RANDOLPH, NJ- The Randolph Girls Tennis team went on a run in the second half of the season that saw them carve through the final 10 games of the season with a 9-1 record to earn themselves the top spot in the National Division of the NJAC conference.
“Our success came from the fact that we had a really resilient team,” said coach Don DiNozzi. “Our group really pulled for each other's success, and I think as the season went along we got more comfortable in our roles. Our team just found ways to win close matches.”
After opening the season with a 3-1 record, the Lady Rams then slipped a bit and went 1-3 over their next four games, leaving them with a .500 record at 4-4 as of Tuesday, September 15. From there, they got hot and nearly ran the table on the backside of the schedule, with their only loss coming in the state tournament to Fort Lee.
The Lady Rams last won the conference title back in 2020-2021, in one of their best seasons ever that saw them go 12-1 overall and 11-0 in their division.
“It's been a few years (since Randolph finished in first place), and we've been in contention for the past couple of years, but we've finished just short a few times,” said DiNozzi. “It was great to get over the hump this year.
Down the stretch, the Lady Rams' final four matches were against conference foes — Parsippany Hills, Mt. Olive, Roxbury, and West Morris Central. Three of those teams, along with the Rams, were all within striking distance of winning the conference. For Randolph to win the conference, they knew they probably had to win all of those matches.
“Our team truly turned our complete attention to this goal. We had more focus and drive to accomplish this than any goal we had set all season, and our entire team truly bought in. It was great to witness this commitment as a coach,” said DiNozzi.
In the team’s 13 wins this year, five of them were 3–2 victories. Of the teams' five losses, 3 of them were 3–2 scores. The Rams first doubles team of Sienna Marsala and Jillian Garcia went 14-2 on the season together. They won a round of the individual state doubles tournament, and coach further stated, “They were absolutely fantastic all season long.” The Rams second doubles, Claire He and Jolina Weng, went an equally impressive 16-1 on the season together.
“These two teams always put us in a position where our singles could relax and try to find a way to get one win to help us secure a team win,” said DiNozzi, who continued, stating, “But the star towards the end of the season was Ava Pinho, my senior captain and first singles player. Ava worked so hard over the course of four years and has overcome injuries. I was really proud of how her varsity career ended, especially in those last four matches where she went 3-1.”
Pinho picked up two huge individual come-from-behind wins to seal team victories for Randolph on their way to the conference title.
First, against Mount Olive with the match tied 2-2, Ava was trailing after dropping the first set 7-6. She fought back to take the second set 6-4. Then, she won the third set super tiebreaker 10-4 to seal a team win.
Then, two days later, in the final match of the season, Randoph was playing West Morris Central. With both teams’ records sitting at 9-2, everyone knew that the winner would claim the conference title.
The match was tied at 2-2, and in the first singles, Pinho had lost the first set 6-2. She fought back to force a second set tiebreaker. With the tiebreaker tied at 3-3, the match was suspended due to darkness.
The team returned to West Morris Central on Friday, and everyone knew the match and conference rested solely on her shoulders. She won the second set tiebreaker 7-3 and won the third set in a super tiebreaker 10-3.
“It was really great to watch such a close-knit group accomplish something that they had set their mind to,” said DiNozzi. “I am so incredibly proud of the effort and resilience Ava showed to help her team accomplish its ultimate goal. Ava has been a great player and leader for the past four years, and I was so happy she could get to have a moment like this.”