Tennis: Highland Park repeats as Central Group I champions
When they got off the bus, members of the Highland Park High School tennis team had some questions. Like where was their newly won NJSIAA Central Group I plaque? And where was the best spot to pose for a group shot? Then coach Tim Stark had to arrange if the players should stand or kneel.
Finally, he took off his shades right before the clicks. See, sometimes winning isn’t that easy, though, Highland Park will gladly accept those dilemmas. Monday, the Owls captured their second-straight sectional title with a 4-1 win over Metuchen.
MORE: WESTFIELD TOPS J.P. STEVENS TO WIN SECTIONAL TITLE
Highland Park’s small-school tennis dynasty just continues on. The Owls have won five of six sectional titles with a Group I championship in that span. The banner keeps growing.
“It’s great just to see in the gym all those years in a row,” senior co-captain Leo Goldman said. “It’s great to see what it means for (the alumni), see what it means to us. Knowing this freshman class, I know that there’s going to be a few more years added.”
Highland Park (17-3) advances to play in the Group I championship Wednesday at Mercer County Park against South sectional winner Middle Township.
Interestingly, the Owls’ top two players are freshmen and they have no juniors in the starting lineup. Monday, Highland Park got 6-0, 6-0 victories from No. 1 Patrick Lin and No. 2 James Ouyang. Also winning was the No. 1 doubles duo of senior Will Chen and freshman Justin Ching (6-4, 6-2 winners), and the second doubles team of senior Jisu Jeong and sophomore Josh Chen, Will’s younger brother, (6-2, 6-1).
At third singles, Goldman dropped a 4-6, 6-1, 12-10 decision to Gray Xian. No, the last set wasn’t an epic, marathon match. Rather, with the team outcome already decided, the coaches decided to play the third set as a tiebreaker.
While Highland Park was the top seed, No. 2 Metuchen hosted the match because the Owls’ home court at Donaldson Park has four courts instead of the mandated five. And since Metuchen wanted to play with five courts, the teams agreed to play at Metuchen, according to Stark.
Stark said that Highland Park’s tough White Division schedule and additional matches against state power J.P. Stevens and Old Bridge got them prepared for the postseason. Highland Park beat Metuchen 5-0 in the teams’ lone meeting this season.
“I’m always a little bit nervous going into big matches," Stark said. “But beating them earlier in the year gave us a little bit more confidence going into the match. We knew them. We knew how they played. And we were prepared for it.”
If the name Lin at Highland Park sounds familiar, it’s because Patrick is the younger brother of former Owls star Maverick Lin, now a freshman playing at Cornell. The three current freshmen blended right in with the six other returners.
“They bought into the culture and they fit perfectly in the team,” Stark said. “They came in, they were part of the team. They weren’t the freshmen. They were Highland Park tennis players, which means a lot for their confidence and the relationship in the team. We all get along. And we support each other.”
Other than third singles, the most drama came at first doubles. In the first set, Chen and Ching rallied from a 4-3 deficit to win 6-4. By now, the senior and freshman know each other
“He has a very aggressive playing style and I like to finish at the net,” Will Chen said. “So I feel like we mesh really well. We have similar mindsets and we both look to play consistent, but aggressive at the same time. So our strategy works really well for us.”
North 2 Group I
New Providence 3, Glen Ridge 2
Singles: William Cotrone (GR) d. Christopher King 6-2, 6-4; Joseph Biancamano (GR) d. David Sann 6-0, 6-4; Cristiano Hocken (NP) d. Ethan Che 6-0, 6-2; Doubles: Brett Caminiti and John Souren (NP) d. Alex Weissman and Connor Linehan 6-2, 7-5; Brian Kelly and Eric Schneider (NP) d. Asher Segal and Nick Vecchione 7-5, 6-0.
Central Group IV
Montgomery 4, East Brunswick 1
Singles: Joshua Marchalik (EB) d. Vishnu Joshi 6-2, 3-6, 10-5; Vivikth Vemula (M) d. Abhinav Bhamidipati 6-2, 6-0; Lucas Flotta (M) d. Vikas Dalal 6-4, 6-2; Doubles: Eric Wang and Kevin Xu (M) d. Harold Trakhman and Christopher Choy 6-2, 6-1; Liam Lynch and Phillip Szkudlarski (M) d. Akshay Malavade and Kameron Wang 6-1, 6-0. Records: Montgomery 20-1, East Brunswick 13-4.
South Non-Public B
Pingry 5, Moorestown Friends 0
Singles: Jeffrey Zucker (P) d. Harvey Robin 6-1, 6-0; Jonathan Lee (P) d. Hunter Harris 6-3, 6-2; Andrew Lee (P) d. Dylan Carilli (P) 6-1, 6-1; Doubles: Wesley Jakimowicz and Jack Schiffman (P) d. Jordan White and Hunter Harris 6-4, 6-3; Joshua Metzger and Neel Sambamurthy and Andrew Landesman and Alex Barrett 6-1, 6-0.