Friday, September 19, 2014

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Charlotte Hagan clinched the first point for Northern Highlands, which went on the road to pick up an impressive 4-1 over Ramapo.

FRANKLIN LAKES – Heading into this season, Northern Highlands' girls tennis team had plenty of expectations and was one of, if not the, favorite to win the Bergen County title. It could have all come crashing down with an opening-day loss to Ridgewood that initially shook the confidence of the Highlanders. Instead of dwelling on that loss, they chose to see it as a motivational tool to get better every day. If any team chose to dismiss the Highlanders as a county contender, that would be a big mistake as they chose an opportune time to send a reminder to the rest of the county that they are still among the teams to beat.

Eleanor Hagan and Chloe Decker came up big late in the second set to stave off a set point at second doubles and then clinched the match in the tiebreaker as Northern Highlands handed Ramapo its first loss of the year, 4-1, on Thursday in Franklin Lakes.

“The Ridgewood loss was tough to take, but we had to bounce back and put things together,” said Eleanor Hagan, a senior who is committed to Bucknell University for lacrosse. “Ramapo is always a really good team and we have a good rivalry. If we’re going to be super competitive with the best teams in the county these are the matches we have to win.”

Hagan’s younger sister, Charlotte, got the Highlanders on the board first by executing her gameplan effectively all match. She returned serve with pace and kept the ball deep to both corners. That earned her early breaks in both sets en route to a 6-2, 6-1 win.

Ramapo freshman Brianna Omar won in straight sets at second singles.

“It’s really important to get a break early to get an advantage over your opponent,” said Charlotte Hagan. “When you start strong, you have the confidence to finish strong, too. Consistency is really important and it’s something I always strive for.”

Northern Highlands added another point at first doubles. Hannah Doherty kept her topspin lobs deep and that allowed Emily Hite to be a force at the net against the two-back strategy used by Ramapo’s Abby Shulman and Katherine Jo with the Highlanders scoring a 6-2, 6-3 win.

At second doubles, Eleanor Hagan and Decker took the first set easily but fell behind 5-3 in the second and faced a set point at 5-4. They were able to survive that game and score a break to get back on serve. In the second set tiebreaker, Eleanor Hagan and Decker put away volleys at the net on back-to-back points to turn a 3-2 lead into a 5-2 lead. That cushion was all they needed in netting the clinching point with a 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) victory.

“It was a pressure situation but we just tried to play one point at a time,” added Eleanor Hagan. “We wanted to control every point that we could and stay aggressive at the net. We’ve been practicing volleying a lot in practice lately and it paid off today.”

Highlands' Madison Hite won in a thrd-set super tie-breaker at first singles.

Although the outcome was already decided, Madison Hite provided the most exciting finish of the match. Locked in a battle with Ramapo standout Ariella Omar in a third-set super tiebreaker, Hite fought off four match points and ended the match with six consecutive points for a 3-6, 6-2, (11-9) triumph for Northern Highlands (3-1).

Freshman Brianna Omar rode her punishing forehand to a 6-2, 6-3 win at second singles to notch the lone point for Ramapo (6-1).

With the start of the county tournament just eight days away, both teams know that although this is the deepest county tournament in years they will likely have to get through one another at several flights if they are going to achieve their goal of being county champions.

“We knew Northern Highlands was going to be a real tough matchup for us and we lost to a better team today,” said Ramapo head coach Kim Marchese. “Last year we saw Northern Highlands basically four times between the league matches, counties, and states so we knew how competitive they are and they played some really good tennis today. We know we need to win those close matches to have a good showing at the counties. Today we didn’t win them but hopefully this match will serve as much motivation for us as the loss against Ridgewood did for them.”

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