Friday, June 8, 2012

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Ramapo senior Jonathan Carcione celebrated his second straight state title and his second straight state title after pulling off an amazing comeback in a three-set classic against Livingston's Thomas Caputo in the state final on Thursday in West Windsor.

WEST WINDSOR – In any sport on any level it is extremely rare when two undefeated foes get to play against one another with their entire seasons and a state championship on the line. It is even more rare when that matchup exceeds the hype leading up to it. The hype was well deserved as undefeated and defending state champ Jonathan Carcione faced off against hard-hitting and also undefeated Thomas Caputo of Livingston for the state singles title. As the match moved from outdoors to indoors due to rain, Caputo moved from having a slight edge in the third set to standing one point away from ending Carcione’s career one step short of a repeat. Carcione refused to give in and what ensued will go down as one of the best matches ever played in the history of the state tournament.

Carcione withstood two incredibly long rallies to save a pair of match points on his way to breaking back on serve. He broke again in the 11th game and won the final four games of the match to become the first back-to-back state singles champ in 12 years with an exhilarating 7-5, 2-6, 7-5 victory that took over three-and-a-half hours to complete.

“This was the last match I was ever going to play in high school and I had to give it everything I had left in me,” said Carcione. “Even when I was down 5-3 in the third set, I didn’t want to be my last high school game. I wanted to make him hit winners and aces, not just give away points.”

Carcione seized control of the first set by breaking Caputo in the first game of the match. Serving for the first set, Carcione was stunned as Caputo hit three winners on his way to breaking Carcione at love to even the set at 5-5. Down love-30 at 5-5, Carcione won eight consecutive points to grab the first set.

Caputo was undaunted and continued his swashbuckling style of going for aces and winners as often as he possibly could. It was an effective strategy in the second set and well into the third. In the second set, Caputo broke to take a 3-1 lead and broke again to even the match at one set apiece and seize the momentum by serving first to start the third set.

Livingston's Thomas Caputo was one point from victory before suffering his first loss of the season.

Caputo held easily and maintained the lead until rain intervened with the Michigan State-bound star one point away from breaking Carcione’s serve, up 4-3 and 30-40. After a few minutes of trying to wait out the rain, the match was moved indoors, which only made the atmosphere more intense as the crowd even louder.

Caputo completed the break on the first point when a backhand volley from Carcione went long. That put Caputo up 5-3 and gave him a chance to serve for the match. It was a situation neither Carcione or his head coach Kim Marchese were accustomed to as Carcione had not lost and was rarely even tested in the past two years in a Ramapo uniform.

“I felt comfortable once we went indoors because I felt more comfortable at this particular place indoors as opposed to playing outdoors,” added Carcione. “But when I had my serve broken, I felt like I let a huge opportunity slip away. Before I could recover mentally, it was one point from being all over. I just had to regroup and find a way to keep points alive and eventually get back on serve.”

Caputo continued to fire away, hitting a winner to move one point away from victory with two match points in hand. It was a crisis moment that only the strongest of players could handle both physically and mentally. Carcione saved the first after a long rally with Caputo hitting the ball wide on a forehand. Then down 40-30, Carcione blocked back a hard volley and lobbed back a pair of overheads to keep the point going until Caputo’s shot went into the net. Carcione then won the next two points to miraculously keep the match alive and get back on serve.

“I never thought I’d say this, but I was actually thinking of what I was going to say to him if he lost,” said Marchese. “But with a player as talented and as mentally tough as Jonathan, he’s never out of it until the final point. Caputo played with what got him here and he was very effective for the most part. Jon just grinded his way back until he got into a rhythm, which he has done exceptionally well throughout his career. When you see a match like this, it’s just a shame someone has to win and someone has to lose. It was that exciting and that competitive that it could have went either way.”

Ramapo head coach Kim Marchese poses with the title trophy and Jonathan Carcione, who won the final 59 matches of his high school career and 128 of 130.

Carcione held serve to even the third set at 5-5 and he started to feed off the energy of his faithful supporters. He was taking control of the points and playing much smarter than he did earlier in the set, which led to another break and a 6-5 lead. At match point after yet another long rally, Carcione watched a shot go long and crumpled to the ground in a mixture of elation and pure exhaustion as he completed the comeback and his second straight undefeated season to become the first back-to-back state champ since occasional hitting partner Phil Stolt turned the trick back in 1999 and 2000.

“After winning the final point, the only way to describe how I felt was instant euphoria,” said Carcione. “I just was in shock. I couldn’t believe that I came back to win this match. I am so thankful for everything from the coaching staff we have here at Ramapo to the fans to my family who supported me every step of the way. Also, I’ll definitely be giving Phil a call or give him a text to let him know he’s not one up on me anymore.”

Thursday's state title only enhanced the legacy of Carcione, who will go down as one of the best New Jersey high school tennis players ever. With a career record of 128-2, including 59-0 over his last two years since losing in the state semifinals of his sophomore year, Carcione finished off an incredible career in the most amazing way imaginable. Staving off two match points and coming back to beat an undefeated star is a memory that will stick with the Carcione for the rest of his life.

“I’ve never felt so good on a tennis court before, I can’t imagine a better ending than this,” said Carcione. “As excited as I am to continue playing (at Princeton University next fall) in college, I don’t ever want to lose this feeling that I have right now. If I never picked up a racquet again, I would be still be happy at what I accomplished. To set a goal and accomplish in this way is beyond my wildest dreams. I can’t believe it actually came true.”

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