By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Raheel Saleem is always confident that his Montgomery High School first doubles team will play well together.
“They’ve been in sync forever,” said the Cougars head coach.
Amy and Ally Yan are twins in their first year on the MHS varsity. They were straight set winners and Shannon Lu and Emily Roeper won their singles matches in three sets apiece as the top-seeded Cougars topped Hunterdon Central, 3-2, for the Central Jersey Group IV championship Tuesday.
“I’m really proud of how we did and the team,” said Ally, the older of the twins by eight minutes. “They’re all awesome players. During this match, they really pulled through.”
Montgomery’s flights are a lot different from a year ago when Hunterdon Central upset them in the sectional semifinals. The Yan sisters are new to varsity as is the second doubles tandem of Isabelle Kreydin and Annie Yang. Roeper hadn’t played singles before this year and Lily Chu jumped from third singles to first singles this year. Lu is the one remaining piece in the same place as last year at second singles. Saleem is new to the Cougars as well.
“The one thing I truly loved about them is they truly are a family,” he said. “Watching the girls interact with each other, they mesh really well, all 10 of them. They are nice and laid back and don’t take things too seriously. As time has gone on, they’ve gotten more comfortable with me. They realize we have the same goal. They’re helping me become a better coach and I’m helping them become better players. After the Watchung match, it’s been getting better and better.”
Saleem saw his team dig deep to overcome a strong Hunterdon Central challenge. It was two of MHS’ most experienced players who came through with tiebreaker wins.
“For Emily it was a little bit of nerves,” Saleem said of Roeper’s slow start. “After talking to her and making her understand she’s competed at the highest level, she’s won states and she’s won the counties, she just needed to go out and play the way she knows how to. She took over from there once she settled down. It was the same thing with Shannon. She had seen the girl last year and she had some challenging matches. I just egged her on and said I believe in her and she started to believe in herself. She came back calm and collected and played some of the best tennis I’ve seen from her.”
The Yans were confident that their teammates would pull out the victories. They did not have as difficult a time with winning their own match.
“It was first time we played Hunterdon Central,” Ally said. “We were a little nervous because we saw how they played in the semifinals. It was a tough and close game. We were nervous but were able to pull through.”
The sisters have made a smooth transition to varsity after serving as the top team on the JV as freshmen.
“It’s fun playing with Ally,” Amy said. “We can help each other and give each other advice without each other getting annoyed.”
It didn’t take long to figure out that the best pairing for them was with each other. It sorted itself out last year during tryouts.
“We were hoping to get on the team first,” Ally recalled. “Then we both made it up and we realized we played best together.”
Added Amy: “We understand each other.”
Ally has the better of the volleys. Amy has a better second serve. They work well as partners.
“Everybody says when you’re twins you don’t have to communicate, but we do to know where we’re going,” Amy said. “We have good communication.”
Being twins is a unique advantage and the Yan sisters have that special bond that aids them on the court.
“The support they have, I didn’t need to talk to them,” Saleem said. “They support each other and they complement each other very well.”
Together, though, they have made a formidable team that advanced to the state doubles tournament quarterfinals before losing to Moorestown on Sunday.
“Just having a chance to play in the state tournament was a great experience,” Amy said. “Everyone on the team was really supportive.”
They had achieved the No. 4 seed with their consistent play through the season. They have taken on a challenging schedule and come through time after time. They placed second to Pingry in the Somerset County Tournament and have only one regular-season loss.
“They’ve had really great competition,” Saleem said. “They haven’t lost to just anybody. They’ve played some really, really great doubles teams. Watching them and talking to them afterwards, they’re so smart. They’re students of the game. They learn from other teams. They can recap the match and learn from it, and the next match go out and do it.”
The sisters are working on developing their game further. They showed some of their growth with how they played in the sectional final and reacted to Hunterdon Central picking up their play in the second set.
“We wanted to start off the first set strong so we played more aggressively,” Ally said. “In the second set they got more aggressive and they pushed back. We started to hit less hard, but hit deeper with topspin.”
The Yan twins have proven they can adjust to high level play. They figure to continue to improve for the future. They have each other, and therefore a training partner that can push them consistently.
“We’ve been playing a lot more since the season started,” Amy said. “In the summer, we go out and practice serves against each other.”
Added Ally: “I think it’s helpful. We practice pretty often in the offseason. It’s helpful to play with Amy because I know what shots she’ll hit during the game and it’s also helpful to play against each other so we have a feel of what to work on.”
Amy and Ally Yan have been a big help to the Cougars this season. They have helped them win a Somerset County Tournament crown and now a sectional title that put them into the Group IV state semifinals against Cherry Hill East on Thursday.
Said Amy: “We want to continue playing better than we have been.”
