John Jay off to a fast start with victory over Fox Lane

John Jay’s Penelope Hill hits a backhand volley in first singles match. Jim MacLean Photo

By JIM MACLEAN 

It was a perfect start for the John Jay girls varsity tennis team as the Wolves opened the season with a pair of victories over Eastchester and Fox Lane, both by the identical score of 7-0 as the Wolves won every match.

John Jay opened the season with a 7-0 win over Eastchester on the road Sept. 2, and the Wolves then followed that up with a 7-0 win over Fox Lane in the home opener Sept. 4.

“We’ve had a fantastic start,” admitted John Jay coach Julie McCaffrey. “We’re really excited about the season. It’s our third league in three years, but it feels like the right league for us to compete in and we’re looking forward to it.”

John Jay has plenty of reasons for optimism with a veteran team and a lot of talent. That was evident in the match against Fox Lane as the Wolves took control.

Penelope Hill leads the way at first singles for John Jay and she got them started with a win over Elle Nagelberg. At second singles it was Lauren Metro with the win over Quinn Barrow, and at third singles it was Abigail Pevzner with the win over Charisse Cheung.

John Jay also swept through all four doubles matches. In first doubles, Sophie Inana and Blinera Tetaj teamed up for the win over Danielle Ades and Kathryn Olivia. In second doubles it was Miriam Wilson and Fidella Swana of John Jay with the win over Kristina Borelli and Brenna Ferman. At third doubles it was Nonie Whelan and Ray Maex with a victory over Anushka Arvind and Gymfev McPhee. Finishing off the victory at fourth doubles, it was Kierstin McCarty and Catherine Buri with the win over Marissa Wachs and Ari Davidson.

“We have eight seniors and a very veteran lineup, and the young players are really strong so we’re a very deep team this year,” McCaffrey said of the Wolves. “Penny (Hill) is a really strong player and anchors the team at number one, a real leader. Lauren (Metro) is a junior back at second singles and both her and Penny worked really hard to get ready for this season. Abigail is a senior at third singles and she wears her opponents down. Doubles are really strong. They’ve put a lot of time in on the court heading into the season and I think they are settling in nicely with their partners.”

Fox Lane is also excited about the season as the Foxes build for the future. The Foxes do not have the experienced veterans like John Jay for this year, but the numbers are up for the program with a lot of talented newcomers to team up with the varsity veterans on the roster.

“We have six seniors, some new talented girls, our first singles Elle Nagelberg played doubles last year and she is our most improved player,” said Fox Lane coach Mike Olivier. “We have a ninth grader at second singles. We’re finding a good mix and we have 20 girls out for the team so our future is good. We’re excited and looking forward to a good season.”

Clockwise from above, Elle Nagelberg makes a return for Fox Lane.Sophie Inana stretches to make a volley at the net for the Wolves Quinn Barrow of Fox Lane drills a forehand return.