Sept. 10, Marlboro at Freehold Boro: Marlboro’s Hayley Barnett kicks off her antcipated senior campaign with support from fellow 2013 All-Shore selections Celine Lee and Raquel Rosen at second and third singles, while Freehold Boro faces its firts test since moving into the Class A North division. Though the Colonials are without 2013 Czech transfer Michaela Hlavata, the team does return five players from that Class B North championship team, including juniors Anjali Prabhat and Alexis Yu, and senior standout Renooka Karmarker.
Sept. 15, Shore at Manasquan: Two of the best young players in the Conference in Shore’s Halah Davis and Manasquan’s Brianne Lauria will go head-to-head in this meeting of Class A Central contenders. Davis, a sophomore who enters 2014 off a First Team All-Shore selection, fronts a burgeoning core of young Blue Devils talent that will take on its first real test of the season with Manasquan. Lauria, a junior who has gone 45-7 at second singles over the past two year and garnered Second Team All-Shore honors in 2013, leads the Warriors into the post-Abby Duddy era.
Sept. 20-21: Monmouth County Flights Tournament, 8 a.m. at Tindal Park
Sept. 22, Rumson-Fair Haven at Holmdel: This is a differnet Holmdel club than that which defeated Rumson four times in 2013, including a Central Jersey Group II finals victory, having lost three All-Shore caliber players to graduation. However, the Hornets return two more in Sarah Yan and Stephanie Pugh to go along with high impact imports in Williamsville, NY trasnfer Brianna Gibbs and touted freshman Alexandra Wojciak. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs return six players from that finals run, including Camryn Short and Sophie Pavluk who will be bumped down to the second and third singles with the return of 2012 APP Player of the Year Kate Fahey. The Class A Central rematch is set for October 8 in Rumson.
Sept. 24, Toms River North at Toms River East: Ocean County’s top two teams play the first of two scheduled Class A South meetings at 3:30 p.m. The bout will feature a rematch of last year’s Ocean County Flights (OCF) first singles final between Toms River East’s Jamie Breunig and Toms River North’s Jordan Vasarkovy. Breunig, a junior, has won consecutive OCF titles and set a school record with 22 wins in 2013, while Vasarkovy is chasing the Mariners all-time wins record in her senior campaign.
Sept. 27-28: Ocean County Flights Tournament, 8 a.m. at Bay Lea
Oct. 1: Shore Conference Tournament Finals, 3:45 p.m. at The Atlantic Club
Oct. 6, Red Bank Catholic at Wall: Wall returns only two starters from last year’s club, including Shaina Donner and Samantha Hulse, and will operate without Sophie Graver, who starred for the Crimson Knights as a freshman but has opted to play at the USTA level. That said, this match could hold Class B North championship implications as Red Bank Catholic, who is undergoing roster turnover of its own, has moved out of the wood chipper that is the Class A Central and is in pursuit of a divisional crown.
Oct. 14: NJSIAA Team Tournament Sectional Finals, various sites and times
Oct. 16: NJSIAA Team Tournament Group Semis/Finals, 9 a.m. at Mercer County Park
Oct. 18: NJSIAA Singles/Doubles Finals, 9 a.m. at Mercer County Park
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