If there was a year to beat Holmdel High School in girls’ tennis, it was 2018.
The Hornets, who won four straight NJSIAA Group 2 tournament championships from 2014-2017, lost four of seven starters from last year’s title squad.
This fall, they had to break in two singles players who played doubles before 2018, and four doubles players who were all either freshmen or sophomores. Back in August, a five-peat appeared, if not unlikely, at least uncertain.
But on Oct. 18 at Mercer County Park, West Windsor, Holmdel beat Haddonfield Memorial High School, 4-1, in the Group 2 semifinals and Northern Valley Regional High School at Demarest, 3-2, in the state championship match. The Hornets earned their fifth state title in a row and their eighth in 11 years.
“We have an entirely different lineup from last year, so to win Group 2 again is a testament to them,” said Holmdel coach Chuck Chelednik. “They worked hard during the season and all year. They wanted to keep the streak going.”
Holmdel’s championship on Oct. 18 was a true team effort. All three singles players and both doubles teams won at least one of their matches. Third singles player Natalie Cipriano won both of her matches, 6-1, 6-0 in the final and 6-3, 6-0 in the semifinal.
The converted doubles player looked very much like a singles player, ripping ground strokes and preventing her opponents from charging the net.
“I consider myself a doubles player, so it was hard at first to adjust to playing singles,” Cipriano said. “But once I played more and more matches, I adjusted.”
The Hornets’ only loss in the semifinal came at first doubles. But in the championship, their first doubles team, sophomore Melanie Chen and freshman Sydnie Nied, made the difference in the 3-2 victory, winning their match in straight sets, 7-5, 6-1.
“We started being more aggressive, stepping in and winning points,” Chen said.
“I started hitting down the middle because they were playing two back (at the baseline),” Nied added.
Chen and Nied contributed to a state title-winning team for the first time in their careers, and probably not the last time. After the victory, Nied explained why Holmdel’s program is so contagious.
“As a freshman it’s really awesome because it’s my first year, and it makes me just want to stay on the tennis team for all four years,” she said.
“Fortunately, we just get a lot of kids that play. Kids want to be part of a great program,” Chelednik said. “Holmdel with tennis is synonymous with winning and kids want to be part of it.”
With only two senior starters, Cipriano and first singles player Victoria Vought, the future is once again bright at Holmdel. Second singles player Emily Jiang is a junior. Holmdel’s second doubles team features a freshman, Riya Shah, and a sophomore, Chloe Hansen.
They should lead another Holmdel state title contender in 2019. But first, the Hornets are focused on the immediate future.
They have not won the Tournament of Champions since 2005. Instead, they have lost in the final the past four years, to Millburn High School each time.
Holmdel, the third seed in the Tournament of Champions, beat Mountain Lakes High School in the first round on Oct. 21 at the Garden State Tennis Center in Edison. The Hornets played Academy of the Holy Angels, the second seed, in the semifinals on Oct. 23.
Millburn is the top seed and played in the other semifinal. The championship for the Tournament of Champions was scheduled for Oct. 24 at 2 p.m. in Edison.
“One step at a time. But that’s the ultimate goal,” Chelednik said. “We are playing our best now, or close to it.”
