Second doubles clinches another playoff win as Pennsville tennis (15-0) edges Haddon Twp. for spot in sectional final
GIRLS TENNIS
South Jersey Group I semifinals
Pennsville 3, Haddon Twp. 2
Pitman 4, Gateway 1
Championship match
Tuesday
Pennsville at Pitman, 3 p.m.
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE — Dan LaMont gathered his Pennsville girls tennis team together before sending the players out for their biggest match of the year Thursday and he could tell there was something different about them.
The Eagles just had a certain look about them that somehow elevates the confidence their coach already had in them.
Then they took that look to the court and took down Haddon Twp. 3-2 in the South Jersey Group I semifinals.
The win sends them to play top-seeded Pitman Tuesday at Shertel Park in their first non-COVID sectional final since 2015, which also was the last time they won a sectional title.
“They had a certain look in their eye today,” LaMont said. “It was just a little bit more focused. They were just a little bit more understanding of what we were here for. I could just tell in our huddle it was a little bit different … so I’ve got to get that same look on Tuesday.”
For the second round in a row, the second-seeded Eagles (15-0) got the clinching point from the newly minted second doubles team of Morgan Holt and Naomi Hess. They won in straight sets, 7-6 (9-7), 6-3. They clinched the Eagles’ quarterfinal win over Schalick on Tuesday and are now 3-0 since being paired together.
The Eagles also got a point at No. 3 singles (Lily Edwards, 6-2, 6-2) and No. 1 doubles (Emma Cornette and Izzy Schrenker, 6-3. 6-2).
There were only two matches on the court at the end. Holt and Hess were up a set in their second doubles match. Regan Witt was down a set in her second singles match, but rallying in the second set to force a super tiebreaker. The race was on to see which match was going to decide it.
If Witt’s opponent held on, the match would be tied and it definitely would have come down to the new doubles team. If the doubles team won, the match would be clinched and the singles match was a pride point for the final margin.
Holt and Hess had a 5-2 lead in the first set of their match but Haddon Twp.’s Lily Steele and Olivia Fleming rallied to force a tiebreaker. The Eagles’ pair fell behind in the tiebreaker 6-4, then fought back to win five of the next six points to win the set.
“It was definitely scary,” said Holt, using her favorite word to describe the intensity. “It’s always scary. We just knew if we worked hard we had it. The first set was stressful because it didn’t need to happen – we should have had that – but winning it was really nice.”
And it put them in the best possible frame of mind for the second set, which they won easily, serving out the match at 5-3.
“Their composure is impressive,” LaMont said. “They’re handling it well. I think that’s going to serve them well as we go through.”
And while the outcome of the match was decided, Witt didn’t go out without a fight. She won the second set to force a super tiebreaker and had that tied early 3-3. Witt has been in either set or match tiebreakers in four of her last six matches and won three of them.
“Regan played tough out there,” LaMont said. “She’s grindy.”
Pennsville’s 15-0 start — it’s actually a 21-match winning streak going back to last year — matches the mid-season streak by the 2011 team that beat Pitman in the sectional final and went on to win the Group I state title. Their last loss was to Haddon Twp. 3-2 in last year’s sectional quarterfinals.
Just as LaMont saw something different in his team Thursday, he recognized something special about this team a few years back.
“I saw this team a couple years ago when I had the seniors as freshmen and I actually thought we could make a run,” LaMont said. “I’m not surprised (where they are). We put a lot of time in.
“We’re not the best tennis players. We’re not the most athletic team. But they just do some really good things.”
PENNSVILLE 3, HADDON TWP. 2
Ellie Smith (HT) def. Megan Morris, 6-1, 6-1
Kiersten Callahan (HT) def. Regan Witt, 6-3, 4-6, 10-4
Lily Edwards (P) def. Tessa Dybus, 6-2, 6-3
Emma Cornette-Izzy Schrenker (P) def. Sydney Troncone-Ani Pierwola, 6-3, 6-2
Naomi Hess-Morgan Holt (P) def. Lily Steele-Olivia Fleming, 7-6 (9-7), 6-3
Records: Pennsville 15-0, Haddon Twp. 13-7.
Here are Thursday’s other sectional semifinals
Central Jersey Group I
Highland Park 3, Hoboken 2
New Providence 5, Metuchen 0
North Jersey Group 1 Section 1
Glen Rock 4, Cresskill 1
Pascack Hills 5, Pequannock 0
North Jersey Group 1 Section 2
Hanover Park 4, Verona 1
Glen Ridge 3, Madison 2
Sectional Finals
Tuesday
Pennsville (15-0) at Pitman (17-2), 3 p.m.
Glen Ridge (8-11) at Hanover Park (12-0)
New Providence (5-7) at Highland Park (8-4)
Pascack Hills (10-5) at Glen Rock (16-1)
State Finals
Mercer County Park, Oct. 17
Semifinals, 11 a.m.
Finals, 1 p.m.
Riverview Sports News 