After an exciting first round of matchups, the competition intensifies as top-seeded teams enter the tournament fresh off their bye weeks.
Here’s a look at one key quarterfinal matchup in each section and group of the 2025 sectional tournament.
NORTH 1
GROUP 1
3-Pascack Hills vs. 6-Pompton Lakes
It will be the first time these two programs face off since 2012 when Pascack Hills took down Pompton Lakes. Each team is coming off 5-0 wins in their respective first-round matches, with both teams’ second-singles players securing impressive victories. Watch for the contest between James Curran of Pompton Lakes and Abinav Gowthaman of Pascack Hills.
GROUP 2
2-River Dell vs. 10-Westwood
Westwood, like all other first-round winners, is playing a team that had a first-round bye to start the Group 2 tournament. Unlike the other first-round winners, Westwood will play a division rival. River Dell has dominated Westwood in recent history, winning the last five matches 5-0. The closest matchup in each of their two regular-season encounters was at first singles, where River Dell’s Jedrick Calimag won both matches. Calimag will likely face John Pissot of Westwood in a rematch from May 20.
GROUP 3
4-Wayne Hills vs. 5-Fair Lawn
Another divisional rivalry in the quarterfinal round as Wayne Hills has won the last three matches against Fair Lawn, including both matchups in the regular season. While Wayne Hills secured each of the singles flights, Fair Lawn took victories in each first-doubles match this season and split second-doubles. If Fair Lawn wants to reverse its fortunes against Wayne Hills, it will need key wins from Jayden Tumbokon-Sam Platsman at first-doubles and Andrej Tchedrik-Edward Farber in second-doubles. They will face Eric Walec-Zayd Mirza and Matthew Weiner-Nicholas Lynch of Wayne Hills, respectively.
GROUP 4
3-Montclair vs. 6-West Orange
Two Super Essex County (SEC) opponents square off as Montclair has taken the last four meetings against West Orange dating back to 2023. In its April 1 match against West Orange, Montclair secured a tiebreaker win at first-singles when Jack Levine downed Brandon Chen. Zach Jaffee of West Orange took the lone victory at third-singles against Oliver Miedel. If Chen can seize a win at first-singles and Jaffe can repeat his success at third-singles, the quarterfinal match could hinge on the outcome at first-doubles, where Jasper Lilienfeld-Henry Kolbe took the win for Montclair against Logan Marcus-Ty Kops.
NORTH 2
GROUP 1
2-Mountain Lakes vs. 7-Verona
This will be a rematch of last season’s quarterfinal round match when Mountain Lakes eliminated Verona, 4-1. Mountain Lakes secured a decisive 5-0 victory against 15th-seeded Hanover Park, while Verona took a 4-1 win against 10th-seeded Whippany Park. The second-singles matchup between Christian Kaulback of Verona and Deagan O’Shaughnessy of Mountain Lakes will be one to watch, as Kaulback seeks a rebound win.
GROUP 2
3-West Morris vs. 6-West Essex
West Essex secured a narrow win against 11th-seeded Bernards in the first round and will face West Morris, which is coming off a bye week in the quarterfinal round. Both teams have faced struggles over the regular season but managed to make their way into the sectional tournament. Marvin Du leads West Morris in first-singles and will likely face Rohan Vyes of West Essex in a key matchup.
GROUP 3
1-Princeton vs. 8-Matawan
This will be the first time these programs meet as No. 7 Princeton enters the quarterfinal round fresh off a bye. Matawan swept ninth-seeded Belleville and was led by first-doubles tandem Cornelius “CJ” Rodriguez and Ruhan Patel. The duo will likely square off against Shaan Zaveri and Matt Chen of Princeton.
GROUP 4
1-Westfield vs. 8-Dickinson
Another NJ.com Top 20 program, No. 15 Westfield, enters the competition off a bye to take on Dickinson. Each team is 6-0 in its respective divisions. Additionally, Westfield won the only matchup against Dickinson in last season’s quarterfinal round, 5-0. Dickinson secured its first-round win over ninth-seeded Phillipsburg, 4-1, featuring two impressive tiebreaker wins from first-singles Michael Aguilar and second-doubles Daksh Patel and Moises Arocho. Chris Winters of Westfield will face Aguilar, while Christian Zhou-Zheng and Will Pertsemlidis will play Patel and Arocho.
CENTRAL
GROUP 1
3- Highland Park vs. 6-Dayton
Dayton defeated 11th-seeded Woodbridge Magnet decisively in the first round of Group 1. In the singles flights, Dayton performed exceptionally well, winning each doubles flight in a tiebreaker. Joshua Gordon and Brayden Glass won first- and third-singles, respectively, and will be tested against Martin Ahn and Udi Yu of Highland Park. Highland Park also won its first-round matchup against 14th-seeded Roselle Park, 5-0. The winner will face second-seeded New Providence in the semifinal round on Thursday.
GROUP 2
2-Manasquan vs. 7-Point Pleasant Boro
Point Pleasant Boro defeated 10th-seeded Ewing, 4-1, and will square off against second-seeded Manasquan, which had a bye in the first round. Manasquan won the March 26 matchup against Point Pleasant Boro, 5-0, and several rematches from that competition are expected in the quarterfinal round. Joe Doles at first-singles and Drew Cardia-Dean Cardia of first-doubles each swept their matches and will likely face Padraic Gonzalez and Lucas Gordon-Gianna Dentino of Manasquan.
GROUP 3
4-Northern Burlington vs. 5-Colts Neck
Neither team played a match in the first round, as both programs received a bye. This will also be a rematch of the 2019 quarterfinal match where Colts Neck swept Northern Burlington, and it marks the first time these teams have played each other since. Logan Fahs leads first-singles for Colts Neck and will be pitted against Ashus Mahmood of Northern Burlington.
GROUP 4
4-East Brunswick vs. 5-Montgomery
No. 10 Montgomery swept 12th-seeded Hunterdon Central and moved on to face fellow NJ.com Top 20 honoree No. 13 East Brunswick in the quarterfinal round. East Brunswick defeated 13th-seeded North Brunswick with a sweep in the first round and won the most recent matchup against Montgomery in 2023. Both third-singles players were flawless in their first-round matches and will be the match to watch in the quarterfinal round. Ethan Qian of Montgomery will face Ashwin Deodher of East Brunswick in a highly anticipated matchup between two strong boys tennis programs.
SOUTH
GROUP 1
1-Haddon Township vs. 9-Gateway
Gateway defeated eighth-seeded Clayton, 3.5-1.5, to advance to play division rival and top-seeded Haddon Township in the quarterfinal round. In their last matchup, Gateway had a strong showing in first-doubles with Ben Cline and Alvaro SSanchis-Moraleja playing against James Arizzi and Max Radley. Keep an eye on this matchup between the Colonial Conference Liberty Division rivals.
GROUP 2
3-Haddon Heights vs. 6-Cedar Creek
In a rematch of last season’s first-round matchup, where Haddon Heights won 5-0, Cedar Creek enters this contest with a decisive first-round victory. Cedar Creek won, 5-0, against 11th-seeded Barnegat, while Haddon Heights secured a 4-1 win over 14th-seeded Overbrook, with one match being decided by a forfeit. The first-singles matchup between Miguel Manalang of Cedar Creek and Ben Mazzucco of Haddon Heights is one to watch.
GROUP 3
3-Cumberland vs. 6-Deptford
Two Tri-County Conference rivals square off for the first time this year, with Cumberland holding the recent advantage against Deptford. The key match will be at first-doubles, with Anmolpreet Singh and Zane Rauner of Deptford facing Asher Kennedy and Chase Sheppard of Cumberland.
GROUP 4
2-Cherry Hill East vs. 7-Kingsway
Cherry Hill East has won both previous matchups against Kingsway by 5-0 scores in the sectional semifinals. Kingsway secured a key win at second-doubles in the first round, led by Ryan Finn and Brady Reyer. That duo will square off against Ian Lam and Bryan Lu of Cherry Hill East, who swept their second-doubles match against 15th-seeded Toms River North.
NON-PUBLIC
NORTH
4-Bergen Catholic vs. 5-Montclair Kimberley
It’s No. 11 Montclair Kimberley against No. 16 Bergen Catholic in a rematch of last season’s quarterfinal match, where Montclair Kimberley swept Bergen Catholic. Bergen Catholic took a decisive win against 12th-seeded Pope John and were led by Steven Komoto at first-singles. Komoto will be pitted against Sean Wang of Montclair Kimberley in a very tight Non-Public quarterfinal matchup.
SOUTH
4-St. Augustine vs. 12-Wardlaw-Hartridge
Wardlaw-Hartridge picked up an upset-victory against fifth-seeded Ranney in the first round and moved on to face St. Augustine, who skipped the first round with a bye. Wardlaw-Hartridge impressed at first-singles and second-doubles, taking tiebreaker wins to help the program advance. Watch Jai Maurya of Wardlaw-Hartridge play Cole Polistina while Caden Leu-Pratham Gandhi face Eli Bear-Matt Wojtkowski of St. Augustine.
Anthony Gabbianelli can be reached at agabbianelli@njadvancemedia.com.
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