Champs Are Crowned! … Hawks Win SWC Tennis Title

By Andy Hutchison

Newtown High School’s boys’ tennis team pulled out a nail-biting 4-3 win over Weston to capture the South-West Conference Championship at Treadwell Park on May 24.

Newtown pulled out wins at second, third, and fourth singles, as well as in the first doubles, to help the top-seeded Nighthawks prevail over the No. 2 and defending champion Trojans in the pinnacle match.

Pete Manos won a 7-6 tiebreaker in the first set, then won 6-3 for a two-set triumph over Cameron Hagen at No. 2 singles. Manos yelled in excitement as Hagen set an errant, double-fault serve off the top of the net for the decisive point. Rob Beier, in similar fashion, got past Ben Smith 7-6, 6-1 at No. 3, and Casey Tenney, in another close two-for-a-two-setter, prevailed 7-5, 6-4.

The No. 1 doubles tandem of Colin Jacob and Connor Howell came from behind to knock off brothers Harrison and Jon Lipsitz, 3-6, 7-6, 6-0. Jacob and Howell were on the verge of losing the match and watching the Trojans celebrate before rallying, then proceeding to pull away in the decisive set.

No. 1 singles player Timo Roehrs fell 6-0, 6-1 to unbeaten Jeremy Schwartz. The No. 2 doubles duo of Rich Andreotta and Tyler Ruefenacht lost a tough three-setter to Josh Simon and Kyle Guerin, 6-4, 0-6, 7-6. Newtown’s third doubles contingent of Cam McCleary and Max Paynter lost to Matt Wasserman and Zach Levine, 6-4, 6-2.

Newtown had ended Weston’s nearly four-year in-conference play winning streak earlier this spring, and it was Coach Marty Margulies’s first win over Weston in his decade at the helm.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Roehrs said of the success the Nighthawks have had this season. “It’s a lot of excitement when we play Weston especially.”

“It’s real nice. We have a lot of depth,” said Beier, only a sophomore.

Beier had lost to Hagen in a tough three-setter when the teams met during the regular campaign, on April 28. Weston Coach Gary Meunier shuffled his lineup since then and Beier had a new opponent to overcome in Smith, who was at No. 2 singles back in April. After narrowly pulling out the first set in a tiebreaker, Beier had no problems putting the match away.

“I don’t usually win tiebreakers, so it was nice,” he said. “I just kind of gained momentum I guess.”

Manos said his championship match win was keyed by his patience. “Just keep hitting the ball — staying consistent with him, making him make mistakes,” was the strategy Manos said paid off.

Margulies regularly reminds his players not to get flustered and not to overhit the ball, and it seems to have paid off throughout the campaign.

“They play a style that drove my kids nuts. They have a lot of steady, consistent kids who make my kids hit the ball,” Meunier said.

Newtown lost only two regular season matches, including just one in clashes that counted in the conference standings — a setback to Bunnell of Stratford. But the Nighthawks avenged that defeat to Bunnell in the SWC quarterfinals on May 21 to earn the opportunity to dethrone Weston. The Hawks advanced past the No. 4 Bulldogs with a 5-2 win. Manos and Tenney were Newtown’s singles winners, and all three doubles duos came out on top. Every match was a two-setter with exception of the No. 3 doubles matchup between Bunnell’s DJ Karasik and Beier, won by Karasik 7-6, 3-6, 6-4.

Tenney, who had lost a three-set thriller to Bunnell’s Mike Dolph during the regular season, prevailed in just two sets, 7-5, 6-3 in the rematch. Tenney said he was not quite on his game in the first meeting and was much happier with his performance and effectiveness of his lobs in the postseason meeting.

“I just wanted to go out and play my game. I wasn’t really on my game the last time,” he said.

Manos also bounced back to top a familiar foe. Manos had lost to Nikko Squeglia in two sets during the regular season and returned the favor in a 6-4, 6-4 win in the SWC semis.

Newtown, following play in the SWC’s Individual Tournament, will embark on state championship competition in early June.

No matter how far the Hawks go there, they will always have this conference crown to remember.

“This was an amazing team, and I don’t only refer to their skill levels. I refer to their motivation, their cohesiveness, and mutual supportiveness — and their deportment,” Margulies said.

“I’ve been on the winning side of some constitutional law cases that I like to think were significant and worthwhile, but no career thrill I’ve ever had comes close to matching this,” added Margulies, who has taught, written about, and practiced constitutional law for more than 30 years.