Cranford Falls to Summit in Tennis

The most exciting match of the day came after the winning team was already apparent, but that didn't stop Cranford freshman Christian Woo and Summit's Connor Kastenbaum from playing as if it were the U.S. Open final.

The Cougars phenom battled to a 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 victory, but in the end, the Hilltoppers had the better day with a 4-1 team win. Still two hours after the first match began, it was Woo and Kastenbaum who had everyone's attention at third singles, with their teammates cheering on every point.

"It was extremely difficult, he wouldn't give me anything, and I wouldn't give him anything," said Woo, who is now 2-0 to start his career. "Sometimes we would just slip up on each other. He really played a good match, but at the end I really pumped myself up."

Kastenbaum won the first set, but Woo wasn't discouraged.

"After I won the second set, I was pumped up that I won that, but I was really starting to deteriorate. What got me going was watching everyone else cheer me on. It really got me going to finish it off."

"It was an unbelievable match," said Cranford coach Richard Goldstein. "Summit's a fantastic team. For Summit to beat Governor Livingston, and we actually played better against Summit than we did against GL, our team is gaining a lot of confidence. And for Christian to have a three-set victory is even greater for our team. We know that we have a young team, and just by watching Christian play today, they know that it can be done."

Summit captured the first four matches, starting at first singles, when Max Pollinger defeated Alex Heucke in straight sets 6-2, 6-1. Gabe Rissman beat Andrew Miller by the same score at second singles.

"I thought I played pretty well, pretty consistent," said Pollinger. "I'd like to qualify for the states. I think we can do it. We're playing well enough to do it. This year, we're considered more of an underdog because we lost a bunch of people, but I think we're surprising a lot of people. We had a pretty good showing against Governor Livingston."

"Max is a tremendous competitor," said coach Paul Chaput, who is in his first year at Summit. "He's got every shot, and he's fast. The season in their hands, we have a very good team."

The first doubles team of Sam Raab and Carlo Stadlinger edged Cranford's Derek DeCagna and Danny Buono 6-3, 6-4, while Summit unveiled their freshman star at second doubles, when freshman Matt Celona teamed with Eric Hermann to earn the 6-1, 7-5 win.

"It's fun playing with the older kids," said Celona. "All of our singles, all of our doubles are very good. We're playing well and I think we're going to win a lot of matches."

As for the overall outlook, Summit has high hopes.

"I think the possibilities are very good," said Chaput. "We have three tri-captains, led by Max Pollinger, Connor Kastenbaum and Tommy Alexander. They're just so enthused. They have fun."

Cranford, meanwhile is gaining confidence with every match.

"Andrew Miller and Alex Heucke, and even Derek and Danny's match, each game, for about 70-80 percent of the time went to deuce," said Goldstein. "If we lost, it was add, back to deuce time and again, and we just couldn't put it away. So for us to even get that far, we made them earn it. Their coach at the end said the exact same thing. He was surprised at the end at the way we showed up, the way that we played and I think the kids deserve a lot of credit for that."

Summit improved to 2-2 on the young season, while Cranford fell to 1-2.