RECORD SPORTS:  PRE-SEASON TOP 20 GIRLS TENNIS RANKINGS

 

  1. Northern Highlands
  2. Ridgewood
  3. Dwight-Englewood
  4. Indian Hills
  5. Immaculate Heart
  6. Ramapo
  7. Tenafly
  8. Leonia
  9. Holy Angels
  10. Mahwah
  11. NV/Old Tappan
  12. Ramsey
  13. Cresskill
  14. Wayne Hills
  15. Glen Rock
  16. NV/Demarest
  17. Pascack Hills
  18. Rutherford
  19. Saddle River Day
  20. Fair Lawn

 

NJIC Team by Team Review

COLONIAL

Eastern Christian is coming off one its best seasons ever (9-6) and poised for even greater success. Cara Shotmeyer, Rachel Liu and Brianne Veenstra line up as the singles players while Melanie Careri and Tara Casey form a solid first-doubles pair.

Garfield graduated almost all its higher-level players from last year and has some rebuilding to do. Seniors Alejandra Bermudez, Gabriela Olszewska, Marija Tupanceska and Veronica Useche are a few of the players who’ll try to pick up the slack.

Glen Rock has another rock-solid team and expects to contend for league honors. The prime contenders for the Panther singles jobs are Maya Doyle, Emma Mangino, Carly Erani and Grace DeSalvo. Others who could play big roles include Charlotte Arehart, Kate Gifford and Rachel Halpern.

Hawthorne has an extremely young team but enough talent to reach the .500 mark after a 7-9 campaign. Senior Rachel Zuckerberg and juniors Esma Senman and Jacqueline Hampson are among its prime time players.

Lodi took its lumps last year, going 2-12, but its added experience could pay dividends this fall. Senior Kelsie Hannavi, juniors Julia Guinto, Rochele Hernandez and Sabiha Shahab and sophomore Natalie Romero are now seasoned veterans and could take their team up a notch or two.

Mary Help is in rebuilding mode and will count on upperclassmen Somachukwu Ozuzu, Esther Paulino and Monica McEvoy as well as freshman Brianna Guzman for major contributions.

Pompton Lakes graduated six of its seven starters but has the talent and drive to remain competitive. Junior captain Charla Lim is the lone returnee and will be one of the team’s singles players. Senior captain Deisy Almazan, senior Karmyn Pasquariello and juniors Becky Fagan, Lydia Mastrangelo and Ye Shun Ho are all potential starters as well.

Rutherford enjoyed a spectacular season last fall, going 16-2 and winning the league championship. The Bulldogs are hoping for more of the same and will rely on first-singles player Nyabwija Kanefu and seniors Su Jung Bun and Anna Kladochna to lead the charge.

MEADOWLANDS

Becton/Wallington’s lineup consists entirely of underclassmen but the team’s spirits couldn’t be higher. Dhwani Kanani is its lone returning letter-winner while Milena Garcia played in her native Ecuador before moving here recently. Others who’ll get in the action include Wonhui Seo, Jacklyn Sewastianowicz and Alyssa Molina.

Dwight-Englewood won last year’s division and Bergen County Tournament Small-Schools crowns and is loaded once again. County first-singles champion Emily Sivarak is out indefinitely with a wrist injury but senior Beata Liberchuk, who went 16-3 as a freshman before sitting out her sophomore and junior years, will step right into the spot. The team’s long list of talent also includes Olivia Greenberg, Madeleine Kachikian, Emily Katz and Kira Trout.

Harrison is coming of a 6-13 season and aiming for double-digit wins. The team has no shortage of talent and experience with seniors Sophia Mencia, Paula Santana, Franshesca Pretto and Mari Jimenez and junior Sheila Chumbimune on board.

Leonia should finish second in the league behind Dwight-Englewood. The Lions have two standouts in senior Liya Davidov and junior Bianka Lieber, a strong doubles player in junior Isabella Bonapace and a pair of talented underclassmen in Alexa Zelezny and Reana Radu.

New Milford graduated four key varsity players and will be hard-pressed to duplicate last year’s 9-10 mark. Senior first-singles player Michelle Sydoruk gives the team a strong foundation to build on. Sophomore Kaitlyn Rostkowski should also play a major role while juniors Karen Kim and Kokoro Sugiura help round out the lineup.

Ridgefield has gone 8-9 each of the past two seasons and, with six starters back, has a winning season in its sights. The Royals boast a talented singles trio in junior Hannah Kim, senior Nicole Suttora and freshman Juliana Kim.

Saddle Brook was hit hard by graduation after winning just one time last year. The Falcons will count on junior Lauren Holdsworth and sophomores Nicole Wolosyn and Leanna Pankiewitz to hold the fort while their younger teammates get their feet wet.

Secaucus has a solid core with Tanisha Pardasani and Reetu Parikh at first and second singles but needs a host of newcomers to get up to speed quickly in order to match last year’s 15-8 mark.

PATRIOT

Cresskill has everything it needs to defend its league crown. After a 17-2 season, the Cougars have their whole lineup back including heavy hitters Michelle Yu, Kamilla Azbel and Gwenyth Gorfin. Their list of top guns also includes Pooja Balar, Olivia Newman and Amanda Graf.

Emerson hopes to give Cresskill a run for the league crown after a 13-5 campaign. The Cavaliers will lean on singles players Rachel Morin, Erin Plunket and Jessie Wells as well as doubles standouts Lauren Romanski, Natalie Campisi and Nicole Graham.

Hasbrouck Heights returns just one player from last year’s varsity squad – sophomore Rita Totonjie, who played second doubles. As a result, a host of former understudies will now be in the spotlight. Patrixia Rosario was a varsity alternate last fall and could shoot towards the top of the lineup while Michelle Schwartz and Angeliq Direnzo could join her.

Immaculate Conception will count on sophomore captain Gabriella Gil to help keep her extremely young teammates pointed in the right direction. Junior captain Victoria Veloz-Vicioso and sophomore Sarah Tauriello will also play major roles.

Midland Park graduated two of last year’s singles players so pretty much everyone will be moving up in the lineup. Senior Kate Leonard will captain the ship along with classmate Jessica Gryczko and juniors Shannon Burger, Jackie Lelinho and Angela Veleski.

Palisades Park has its entire team back after a 5-12 campaign and is looking to move up and over the .500 mark. Ruiyan Jin, Ellen Bang, Rachel Lee and Grace Lee all started last year but will need their “A” games to hold off a host of relatively-equal talents.

Park Ridge has high hopes after taking 16 of its 21 matches last year. The Owls have all their players back in the nest, including seniors Jacey Zeug, Victoria Zdanowicz, Serena Nappa, Maggie Meyer, Caroline Greuneis and Christina Southard.

Saddle River Day went 12-3 last fall and could do some major damage once again. Senior singles ace Sydney Rubin heads a talented cast that also includes juniors Catherine Buzzerio, Alana Malanga, Bailey Rabinowitz, Maddie Schurr, Sofia Simonian and Madison Yormark.

Waldwick could make plenty of noise in the league with a strong returning cast and a host of talented newcomers. Seniors Britani Chronopolous, Meghan Carver, Julia Ullman and Gabby Romano all posted winning records on either the singles or doubles courts last season.