Lenape wins Group 4 tennis title

In a team meeting before the bus trip to yesterday's South Jersey Group 4 championship match, Lenape coach Tony Guerrera pointed to the tennis banner on the gymnasium wall. Under the heading for sectional titles, the banner was blank.

"I told them, 'We're leaving here, and the banner is empty. When we come back, it's going to say 2009,' " Guerrera said.

Lenape won the first South Jersey title in program history, stunning perennial power Cherry Hill East, 3-2, on a brisk, breezy afternoon at Seneca.

First singles Nikola Kocovic, second singles Mike Humes, and the first doubles team of Marc Reynaud and Matt Frederick won in straight sets for the Indians.

"It feels better than winning as an individual," said Kocovic, a junior who improved his record to 22-0 with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Ross Silverberg. "The reason I play high school tennis is for the team aspect."

Lenape (12-1) advances to face North II sectional champion Westfield in Thursday morning's state semifinals at Mercer County Park. Westfield (20-1) is the state's No. 1 team, according to the Newark Star Ledger.

The key to yesterday's victory was the work of the Indians' first doubles' team. Reynaud and Fredrick won a closely contested first set over Cherry Hill East's Dylan Linsky and Sebastian Gonzalis by a 6-4 score, then controlled play in the second set for a 6-0 victory.

Humes fought off five set points and rallied to capture the first set against Nikhil Yegya-Raman by a 7-6 score, taking the tiebreaker, 7-3. He clinched the team match by winning the second set, 6-2.

Lenape 3, Cherry Hill East 2

Nikola Kocovic, L, d. Ross Silverberg, 6-2, 6-0; Mike Humes, L, d. Nikhil Yegya-Raman, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2; Mike Davis, CHE, d. Mike Perrone, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (8-6); Marc Reynaud and Matt Fredrick, L, d. Dylan Linsky and Sebastian Gonzalis, 6-4, 6-0; Justin Elfman and Alex Feldman, CHE, d. Mike Sha and Dan Sha, 7-6 (7-0), 7-5.