Haddonfield’s Taylor Ng is girls’ tennis player of the year

One way to measure Taylor Ng's impact on the Haddonfield tennis team is by her record: The freshman went 40-5 at first singles.

That's only part of the story.

Ng's arrival helped turn Haddonfield from a strong team capable of winning the Group 2 state title into one of the most balanced, accomplished teams in South Jersey girls' tennis history. The Bulldogs went 32-0 and became just the fourth team from the area to win the Tournament of Champions.

Haddonfield returned six of seven starters from the 2008 team, which went 30-3. But when Ng won the first-singles position in preseason challenge matches, she pushed some veterans down in the lineup.

That strengthened the Bulldogs as Ng's sister, Spencer, a junior, moved to No. 3 singles from No. 1 singles and junior Martha Theodoris moved to No. 1 doubles from No. 2 singles.

Ng proved worthy of the No. 1 spot on the state's No. 1 team. She won the South Jersey Invitational Tournament and the Colonial Conference tournament, and went undefeated against South Jersey opponents in team play.

"I could tell during preseason that Taylor was extremely athletic and had great potential, although I wasn't sure she would play No. 1 singles for us," coach Jeff Holman said. "When she dominated the No. 1 singles player from Holmdel in the Moorestown Classic final, I could see how she was able to raise her game in the most important matches."

Ng played her best in some of the biggest matches. She defeated Woodstown sophomore Lindsey Kayati in the South Jersey Invitational Tournament final, and went 2-1 in highly competitive matches with Cherry Hill East sophomore Jamie Silverberg.

Ng said she was most proud of her ability to help the team as a freshman.

"I just was so happy to be part of the team," she said. "We have such a great group of people on this team. I just wanted to fit in."