Holmdel High School’s Dennis Barlotta returns a shot during his second singles match with Christian Brothers Academy in the Shore Conference Tournament finals May 6 at the Atlantic Club in Manasquan. Barlotta won his match in straight sets, and the Hornets won their seventh straight Shore Conference Tournament crown, 4-1, over the Colts. FRANK GALIPO The Holmdel High School boys tennis team continues to rule the postseason. Led by reigning NJSIAA singles champion Michael Chen, the Hornets earned their seventh consecutive Monmouth County and Shore Conference titles. Now, a year after dropping the Group II title match to Haddonfield Memorial High School, the team is going for the trifecta in 2015.
“Getting a chance at the Tournament of Champions would be great,” head coach Chuck Chelednik said. “It would be nice to get a shot at the big boys, and then we’ll see what happens.”
Holmdel cruised to a Monmouth County Tournament championship May 3 by sweeping all five individual titles.
At first singles, Chen won his third straight county title with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School’s David Weltz. Junior Dennis Barlotta handled his second singles match against Tyler Lubin of Rumson-Fair Haven, 6-0, 6-2. Sophomore Harrison Lin took a 6- 1, 6-0 decision at third singles, opposite Marlboro High School’s Matthew Cruz. Charles Jiang and Blain Liang also won in two sets, 7-6, 6-4, giving Holmdel the first doubles crown. Manasquan High School’s Patrick Pompilio and Brendan Kelly were the runners-up. Justin Wain and Will Kim defeated Manalapan High School’s Ben Brik and Sai Polavarapu at second doubles, 6-0, 6-1, to complete the sweep.
Three days later, the Hornets tacked on a victory in the Shore Conference Tournament finals.
Chen and Barlotta put points on the board for Holmdel, and the team won both doubles matches to secure a 4-1 win over Christian Brothers Academy (CBA), which appeared in its first Shore Conference Tournament final since 2012.
Chen’s first singles match against Anthony Dein ended in straight sets, 6-0, 6-1. Barlotta battled Sean Reilly to a 6-4, 6-2 win. CBA senior Jack Fitzsimmons grabbed a point for the Colts at third singles, beating Lin, 7-6 (5), 6-3.
Holmdel again put its strengthening doubles performance on display. Jiang and Liang triumphed at first doubles, 6-4, 7-5, earning a hard-fought win over Justin Pellegrino and Andrew DeMaio.
Second doubles marked the only match to last three sets. Wain and Kim outlasted Joe Bean and Quinn Normoyle, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2.
With the momentum from two tournament trophies, Holmdel (21-3) is eager to avenge its loss in last year’s Group II championship matchup and return to the Tournament of Champions. The powerhouse tennis program took home back-to-back group titles in 2012 and 2013.
And if another NJSIAA title is in the cards, Holmdel needs to maintain consistency in doubles play.
“We were missing one of our first doubles players (David Lin), but we played very well. It’s a testament to our depth. Our doubles are slowly getting better with each match,” Chelednik said.
Holmdel understands how critical its doubles matches will be in the state tournament. Chelednik wants to take some of the pressure off singles by capitalizing on the team’s depth. “We can’t just rely on singles sweeping. No team in the state has three singles that are that good,” Chelednik said.
The head coach likes Holmdel’s odds in the NJSIAA tournament. Looking ahead at a possible sectional title, Chelednik believes Summit High School is “probably the team to beat” in the group stage.
First, Holmdel must tackle its sectional competition. The top-seeded Hornets breezed through their first Central Jersey Group II matchup, a 5-0 quarterfinal win over North Plainfield High School. Holmdel was in line to face Arthur L. Johnson High School or Manasquan in the semifinals.
On the other side of the bracket, thirdseeded Robbinsville High School and sixthseeded Matawan Regional High School were scheduled to face off in another quarterfinal. The winner will face No. 2-seed Rumson- Fair Haven Regional High School, which lost to Holmdel twice during the regular season. Rumson-Fair Haven defeated Monmouth Regional High School to advance.
Central Jersey Group II semifinals are May 14, and the title match is May 18.