Farrah Smoke (Manasquan) made Brookdale Community College tennis history when she captured the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division III First Singles championship.
The sophomore became the school’s first player to win a national title at first singles.
The NJCAA championships were held at the Billy Jean King Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. on Oct. 26.
Smoke defeated Nicole Beck of Rock Valley, Ill. in the NJCAA Division III finals, 6-2, 6-1. The match only lasted one hour and 15 minutes.
Unseeded, Smoke defeated the tournament’s top-seed, Kate Mospanova from Kingsborough, 6-1, 6-2, in the semifinals.
Smoke did not drop a set in the tournament and only lost a total of 10 games in her four matches. The national championship comes on the heels of Smoke’s victory at the Region XIX championships. She defeated Ocean’s Amanda Cabey, 6-2, 6-2, in the final.
Smoke teamed with Taylor Kutzin (Red Bank) at First Doubles and finished third at the national tournament after winning the consolation round. Smoke and Kutzin were seeded No. 2, but they lost in the quarterfinals. They came back to win three matches in the consolation bracket to claim third place.
Kutzin and Smoke qualified for the national championships by winning the Region XIX title in three sets. They defeated Ocean’s Cabey and Annmarie Wodell, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.
Kutzin, a freshman, also competed in the No. 2 singles flight for Brookdale.
Additionally, Smoke won the National Academic award for having the highest GPA for all student-athletes competing in the tournament.