Colonials join the ranks of the Shore's elite
Borough boys repeat as B North champions
BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

Rajat Verman (above) and Jason Goldman (below) are the top two singles players for a Freehold Borough team, which has established itself as one of the very best teams in the Shore Conference.

It's one thing to sneak up on opponents, it's another to take their best shot.Freehold Borough boys tennis coach Jon Block noted that his Colonials may have caught teams by surprise last year when they were 17-3 and won the B North Division title.

They knew they weren't going to catch anyone by surprise this year, and the Colonials' goal was to make a case for themselves as one of the very best teams in the Shore. To do that, they knew they not only had to defend their title, but beat marquee teams.

With two wins over Marlboro (the A North Division champion and benchmark in the Freehold Regional District) and Ocean Township (last year's A North winner and perennial Shore power), a trip to the Shore Conference Tournament semifinals for the first time in school history and a top seed in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III tournament, the Colonials made a solid case for themselves.

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"We've accomplished everything we set out to do," said Block. "We knew we were a good team and didn't sneak up on anybody. Beating Marlboro and Ocean put us up there.

"We weren't the best [in the Shore], but we knew we were right up there," he added.

The Colonials were lurking in the shadows until they jumped out and beat Marlboro twice - the school's first-ever wins over the Mustangs (those losses incidentally were Marlboro's only blemishes during the regular season). What's more, the Colonials won a 3-2 squeaker in the regular season and when the rematch came around in Marlboro in the SCT quarterfinals, the Colonials won convincingly, 4-1. If there were any doubters about the Colonials place among the Shore's elite, those wins removed it.

The same week that they beat Marlboro, the Colonials handed Ocean its first division loss, 4-1. Last week, Freehold Borough wrapped up its second straight division title, repeating that 4-1 win over the Spartans. They finished the season 12-0 in division play and ran their two-year B North winning streak to 24.

Further evidence of Freehold Borough's standing was the Colonials third place at the Monmouth County Flight Championships. Kevin Sun, won second singles with Jeremy Goldman and Rajat Verman advancing to the semifinals.

The second doubles tandem of Sid Melkote and Greg Zimmerman also advanced to the semifinal round, as Freehold finished behind Holmdel and Rumson-Fair Haven.

Freehold Borough was the No. 1 seed in CJ III for the first time ever, but, that didn't make it a walk in the park for the Colonials. With Mercer County powers West Windsor North, Hopewell Valley and Princeton in the section, the Colonials had a tough road to negotiate.

After a first-round bye, the Colonials got by dangerous Hopewell Valley, pulling out an exciting 3-2 win. Freehold Borough prevailed in both three-set matches and that proved to be the difference. Goldman rallied from a set down to beat the Valley's Aubrey Holmes, 6-7 (7-5), 7-5, 6-4. At first doubles, Fred Yick and Ilan Levy also rallied, losing the first set 5-7 to Steve Deitchman and Mike Bolam, and then taking the next two, 6-3, 6-1.

Freehold Borough's third point came at third singles where Sun beat Blake McArthur, 6-0, 7-6 (7-2).

That brought up Princeton, the team that had taken them out of the state tournament last year. The Tigers did it again, topping the Colonials in the closest 4-1 final you'll find. All three singles matches went to three sets with the Tigers pulling each one out.

Matt Ullman rallied to beat Goldman, 5-7, 6-12, 6-2. Kevin Cen won a marathon over Verma, 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (6), and David Zheng also dropped the first set and defeated Sun, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.

The Colonials lone points came at second doubles where Zimmerman and Melkote beat Andrew Bergman and Nick Cecan, 7-5, 6-4.

As disappointing as the loss was, Block is quick to point out how young his team is. He'll have all of his singles players and most of his doubles players returning next year, where they look to climb even higher in the rankings. The Colonials finished the season at 16-2.

Marlboro, which regained its A North Division title, lost in the CJ Group IV quarters to Hillsborough, 5-0.

It's hard for a team with Marlboro's tradition and track record to exceed expectations, but that's what the Mustangs did this year.

Ilan Gamburg, Brian Rau and Hitash Daggubati provided the team with a reliable singles lineup.

Bryan Lisser and Darin Goodman teamed up at first doubles, and Sharad Bhorgara and Adam Orchant were the second doubles combination at the end of the season.