Wayne Hills’ Jake Goldberg eyes third Passaic title by Sean Farrell of The Record
WAYNE – The underdogs walk onto the court with their racket and their simple goals.
Get to deuce. Win a game. Be competitive.
This is the mind-set for many of those who face Jake Goldberg of Wayne Hills.
The soft-spoken, 5-foot-7 senior wouldn’t seem to be an intimidating player away from the court.
But on it, it’s a different story.
“That kid is insane,” Wayne Valley’s Dan Gordon said.
Opponents can’t predict what shot will come next. They can’t find a weakness, either.
It’s the reason why several Passaic County players say Goldberg is the toughest opponent they have faced.
It’s why the Patriots’ star is on the brink of the third Passaic County title of his career. And there’s little anyone else can seem to do about it.
“It’s hard to believe it’s the last [season],” said Goldberg, who is 12-0 this spring. “I just try to stay in the moment and appreciate every match and every point that comes to me.”
Goldberg only lost one game in two matches at first singles on Thursday.
He swept West Milford’s Noah Rodums in a dominant pro-set performance in the quarterfinals.
Then he defeated Gordon in straight sets to earn a trip back to the final.
“If he hits a winner or shanks it into the next court over, he maintains the same attitude,” teammate Jeffrey Angello said. “He’s very consistent so it’s hard to get any free points against him. But he’s also very aggressive at the same time.”
Goldberg has a way of making the game look easy.
He returns some serves harder than they come in.
He effortlessly puts away rallies in two or three shots.
All Gordon could do was smile and point back to him after losing a second set game.
Asked Gordon, “How did he do that?”
Goldberg now gets a battle with Passaic Tech’s Ibrahim Salem on Friday with a chance to go out as a champion.
“It would mean a lot,” Goldberg said. “My first goal is always to maintain my spot at first singles and the second is to win Passaic County. It’s always a big goal.”
Goldberg will be about eight inches shorter than his next challenger.
But it’s a feeling he’s gotten used to since starting tennis at age 5.
His first opponent was his older brother, Brett, another Passaic County champion. Jake had to find ways to match up with bigger and more experienced players. That all paid off when he earned the third singles spot as a freshman.
“[Brett] was a great person to play with to gain strength, because I‘m not as big as him,” Goldberg said. “To hit as hard as the kids that are bigger than me really helped with that.”
Goldberg now plays the role of the veteran on a deep Patriots team.
They earned spots in all five finals and hope to capture a 13th straight county title.
Angello and Adam Choe even made the singles championships as undefeated freshmen.
“Jake is a good role model,” coach Bruce Keogh said. “They’re better players for the experience of playing with him for a year.”
Angello will face a defending champion in Wayne Valley senior Andrew Lucchesi.
“It’s good to get back-to-back [finals appearances] here,” Lucchesi said. “It’s where I want to be. Every year, that’s my goal.”
Salem, meanwhile, is taking a realistic approach to his match against Goldberg.
He feels like many of the underdogs who came before him.
“I just got to play the best match of my life,” Salem said.