Boys tennis teams are very young heading into new season
BY WAYNE WITKOWSKI Staff Writer
Bboys tennis teams will have a completely different look when they open their respective seasons on April 2.

Both teams have a combined three returnees from last season.

Dan Yarborough is the only returnee from last year's BrickMemorial team that had one of its best seasons ever at 18-6. He'll be making the giant leap from first doubles to possibly the first singles spot. Another expected returnee, senior Chris Pimentel, is not playing this season in order to concentrate on soccer.

Brick Township has two junior returnees from last year's struggling season, second singles player Ray Fayad and third singles player Steve McNelis.

Both took their lumps as sophomores, said coach Bob Hudak, but the experience may start earning favorable results.

The Shore Conference A South customarily is brutally tough, but both coaches agree that number of teams in the conference likewise are going through rebuilding for this season. "We have young guys but I know the other teams lost kids," said Hudak.

"A number of teams lost some players from last season and have some new ones for this season," said BrickMemorial coach Don McCarrick, who has the challenge of filling the huge void left by Colin Przybylowski, one of the best players ever in the Mustangs programat first singles before he headed to Lehigh University last fall, as well as second singles standout Nick Cittadino and Pimentel in third singles as well as Mike McGowan in first doubles with Yarborough and Kyle White, Mike Heard and Ryan Coyle rotating in second doubles.

"Yarborough worked on his game in the off-season and took lessons to improve," said McCarrick. "He's been playing a lot so going from doubles to singles is not as big an adjustment but he'll be playing against everyone's best singles players."

McCarrick said Yarborough's best asset is consistency. "He makes few unforced errors," said the coach. "It's whoever makes the fewest mistakes and does not beat himself."

Yarborough has a big first serve, said McCarrick. "If he keeps it accurate, not many in the area can return it." Many other elements in his game have improved as well, including groundstrokes and a net game where he uses his 6-feet, 2-inch height to his advantage. "We have to see if he can go to the net and keep guys he's playing on the defensive," saidMcCarrick.

But there are many players up from Brick Memorial's junior varsity team that had a superb 15-2 season who are pressing to fill the open spots for the April 2 opener at Toms River East during the team's challenge tournament for positions that began last week. They include brothers Frank and James Mischin and Battbold Boldbaatar who migrated some years ago from Mongolia. The latter player was in the No. 1 singles spot on the junior varsity last season.

"He's a very even-headed player," said McCarrick of Boldbaatar. "He has good

ground strokes."

Another sophomore, Colin Przybylowski's brother, Tom, should be in the varsity lineup, said McCarrick. "He really improved a lot."

Most of the team is young, aside from two other seniors out for the first time in KevinMarvin, a doubles candidate, and Ray Bickel, whose brother Brian is a sophomore who can help the team.

As for Brick Township, Fayad and Mc- Nelis are working on their serve and Mc- Nelis also shows a "nice backhand and his ground strokes are good," said Hudak, who has varsity wrestling coach Matt Opacity as junior varsity coach this season. Freshman Tim Patella could fill the other singles spot with last year's first singles player, Dave Concadora, graduated. "He hits a nice ball and looks like he has the whole game," said Hudak. "He's played before. It's just a matter of him getting more consistent as he gets more playing experience on this team."

Doubles players Brian Borga, Anthony Renna and the Darcy twins, Sean and Myles, are graduated, but some players are looking to step in during this week's challenge matches for the team, including junior A.J. Kolesa and sophomores Michael Lantieri and Adam Boyle, who played on the junior varsity, as well as senior newcomer Justin Ottmer and sophomore Michael Brancaccio. Sophomore newcomer Evan Jansen also is looking for a spot on the roster when the Green Dragons open their season April 2 at home against Southern.