Honesty. One of the fundamental principles of the game of high school tennis. Rarely, referees are around to make the calls on tennis games at the high school level. Thus, it becomes the players’ responsibility to accurately make the calls in their matchups and to be truthful with what happened in a play. So, when junior Eshaan Khera stated that the ball was out of bounds in his match against J.P. Stevens’ star player, Spundan Chandra, it was with complete accuracy and honesty. However, Chandra was quick to challenge Khera’s call, and the assistant coach at J.P. Stevens, who was observing the match, jumped in the argument, agreeing with Chandra. The coach stated that she saw the ball bounce in, however, this was not her call and a violation of the integrity of the boys’ game. Khera was automatically awarded the point.
Despite this mishap, the Blue Devils would go on to win their match against J.P. Stevens, 4-1. Singles performances from seniors Evan Sewald and Deven Patel led the way. Sewald won Westfield’s first match, sliding past his opponent in two sets. Patel won Westfield’s last matchup of the day, coming back from a 1-0 deficit and winning the match, 2-1.
For the doubles matches, both duos swept their opponents, 2-0. Senior captains Cole Hornbeck and Colin Cimei took home the first set, 7-5, and the second set, 6-4, in a competitive match. The second doubles match was made up of freshman Chris Winters and sophomore Evan Kahn who had almost the same result, winning both the first and second set, 6-4.
“The competition was really good,” said Hornbeck. “I don’t think we’ve had a match yet where we had to really lock in and play to our best potential, especially me and Cimei.”
Compared to past matchups this season, J.P. Stevens gave Westfield quite the contest. All matchups were close in score. J.P. Stevens was able to gain a few points off the Blue Devils because of their “volleys that were really accurate and really powerful,” according to Hornbeck.
Head coach Matt Varhley said, “The competition was outstanding today. J.P. Stevens has a very strong program and a rich tradition of winning.”
Although Westfield had an excellent performance in the match, there is always room for improvement. “We had really great energy today, but we need to keep that up, it really helps our players, especially if they are finishing late,” said Sewald. “And really just know that we’re in this battle together, we’re not playing alone, even in singles, you’ve got your guys right next to you.”
On Monday, the Blue Devils will go head-to-head against Governor Livingston away at Columbia Park Tennis Courts at 4:00 p.m. to attempt to win their eighth straight match of the season.
