NJ girls tennis: Holmdel wins 5th straight statewide Group 2 title, TOC next

WEST WINDSOR – Holmdel at this point is the undisputed ruler of girls tennis among Group 2 schools in New Jersey.

The Hornets (20-1) picked up their latest statewide title by beating Haddonfield 4-1 in the Group 2 semifinal and then Demarest, 3-2, at Mercer County Park on Thursday.

Against Haddonfield (22-4), Holmdel swept singles with No. 1 Victoria Vought defeating Molly Parks 6-3, 6-0; Emily Jiang turning back Gillian Rozenfeld 6-1, 6-0; and Natalie Cipriano besting Lilly Hanna 6-3, 6-0.

The Hornets' No. 2 doubles tandem of Riya Shah and Chloe Hansen also won.

Against Demarest, Cipriano and the Shah-Hansen team also won their matches.

The Tournament of Champions begins Sunday at Garden State Tennis Center in Edison. Holmdel is seeded third in the field of six and will face state Group 2 winner Mountain Lakes,  the sixth seed. The winner plays No. 2 Holy Angels on Tuesday.

SHORE STOPPED BY MOUNTAIN LAKES IN GROUP 1: Ilana Siegel was nervous on the long drive from Mountain Lakes to the Mercer County Tennis Center. Siegel, a Lakers freshman, had never played in a NJSIAA Group semifinal before. And when she and her teammates arrived in West Windsor and looked around, “There were so many courts. It looks so professional,” she said.

The anxiety didn’t fade until Siegel stepped onto the tennis court. Mountain Lakes defeated Kinnelon and then Shore Regional to win its first NJSIAA girls Group I championship since 1999.

Shore (10-8) lost 4-1 despite Charlotte Roarty's 6-1, 6-1 victory over Melissa Mao at first singles.

Shore started the day with a 3-2 victory over Woodstown. Roarty,  No. 2 Chloe Moore and No. 1 doubles Mia Grunbaum and Grace Treshock won their matches.

Staff writer Jane Havsy: 973-428-6682; jhavsy@gannettnj.com; www.dailyrecord.com/writerjane/