Raiders ready for their rematch with St. Joseph
FILE PHOTO North Brunswick’s Pavan Wunnava has been one of the GMC White Division’s top first singles players this season, and is a major reason why the first-place Raiders are 6-1 entering today’s match-up with St. Joseph.
By doug mckenzie
Staff Writer
The North Brunswick boys’ tennis team has been looking forward to today’s match with St. Joseph of Metuchen since the opening week of the season.
On April 11 the Falcons edged out Coach Mike Palazzo’s Raiders when their second doubles team won a third set tie-breaker over North Brunswick’s freshman duo of James LoPiccola and Scott Elfenbein.
"That was a tough one for a pair of freshmen in just their second varsity match," Palazzo said. "They were in the third set with the meet split at 2-2 when all the other matches were done. That’s a lot of pressure, and they ended up losing a tie-breaker in the third."
The win gave St. Joseph’s the leg up in the White Division race, but since then the North Brunswick team has done nothing but win, jumping out to a 6-1 dual meet record and taking the lead in the division race.
The Raiders have played well all year and finished tied for fifth with South Brunswick in last weekend’s Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament (GMCT). Palazzo has received solid play from all five flights and has reason to look forward to the second half of the season.
"We hoped to maintain our spot atop the division this year after winning it last year, and we’re right where we need to be," he said. "The competition in the White Division is very tight with all the teams really close to each other. I think we’ll hang in there."
At first singles, junior Pavan Wunnava is 9-2 with his losses coming to Old Bridge’s Justin Lefkowitz, the runner-up at first singles in the GMCT, and St. Joseph’s Amiel Chong. Wunnava has made the transition to first singles from second singles where he played last year, and has impressed his coach with his toughness.
"He’s one of the top first singles players in the division and is our team leader," he said. "He’s had a real good season thus far, and has seen all the opponents he’ll face the rest of the way, so I expect him to maintain his real solid play."
Senior co-captain Apurv Shah is at second singles and is off to an 8-1 start. His only loss came to Bishop Ahr’s Brian Tuohy in the GMCT.
"Apurv has had a really strong season after moving up from third singles last year," Palazzo said. "He’s played several three-setters and has been very tough so far."
Sophomore Gajan Jeganathan is 4-4 at third singles, but has impressed his coach with his progress.
"Gajan was a doubles player last year, but has made the transition to a singles player very well," Palazzo said. "He will be a very good player over the next few years. He’s still learning the ropes, but has already won some tough matches."
The tandem of senior Brian Wolfson and junior Tim Teiman are at first doubles and are 9-2 on the year. They are coming off a fourth-place finish in the GMCT and have developed a solid chemistry together in their first year together.
"They are both very good doubles players and understand the amount of strategy needed to be successful," their coach said. "They’re undefeated in the White Division and have been as tough as anybody to this point."
The second doubles team of LoPiccola and Elfenbein are 5-3 at this point, but are working hard and getting better with each match.
"They fought their way past several good doubles teams to earn this spot and are making it stand up," Palazzo said. "They’re still learning the doubles strategy, but have played well in several tough matches. They’ve got great potential, which is nice to see from such young, talented players."
The remainder of the Raiders squad includes seniors Ashwin Iyer and Dan Patiero; juniors Jacob Elcob, Dharhan Garagandhi, Ben Prager and Greg Schwager; and sophomores Jessie Cohen, C.J. Dreissen and Andrew Mulder.
"We’ve got a nice range of grade levels, giving us a nice mix of youth and experience," Palazzo said. "These guys are all very competitive and practice hard."
The Raiders have the makings for a solid team for the next several years and are working on establishing a stranglehold on the White Division title.
With a win today and continued solid play, they’ll allow their coach to leave the program on a high note.
Palazzo, who has been with the program for 20 years, stepped down prior to the 2001 season, but returned for one more season at the helm.
Thus far his players have made it worth the effort.