SPORTS

Gill St. Bernard's star Patel is CN Girls Tennis Player of the Year

Steven Macri
Steven Macri @StevenMacri

Gill St. Bernard's girls tennis coach Sean Welcome had one request for Krishna Patel heading into the season. The second-year head coach wanted his junior first singles to become a leader.

"I explained to her in the beginning of the year that people look up to you, whether you think it or not," Welcome said. "She's taking that role much more seriously and she realizes it because you grow up and you learn how to deal with things. She did a very good job this year doing that."

"He told me that a lot of people on my team looked up to me because I had been first singles since freshman year," Patel said. "It was really tough coming in freshman year and being first singles because I was the freshman and other people were seniors and juniors. I've developed my leadership throughout the three years I've been at the school."

Patel did more than lead; she had a dream season at first singles. Patel didn't lose a single match during the regular season and kept the momentum going during the postseason as she is the 2014 Courier News Girls Tennis Player of the Year..

The junior had several goals she wanted to accomplish once the postseason tournaments were scheduled. A checklist that would be unreachable for most tennis players, but the junior had confidence she could complete the difficult expectations she had for herself.

The biggest one was winning the Somerset County Tournament. Patel had lost in the Somerset County Final during her first two years to Pingry's Madison Stevens, who now competes for Cornell University.

Gill St. Bernard's top singles marched right to the county tournament's final, where she met Rutgers Prep's Jessica Pil. Patel topped Pil, 6-1, 6-1, and finally claimed the Somerset girl's tennis title.

"After two years I finally did it and it meant a lot," Patel said. "My whole team was there and Jen, my second singles, was also there, so it was a special moment for both of us. When I finally won it, it was really rewarding."

Winning the Somerset County Tournament was a dream come true for Patel, but she did not stop there.

Patel made it to the state singles tournament during her freshman and sophomore years, but never advanced past the round of 16. The Gill St. Bernard's star once again crossed off another accomplish on her already impressive list by advancing to the quarterfinals.

Patel took on eventual runner-up Stephanie Schrage of Millburn in the quarterfinals, where she lost 6-3, 6-2. It was the only match she lost all year.

"It was really good because it was a milestone for me," Patel said about making it to the quarterfinals. "I played really well coming into the quarterfinals, so I was really happy about that. Maybe next year I can move up a round more or make it to the finals. Those are my dreams."

With Patel in charge, Gill St. Bernards showed resiliency during the 2014 fall season, finishing 16-3 for the year. Gill St. Bernard's won the Non Public South B sectional title by defeating Moorestown Friends in the final. They eventually fell one match short of reaching the Tournament of Champions, losing to Newark Academy for the third year in a row.

Being the first singles of a good tennis program is no easy task. Patel constantly has the spotlight on her, but she has responded. During the offseason Patel plans on getting into better physical shape and improving her weaknesses on the court. With college right around the corner, there's no time for slowing down heading into her senior year.

"She has expectations for herself," Welcome said. "She got to the quarters and it was a good run. She learned a lot. It's tough being first singles. You have some good matches and you have some matches where you have gaps. You're playing different teams and you have to step it up at certain times. The whole season was very good; we balanced out the schedule enough where she had good matches against good schools. We played a lot of good teams this year. We didn't hide away from anybody and we definitely tried to play most of the good teams around."

ALL-SKYLAND CONFERENCE

As selected by the Skyland Conference

DELAWARE DIVISION FIRST TEAM

1S-Cecelia Lesnick, Pingry

2S-Angela Lai,Hunterdon Central

3S-Lily Chu, Montgomery

1D-Emily Roeper, Montgomery

1D-Kim Szakats, Montgomery

2D-Anika Rao, Ridge

2D-Annie Giberna, Ridge

RARITAN DIVISION FIRST TEAM

1S-Krishna Patel, Gill St. Bernard's

2S-Sharon Jin, Gill St. Bernard's

3S-Carolyn Najarian, Gill St. Bernard's

1D-Ashley Avicolli, Rutgers Prep

1D-Irina Johnson, Rutgers Prep

2D-Tegan Warren, Bernards

2D-Julia Paladini, Bernards

VALLEY DIVISION FIRST TEAM

1S-Francesca Varela-Seri, Phillipsburg

2S-Meghan Chemidlin, Phillipsburg

2S-Michelle Gruber, Somerville

3S-Jessica Minardi, Phillipsburg

1D-Julie Pieros, Phillipsburg

1D-Sophia Sepulveda, Phillipsburg

2D-Jessica Fu, Somerville

2D-Jackie Rick, Somerville