MHS Girls Tennis Looks to Repeat Winning Ways

Normally, when a team is loaded with senior talent, experience isn’t a worry heading into a season. But that's not exactly the case for the Morristown High School girls tennis team, as they boast a total of 10 seniors on the roster, but just two returning starters from 2010.

With former head coach Patricia Mattos retiring last season after a 38-year coaching career, Jeff Tukel steps in to take the reigns of a team that finished 2010 with a 17-3 record, landing second team all-conference honors.

But that team isn’t this team, clearly noticeable with one glance at the roster.

Returning is senior Maya Epelbaum and junior Nayna Shah, both of whom started last season. But after that, Tukel is counting on girls to step up from last year’s junior varsity team to help continue their successful ways.

“Hopefully we’ll be competitive in the conference,” Tukel said. “It’s going to be a big learning curve for the kids jumping up into much better competition than they had at JV. They’re going to be playing against kids that are year-round tennis players, for some of them.”

But with those questions, Tukel's group has responded, showing a great sense of team chemistry early in the season.

For Tukel, the most important thing is keep things as consistent as they've been in past, under Mattos. If he can do that, he's confident his team will be just fine.

LAST SEASON’S RESULTS:

The 2010 varsity team finished with a record of 17-3, finishing second in the conference to Mendham High School.

LOOK OUT FOR:

Maya Epelbaum, 1st Singles (Sr.) – Epelbaum, a team captain, boasts a 35-19 record heading into her senior season. She’ll have her work cut out for her as she takes the 1st singles position at MHS.

Nayna Shah, 2nd Singles (Jr.)- Shah is another Morristown captain and has amassed a staggering 33-6 record in just two seasons at MHS. She’ll take on the task of 2nd singles in 2011.

Seniors: Sammi Southard, Beth Mulcahy, Kate Bachman, Julianna Kobus, Amy Wenrich, Becca Gero, Ali Barbarosh, Brielle Barnard, Lauren Cataldo.

Sophomores: Andrea Wright-Mecado, Nevi Shah.

WHO’S GONE:

, The former MHS head coach retired from coaching last season after spending 38-years on the court. The Morristown fixture walks away from the game with a sparkling 495-202 record.

, Shih earned second team all-conference honors in 2010 and graduated with an impressive 87-21 record, holding the all-time record for most games played at MHS with 108.

Sarah Needle/Emma Starr, Needle and Starr played doubles for Morristown as seniors last season, Needle graduated with a 57-18 record, while Starr ended her career with a 35-15 mark.

COACH’S TAKE:

"I like what I see so far. They have a lot of enthusiasm and they’re having a lot of fun. For me personally, it’s tough to step into such a successful program, without rocking the boat that much. Hopefully we’ve done that and it’s going to be a successful year." – Coach Tukel

THEY SAID IT:

“This year we look good. We lost five really good players, but we still have two of our singles players and there are a lot of good kids coming up from JV. We have a lot of team depth, and we’ve been doing a lot of team bonding this year, which is so much fun.” - Epelbaum

“This season is going to be different than last year because the team is primarily seniors. I think we’ll have a lot more team spirit, because everyone knows about the high school. It should be fun.” –Shah