GLEN ROCK – Allie Eisenberg had to choose between winning sets and making them.
Last year, Eisenberg was the star setter for the Glen Rock Middle School volleyball team and a long-time regular on the United States Tennis Association tournament circuit.
This fall, Eisenberg chose tennis over volleyball and has helped lead the Panthers into the NJSIAA North 1, Group 1 finals.
On Friday, Eisenberg contributed a first-singles win as her second-seeded team swept No. 3 Cresskill in the semifinals, 5-0. Maya Doyle and Emma Mangino also scored singles wins for the Panthers while the doubles pairs of Charlotte Arehart/Grace DeSalvo and Carly Erani/Samara Rosen came up big as well.
Glen Rock will face top-seeded and defending champion Kinnelon in Tuesday’s finals.
Here are the biggest takeaways from the Panthers’ semifinal win:
Smashing debut
Glen Rock coach Bonnie Zimmermann has known about Eisenberg since she was 6 or 7 years old. Eisenberg’s family was having its home renovated at the time and the youngster was living across from the high school courts and hitting there almost every day.
“Coach (Zimmermann) has had great players here and I was excited to play for her,” Eisenberg said. “The fact that she knew who I was and was excited to work with me … that was pretty cool, too.”
Zimmermann’s new protégé is fun-loving off the court but a no-nonsense, ultra-intense person on it. She took out Cresskill ace Stephanie Kim 6-4 and 6-1 on Friday but will have her hands full in the finals when she faces Kinnelon’s three-time Morris County Tournament first-singles champion Britany Lau.
“My teammates told me she’s amazing,” Eisenberg said. “But I’m going to bring everything I have to the table and we’ll see how it goes.”
A welcome demotion
One player who’s familiar with Lau is Glen Rock second Doyle. She played the Colt ace in last year’s sectional finals and lost 6-0 and 6-0. Doyle laughingly said their match “took like 15 minutes.”
“I’ve heard (Lau’s) only lost three matches in her high school career,” Doyle said. “But (Eisenberg) is really consistent and experienced so I think she can give her a good match.”
After two seasons playing first-singles for Glen Rock, Doyle was pushed down to second when Eisenberg came on board. That’s helped make the Panthers a significant threat to take this year’s title after losing a 4-1 decision to the Colts last fall.
Doyle said she’d never played competitive tennis before her freshman year and that playing first for Glen Rock as an underclassman was “scary.”
“When I heard we had a new freshman coming in who was really experienced, I was relieved,” Doyle said. “I was used to playing first singles because I did it two years. But I lost a lot. I thought I could have a better record at a lower position.”
County champ
Another player who benefitted greatly from Eisenberg’s addition is Mangino, who played second last year and won last month’s Bergen County Tournament small-schools third-singles crown.
“It didn’t really change anything after that,” Mangino said of winning counties. “You just try to go out there each time and have a good match. I liked the county win, obviously, but you can’t get too cocky.”
Mangino does feel her landmark victory has made her a more confident player.
“Now whenever I’m down, I know I can come back,” Mangino said. “I was down in counties so I’m like, “If you can do it in counties, you can do it here’.”
On Friday, Mangino held off Cresskill’s Amanda Graf, 6-4 and 6-3. Mangino was shut out by Kinnelon second Agatha Malinowski in last year’s sectional finals and will face Caroline Balick on Tuesday. Balick played second doubles for the Colts last season.
“Winning sections would mean the world to us,” Mangino said. “To come back and beat the defending champions … it would mean a lot. Especially for all the seniors who’ve worked so hard.”
Peas in a pod
Two of those seniors are Arehart and DeSalvo, who teamed up to beat Cougars Rachel Kim and Dhruvi Patel in Friday’s first-doubles match, 6-3 and 6-2.
The Cougar duo has played doubles together for four straight seasons – one on the JV and three on the varsity – and recorded their team’s only point in last year’s Kinnelon match.
“It’s been great, being able to work with the same person for so long,” DeSalvo said. “We communicate well and have a great connection between us. It makes things a lot easier.”
Arehart jokingly said neither player ever lost a challenge match in order to keep their partnership going.
“It just worked out that way,” Arehart said. “We’re about the same level, same grade and started with the program at the same time.
“We’re definitely going to miss each other a lot after this season,” she added. “I can’t imagine playing tennis with anyone else.”
One tough cougar
Graf lost a one-sided decision to Mangino earlier this year but gave her a much tougher battle this time around. Graf lost the rematch 6-4 and 6-3 and she and Mangino were the last two off the court.
“My dad watched my last match against her and he gave me some advice, like, ‘Try to jump on her second serves’,” Graf said. “I listened to it and it worked.”
Graf, who said she’s often asked if she’s related to former world tennis champion Steffi Graf and jokingly said, “I wish”, said she’s loved every minute of her four seasons with the Cougars.
“We’ve had a lot of great girls on the team and I’ve made so many great friendships along the way,” Graf said. “(Gwenyth Gorfin and Rachel Kim) are terrific captains and role models. It’s just been a great experience, being part of this.”
