By Justin Feil, The Packet Group
The Robbinsville High School girls tennis team came into this season with higher expectations than ever.
In already tying last year’s season-long win total and advancing further than ever before in the state team tournament, the Ravens have met those hopes.
Said Ravens second-year head coach Raheel Saleem: “Knowing when I came in last season with the girls for the first time, and knowing I was getting everyone back for next year, I had a strong indication, once I had them work with my philosophy for the players and the doubles teams, I knew we had the possibility of making it deep.”
The fifth-seeded Ravens rolled through 12th-seeded Monmouth to open the Central Jersey Group II state tournament with a 5-0 win. Robbinsville did the same, cruising past fourth-seeded Rahway, 5-0, behind dominant play in every flight in the quarterfinals.
Rithika Korrapolu was a 6-0, 6-0 winner at first singles, Juhi Rajgopal took a 6-2, 6-3 win at second singles and Andrea Youngken won the third singles point, 6-0, 6-0. The doubles were equally brilliant. Dibya Patnaik and Nicole Testa won, 6-2, 6-2, at first doubles, and Darshee Patnaik and Kristina Reid won, 6-2, 6-2, as well as second doubles.
”We’ve been playing some really good tennis against good competition,” Saleem said. “It was 3-2 with West Windsor (Plainsboro High) North, and their last win was in a super tiebreaker. They’re one of the best teams in the state, so we’ve improved quite a bit.”
It took a terrific team to end the Ravens’ deepest run in the state tournament. In the sectional semifinals, Robbinsville fell to top-seeded and unbeaten Holmdel, 5-0. But at 9-3 heading into Wednesday’s scheduled match against Hopewell Valley, there is plenty of pride among the Ravens. They were 9-8 overall last year, but they are looking to make winning and contending for championships a tradition.
”Every year, and every practice, we go over what I’m looking for, especially with the doubles teams,” Saleem said. “We’re trying here at Robbinsville to develop a program. All the JV kids do doubles. From watching the stronger teams, they all have good doubles teams and do that. Princeton, Hopewell and West Windsor, they’re such good programs. They’re a good resource for me. I watch what they do.”
Saleem knew that the Ravens had the potential to take a big step forward this year. Korrapolu returned for her third year at first singles, and the junior has proven her abilities. She played in the state singles tournament and took out Rachel Schweighart of Kittatinny in a super-tiebreaker in quite a comeback. Korrapolu dropped the first set, 4-6, but rallied to win the second, 6-4. She pulled away for a 10-2 win in the super-tiebreaker. Korrapolu took that momentum into the second round where she stopped Marlboro’s Haley Barnett, 6-2, 6-4, before an injury forced her withdrawal before the round of 32.
”She played well in the individual and unfortunately got hurt,” Saleem said. “The whole team has been sick. I’ve been giving them a few days off here and there to try to get better.”
The Ravens have been making other teams feel queasy this year. Their singles lineup got an upgrade this year with the return of Rajgopal, who played only a few matches last year due to injury, and Youngken, who missed last year with an injury.
”It’s something we definitely missed last season,” Saleem said. “It’s helped having them back.”
It moved down some other players in the Ravens lineup, which has strengthened their doubles.
”My first doubles, Nicole Testa, played second singles last year,” Saleem said. “This year has been a bit of a transition for her. We were trying to balance our teams and she had to play with a lot of different players. I look at her as a leader. The girls look up to her. Having her on the first doubles with a sophomore, I put her in the Mercer County Tournament and she had zero experience at the varsity level. Watching them interact and her be a leader, it shows the sort of leader she is. She’s been a huge help.”
Saleem has plenty of confidence in his second doubles. That pairing has as much experience as any in the county.
”Darshee and Kristina, they’ve been playing together the past three years,” Saleem said. “They were the third seed in the Mercer County Tournament and they lost to the Hun School. This year, they lost to Princeton and Holmdel were the only two losses they’ve had, I think. They beat Plainsboro North. You can tell the chemistry is there between them.”
The Ravens even have added another coach, Ken Diaz, who has been a helpful assistant to Saleem. The doubles has been a point of focus for Robbinsville. Saleem gave his players every opportunity to step into the lineup.
”In the offseason, I had let the girls know I was going to change the format of how I was looking at players,” Saleem said. “They knew no one was graduating and we were getting players back from injury. A lot of them worked in the offseason. I told them I was going to focus on specific aspects — where they’re serving, their lobs, and take specifics from them. They knew what I was going to be looking for and that’s what they worked on.”
Robbinsville came into the season hungry to prove that it has improved as a program, and they have done that through the first half of the regular season and with their state run. They are hoping to close the year just as strong.
”We play Hopewell twice, we play Allentown twice, Hightstown once and Plainsboro South once, and Nottingham needs to get rescheduled,” Saleem said. “We have three very tough ones, and all the teams are pretty good. It’s just a matter if how the girls want to come out and play.”
Robbinsville has already impressed by matching last year’s win total, playing well through the MCT and extending its longest run at the state tournament. They got there with a new dedication that had the renting court time in the offseason and taking private lessons and doing the sorts of things that the top programs in the state do.
”They did everything I asked of them, and it shows,” Saleem said. “It’s great. I hope they’ll do that next year so they come back even better.”
