May 13, 2010
Garzon, Bayonne win big in HCT
Memorial senior David Garzon won his fourth-straight singles title.
Click Here for photos from the Hudson County Tournament Finals
JERSEY CITY - The past and future of Hudson County boys tennis were on display in the first singles final showdown between Memorial’s David Garzon and Secaucus’ Joshua Halpern.
Garzon’s high school career may be winding down, but yesterday, he wasn’t yet ready to relinquish his crown as the county’s premier player. The Tigers senior overcame a rough second set and a hamstring injury to win his fourth consecutive title with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 win over Halpern in the championships of the Hudson County Tournament at Saint Peter’s College.
“I think this is the most special one,” said Garzon about his four titles. “It’s my fourth one and it feels great having it now.
“Now my next goal is to get 100 wins.”
The win, the 98th in the career of the Wagner-bound Garzon, was in serious doubt midway through the match.
Halpern, the Patriots’ promising sophomore, withstood Garzon’s powerful serve and used a wide array of drop shots to even the match in the second set.
A more pressing concern was Garzon’s health. He was down for a few moments after he lost his footing on a point near the net late in the second set. Despite the brief break and attempts from Memorial coach Tom Muir to stretch out the leg, Garzon was seen reaching towards the aching hamstring after a few points.
“He put in so much work and dedication to achieve this goal that his mind just overcame all the pain that he was suffering out there,” Muir said. “As a coach it was definitely a little nerve-wracking. I just told him to remain focused, stay loose and play his game.”
Garzon said the hamstring started feeling better early in the third set. His quick start to the set served as an additional pain-reliever as Garzon won the first three games of the deciding set.
“David has that mental toughness just to block it out and to get focus back on his game,” Muir said. “Once he got in his zone and focused on playing his game it was no problem at all.”
“I think Garzon stepped up his game in the third set,” Secaucus coach Mark Schroback said. “Came up with big serves and followed it up and closed out the match. I think that Garzon was just a little stronger at the end.”
Garzon’s decorated career in Hudson will conclude next week in the Hudson County Team Tournament and will be followed by the upcoming state tournaments. Yesterday’s showdown left little doubt in Garzon’s eyes that Halpern is more than capable of filling the role next year of being the area’s king of the court.
“He’s a great opponent,” said Garzon, raving about how much Halpern has improved since they played each other during the summer. “He’s going to be great for Hudson County.”
“The torch has been passed,” Muir said. “Josh is going to be a force to be reckoned with in the next few years. The kid is so talented.”
Bee-lieve It. Bayonne dominates in finals.
By winning four titles in the Hudson County Tournament, the Bayonne boys tennis team did more than just reaffirm its status as the county’s premier team. But for the first doubles team of Peter Cappello and George Noutsopoulos and the second doubles pairing of Andro Mossad and Youssef Rizk it was payback.
One week after losing their individual doubles matches to Secaucus (Bayonne’s only loss to a Hudson County opponent this season), Cappello/Noursopoulos and Mossad/Rizk evened the score with their Secaucus counterparts after posing straight-set wins yesterday.
“All they did was win (as a team),” said Bayonne coach Bill Broderick, whose team dropped a 3-2 decision to Secaucus last week. “We didn’t experience (losing). After losing to Secaucus, as a team we did experience that I don’t think they liked that feeling and I think they had something to prove and if nothing else they temporarily came out and proved that.”
The first doubles team of Cappello and Noutsopoulos defeated Shay Laro and Auren Monalo 6-2, 6-4. In second doubles, Mossad and Rizk took a 6-3, 7-5 decision of the duo of Daniel Kim and Chirag Patel. Secaucus won both matches during the regular season in three sets.
“I thought when we played Secaucus in that match we really got a look at them,” Broderick said. “Today we took some of that look and kind of changed a little bit of our strategy and thinking. It worked.”
The Bees’ dominance wasn’t just limited to doubles play. Igor Pomyluyko took the second singles title with a 6-4, 6-3 win over North Bergen’s Eric Angamarca. The third singles championship went to Bayonne’s Vincent Maggio, who defeated Memorial’s Shamir Montanez 6-3, 6-0.
Despite already possessing four titles, the Bees have a fifth one in sight with the Hudson County Team Tournament starting next week. Yesterday’s finals were just another reminder of why Bayonne will enter play as the favorites.
“I think we proved that we’re capable of beating everybody in the county,” Broderick said. “Watch out for us because we don’t like losing.”
Vincent Maggio won the Third Singles crown, one of four titles won by Bayonne.
| Hudson County Singles and Doubles Championships |
|---|
First Singles |
David Garzon (Memorial), def. Joshua Halpern (Secaucus), 6-2, 2-6, 6-3. |
Second Singles |
Igor Pomyluyko (Bayonne), def. Eric Angamarca (North Bergen), 6-4, 6-3. |
Third Singles |
Vincent Maggio (Bayonne), def. Shamir Montanez (Memorial), 6-3, 6-0. |
First Doubles |
Peter Cappello/George Noutsopoulos (Bayonne), def. Shay Laro/Auren Manalo (Secaucus), 6-2, 6-4. |
Second Doubles |
Andro Mossad/Youssef Rizk (Bayonne), def. Daniel Kim/Chirag Patel (Secaucus), 6-3, 7-5. |
| First Singles Championship, Second Singles Championship, Third Singles Championship, First Doubles Championship, Second Doubles Championship |