Edward Shanoyan took the final eight games in a 6-4, 6-0 win at second singles that was a key point in Pascack Hills' long-awaited 3.5-1.5 win over NV/Demarest on Thursday in Montvale.
MONTVALE – Pascack Hills has been one of North Jersey’s most consistent winning boys’ tennis programs over the past 10 years, but all of those wins have not added up to state sectional titles. The Broncos have Northern Valley/Demarest to thank for that. In five of the past eight years, Pascack Hills has seen its season end at the hands of the of five-time defending sectional champion Norsemen, including a tough 3-2 loss in last year’s North 1, Group 2 final. Although both teams have completely overhauled their lineups going into Thursday’s regular-season meeting, Pascack Hills came out to show that it too has championship aspirations.
Ari Hirshfield and Jake Polsky won at first doubles to end a decade-long hex as Pascack Hills finally got the best of Northern Valley/Demarest with a 4-1 victory in Montvale.
Edward Shanoyan, one of the two returning starters from last year’s sectional finalist, struggled to find his rhythm early at second singles, but once he found it, he dominated, winning the last eight games in a 6-4, 6-0 victory. Sam Fruitbine had no such issues by breezing through the first set on his way to a 6-0, 6-3 win that gave Pascack Hills a 2-0 lead.
“I really had to be aggressive and make him work for every point,” said Shanoyan.
The Broncos’ first doubles tandem of Hirshfield and Polsky cruised through the first set, but ran into trouble early in the second. Down a break to the Norsemen duo of Chris Wright and Andrew Piekney, Hirshfield and Polsky got back to their aggressive style at the net. That turned the momentum back in their favor to lock up the landmark win for Pascack Hills with a 6-1, 7-5 triumph.
“We haven’t played together before this season, but we’ve worked hard on communicating and working together,” said Polsky. “It starts with getting our first serves in and getting to net as often as we can. We’re also supportive of each other, talking after every point and keeping each other focused.”
Aaron Khubani won at first singles for NV/Demarest..
“We’re getting better each match and we’re more comfortable on the court,” said Hirshfield. “The goal is to get to net as quickly as possible and finish points when we get the chance.”
Pascack Hills improved to 7-1 on the season. The Broncos other point came at second doubles with Zach Friend and David Leipsner pulling out a second-set tiebreaker to win the match.
The lone point from Northern Valley/Demarest (2-3) came at first singles. Aaron Khubani also won a second-set tiebreak to win 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) in an entertaining match against the Broncos’ hard-serving Connor Wong.
With this win, Pascack Hills has now vaulted as the frontrunner and potentially the top seed in North 1 Group 2 state tournament. But with the Bergen County Tournament still ahead and plenty of regular-season matches left, including a showdown with Dwight-Englewood next week, the Broncos know there is still a lot of work left to do.
“We’re happy to beat Demarest, but we’ve got to keep working every day,” said Fruitbine. “Our team is going to keep pushing each other in practice so that we can be the best we can be when it comes to the big matches.”
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