Phil Anastasia: Tennis' T.J. Riley caught up fast

By the standards of a No. 1 singles player for one of the state's top tennis teams, T.J. Riley is late to the game.

That's not necessarily a bad thing.

For starters, everybody from his coach to his opponents agrees that Riley still is making big strides in improvement even as he leads Moorestown in pursuit of its third consecutive Group 3 state title.

For another, Riley still brings a bit of a soccer/basketball mind-set to a sport that, because of its structure and scoring system, doesn't always lend itself to team-first thinking.

"As focused as T.J. is on his individual improvement, he's totally dedicated to the development of the team," Moorestown coach Bill Kingston said. "He's provided strong leadership in this capacity."

Riley has made his way up the ladder in Moorestown's highly competitive program. As a freshman, he was an alternate for the varsity. As a sophomore, he played second doubles. Last season, he played second singles.

This season, Riley has emerged as the Quakers' No. 1 singles player after edging classmate Gabe Allen, last year's No. 1 singles player, in challenge matches.

"It's a big deal for me because that's a goal I set for myself when I decided to focus on tennis," Riley said. "I wanted to try to keep improving and see if I could eventually become our No. 1 singles player.

"Gabe and I are good friends and competitors on the tennis court. Having him at No. 2 singles, he's been excellent there."

Riley was an all-around athlete who played soccer and basketball as well as tennis as a youngster. He said soccer probably was his favorite sport. He didn't begin playing competitive tennis until sixth grade and didn't get involved in much USTA action until seventh or eighth grade.

Riley played soccer at Moorestown as a freshman and sophomore. He also played basketball as a freshman. But he decided to give up the other two sports and concentrate on tennis.

"It was tough, especially giving up soccer because I had so many friends on the soccer team," Riley said. "It must have taken me three months to make the decision.

"But I really wanted to see how far I could go in tennis."

Because of Riley's relatively late start, he's confident he has plenty of room for improvement. Others feel the same way.

"The best of T.J.'s game is yet to come," Kingston said.

Riley said he hears that from opponents all the time.

"Everybody says that to me, that I'm going to keep getting better and better," Riley said. "I hope that's right."

Counting his victories in doubles play as well as his 30-10 mark at second singles last season, Riley is seven wins short of 100 for his career. He has a 14-4 mark this season, playing No. 1 singles players in Moorestown's challenging schedule.

"It's tough because even a bad team probably has one good player who can hit," Riley said. "The good teams, they have the best players around at No. 1. It's been a challenge, but I've enjoyed it."

With Riley and Allen at the top of the lineup as well as traditionally strong doubles teams, Moorestown is well positioned to compete for another Group 3 state title. The Quakers are 12-1 and ranked fifth in New Jersey by the Newark Star Ledger entering today's match against third-ranked Delbarton in the Newark Academy Invitational.

"If we play our best, we can compete with any team in the state," said Riley, who plans to play tennis at the College of New Jersey next year.

One of the strengths of the Moorestown program has been the team-first attitude. Riley said all of the captains during his first three seasons had the same approach, always willing to help out teammates.

Riley has been doing the same thing this season.

"Coming from soccer and basketball, the team dynamic was what I was always taught," Riley said. "But that's always been the case with this program. I remember when I was a younger player, the older players were always ready to help me out.

"I do the same thing now. If a player wants to volley and needs some help with his footwork, I enjoy doing that.

"I like working on my own game as much as anyone. But I really like trying to do what I can to help out the team."