Tuesday,
October 23, 2007
By
Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
EDISON – Winning
the section crown was quite an achievement and winning the Group
2 state title was more than the Tenafly girls tennis team could
have ever expected. No matter what happened thereafter, this season
has been a rousing success and it seems to get better everyday.
Heading into Monday,
Tenafly was one of just four high school teams left in the entire
state tournament and not even an undefeated Bridgewater-Raritan
team could keep the Tigers from keeping their dream season alive.
Danielle Claisse and
Rachel Berger scored the clinching point at second doubles as
third-seeded Tenafly knocked Bridgewater-Raritan from the unbeaten
ranks and kept its own unbeaten season going with a 3.5-1.5 victory
at the Inman Racquet Club. The win puts the Tigers in the Tournament
of Champions final.
“Wow, this has
just been one amazing ride,” said Tenafly head coach Anthony
Zorovich. “I think all of the girls were excited coming
into this match and maybe we were a little too amped up. Akiko
(Okuda) fought through a tough time and I thought we really did
a good job settling down at second doubles.”
Tenafly took the lead
on the steady play from second singles player Courtney Lee. The
freshman was never threatened in taking the first set against
Lisa Chi. She trailed 3-2 in the second before winning the final
games to take the match.
Bridgewater-Raritan
evened things up with a point at first doubles. In a battle of
sister combinations, Caroline and Julianne Davis broke in the
final game of the first set en route to a 7-5, 6-1 win over Ellyn
and Renee Kojanis.
The most exciting tilt
came at first singles where a pair of freshmen with similar diminutive
statures and electrifying styles locked horns. Bridgewater-Raritan’s
Monica Castle made one big shot after another to grab a 4-1 lead
in the first set, but the deficit did not phase Tenafly’s
Akiko Okuda, who remained consistent throughout. She rallied to
send the set to a tiebreak before scoring seven of the eight tie-breaker
points to take a one set lead as a result.
“I was a little
nervous when I was down (1-4 in the first set), but I had to play
through it,” said Okuda, who finished as the runner-up in
the Bergen County Groups 3-4 Tournament. “I focused on every
point and just tried to keep my composure. When I won the tiebreak
in the first set, I knew I could relax more and just play my game.”
Okuda did just that
by doing everything well in the second set. Whether it was at
the baseline or at the net, Okuda did it all with efficiency and
won the second set easily, 6-1.
After dropping the
first set against Sara Capoferri and Daphne Lin, Claisse and Gerber
knew that the fate of their team’s season could come down
to their match. With the pressure on and without knowing the outcome
of any other matches outside of first doubles, the duo came out
with strong play from the baseline and effective lobs. They scored
a break late in the second set to even the match and swung the
momentum back Tenafly’s way. They did not drop a game from
there to sew up another win for the Tigers with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-0
win.
“The match was
very nerve-wracking because we didn’t know how the other
matches were going,” said Gerber, a sophomore. “I
think we came out too scared to make a mistake in the first set.
We started to focus more on their weaknesses when we got on idea
of what they were. When we won the second set, I think we had
the edge mentally and we used that to our advantage.”
At third singles, Alli
Grabell of Tenafly split sets with Jennifer Tai, 6-2, 6-7 (2-7).
Tenafly (24-0) now has one hurdle left to climb in top-seeded
Millburn (28-0). The Tournament of Champions final will be played
on Wednesday with a 2:00 start time at Inman Racquet Club.
“To be one of
only two teams left in the state is a surprise and a pleasant
one,” added Zorovich. “Just to get this far is an
incredible accomplishment. We’re just going to do what we
have done every other match, go out and try to play our best tennis.”
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