Friday,
October 2, 2015
By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
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Alison Ciarletta was half of the Park Ridge first doubles tandem that got the Owls their first point on the way to a 3-2 upset of sixth-seeded Hawthorne on Thursday in the first round of the North 1, Group 1 state tourney. |
HAWTHORNE – Just three games into her state tournament match at first singles, Park Ridge sophomore Jacey Zeug could not have felt worse. She scored just three points in those three games and it appeared she was one her way to a quick loss. But with her team desperately needing her to get a point and with her back against the wall, Zeug made a conscious effort to employ the one strategy that is full-proof. She simply kept the ball inside the lines no matter what the pace of play might have been.
Zeug wasted no time in getting back on track. She rattled off six straight games to win the first set then won several long points down the stretch in the second game for a straight-set win as No. 11 seed Park Ridge pulled a mild upset over sixth-seeded Hawthorne (6-3) on Thursday in the first round of the North 1, Group 1 state tournament.
“This is a really big win for us,” said Zeug. “I got down early but I try not to let anything get to my head. Once I won a few games in a row, I started getting more confident.”
Park Ridge got on the scoreboard first with a point at first doubles. Alison Ciarletta and Kayla Sheridan controlled the net late in both sets en route to a 6-3, 6-4 win.
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Rachel Zuckerberg got Hawthorne a point with a straight-sets win at third singles. |
The lead only last a few minutes as Hawthorne answered back with a 6-4, 6-1 win from Rachel Zuckerberg at third singles. The Lady Bears then moved one point from victory thanks to senior captain Nicole D’Arcoli. After losing a 5-2 lead in the first set, D’Arcoli picked her game back up at the baseline to take the final two games before winning the second set, 6-2, to give Hawthorne a 2-1 lead.
With second doubles already up a set and firmly in control in the second, Zeug had the sense it was going to come down to her match. After battling all the way back to take the first set, she trailed Hawthorne’s Erika LaMonaca 4-3 in the second before turning her game up a notch.
With the prospect of facing a third and deciding set with Lady Owls’ state tournament fate on the line, Zeug kept her focus on keeping points alive as long as she possibly could. Zeug faced some adversity, but fought off game points in three straight games before rallying to win all three to take the match, 6-3, 6-4.
“I had to eliminate my mistakes but be more aggressive during certain points when I had the chance,” said Zeung.
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Jacey Zeug's win at first singles clinched the match for Park Ridge, which will visit No. 3 Leonia in the quarterfinals. |
Park Ridge’s second doubles tandem of Lauren Attong and Camilla Nappa did not drop a single game in closing out the match and sending the Owls into the section quarterfinals.
It will be a tall order for Park Ridge (5-4) in the North 1, Group 1 quarterfinals on Monday when they travel to face third-seeded Leonia, which breezed to a 5-0 first-round win over Boonton. With nothing to lose and everything to gain, they will look to use the momentum from yesterday’s upset to try and pull an even bigger one.
“I think the girls are excited to leave school early and maybe that’s giving them some extra motivation,” said Park Ridge head coach Muhammad Awais with a laugh. “We’ve had nothing to lose this entire season and we’ve exceeded all of my expectations. We’re happy to move on to the second round against a really tough opponent in Leonia. Anytime you step on the court anything can happen. We’ll certainly give it our best effort and see how we do.”
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