LHS Tennis Team Honored by Freeholders

The Livingston High School Boys Tennis program took center stage during a meeting of the Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders on June 13.  The Doubles Team of Spencer Luster and Kevin Sun, and Head Coach Elliot A. Lovi were honored for their accomplishments: Spencer Luster and Kevin Sun for having won the 2012 Tennis Doubles State Championship, and Coach Lovi for as Head Coach of the Livingston High School Boys Tennis Team.

The congratulatory Commendations were co-sponsored and presented by Freeholder Vice President Patricia Sebold of Livingston and Freeholder Leonard Luciano of West Caldwell, and also a Livingston High School graduate, who applauded Spencer and Kevin for their outstanding accomplishments both on the tennis court and in the classroom, and commended Coach Lovi for his unrivaled record of success in teaching young people to excel in athletics and in life.

Spencer Luster and Kevin Sun won the 2012 New Jersey State Tennis Doubles Championship on Thursday, June 7, 2012, at Mercer County Park in West Windsor, New Jersey, when they defeated the previously-unbeaten doubles team from Millburn High School, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4.  Doubles partners for the last three years, Luster and Sun completed their Championship Season with an overall record of 25-6, and also played a critical role in the success of the 26-5 Livingston High School Boys Tennis Team.  Luster and Sun were named by The Star-Ledger to the 2012 First Team All-State Doubles, All-State By Position First Doubles, and First Team Group IV Doubles, as well as the 2012 All-Essex County First Team Doubles.  They were also named, individually, to the 2012 Tennis Second Team of the Super Essex All-Conference American Division.

Spencer Luster, a junior at Livingston High School, has been a member of the Boys Varsity Tennis Team for three years.  In addition to his tennis prowess, he is an excellent student who is enrolled in all Honors and Advanced Placement Courses as well as a member of the Science National Honors Society, the Spanish Honors Society and the National Honors Society, and participates in many other school activities.  Kevin Sun, a senior at Livingston High School, was a member of the Boys Varsity Tennis Team for four years.  He also competed on both the Varsity Soccer and Varsity Winter Track teams for one year, and was honored as Livingston High School’s Scholar-Athlete at the Annual NJSIAA Annual Luncheon on May 20, 2012, for his outstanding academic and athletic achievements.  He, too, participates in many other school activities and competes in science and match competitions at the local, county, state and national levels.  Kevin will attend New York University’s Stern School of Business in the fall.

Elliot A. Lovi, reached the amazing milestone of 1,000 career wins as Head Coach of the Livingston High School Boys Tennis Team on Saturday, April 21, 2012, with the team’s victory over Newark Academy in the semifinals of the Essex County Tournament, and subsequently added more victories to his total which now stands at 1,013, more than any other boys high school tennis coach in the United States.  Lovi began his tenure as Head Coach in 1974, and over the course of the ensuing 39 seasons his teams amassed an overall record of 1,013-216, while also achieving an amazing number of championships, including: 2 All-Group State Championships, 1 Public School State Championship, 7 Group State Championships, 16 Group Sectional Championships, 33 Conference Championships, 7 Essex County Championships and 11 championships of various invitational tournaments.  He also enjoyed great success as the coach of girls tennis teams at Livingston, Millburn and Chatham Township high schools from 1984-2010, racking up 701 victories with only 103 losses, bringing his overall record as a high school tennis coach to 1,714 and counting.

During his illustrious career, Elliot A. Lovi has been awarded countless honors for his coaching achievements, including New Jersey boys, girls and high school “Coach of the Year” by state and national tennis associations and The Star-Ledger, and inductions into the Millburn High School and N. J. Scholastic Coaches Association Halls of Fame.  He is a Charter Member of the NJSIAA Tennis Committee and the U. S. Tennis Association Eastern Section Junior Competition Committee, has served as the Essex County Tennis Tournament Director for boys since 1976 and for girls since 1984, and was a Business Education Teacher and Coordinator of Marketing Education at Livingston High School for 39 years until his retirement in 2008.