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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