Tennis teams met again in playoffs
LINWOOD — Before the NJSIAA girls tennis playoffs began last week, the Mainland Mustangs defeated the Ocean City Red Raiders to secure the third seed in the South Jersey Group III playoffs.
The Mustangs defeated the Raiders 4-1 in the match and moved to 9-1 on the season thanks to dominant play across the board.
“Really happy with the singles spots for our team,” Mustang head coach Eileen Fortis said. “They are playing really smart no matter what their opponents throw at them.”
The Raiders clinched the sixth seed after finishing the regular season 7-8.
Elizabeth Ong and Marlee Campbell of Mainland brought their record to 9-0 on the season in first doubles, defeating Chloe Howard and Daphne Brozyna 6-3, 6-3.
The highlight for Ocean City was the second doubles match in which Cecelia Mirsky and Anna Wisnefski rebounded from a shutout in the first set to defeat Mainland’s Lily Turner and Hana Saloum. The pair won the second set 7-5 and then won the tiebreaker 10-8.
“All the girls played hard today. They always bring great energy, especially against rivals like Mainland,” Ocean City head coach Thomas Ballezzi said. “We are focused on tomorrow with our first playoff game and the road ahead.”
Ocean City started the playoffs the next day with their first match being at home versus Lacey Township. The Raiders dominated the Lions 5-0 with shutout wins by Alexis Allegretto and the pair of Mirsky and Wisnefski.
Mainland followed in the Raiders’ footsteps by also winning their first playoff game 5-0 over the Highland Tartans. The Mustangs trio of singles players dominated the Tartans with Christina Htay, Maddie Dennis and Samantha Goldberg each winning their matches with 6-0, 6-0.
“I think we are well situated with our draw in the playoffs,” Fortis said after the Ocean City game. “I feel good just from the vantage point about what my kids are doing on the court currently.”
Both teams advanced in the playoff bracket and already had an idea about who their quarterfinal opponents would be the day prior.
Ocean City and Mainland will play each other again in the South Jersey quarterfinals on Oct. 10 at Mainland. Both coaches after their latest meeting knew this matchup was possible and spoke about the importance of the rivalry.
“If we both win our playoff games tomorrow, we will end up right back here in the same spot next week to play Mainland again,” Ballezzi said.
The Mustangs have won both matches versus the Raiders this season by a score of 4-1.
The stakes cannot get higher for this rivalry game. The winner will advance in the South Jersey group final while the loser will be eliminated. Bragging rights and a lot more are going to be on the line as the rivalry gets renewed once again.
By WILLIAM TRUITT/For the Sentinel