By Chris Nalwasky of NJ.com
Westfield had finalists at all five flights and won three of them to capture the team title for the third year in a row at the Union County Tournament.
The three-day event finished on Friday afternoon at the refurbished Donald Van Blake Tennis Facility in Plainfield.
Westfield tallied 92 points for the tournament while Summit took second with 72. Scotch Plains-Fanwood (44 points) edged New Providence (43) for third place, and Cranford with 35 points rounded out the top five.
Third singles Evan Sewald, first doubles Cole Hornbeck and Colin Cimei and second doubles Chris Winters and Evan Kahn all won their respective individual brackets for the Blue Devils who displayed their strong depth.
Despite being without first singles Ben Duan for the last couple of weeks, Westfield still managed to shift around its lineup and have five finalists and come out on top.
“We have a lot of depth,” Westfield coach Matt Varhley said. “From one to 16, we can send pretty much any combination out there and we we know we would get a good effort from our team. They’re all committed and they all support each other. We’re very fortunate to have that kind of depth.
“I’m proud of this team. I have such a great group.”
Winters and Kahn were the first off the bright, crisp blue courts with a 6-1, 6-2 win over New Providence’s Spencer Thompson and Nate LaRocque Green. Winters and Kahn had only played one match together coming into the tournament last weekend against J.P. Stevens.
Right next to them, Hornbeck and Cimei were done not too long after as they defeated Summit’s Shawn Macalalag and Henry Deutsch, 6-0, 6-2.
Hornbeck now has three first doubles UCT titles while Cimei has two titles overall after he also won at second doubles last spring.
“We’re very lucky to have Cole and Colin at first doubles,” Varhley said. “They are two of the more talented doubles players in the state. “We rely on them for a point in pretty much every match and they’re always up for the challenge. Cole has been a starter for four years, and Colin moved up to first doubles from second doubles last year. Their hard work has paid off.”
Sewald is a first-year starter who began the season playing second doubles until the last few days when he moved up the ladder to third singles. The senior relished the opportunity to play singles and made the most of his chance.
“It feels great,” Sewald said. “I was confident throughout, and I’m glad I was able to pull it out. It’s next man up and I did my job. After our challenge matches I was the fourth best singles player on the team, so I would go in if someone had to miss time at singles. It’s the same mentality. You have to step up and execute the game plan.”
Varhley said Sewald is talented both at doubles and singles, so he would have done well at each spot no matter where he played the tournament.
“Evan, when Ben comes back, he’ll slide back to second doubles. He’s had a great year at doubles, but he’s equally very, very good at singles,” the coach said. “He just jumped at the opportunity to take that spot and he’s done well there, too.”
While Hornbeck and Cimei have felt what it is like to win a county title, for Sewald, Kahn and Winters, it is all new.
It’s good to see everyone doing well,” Sewald said. “It’s a lot of fun. We have a really good team, so every time we practice it’s competitive and that’s exactly what you want. It prepares us for times like this.”
The first singles title went to Anand Sahasrabudhe of Scotch Plains-Fanwood who beat Eshaan Khera from Westfield, 6-2, 6-0.
