Much like many teams up and down New Jersey, Pingry has seen a string of cancellations due to recent wet weather.
Several teams also have declined to play Pingry in recent weeks.
Never ones to shy away from competition, the NJ.com No. 3-ranked Big Blue traveled to Tamaques Park on Tuesday and defeated No. 15 Westfield, 4-1.
It was Pingry’s (12-1) first dual match since it beat Hillsborough on May 1.
“The last few weeks have been challenging with the weather,” Pingry coach Marion Weber said. “We had a couple matches on the schedule that were cancelled, so come out here and beat a team as talented as Westfield, we’re happy to walk away with the win. Westfield has had a lot of success this season, so we’re excited to get a 4-1 win.”
Pingry’s first doubles tandem of William Zhou-Zheng and Shea Patel were the first off the courts as they downed Ethan Lung and Evan Kahn, 6-2, 6-2.
Next was third singles Suvid Bordia who defeated Eshaan Khera, 6-4, 6-3, before second doubles Christian Zhou-Zheng and Will Pertsemlidis topped Justin Lee and Leo Goldman, 6-4, 6-3.
Ethan Liu provided Pingry’s last point of the day as he won 6-4, 6-4 over Benjamin Duan. Duan found himself down big in both sets, but he clawed back both times to make it 5-4 prior to Liu closing out the sets and the match.
The only true competition Pingry had since May 1 was the Prep A Tournament that it won this past Saturday. The Big Blue did their best to stay sharp.
“We tried to practice like we play,” William Zhou-Zheng said. “We were still confident in our game.”
“We didn’t play any matches except for Preps, but we hit with each other and we always play points,” added Patel. “That kept us ready.”
Westfield’s (13-5) lone point of the match came in a blockbuster first singles match. Chris Winters earned a hard-fought 6-3, 2-6, (10-6) tiebreaker victory against Ryan Hao.
Chris Winters of Westfield.Scott Faytok | NJ Advance Media
Winters hit powerful forehand winners and overhead smashes in the opening set before Hao came back.
The sophomore was able to reset for the tiebreaker. He dazzled all of the onlookers with well-placed shots.
“I like to leave the court and take deep breaths,” Winters said. “I hit my face with cold water and I re-focused for the tiebreaker.”
As the tiebreaker went on, Winters found himself in a groove.
“Completely,” he said. “Second set was 2-6 and I kind of lost my game, but I was able to regain control. I was angling my shots really well. I tried to take him wide on the forehand and on the backhand. I really wanted to open up the court.”
In just two days, Winters has defeated two players who were seeded in the upcoming state singles tournament. Winters won in a super tiebreaker on Monday against Delbarton’s 9-16-seeded Brayden Bonetti, the Morris County Tournament champion.
Pingry’s Hao is also seeded in the 17-28 group. Other strong wins this year for Winters were against Watchung Hills’ Advaith Busa, Ridge’s Vihaan Iyer, East Brunswick’s Andrew Cui, Morris Hills’ Veer Gupta and Summit’s Ben Levkov.
“I feel like I‘ve improved tremendously even in the past two weeks,” Winters said. “I wouldn’t have seen myself beating these last two high quality opponents too long ago. Brayden and Ryan are both really good. I‘ve seen them play before, and I‘m happy with how I pulled them out.”
Does Winters feel like he should have been seeded for the singles tournament given his success this season?
“I‘m used to not being ranked, but I rise to the occasion,” he said. “I‘m just glad I‘ve been able to win.”
Sitting at 13-5, Westfield has dealt with the injury bug and more this season. Khera missed a month with an ankle injury which he tweaked in this match. Westfield also has had to shake up its doubles lineup frequently this year with nine players having seen action.
The Blue Devils still haven’t fixated on a doubles lineup they’ll set and use going forward, but they are getting there. At full strength, Westfield can be one of the top teams in the state.
Westfield is the No. 1 seed in the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 state tournament.
“I think we’re ready,” Winters said. “If we’re fully healthy, I think we have a good shot. Our whole lineup is really good. Even today, it was 1-4, but it doesn’t reflect how well we still played.”
Following some time off, Pingry also has its eyes on the playoffs. Pingry is the No. 2 seed in the tough North Jersey, Non-Public state tournament which consists of six ranked teams.
“One-hundred percent we’re ready,” Patel said. “There’s some teams we want to play.”
And who might they be?
“Newark Academy,” he said, “and Delbarton,”
If all goes to plan, Pingry would face Delbarton in the semifinals and Newark Academy in the final.
“We’re ready to states,” Weber said. “We have some heavy hitters in our draw. It’s never easy, and it’ll be a challenge.”
Contact Chris Nalwasky at cnalwasky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter/X at @ChrisNalwasky.
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