Matt Zimmermann and New Providence ended Glen Rock's rebound season, 3.5-1.5, on Wednesday in the Group 1 state semifinals at Mercer County Park.

WEST WINDSOR – Having had to retool their entire lineup Glen Rock rebuilt itself quickly and won the North 1, Group 1 state sectional title with a 4-1 win over Pompton Lakes. Moving on, however, the Panthers ran into a team much like themselves in New Providence, which has been a surprise this season. The Pioneers came all the way from the No. 6 seed to win the North 2 ,Group 1 title and, with a state final berth at stake, it came to which team could stay hot through the smoky air hovering over Mercer County Park.

The Pioneers’ Valmik Nahata and Colin McAloon scored the clinching point at second doubles to put an end to Glen Rock’s season with a 3.5-1.5 triumph on Wednesday afternoon in West Windsor.

“Towards the end of the first set we had to take more chances,” said Nahata. “Once we won the first set, we turned our attention to getting an early break in the second set. That’s the most important thing in a tennis match like this. Getting that break and putting pressure on your opponents.”

New Providence needed less than an hour to grab a 2-0 lead. Akshay Rao and Samvit Choudhary dropped just two games between them at second and third singles, respectively.

The third point would not come as easily for the Pioneers against a Glen Rock squad that refused to quit. After dropping the first set at first doubles and trailing in the second set, the Panthers’ Dennis Panchekha and Craig Hillyer battled to even the match before dominating the third-set super tiebreaker. They won the first six points en route to a 3-6, 7-5, (10-1) win.

The Panthers also had some momentum after breaking serve to tie the first set at 5. That was when Nahata and McAloon showed poise well above their experience. The pair had been playing together for less than a month and McAloon had never even played a tennis match at this time last year. Communication and aggressive play at the net was key as the Pioneer duo held on to win the first set.

Craig Hillyer and Glen Rock finished the season with a 16-5 record and a state sectional title.

“When we started getting our first serves in and returning their first serves, that’s when we began to get control,” said McAloon. “It gave us the option to poach at the net or give them a different look they haven’t seen. Once we won that first set, we didn’t want to give up that momentum and it carried it right through the second set. The first day of the season I said we wanted to get our seniors a championship. We won our section, and we knew if we won that we’d have a chance at a state title.”

The teams had tightly contested games early in the second set. It was Nahata and McAloon who won all the key points to take control to score the deciding point with a 7-5, 6-1 victory to send New Providence to the Group 1 state final for the first time since 2019.

The remaining match was halved with Andrew Eisenberg of Glen Rock taking the first set 6-4 and Matt Zimmermann ahead in the second set 5-2 befor the Pioneers scored the winning point.

New Providence (13-8) fought hard but lost a 3-2 heartbreaker in the Group 1 final to Haddon Township. This could be a potential rematch late in the state tournament next year as well. The Pioneers return six starters and Glen Rock (16-5) brings back Eisenberg and Jacob Grinberg at the top of the lineup.

“To have all of our players playing in new spots in the lineup, I have to say this was a very successful season,” said Glen Rock head coach Bonnie Zimmermann. “Unfortunately, we’ve been bridesmaids down here a lot without being the bride. But we faced a very good team today and that’s the way it goes. It’s not easy to win a state title. There was wonderful competition here, there always is. Even though we lost, it was a great day and a great experience for these kids,”

FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM THIS EVENT CLICK HERE. TO BUY A COLLECTOR'S PRINT OF THIS STORY PLEASE VISIT 4-FeetGrafix.com.