Newtown High Boys’ Tennis Team Pulls Through In Must-Win Match

By Andy Hutchison

A lot was at stake for the Newtown High School boys’ tennis team on May 17. Win the regular-season finale against Masuk of Monroe and earn the South-West Conference’s second seed and a first round home match in the tournament; lose and miss out not only on earning the home match, but in qualifying for the tournament altogether because of tiebreakers, the parity in the standings.

The Nighthawks pulled through with a deceptively close 6-1 win in a match that featured four tie-breakers. “It was close,” Newtown Coach Marty Margulies said after the match, held at Middlebury Racquet Club because of the rain.

With the win, Newtown earned the conference tourney’s No. 2 seed and a semifinal round match with No. 3 Pomperaug of Southbury.

“I am really proud of these kids. I am very proud of them because they were under pressure. This was a must-win match and they knew it,” said Margulies, adding that the ability to pull through was a mark of character and focus.

Three players were sick and out of the lineup in a tough 4-3 loss to Joel Barlow in Redding on May 11, putting the Nighthawks in their win-or-miss-the-tourney situation. Newtown had all of its starters back healthy and ready for the Masuk match.

In singles play, Newtown won all four matches as follows: 1. Rob Beier defeated Steve Diamond, 6-2, 7-6 (7-1); 2. Tyler Ruefenacht defeated Sonny Caplash, 6-0, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3; 3. Cam McCleary defeated Jon Plavnicky, 6-3, 6-0; 4. Ricky Fuentes defeated Ryan Sandor, 6-4, 6-2.

 Newtown won at first and second doubles. The top tandem of Connor Howell and Sean Elliott defeated Jon Strumpf and Ryan Beauchamp, 6-2, 7-6 (3) and No. 2 Adam Oelberg and Yossi Kohrman-Glaser topped Jimmy Bavie and Ryan Powers, 6-2, 7-6 (4). At third doubles, with the overall match already decided, the teams played an eight-game pro set to finish things. Sean McAlister and Ratan Marwah of Masuk defeated Mason West and Eric Sippin, 8-3.

The Nighthawks finished the campaign 9-4 overall (9-2 in SWC play). Beier and the team of Connor Howell and Sean Elliott went unbeaten in conference play this spring.

The SWC tourney was scheduled to get underway on Thursday (after The Bee went to press). Newtown beat Pomperaug 5-2 in the April 8 regular-season meeting, but four of the seven matches were three setters. “So we’re not taking anything for granted,” Margulies noted.