By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Zach Anderson and Nikil Pancha have Montgomery High School ordering yet another state championship banner for doubles tennis.
After stopping top-seeded Livingston in the semifinals, the fourth-seeded Cougars’ senior duo stopped second-seeded Newark Academy, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-3), in the state doubles tournament title match last Thursday. It’s the first doubles title for the MHS boys and makes Montgomery the first school in state history to win the boys and girls doubles titles in the same academic year.
“I’m glad that we’re the first,” Pancha said. “I was surprised that we were the first. I was surprised that no one had gotten there from Montgomery, but I think they’ll get there in future years.
“I think the coolest thing is that we won boys and girls in the same year. That’s what I was thinking of more than being the first time winning it. For the historical part, I was thinking more about the part that we won both boys and girls in the same year.”
Emily Roeper and Kim Szakats were there to cheer on the two boys who equaled their feat. It was a tight match throughout with the Cougars winning in tiebreakers in both sets to make history.
“Every point, every game was so close,” Anderson said. “A whole set couldn’t decide who was the better team. In the big points, in the tiebreakers, we were able to play our best tennis. That’s what helped us get through.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” he added. “It’s something I’ve dreamed about for so long. It’s incredible for not just me and Nikil, but Montgomery and the tennis program. It shows how good of a tennis program we are. At a lot of schools, Nikil and I might be playing singles. Here we’re doubles and had an opportunity to go for a state championship.”
With the championship, the two earned another banner for MHS. It’s the first on the boys side. The girls program has won two state doubles championships.
“That’s the thing I was looking forward to the most,” Anderson said. “That’s going to be there for all current and future Montgomery students. That was definitely something that was some added motivation for myself.”
Said Pancha: “It’s really nice. I wouldn’t like to end my high school career with a loss. It’s nice to finish high school tennis winning states, winning six matches in a row. We knew we needed to play really well to beat any of these teams. When we did, we were very happy with how it turned out.”
To win it, the Cougars pairing had to rally in both sets against Newark Academy. In the first set, MHS trailed, 6-5, before tying it up to force a tiebreaker. They were down, 5-4, in the second set, but did not let the match go to a third set.
“I wasn’t think about the score at all,” Pancha said. “We were down, 5-6, in one of the sets. The first set, I was thinking, ‘If we lose this, we lost the first set yesterday and still came back to win it.’ But I really didn’t want to play a three-set match. I wasn’t thinking about it. It was, hit your return properly, hit it cross court and win it. The second set was the same thing, just hit well. We did execute well.”
In doing so, they helped MHS head coach Erik Tavel enjoy watching another doubles champion crowned. Tavel may just be the doubles whisperer after becoming the first coach in the state to see his doubles teams both crowned.
“It almost hasn’t settled in,” Tavel said. “With the girls, it was a magical ride that was almost unexpected. I don’t think it hit me. Now with the boys, it’s more unexpected.
“I feel honored I was given the opportunity to work with such good players. To work with them and experience it first-hand was pretty special.”
Tavel watched the duo grow into a terrific team through the season. They had started playing together in the offseason because of the chance they’d be in the doubles lineup. Pancha had played third singles, but knew the Cougars had two new strong singles players joining the team while Anderson had started last year at first doubles before his partner moved and he dropped to second doubles with his new partner. Their games matched and led them on a memorable ride.
“We knew we were going up against a great team,” Tavel said. “With Zach and Nikil as they started progressing and noticing the ceiling they had, I thought if they put it together, they had the ability to do it. Just like the girls, in the biggest moment, it came together.”
It didn’t happen overnight, though both are outstanding players on their own. They worked to get a title shot.
“It’s a product of us practicing a lot,” Pancha said. “We played together three times a week throughout the year. It showed in how we played when we had to step up our game. We played quite a few decent teams this year and we’ve had a few lessons. We figured out what worked and how we worked best together and from there we played our game. In that sense, it’s nice to see when we put everything in, we’re just as good as everyone else or better.”
The two benefited from all their matches, and they used then to gauge their state crown chances. They won the Somerset County Tournament, but then lost in the regular season to Hillsborough. The only other duo to beat them was Livingston in the Group IV state semifinals, but the Cougars avenged that super tiebreaker loss with a three-set win in the doubles tournament semifinals.
“During our regular season, we didn’t really play the top three teams, Livingston, Millburn and Newark Academy,” Anderson said. “By the semifinal and final, we had played good teams. Losing that (Livingston) match was a good experience. It helped us bounce back. In this tournament, we won a lot of big points, tiebreakers and break points. That loss against Livingston definitely helped us.”
The final matchup brought with it some of the unknown. Montgomery hadn’t faced Newark Academy in the season — they’ve tried unsuccessfully repeatedly to get in Newark’s prestigious tournament — and they weren’t sure how they would stack up against the top seed. It took just a few games to feel them out.
“We saw they had really good volleys and they were solid at net,” Pancha said. “One of them had quite a good service return. For that, we didn’t call many poaches when we were serving to him. I just kept the ball cross court on the deuce side until I got an opportunity. He wasn’t missing, he was playing really well. The other person, I think we did better against him. They could both return our serves pretty well, which was a definite change from our previous match. We were still able to attack off our serve and win those games.”
Said Anderson: “They’re definitely one of the toughest teams we played this season. Every team has a different style, a different way they play. They were definitely one of the best teams we played.”
The Cougars had spent the season proving themselves. They had played well enough to win at the county tournament, but they were far better by the state tournament. Part of it, said Tavel, was that they were seniors. Even though neither had been to the doubles tournament, their maturity helped them handle the big moments to help claim another title for MHS.
“I don’t know if that will ever be done again,” Tavel said. “Not just one, but two in the same year, that’s nuts. It’s very exciting. They now are remembered forever. Their names are hanging there forever. These are stories they can tell their grandchildren. As a coach, I can feel like I was a part of this. Out of the four kids, we have one coming back, Emily Roeper, who we have to find a new partner.
“It’s so exciting. I was with these kids on JV, both the boys and girls. To accomplish this and achieve the dream together, it’s pretty amazing.”
