Tuesday, October 11, 2011

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Ashley Stockwell's win at second singles gave Verona the winning point in a 5-0 sweep of Park Ridge in the quarterfinals of the North 1, Group 1 state sectional girls tennis tournament.

PARK RIDGE – Last year under then first-year head coach Mohammed Awais, the Park Ridge girls tennis team qualified for the state tournament for the first time in recent memory and was happy to be there. That was until getting run off the court in less than an hour on the road at Verona. So this year, the goal was to have a strong enough record to earn the program’s first-ever home state tournament match and win one for the first time in over a decade. Both of those goals were accomplished last week with a 5-0 win over Boonton, which earned the Lady Owls a second home state match.

But looming there was a Verona team that is starting to hit its stride at the right time, which proved to be a little too much to handle.

While the Lady Owls put up much more of a fight than they did a year ago, the end result was the same. Fifth-seeded Verona got off to hot starts in all five matches and went on for a 5-0 triumph in the North 1, Group 1 quarterfinals over Park Ridge, the No. 4 seed, on Tuesday afternoon.

“It was big to see your teammates get off to a good start because that makes you want to do that much better,” said Verona’s senior captain Ashley Stockwell. “I think we were pretty nervous before the match because we never played here before. But once you step on the court, you just have to make that adjustment to both your opponent and to your surroundings, which we all did really well today.”

Stephanie Bauman and Park Ridge surpassed expectations this season with two home state tournament matches and one tournament win.

Verona earned its first point at first doubles where Caroline Chivily and Briana Tedesco broke the first service game in each set and held on from there for a 6-4, 6-2 win over Deb Kim and Kat Cherakin. The Hillbillies’ second doubles followed suit minutes later when Alice Vaccaro and Jasmine Okafor polished off a 6-2, 6-2 triumph.

In a pressure-packed state tournament match, getting that third point can prove to be elusive. Luckily for the Hillbillies, they got it rather quickly. After sweeping the doubles matches, Stockwell won the final four games of the second set at second singles to clinch the win. Ciarra Dawson won at third singles, 6-3, 7-5, and, after dropping a second-set tiebreak, Jackie Noyes bounced back to for a 6-2, 6-7 (6-8), 6-0 triumph.

Verona now moves into the North 1, Group 1 semifinals, where it will face a much more familiar foe. Over the past six years, Verona and Leonia have butted heads five times with Leonia winning the last three en route to a section title. They will meet again tomorrow in Leonia (the top seed this year and three-time defending sectional champion) for a berth in the section final, which is what Stockwell and her teammates have been looking forward to all season.

“Leonia is obviously a very good team, so we have nothing to lose,” added Stockwell. “Now we’re a much more confident team than we were earlier in the season and it is all coming together at the right time.”

Ciarra Dawson won her match at third singles as Verona advanced to the semifinals where it will face Leonia on Wednesday.

Pricilla Kim won the lone set for the Lady Owls, saving two set points in the second set before winning in a tiebreak. While the loss dashed any hopes of Park Ridge (8-4) advancing to its first-ever section semifinal, the strides made in the past year showed in this match as it took well over two hours to complete and raised the bar a little bit for next year with five of seven starters returning.

“I am beyond impressed at the strides we’ve made from this time last year,” said Awais. “We want to be on the same level as the top teams in our section where we get a few home state matches every year. It’s a work in progress, but we want to build a solid program. Last year, we took the first step by just making the state tournament. This year, we took a few more steps by getting a home state match, winning a round, and playing much tougher against Verona than we did last year. I am definitely proud of the girls and we feel we’ve got the ball rolling over here at Park Ridge.”

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