Boys' Tennis Closes Out Season With Win Over N. Plainfield

It couldn't have turned out any better for the Cranford boys' varsity tennis team on the final day of the season. They were just one victory away from a 10-win campaign, and they made it in convincing fashion, defeating North Plainfield 4-1, while securing their place in the Union County top-10 rankings after finishing with a 10-7 record.

"This season was a fun one I'd say," said senior captain Derek DeCagna. "That's the best way I can describe it. We have a good bunch of guys here, we mesh together real well. Our personalities get along well. In the past, when I was an underclassman, we had some upperclassmen who were more on the serious side, but this year, we're there for each other with the matches, and we had some fun along the way too."

DeCagna teamed with freshman Danny Buono to earn a 6-3, 6-1 victory at second doubles. The combo finished the spring with 11 wins.

"It's been fantastic," said Cranford head coach Richard Goldstein. "A lot of these guys are sophomores and a couple are freshmen. And even on the JV team, we have some freshmen who picked up the racquet for the first time this year and they've been improving tremendously, so I think next year's competition at the beginning of the year will be one to be reckoned with."

Sophomores Russ Hathaway and Will Allen earned a 6-1, 6-1 victory yesterday at second doubles. They completed the year with a solid 11-3 record, and Goldstein couldn't be happier.

"They mesh well," said Goldstein. "You have somebody who's really aggressive opposed to somebody who's not so. They're able to talk to each other on the court. They had a fantastic season."

"We've been doing really well I think," said Allen. "We've had a lot of good matches and a lot of easy wins you could say. We're playing really well together and we're communicating."

Hathaway was also willing to share the praise.

"Will has a great backhand, he has great ground strokes," said Hathaway. "He allows me to come up to the net and finish up the point all the time. We've both gotten a lot better. We've both been communicating a lot more, good communication and good execution."

It didn't take them long to find the right chemistry on the court.

"After the first three to four games, I was feeling comfortable and ready to try some new stuff," said Hathaway."

The pre-season goal was for this team to reach the .500 level. To finish three games over that is beyond expectations for a team who will return all but one player in the entire program.

"We havn't been this good in a while, but the team really came together this year," said Allen. "Because we're such a young team, I feel we'll be doing well for the next few years. We also have a strong JV team and they'll be moving guys up to varsity. I feel like we'll be winning a lot more."

"It's a shame to lose Derek, but Alex is going to improve, he plays over the summer, and we have a great JV program," said Hathaway. "Christian's great, he's done well this year. I can see him playing first singles in the future. I'm confident in this team."

At first and second singles, junior Alex Heucke and sophomore Andrew Miller took on the best that Union County had to offer. Miller was victorious yesterday 6-2, 6-1, while Heucke lost a three-set heartbreaker 6-4, 5-7 (7-6), 4-6.

Goldstein is proud of how his top two battled all season long.

"They're not going to get better unless they play these players," he said. "I tell them that every day. "You could be playing third singles, first doubles, second doubles, you're not going to see yourself improve. And they're at the point in their career where I think they need to be playing these people so they can see what are they doing correct, and they can work on what they're doing wrong."

At third singles, freshman Christian Woo exceeded everyone's expectations by posting his own 11-win season, closing things out with a 6-2, 6-1 victory. He's proud of his teammates and with three years ahead of him, is looking forward to the future.

"I think people didn't really expect much from us, and when we actually beat them, and we showed them that we're supposed to be here, it was really nice to let them know that we are a force to be reckoned with."

Woo, for one, already has his summer planned. Tennis anyone?

"I bank everything on tennis," Woo said. "I'll be practicing and getting a bunch of private tutors to help me out with some individual techniques."

It's that kind of dedication that will have Cranford moving up the ladder in Union County boys' tennis next year and beyond.