Saturday, October 4, 2014

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Amanda Egan won in straight sets at second singles as part of Pompton Lakes' 5-0 sweep of Midland Park in the opening round of the North 1, Group 1 state sectional tournament on Friday afternoon.

POMPTON LAKES – Last year, Pompton Lakes girls tennis team surprised many and maybe even itself by reaching the North 1, Group 1 state section final. Although they lost to Verona in that match, getting to that point was considered a huge accomplishment. But with four starters, including all three singles players returning this year, the stakes have been raised. While the regular season has been going on for nearly a month, the season in which the Cardinals are going to define themselves officially started on Friday.

The focus was evident as fifth-seeded Pompton Lakes set the tone in all five of its matches in scoring a 5-0 sweep over No. 12 Midland Park in a North 1, Group 1 first-round match played at Hershfield Park in Pompton Lakes.

“This match was different than any of our regular-season matches and we had to be more focused than we’ve been all season,” said Pompton Lakes’ Amanda Egan. “It’s nerve-wracking when you get to the states, but it’s a good feeling, too. The team has worked the whole season to see how we do in the state tournament. It’s do-or-die atmosphere and we really like that kind of pressure.”

Biranna DeBoer and Midland Park came in on a roll, having recently upset both Saddle River Day and Waldwick.

Caroline King got the Cardinals on the board first at third singles. By pouncing on short balls with consistent cross-court forehands, she scored an early break and never looked back in a 6-0, 6-3 win.

At second singles, Egan took a different approach to her success. She was steady at the baseline and kept the ball in play to take early leads in both sets on her way to a 6-1, 6-3 victory.

The clinching point also came from the singles slots. Carolyn Zhang was solid throughout her 6-1, 6-2 win over Midland Park’s Nikole Pogodin that was much closer than the score indicated.

After losing its first-singles player (Zoey Adams) to an injury last week, Midland Park (4-7) had to shuffle its lineup.

“I’m proud of the way we fought hard, we just ran into a better team,” said Midland Park head coach Jeff Hackett, who recently saw his team score upset wins over Saddle River Day and Waldwick. “We knew it was going to be an uphill battle and Pompton Lakes deserves all the credit. They played well in every match and they are going to be a tough team to knock out.”

Carolyn Zhang and Pompton Lakes will travel to Cresskill in the next round in a rematch of last season's sectional semifinal.

First-doubles tandem Kim Campoverde and Clarissa Abella along with Molly PreSisto and Kelly Brennan at second doubles combined to drop just four games to complete the sweep.

Pompton Lakes (12-2) moves onto the section quarterfinals on Tuesday. There they will see a familiar foe as it travels to face fourth-seeded Cresskill. In last year’s North 1, Group 1 semifinals, the Cardinals came to Cresskill and pulled a 3-2 upset to reach the final. This time around, they are well aware that Cresskill will be out for revenge.

“We know after last season that this is a match Cresskill has circled and they’ll be out to get us back,” said Pompton Lakes’ head coach Matthew Hales. “It was a nail biter when we played last year and I’m sure it will be that way again next week. We look forward to the state tournament because it’s a representation of how hard we worked and how it pays off. You can’t take anything for granted in the states and you play every match like it’s your last. We did that today and now we’ll have to do again in Cresskill.”

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