by Bob Badders - Staff Writer
DigitalSports.com
WEST LONG BRANCH �?? Usually
Holmdel�??s Jeff Yen goes about his business without much fanfare. He
does not have to deal with crowds of people gathered at his court or
with too many pressure-packed situations. Thursday�??s match with
Rumson-Fair Haven�??s Greg Bach, however, was anything but the norm.
�??It was pretty nerve wracking,�?� Yen said.
This
time, all of the players from Holmdel and Rumson-Fair Haven�??s tennis
teams had their attention focused on Yen and Bach. This time, there was
plenty on the line. This time, it was the Shore Conference Tournament
final.
Yen
won the first set, 6-0, but Bach battled back to tie the match with a
6-4 victory in set No. 2. With a second straight SCT title on the line,
Yen delivered a 6-3 win to clinch the Hornets�?? 3-2 victory over the
Bulldogs on the courts at Shore Regional High School.
�??I tried to stay in my zone the best I could and not notice the people that were there,�?� Yen said.
Yen
quickly built a 5-2 lead in the third set by being patient. Yen likes
to play at a fast pace and Bach likes to slow things down, so the key
was to not rush any shots and commit any unforced errors.
�??I
needed to stay patient and it didn�??t really matter how long the match
went,�?� Yen said. �??One of my stronger assets is my endurance and that
helped me out a lot.�?�
Experience
was also a key to the Hornets' second consecutive conference crown.
Every starter is a senior, so no one was unfamiliar with what it would
take to win the SCT.
�??I
think where you saw that (experience being a factor) the most was at
third singles,�?� Hornets head coach Chuck Chelednik said. �??Everything
was on the line there, but he knew what he had to do.�?�
While
the match came down to Yen and Bach, there was plenty of onus placed on
the second doubles and second singles positions after Rumson took the
first two points of the match. Seniors Nick Kelly and Dave Seide took a
surprising 6-2, 6-2 victory over Donald Encinas and Jon D�??Agostino at
first doubles. The victory itself wasn�??t a shock, just the ease with
which the Bulldogs�?? top doubles duo downed a team that had defeated
them twice during the regular season in a pair of three-set matches.
�??This
is the first time our team has been in the Shore Conference final, and
we knew we needed a big performance,�?� Seide said. �??We really wanted to
get that point for our team.�?�
�??We
had match point against them in counties (Monmouth County Flights
Tournament) so we knew we could beat them,�?� Kelly said. �??It was just a
matter of executing and breaking their serves, and we did a good job of
that.�?�
Shortly
after Kelly and Seide walked off the court, junior Sean Pahler
completed his 6-4, 6-1 victory over Jonathan Tai at first singles.
After a back-and-forth first set, Pahler rolled in the second set to
put the Bulldogs on the brink of their first conference title.
�??I
knew we needed my point to have a chance in the match,�?� Pahler said.
�??They were the ones that had all the pressure on them. We felt like we
had nothing to lose.�?�
The
pressure was indeed squarely on the shoulders of the Hornets�?? three
remaining positions. But with a combination of poise and confidence,
they quickly evened the match and set the stage for Yen.
Clark
Maloof went on a run late in the second set but in the end, Jeff Yang
was just too much and took their match at second singles, 6-2, 6-4.
�??I
knew we had lost two already so obviously I had to win,�?� Yang said. �??I
wanted to close him out in the second set because I didn�??t want it to
go to a third.�?�
Moments
later, Alex Wu and Justin Chu completed their two-set victory over Ben
Kelly and Jack Riker. In the first set, Rumson led 4-2 in the
tiebreaker before the Hornets rallied to win 7-4 and take the set. Tied
at four, Wu made a couple of tremendous plays at the net for a 5-4 lead.
�??This
is the third time we�??ve played them so we knew this time it would be a
lot closer,�?� Wu said. �??We just wanted to come up and basically own the
net.�?�
�??Alex is one of the best net players on the team, and it makes me feel comfortable on the baseline,�?� Chu said.
Wu and Chu then won the second set, 6-4, to even the match at two.
�??We
lost the first game in the second set and we knew we had to battle back
and break some of their serves,�?� Chu said. �??It was up to us to give
Jeff Yen the opportunity.�?�
Yen
got his chance and he did not falter. Depth and experience have to be
the biggest reasons why Holmdel has been unbeatable inside the Shore
Conference this season. There has and always will be high expectations
for anyone who holds a tennis racket for Holmdel. But that is something
this veteran group has come to embrace.
�??There
were high expectations and there is always some kind of pressure,�?� Yen
said. "It�??s good to come and play and leave that pressure on the court.
I needed to bring out my best game and I felt I did that today.�?�
Box Score
Shore Conference Tournament Championship
Holmdel 3, Rumson-Fair Haven 2
First singles: Sean Pahler (R) d. Jonathan Tai 6-4, 6-1.
Second singles: Jeff Yang (H) d. Clark Maloof 6-2, 6-4.
Third singles: Jeff Yen (H) d. Greg Bach 6-0, 4-6, 6-3.
First doubles: Nick Kelly-Dave Seide (R) d. Donald Encinas-Jon D'Agostino 6-2, 6-2.
Second doubles: Alex Wu-Justin Chu (H) d. Ben Kelly-Jack Riker 7-6 (7-4), 6-4.
E-mail: badders@digitalsports.com
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