Metuchen's Erika Rems is the HNT 2016 Girls Tennis Player of the Year
Erika Rems may have just finished her freshman season, but she may already be the greatest tennis player in Metuchen High School history.
Rems became the first ever Metuchen athlete to clinch a Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament title when she topped J.P. Stevens’ Elizabeth Yu in first singles in straight sets. The freshman then led the Bulldogs to an appearance in the NJSIAA Central Group I final, where they fell to Shore. Rems lost her only match of the season to Halah Davis in the final.
READ: REMS IS FIRST GMC TOURNAMENT CHAMPION FOR METUCHEN
If you ask her coach, what she accomplished her freshman year convinced him that Rems is the best girls tennis player the school has ever seen.
“She is the best player to ever play at Metuchen,” Metuchen coach Rob Strauss said. “In fact, my assistant coach was coach prior to my tenure and together we’ve been coaching for quite a few decades, and she’s by far the best we’ve ever had. It’s pretty remarkable what she was able to accomplish."
The 2016 Home News Tribune Girls Tennis Player of the Year, Rems clinched the county title against another freshman. She extended her then-undefeated campaign with a 6-2, 6-0 victory and joined an exclusive club of freshmen that have won at the GMC Tournament, and of course, the only player to do so at Metuchen.
“Being the first one in history was very special, I felt like I got a lot of recognition from that, and it made the whole thing better,” Rems said. “Doing that as a freshman is not common whatsoever, so accomplishing that at such a young age and walking out of that tournament as number one, I was just very proud of myself.”
Though only a freshman, Rems gained a ton of experience prior to the fall season, having played tennis virtually her entire life and playing in tournaments around the country for almost as long. She entered the 2016 season with zero high school experience, but ironically was one of the most experienced players in the county.
“I’ve been playing tennis basically my entire life and I’ve been doing tournaments and match play for a large portion of that time, so I think going into the high school season, I was already prepared for the match play,” Rems said. “Experience is important with everything. You know what to do in tough situations during a match.”
The only blemish on Rems’ season came in the Central Group I final where she fell to Davis in a highly contested match that went to a tiebreaker.
“Once I lost, in the moment I was very angry and upset with myself but when I looked at the whole picture, I realized this girl is older than me, stronger than me and bigger than me, she was a really good player,” Rems said. “Yeah I was having a rough day, but I realized maybe I need to practice harder so I’m more prepared next time I face a girl like her.”
Usually a rarity for a youngster to do so, Rems became a leader on the team as a freshman. Leading by example, Rems had a positive influence on her teammates by simply showing what a talented tennis player is capable of doing.
“I think it’s great for the girls to see how good a player can be,” Strauss said. “She led the way by showing what kind of effort it takes to be a champion.”
2016 ALL-GMC GIRLS TENNIS
As selected by the coaches
Erika Rems, Metuchen; Deepti Talesra, J.P. Stevens; Srinithi Kannan, J.P. Stevens; Ishani Kulkarni, J.P. Stevens; Divya Talesra, J.P. Stevens; Anisha Javvaji, South Brunswick; Ashima Agarwal, South Brunswick; Elizabeth Yu, J.P. Stevens; Alexandra Iordache, SouthBrunswick; Phoebe Su, East Brunswick; Pauline Kharkover, Old Bridge.
Coach of the Year: Ally Clay, East Brunswick
ALL-RED DIVISION
Elizabeth Yu, J.P. Stevens; Deepti Talesra, J.P. Stevens; Srinithi Kannan, J.P. Stevens; Ishani Kulkarni, J.P. Stevens; Divya Talesra, J.P. Stevens; Anisha Javvaji, South Brunswick; Ashima Agarwal, South Brunswick; Pauline Kharkover, Old Bridge; Phoebe Su, East Brunswick; Alexandra Iordache, South Brunswick; Chinonye Gabriel, Piscataway.
Coach of the Year: Ally Clay, East Brunswick
Sportsmanship: New Brunswick
ALL-WHITE DIVISION
Kathleen Beben, Sayreville; Sydney Kuo, Wardlaw-Hartridge; Kate Sudol, Sayreville; Brittney Wilson, Wardlaw-Hartridge; Jasmine Van Note, Sayreville; Llana Masangkay, Sayreville; Brianna Davis, Woodbridge; Abby Tan, North Brunswick; Priya Agarwal, J.F. Kennedy; Dazlyn Erachshaw, Wardlaw-Hartridge; Mika Walker, Wardlaw-Hartridge.
Coach of the Year: Mike Provenza, Sayreville
Sportsmanship: Woodbridge
ALL-BLUE DIVISION
Erika Rems, Metuchen; Siri Uppuluri, Metuchen; Izzy Hong, Metuchen; Katie Hong, Metuchen; Ilakiya Udahayakumar, Metuchen; Sonia Mersich, Metuchen; Maddy Fenner, Metuchen; Diana Chis, Highland Park; Kathleen Schnell, South Amboy; Tiffany Liang, Highland Park; Alexandra Li, Highland Park.
Coach of the Year: Rob Strauss Metuchen
Sportsmanship: Dunellen
Staff Writer Daniel LoGiudice can be reached at dlogiudice@gannettnj.com. Follow him on Twitter @danny_logiudice