What has been a perfect season thus far morphed into a historic day for Whippany Park’s girls tennis program.
Sweeping close matches at second singles and both doubles pairs, the third-seeded Wildcats captured the NJSIAA Section 2, Group 1 title over sister school, defending champion and top-seeded Hanover Park, 4-1, in East Hanover.
Now a fabulous 15-0 on the season, the Wildcats captured their first title in program history and now advance to the group round on Thursday at Mercer County Park. Hanover Park, always a sectional contender, finished off a terrific season at 12-2.
Wildcats coach Matthew Samson is experiencing the program’s all-time peak in just his first year on the job.
“It’s ironic because our tram and Hanover Park started the year going to watch the U.S. Open, and it was a great experience, and then we wound up back here,” said Samson. “You see the enthusiasm they have supporting each other after their match is done, and it speaks to our chemistry. That’s what has made this year special.”
The first key domino decided came at second singles, where Whippany Park’s Amanda Wickenheisser won a thrilling first set, 7-6 via a 7-3 tiebreaker over Hanover’s Audrey Lee.
Wickenheisser would then rider that momentum into a 6-1 victory in the second stanza to secure the win for the ‘Cats there.
In another tight match at second double, featuring a number of extended volleys, the combination of Anna Koch and Aashi Shah combined to dispatch Asia Sohoni and Morgan Campbell, 6-3, 6-4 to clinch the title for Whippany Park.
The champions earned their first point when first doubles ace Audrey Rha swept Caroline Oriala, 6-0, 6-0. Rha has won the Morris County title in all three of her high school seasons thus far.
“It’s an amazing achievement for us to win this championship, we’ve never gotten to this point,” said Rha. “It takes a team effort to achieve something like this and we got it today.”
Hanover Park notched its lone victory at third singles, where Tanvi Daita had a very strong showing and knocked off Audrey Lee, 6-1, 6-3.