Monday, October 19, 2009

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

WEST WINDSOR – There is no question heading into this season that Ramapo’s Amanda Muliawan was one of the best players in New Jersey. But being just one of the best was not among her short-term goals. After losing in the semifinals of the state singles tournament last year, Muliawan returned to the court for her sophomore season with tunnel vision of not being among the best players in the state, but being the best.

The only person that stood in her way was Tina Jiang of Gill St. Bernard’s. Jiang had never lost a high school match and is someone with whom Muliawan is very familiar. The two are not only good friends, but are also competitors in the USTA regional and national tournaments. Muliawan appeared to be cruising to the title when Jiang rolled her ankle late in the second set. After a 10-minute delay, Jiang overcame a sprained ankle to snatch the second set from Muliawan.

That left Muliawan in the position where the match became as much of a mental battle as it was a physical one. For Muliawan, everything she had worked for came down to one set. She knew if she lost, it would be another year of wondering, ‘what if?’ With that in mind, Muliawan took to the court for the third set and did what she has done throughout high school career; rising to the occasion when the stakes were at their peak.

Muliawan broke Jiang’s serve in the third set to take a 3-2 lead. She held out serve from there to become only the second player in Ramapo history to win a state title with an entertaining 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 triumph at Mercer County Park in West Windsor.

“It was really fun and exciting match in all aspects,” said Ramapo head coach Kim Marchese. “Amanda knew what kind of match this was going to be. (Jiang) is a very tough player that can capitalize on her opponent’s mistakes and Amanda had her hands full.”

Muliawan had never trailed at any point in any of her state tournament matches. Yesterday presented a new, rare challenge for her as Jiang came out hot and grabbed a 3-0 lead in the first set.

“I think that took me by surprise, but maybe it was what I needed,” said Muliawan. “I had to pay more attention to detail on every single point. I couldn’t afford to have my serve broken again.”

Muliawan rallied back behind her punishing ground strokes. She got into a rhythm to not just grab the first set, but take a commanding 4-1 lead in the second. Jiang refused to go away quietly by tying the set at 4 when with Muliawan holding a 15-0 lead, Jiang rolled her ankle. She needed the full 10 minutes allotted to have her ankle wrapped in order to continue.

Jiang dropped that game, but ripped off the next three to force a third and deciding set for the right to be called New Jersey’s best high school player. During the break between the second and third sets, Muliawan was fighting herself mentally.

“I thought about all the possible scenarios and not in a positive way,” said Muliawan. “I wasn’t being rational and wasn’t in a good frame of mind. I was in a good rhythm and fell out of it. I just had to take a deep breath, relax, and play my game. I had a chance to close the match out and I didn’t finish it off. I just didn’t want to lose another lead.”

When it was time to go back on the court, it was back to business as usual.

“I was trying to calm her down and keep her focused,” said Marchese. “I wanted to keep her thinking about her approach. She started rushing her points late in the second set. I just told her to stay aggressive, but be smart about it. Amanda settled down and got her stride back midway through the third set.”

Jiang held a 2-1 lead when Muliawan took over. She held serve, broke Jiang’s, then held again for a 4-2 lead. With a 5-3 lead and match point, Muliawan forced an error from Jiang that gave Muliawan the win and her first state championship. She was the second player ever from Ramapo to win a state title and the first since Kathy Maso in 1977. But Muliawan’s concern was not so much with winning, but with the wellbeing of her opponent.

“I just saw Tina’s lip start to quiver and I just wanted to make sure she was ok,” added Muliawan. “I’ve known her for about six years now and she is a very good player. She gave it everything she had and is really tough for being just a freshman. (Jiang) is going to be one of the best players in the state for years to come. It felt great to win, but I didn’t want to see her lose either.”

Muliawan improved to 20-0 on the season. Now with an individual title in her grasp, she will look to add to the hardware collection for Ramapo this Wednesday. Ramapo will face North 2, Group 3 champion Millburn in the Group 3 state semifinals on Wednesday at 9:00 A.M at Mercer County Park.

“It is just starting to set in what happened today,” said an elated Muliawan. “I wanted to win this not just for me, but for my family, my brother James (a former star at Ramapo), my cousin Allison (current first-singles player at Northern Valley/Old Tappan), my teammates, my coaches, and everyone else who believed in me. There is a great winning tradition at Ramapo. It means a lot to be just the second player to ever win a state title and I’ll always take that with me.”

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