By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
The West Windsor-Plainsboro High South boys tennis team was looking for one more shot at Newark Academy and the Pirates earned it by reaching the Tournament of Champions final.
After winning the state Group III title last week with a win over Millburn, the Pirates topped Mountain Lakes and Westfield in the TOC to set up a match with Newark Academy, where the Pirates fell, . The Pirates had suffered a pair of losses to Newark Academy earlier this season.
“We have played well all season, but our team is very competitive and we don’t back down,” said sophomore Robert Siniakowicz, who plays second singles for the Pirates. “We want to go one step further every time we come out. We always want to win and we’re never satisfied.”
Siniakowicz picked up the deciding win in a 3-2 victory over Westfield in the TOC semifinals on Wednesday. The Pirates also swept the doubles in that match. Their strong play throughout the lineup has made them battle-tested for every match they play.
“Sometimes I feel like we practice harder than we play,” Siniakowicz said. “So when we come out here we are used to the competition and we are exposed to it from our team.”
Now in his second year in the varsity lineup, Siniakowicz has more experience and is more comfortable each time he takes the court.
“I think this year has been more fun,” he said after a win over Mountain Lakes on Tuesday. “My freshman year I was probably a little scared as every freshman would be. This year is more comfortable for me, especially as a captain. It feels good and I hope it continues for the rest of my high school career.
“We hope our freshmen develop and we hope to get more young talent. It’s hard sometimes when a team doesn’t get blessed with young talent coming in. So we hope for more and see how we develop.”
The Pirates fell to NA in the TOC final on Thursday. But that won’t diminish from a season that saw them win yet another Mercer County Tournament title and also add a CJ IV and Group IV state title.
“It’s not good to look too far ahead,” Siniakowicz said of the Pirates’ approach to the season. “One point at a time and one match at a time. That’s how we like to play. It’s good to work towards a goal and we definitely do that. We set goals for our future and try to follow them.”
And those goals include winning as much as possible.
“That is definitely the mentality,” Siniakowicz said. “Last year our doubles were struggling a little bit so we had a lot of confidence in our singles and that helped us a lot. This year our doubles are doing a lot better and that is what makes us a great team right now. We don’t always have to rely on our singles and that’s a good thing.
“Our first doubles have been really solid and our second doubles likewise. They had some good performances after the county tournament.”
The doubles teams both won against Westfield. Mihir Singh and Alex Yang won at No. 1, while Sam Ping and Akul Telluri won at No. 2.
The Pirates’ top singles player, Kabir Sarita, reached the finals of the state singles tournament, which was scheduled to be played on Thursday. Sarita, who was seeded fifth-eighth, topped Dwight-Englewood’s Dan Nuzhny in the semifinals, 6-4, 6-2 on Wednesday.
Sarita, a junior, will face Michael Rozenvasser of Demarest in the finals. Rozenvasser is also seeded in the five-eight range. Sarita had reached the semifinals by posting a three-set win over top-seeded Joshua Marchalik of East Brunswick on Tuesday.
