Winning Holmdel Hornets Tennis Team is Halted

The NJSIAA Boys Tennis Group Championships were held at Mercer County Park in West Windsor on Thursday, May 26. Twenty teams from around the state, all having won their section, came with high hopes.

First round for the Holmdel Hornets began at 11:00 am vs. Millburn. This marked the 26th consecutive year that Millburn, the North Jersey Group 3 Champion had been to this level of the states and is ranked 5th in the state. Holmdel was Central Jersey Group 3 Champion, with a winning record this season of 28-2, and was ranked 2nd in all New Jersey, behind only Livingston.

Holmdel fought hard, but Millburn upset them, winning 3.5-1.5. The loss knocked Holmdel out of the tournament. It was a difficult time for the Hornets, who had hoped to face Livingston in the final and a chance to be called best tennis team in the state. All three wins by Millburn went 3 sets.

Holmdel Sophomore Derek Liu won at first singles 6-1, 6-2.

At second singles, Holmdel senior Charlie Seifer tied with Millburn’s Robert Xie.

At third singles, Holmdel junior Daway Chou-Ren lost in 3 sets to Millburn’s Dan Feldman ,7-6, 2-6, 3-6.

At first doubles, Holmdel seniors David Lyu and Neeve Nikoo lost in 3 sets to Mac Johnson & Jared Wishnow, 4-6, 6-4, 5-7. It was the first loss of the season for Lyu/Nikoo.

At second doubles, Holmdel juniors Ganesh Natarajan and Michael Li lost in 3 sets to Nicky Chen-Schmidt and Teddy Moskovitz, 4-6, 6-3, 1-6.

Overall, it was a terrific season for the Holmdel Boys Tennis Team. They ended with a 28-3 record, of which 19 of those wins were by shutout. Holmdel also won the Monmouth County Tennis Tournament Championship, the First Annual Holmdel Tennis Tournament, the Shore Conference Tournament Championship, and the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group 3 Sectional Championship. Despite today’s loss, these boys from Holmdel are champions.