Fort Lee ends state title drought by Bob Schwalb special to The Record
The long wait is over.
Thirty-two years after winning its first state championship, the Fort Lee boys tennis team made it a pair.
On Tuesday, the Bridgemen defeated Governor Livingston, 3-2, to win the NJSIAA North 2, Group 2 crown and earn a ticket to today’s Group 2 Tournament at Mercer County Park in West Windsor.
“The longer you coach, the more you get used to agony of defeat,” Fort Lee coach Phil Zappel said. “Right now I’m in shock.”
In winning the crown, the Bridgemen got singles victories from junior Thomas Yu, senior David Grant and sophomore Ivan Repin, who rebounded from a first-set loss to defeat rival Alec Palumbo 1-6, 6-1 and 6-3.
“Ivan has had a lot of close matches this season and he didn’t let the pressure get to him,” Zappel said. “He didn’t get rattled, tight or nervous. To lose 1-6 and then win the match, that’s an incredible comeback.”
North 1, Group 1
On Monday, Glen Rock lost a 5-0 decision to top-seeded Mountain Lakes in the finals. The second-doubles pair of Hiroki Doyle and Erik Vreedenburgh put up the best fight, losing to Lakers Stefan Prvulovic and Brent Schiller 6-1, 5-7 and 1-0(10-8).
North 1, Group 2
Demarest avenged a pair of 3-2 regular-season losses to Tenafly with a 3-2 win in the finals. Carlos Vasquez and Justin Kim won two-set decisions at first and second singles while third-singles player Robert Sorkin provided a championship-winning, three-set victory. After losing to the Tigers’ Marc Balderacchi two times earlier in the season, Sorkin beat his rival 1-6, 6-4 and 6-3.
Non-Public-North A
The Green Wave beat the Ironmen in the finals for the fourth straight year, this time taking a 4-1 win. Russel Hernandez provided Don Bosco’s only point with a second-singles win.
Non-Public, North B
On Monday, Dwight-Englewood lost an excruciating 3-2 decision to state superpower Newark Academy in the finals. The Bulldogs got a straight-sets win from first-singles player Daniel Nuzhny and a three-set win from the first-doubles pair of Shanay Amin and Brandon Grill. The locals almost earned a decisive point as second-singles player Rick Sivarak and the second-doubles pair of Tejas Akula and Cameron Janssens both lost in three sets.