Saturday, May 9, 2015

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Simon Salazar has not lost a match all year and his win at third singles on helped Leonia sweep Newton in the first round of the North 1, Group 1 state sectional tournament.

LEONIA - Over the past decade Leonia has been a consistent force in Group 1 boys tennis. In most years, the Lions sprinkled in some new faces to go with their experienced returnees and hit the ground running. This year, however, it was a complete gut job. After graduating all seven starters from last year’s team the Lions took to the courts this season with their entire JV team taking one giant step up.

While the players are new the results look awfully familiar. Led by balanced group devoid of star players, the Lions have kept on rolling and are peaking at the perfect time.
Joe Fratello and Robert Kasumi scored a pair of late breaks of serve to close out their match as sixth-seeded Leonia advanced to the North 1, Group 1 quarterfinals with a 5-0 first-round state tournament victory over No. 11 seed Newton on Friday at Overpeck Park.

"We're just trying to put our best foot forward and play good tennis," said Fratello. "Glen Rock is the number one seed in our section and we hung around with them the first time we played them. The whole JV moved up to varsity and it was a tough adjustment, but we're playing with more confidence now and it feels good to be competitive."

A pleasant surprise for Leonia all year has been the improvement of third-singles player Simon Salazar. He has not lost a match all season and impressed again against Newton by not dropping a single game to quickly get a point on the board.

With first and second singles heading to third sets, it was up to the Lions' doubles teams to put to rest any hopes of an upset. David Johannesson and Won Joon Kang took advantage of unforced errors and both served well in scoring a 6-2, 6-2 victory.
The Lions' first doubles tandem of Fratello and Kasumi struggled to get on track early in the first set, but as the match wore on, the two became more aggressive at the net and it paid dividends. Both put away volleys late to close out the first set before scoring a break midway through the second set to take control en route to a 6-3, 6-2 win that moved the Lions into the second round of the states.

Joe Fratello was half of the Leonia duo that won in straight sets at first doubles.

"That's the fun part of playing doubles, being aggressive is a big part of the game," said Kasumi. "It's nice to be intimidating and to set the tone when we're out there. It's exciting to be the aggressors but we still have to know our limits and play good tennis."

Justin Reich at first singles and Jonathan Kay at second singles pulled out exciting three-set victories to secure the sweep for Leonia (9-3). Ethan Koontz and Ian Murray of Newton (6-6) pushed the Lions to the brink at first and second singles before falling 6-4 and 7-5, respectively, in the third set.

Leonia will hit the road next week for a North 1, Group 1 quarterfinal showdown at third-seeded Kinnelon. The Lions will come in a rare position with having nothing to lose and everything to gain.

"This is a very competitive section and we're excited to be in the mix," said Leonia head coach Matt Wind. "Our third singles (Salazar) has been on fire all year. On any given day, we feel like we can get two points from either our doubles or either one of the singles players. To go from being an essentially JV team to succeeding at the varsity level and being competitive in the states shows the hard work these kids have put in and how much we've grown throughout the year."

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