Cougars seize control of A North tennis race
Freehold Borough in chase for B North title
BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

Shore Conference A North division girls tennis without Marlboro on top.

It may seem like a misprint, but it's not.

Dave Kretzmer's Mustangs, who have had a stranglehold on the division, have finally seen graduation catch up to them.

In the wake of Marlboro being thinner than in past years, Colts Neck and Freehold Township were more than happy to jump in and take the Mustangs' place at the top.

Coach Ron Bruh's Colts Neck squad shook everything up when the Cougars beat Marlboro, 4-1, in the first match of the season. It was Colts Neck's A North debut, and what a way to get it started. Three of the matches went to three sets, with the veteran Cougars winning two of them (both doubles) to get the win.

"It was a great win, a great way to start the season," said Bruh. "It gave our girls a boost of confidence and helped us get respect from the other teams."

The doubles tandems of Jenn Bongiomo and Annie Masterson and Samantha Kesselman and Michelle Amann both dropped the first set of their matches, but came back to win the next. Their victories were the difference in the match.

Colts Neck had gone 12-6 in '05 and returned five of its seven starters. Still, moving up to A North was the unknown heading into the new season.

"I knew we had a nice team, but could we win the division and make the states?" said Bruh. "I didn't know."

After Colts Neck's 5-0 win over previously undefeated Freehold Township on Sept. 20, Bruh had his answer. His team is good enough to win the division.

Phillip Pender's Freehold Township seemed to be the team poised to claim the division title. The Pats were 14-4 last year and had really closed the gap on the Mustangs. They also returned five players from that state-playoff team that finished second to the Mustangs in the division.

Behind Alexandra Petcu, the Patriots rolled into Colts Neck 4-0 and ready for the first-place showdown with the host Cougars. The result was a convincing 5-0 win for the Cougars. All of the Cougar wins were in straight sets.

Victoria Sharwarko and Maria Kaczmarczyk swapped places this year, with Sharwarko moving from second singles to first, and Kaczmarczyk from first to second.

"Her game improved tremendously," Bruh said of Sharwarko. "I was very impressed."

Sharwarko took Petcu, one of the Shore's best players, 6-2, 6-2, last week. Kaczmarczyk's straight-sets win over the Pats' Lisa Goldman, 6-1, 6-4, was a very good sign for the Cougars. A counter-puncher who feeds off her opponent's pace, Kaczmarczyk has had trouble adjusting to second singles. This win could help her become the dominant player at No. 2 that Colts Neck anticipated.

At third singles, DuPuis has been as steady in the win column as her ground strokes were during a match.

Bongiomo and Masterson have clicked as a team while Kesselman and Amann have the advantage of having played together last year.

"I'm very pleased with our doubles play," said Bruh.

Colts Neck is 5-0, including 4-0 in the division, with return dates with Freehold Township and Marlboro.

Petcu and the Patriots will look to return the favor when Colts Neck visits Freehold Township for the rematch later this year.

Despite the loss, Freehold Township remains one of the Shore's best teams. Petcu, a sophomore, usually puts a point on the scoreboard at first singles.

Goldman is at second singles and Shriya Patel is at the No. 3 slot.

Playing doubles are Hilary Levin and Jessica Barofsky and Alyssa Critelli and Nina Reyes. They were the difference in a 3-2 win over Manalapan.

Although Dave Kretzmer did label this a rebuilding season, the Mustangs are not yet ready to concede a changing of the guard in the division they've owned.

The good news for Marlboro is its youth. There are only two seniors in the lineup. Youth was a drawback in the early-season matches as the Mustangs had to learn how to handle match pressure.

The big story for Marlboro is first singles player Danielle Dellaccio, a sophomore. She was slated as a doubles player but surprised everyone by winning the challenge matches and earning the first singles slot. She put in the time to improve in the offseason and was rewarded for it.

Freshman Rachel Ger has all the tools to be a top scholastic player in the future and is improving daily. She has fit in nicely at the second singles slot.

Third singles is another underclassman, Marissa Cohen, a sophomore.

Doubles is where the Mustangs have their senior experience.

Emily Hsia is teaming up with junior Gayle Rotmio at first doubles. As they get used to each other's games, they will keep getting better.

Marissa Pollin and junior Ranata Alekhnovic are the second doubles tandems.

Kretzmer expects both of his doubles teams to continue to get better.

The Mustangs are by no means out of the division race. They still have the return match with Colts Neck, plus two with Freehold Township.

Manalapan has been chasing the Mustangs in recent years but, like the Mustangs, is rebuilding this fall.

In Sheila Murugan, the Braves could have the best player in the District. She made a case for herself with a straight-set win over Petcu in their season-opening meeting.

Caitlin Powers and Polina Aron are playing second and third singles for the Braves.

Leah Schwartz and Nicole Reich are first doubles, and Kim Schwartz and Brooke Cohen play second.

Howell has been steadily improving, and this year could be their breakthrough season. The Rebels beat Middletown South 4-1 last week to go to 3-2 on the season and, more importantly, qualified for the state playoffs. Sept. 20 was the cutoff date for teams to be .500 or better.

Howell is a veteran team, led by senior Amanda Roselli at first singles. Jessalyn Lambert and Kelly Fitzpatrick play second and third singles. Both scored straight wins in the state-playoff- qualifying win.

Kelsey Geiselman and Christi Brodsky play first doubles for the Rebels, and Erin O'Connell and Angelina Calafiore play second doubles. Both teams scored straight-set wins.

Freehold Borough joined Colts Neck, Freehold Township, Marlboro and Howell in the state playoffs. Laura Ackerman's Colonials have gotten off to a great start themselves, sporting a 6-0 at the deadline. The team has been getting points throughout the lineup, with its single lineup proving to be very strong.

Erika Yih, who played doubles last year, has moved all the way up to first singles. Ackerman noted that Yih played her way to the top spot by putting in the time on the court in the offseason.

Jennifer Nguyen and Lauren Kurlander, who were also playing doubles last year, have all made the transition to singles rather easily. They swept the singles Friday in a 4-1 win over Howell that boosted the Colonials' mark to 6-0. Nguyen, a senior, is the team's captain.

At doubles, Wendy McDermott and Dianna Mak are playing first doubles and Taruja Karmakar and Kaitlin Chou are second doubles.

The Colonials are tied for first in the B North division with Ocean and Wall Township.

The Shore Conference Tournament begins this week with the Colonials hosting Shore Regional this afternoon. Freehold Borough was seeded sixth.

Colts Neck got the No. 5 seed and will host Ocean (12) today, while Marlboro, No. 13, travels to No. 4 Rumson-Fair Haven.

Freehold Township (14) and Howell (18) opened play yesterday. The Pats hosted 17th Point Pleasant Beach and the Rebels traveled to No. 15 Pinelands.

The quarterfinals are Friday at the home of the highest seeded team. The semifinals are Tuesday at a neutral site, with the championship scheduled for Oct. 4 at Shore Regional in West Long Branch.