The 2006 Cranford Boys Tennis Team and first year Coach, Bill Prisco could not have been happy to see the season conclude. The Cougars were playing their best tennis at the end of the spring, having won ten of their last twelve matches, including a satisfying 4-1 victory over rival Scotch Plains Fanwood. That triumph avenged an earlier season loss to the Raiders by the same score and underscored the Cougars’ relentless improvement.
Overall Cranford finished 16-6, which also included a 3-2 victory over Nutley in the opening round of the state tournament. The Cougars’ season ended with a 5-0 loss to the state’s number one team, Millburn in the second round but that could not nullify the teams’ strong finish.
“We turned our program around in the second half of the season. You could see that the team was playing with a lot more confidence. They started to believe in themselves,” said Prisco.
“Another bright spot was winning a round in the state tournament. We showed we could handle the pressure of the state tournament. No team was going to beat Millburn this season.”
“The Union County Tournament was a very good experience for the entire
team because they got a good opportunity to see some very
good tennis players. It gives them .something to work towards.
In his first season, Prisco felt fortunate to be able to have an experienced group of seniors
for the three singles slots.
Justin Grand faced the opposition’s top player on first singles but always came through with a competitive effort according to Prisco. Bogden Lysikov held down second singles and won many key matches.
Senior Steve Milwicz was one of the top third singles players in the county, posting a 15-4 mark and finishing fourth in the county tournament. Milwicz’ older brother Matt, a 2002 graduate played varsity tennis for Rutgers.
Junior Jesse Hynes and Senior Tom Gessner were dominant on first doubles compiling a 12-4 mark. Sophomore Craig Palmisano and Freshman Alec Compagna did a solid job in their first year together at second doubles and figure to either move up to first doubles or play singles next year..
“The most important part of the tennis season is those next nine months. I hope that the boys will work hard in the off-season to try and raise their level. Of play,” said Prisco.
With heavy graduation losses, Prisco knows that 2007 will be a challenging year for the Cougars but he looks forward to rebuilding the squad.
“All the positions are open for the taking. next year ,” noted Prisco.
“The team is basically in a rebuilding mode and all the players are about the same in ability. except for Jesse Hynes who will probably play first singles
No comments:
Post a Comment