Wednesday, May 15, 2013

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Willen Feygin won at third singles as a part of Fair Lawn's 4-1 win over Clifton in the North 1, Group 4 state sectional quarterfinals.

FAIR LAWN – When the brackets were released for the North 1, Group 4 state boys’ tennis tournament, Fair Lawn saw they were on a collision course with Montclair in the section semifinals. Last year, the two met in an epic match in the states with Fair Lawn coming away a 3-2 winner. With Montclair returning their entire lineup from last year and Fair Lawn returning six starters, both feel they are worthy challengers to the throne held by perennial powerhouse Livingston. But the Cutters first had to take care of business against Passaic County co-champ Clifton, which was looking to pull the upset and scuttle the rematch.

Fair Lawn came out focused and showed that it was not looking ahead. Mike Abalev at second singles, Willen Feygin at third singles, and the first doubles tandem of Ross Childs and Josh Horowitz combined to drop just four games as third-seeded Fair Lawn earned that date with Montclair via a 4-1 triumph on Tuesday over sixth-seeded Clifton at Fair Lawn High School.

“Clifton is a talented team and we knew better than to look past them,” said Fair Lawn head coach Matt Markman. “We got some breaks early at second, third, and first doubles and that was exactly what we needed. Montclair is definitely in the back of our minds a bit, but you never look past the opponent in front of you. Our focus was on starting strong today and we did a good job of that.”

Richard Rangga's win at first singles gave Clifton its points.

After being tied at 2 in the first set, Childs and Horowitz dominated the net and took advantage of numerous double faults to take the final 10 games in a 6-2, 6-0 win over Mihai Solotchi and Szymon Kutyla. Feygin, a junior left-hander, used a big serve and a punishing forehand to blitz past Jefferson Rangga. Abalev provided the clinching point with steady play from the baseline en route to a 6-1, 6-1 win over Peter Chudolij that advanced the Cutters into the section semifinals.

“This week is really big for us and we’re right where we want to be,” said Abalev. “Even though we don’t have any seniors, we have a lot of experience and we feel like we have a chance here to be both county and section champs. I think having no seniors and still having big-match experience is actually a huge advantage for us. We’ll see how it goes over the next week, but we’re definitely pumped up for the challenge.”

Clifton (12-5) got its one point at first singles in the marquee match of the day as junior Richard Rangga rallied after blowing a 5-2 lead in the first set to beat Freddie Zaretsky 5-7, 6-0, 6-4 in a battle of two of the top players in North Jersey. Fair Lawn (16-1) also got a 6-1, 6-4 win at second doubles from Mark Persky and Sam Altshuler.

Now the Cutters will face the most important stretch of their season as they travel to face second-seeded Montclair, a 5-0 winner over West Orange, in the North 1, Group 4 semis before trying to win the Bergen County Group 3-4 title this weekend.

“Six days from now, everything will be determined and we’ll know whether we have reached our goals or not this season,” added Markman. “Montclair is a very good team and we know it’s likely going to be 3-2 either way. Even though we won last year, we come in as the underdog with no seniors against a senior-dominated lineup. The pressure is off of us and that’s a good spot to be in. We’ll just go out and play our game as we generally do. It’s going to be a battle either way.”

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