NORTH JERSEY INTERSCHOLASTIC CONFERENCE
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Coming into her senior year at Glen Rock, Alex Mircea had quite the resume pieced together already. She already had the Bergen County small schools title under her belt, made first team All-County in 2013 and entered the season with a 38-7 record at first singles for her career. The only goal on her list that was unchecked coming into the season was bring Glen Rock a sectional title.
That changed this season. Glen Rock ran into fellow NJIC opponent Leonia in the North Jersey, Section 1, Group 1 final. Just 15 days after Leonia handed Glen Rock its first loss of the season, Mircea led her squad to a 3-2 triumph for the sectional title.
Mircea and Glen Rock were not quite done winning there. She faced off against a quality opponent in the Group 1 semis in Shore’s Halah Davis. After Mircea grabbed the first set, 7-5, Davis powered back into the match with a 6-0 win. With the bout tied at a set apiece, Mircea won the match in the third set, 10-5. Mireca won her flight in the Group 1 final when Glen Rock fell to New Providence, 4-1.
“I don’t think we were are all truly expecting to make it to the Group 1 final,” she said. “It felt pretty nice to get there. I had a tough time in the semifinals. So since I had already played my toughest match of the tournaments against (Davis) and I knew I was more experience than (Katherine Ge of New Providence), since she was only a freshman.
Mircea went a perfect 13-0 at first singles in team play this season and claimed her second straight Bergen County small schools first singles title when she defeated Alyssa Baldi of Mahwah, 6-1, 6-0.
A LOOK AROUND THE NORTH JERSEY INTERSCHOLASTIC CONFERENCE:
-Glen Rock and Leonia had a heck of a rivalry this season. Just days after Glen Rock received the top seed in the North Jersey, Section 1, Group 1 bracket, Leonia defeated Glen Rock, 3-2. The two faced off again in and after losing the first time around, first doubles pair Haley Rosenwald and Alice Zhu won the clinching match at first doubles to bring Glen Rock the North Jersey, Section 1, Group 1 title.
–Dwight-Englewood claimed a share of the Bergen County small schools tournament team title. It tied with Ramapo. Both teams claimed two flights apiece. Leah Primak of Dwight-Englewood defeated Liz Kogan of Ramapo, 6-3, 6-2. Shereen Al-Sawwaf and Olivia Yi of Dwight-Englewood defeated Ramapo’s Abby Shulman and Katherine Jo, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3.
-In the Passaic County Tournament, Molly Pra Sisto and Kelly Brennan of Pompton Lakes claimed the second doubles title with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 over Anais DeLaura and Allison Borrelli Wayne Hills.
