As the No. 1 team in the state, the Marlboro boys’ tennis team knows that it is the target of every team that it plays.

CHRIS KELLY Marlboro’s Andrew Sharnov has picked up right where he left off last year, helping lead the Mustangs to the sectional final for the second year in a row.

However, in the Central Jersey Group IV semifinals on Thursday, Marlboro switched roles with Bridgewater-Raritan, ranked No. 8 in the state.

"They are a tremendous team," Marl­boro head coach Dave Kretzmer said of BR. "They’re the ones who beat us last year."

Indeed, the Cougars beat Marlboro 3-2 last spring to capture the state sectional ti­tle and the memories of that exhausting match were not lost on the top-seeded Mustangs, who looked at themselves as the team with something to prove.

Playing with that chip on their shoulder and led by freshman John Boym, who wasn’t even in the picture last year, the Mustangs secured a return trip to the Cen­tral Jersey Group IV final with a 3-2 in Marlboro that was nowhere near as close as the final score. The Mustangs wrapped the match up in less than an hour, winning at first and second singles and second dou­bles.

Boym made short work of the Cougars’ David Przystaz with a double-bagel straight set win, 6-0, 6-0.

Andrew Sharnov wasn’t on the court much longer, zipping through Sevvy Shama, 6-2, 6-2.

Marlboro’s second doubles tandem of Evan Harris and Alex Fleyshakher were off the court quickly themselves, beating Mike Lia and Scot VanDorn, 6-1, 6-3 and scor­ing the decisive third point.

The Cougars would make the match closer than the final score by winning a three-set marathon at first doubles with Adam Miller and Chris Wa rallying to beat Landon Goodman and Jason Schwartz, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4. The Cougars also won at third singles with Wayne Tai outlasting Steve Morris, 6-3, 6-4.

Marlboro began play in the sectional on May 13 beating South Brunswick, 5-0, as every Mustang won in straight sets, with Sharnov leading the way with his own double-bagel.

Marlboro’s opponent in the CJ IV final, scheduled to be played yesterday at Shore Regional in West Long Branch, was East Brunswick, ranked No. 7 in the state. The Bears beat Edison’s J.P. Stevens 4-1 in its semifinal match. Last year, Marlboro beat East Brunswick in the semi-finals and no doubt, the Bears, seeded No. 2, will have revenge on their minds.

With three of the top eight teams in the state, the Central Jersey Group IV tourna­ment is easily one of the toughest sections in the state. The winner will have had to earn it.

Despite their top ranking, Kretzmer pointed out that his players are well aware that they are not an unbeatable team and it will take an effort like they threw at Bridgewater-Raritan if they are going to win Central Jersey and have the opportu­nity to win the Group IV state title.

"We’re not heads above everyone else," Kretzmer said. "There are teams out there that can beat us. They know we’re beat­able. Any one of the top seven teams could beat each other."

Marlboro, 21-1, has won two tourna­ments already, the Newark Academy Invi­tational (where they earned the top-ranking by beating then-No. 1 Newark Acad­emy) and the Shore Conference Tour­na­ment.

By tim morris

Staff Writer

Marlboro beats Bridgewater to advance to CJ IV final