Girls Tennis Team Starts Off On The Right Foot

The Montville High School girls varsity tennis team kicked off its season on a positive note in its opening match against Pope John Paul XXIII High School on Sept. 7. The Mustangs won three of the day's five matches.

According to head coach Kenny Sachs, the team is hoping to get a good year out of senior Minami Okajima, who took a year off from the team last year to participate in the USTA national tournament.

Okajima debuted strong, beating Pope John's Haley Dubits 6-0 and 6-1.

While Sachs expected Okajima to perform well as an established player, he is also keeping an eye on his two freshmen singles, Kaitlin Sanzone and Kristen Godau.

"Kaitlin doesn't have any high school experience," he said. "But she doesn't play that way. She plays like a senior. And Kristen, too. She's nervous, but excited."

Sanzone won her match against Pope John's Melanie Johnson, senior, going 6-0 and 6-1, while Godau won her first match, 6-1 and 6-0.

In doubles, the Mustang's more experienced group, senior Nicola Armenti and junior Molly Smith won their match 6-4 and 7-5.

Despite mounting a comeback, Montville second doubles team, junior Lindsay Macheska and sophomore Rachel Langer, ended up dropping their match in a tiebreaker. Their match went 4-6, 7-6 and 7-3.

Overall, Montville finished 3-2 on the day. Sachs believes that this is only the beginning for his squad.

"The county tournament is our goal," he said. "I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that we can be extremely competitive this year."

The team's next match is Sept. 13 against Morris Hills at Montville high school.