained unbeaten this year as they captured the second doubles title, 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 over Bridgewater-Raritan.
”They were the No. 1 seed,” said Hillsborough head coach Larry Johnson. “They lived up to what they were supposed to do. They had to work for it. In every round, they had to work for that championship.”
Hillsborough finished second at three other flights to allow Montgomery, which won two flights, to tie them for the team championship.
”When I look at the whole thing,” Johnson said, “is it possible that we could have grabbed one more point? Probably somewhere, but the fact that we’re co-champs in Somerset County is something that the kids should be proud of. It’s recognized as one of, if not the best county in the state.”
The first-place finish was a big improvement over last season when the Raiders placed fourth. Winning a piece of the county title, any way you look at it, is something that will go down in Hillsborough history.
”I’ve been coaching for 12 years and we definitely haven’t won a county,” Johnson said. “And I’ve coached some pretty good teams. Hillsborough may have won the county in ‘91.”
To send four flights into the finals was notice of the Cougars strength and depth. Steven Wu advanced to the first-singles championship, Mike Zhang reached the second-singles title match, and the first doubles combination of Evan Clayton and Arsalan Khan joined second doubles in qualifying for the finals.
Mankowski and Henderson kept their perfect season intact to pace the Raiders to a share of the title.
”Our county has some strong second doubles team,” Johnson said. “The team they beat from Ridge, we’ve battled Ridge so far this season. They’ve played two three-setters at least with them. They went three sets today with the Bridgewater team. They went a three-setter the last time they played. It’s not the traditionally weaker spot. Bridgewater and Montgomery’s second doubles, these kids are all really good players.
”Pingry’s second doubles came out really playing well (Saturday). So it’s not like they walked through the title. They handled every situation well. That’s why they’re undefeated and county champions.”
They almost had some company in first doubles. If the tournament was another week later, the Raiders’ Clayton and Khan could be even tougher to handle.
”First doubles, their bell curve is going up slowly, but they’re getting better,” Johnson said. “They beat two teams they lost to in the regular season in counties. They really pushed the Pingry team in the final. They lost 7-5, 7-6 to a team that blew them off the court just on Thursday.
”They didn’t win it, but I’m really pleased with the weekend they had. They can look at their points being key to us winning. They’ve got a lot to be proud of. When I look at the weekend, first doubles is the team I’m really happy with how they performed this weekend.”
The Raiders singles also picked up key points with their semifinal wins to reach the finals. There, they ran into some hot players and tough conditions before taking second place in the top two flights. Ridge’s Alex Ruderman defeated Wu in straight sets, and Zhang lost to Montgomery’s Mitchell Ren.
”Mike Zhang was an underdog, but he had a great semifinal and dealt with the ups and downs against the guy from Franklin,” Johnson said. “He played a great final. I liked his chances today. Mitchell Ren beat him off the court when we played them in the regular season, and today he went to a third set.
”I’m confident in just about every position. It really just depends on the matchup and who’s playing them. I have confidence in Steven Wu every match, but he goes up against some fantastic kids.”
The competition won’t get any easier as the Raiders return to the second half of the Skyland Conference schedule. They were scheduled to play Franklin on Wednesday and host North Hunterdon today. Next Tuesday, they face a rematch with Montgomery, which won the first regular-season meeting, 3-2. The regular season is preparing Hillsborough for the North Jersey 2, Group IV state tournament.
”I think they’re really focused on getting a sectional title,” Johnson said. “The fact that we’re really close is great. We’re playing heads-up tennis with the Montgomery tennis team that is ranked No. 1 in the state right now. That has to be the standard. This team has the confidence to believe they can win the sectional title.
”We have some tough matches in the conference coming up. We have Princeton Day on Monday, and Franklin and North Hunterdon. Those are teams we’re going to have to work against to win. All that experience against good competition builds us up to go into the state tournament. I like where we are and how we’re playing. We still can get better and it looks like we’re doing that.”
Johnson saw signs of major improvement everywhere in the county tournament. The Raiders pushed four flights through to the finals in one of the toughest tournaments in the state, and their only disappointment was in having to settle for a tie with a Montgomery team that closed quickly.
”I’m sure after they got that last match, they felt excited,” Johnson said of Montgomery. “Our kids feel a little unsatisfied. But it was still very rewarding to be where we are.”
