Cougars Find Early Success in Preseason Tennis, Volleyball Action
Nicholas Mistretta
MHS ’79 Cougar Sports Correspondent
MONTGOMERY, NJ — Montgomery High School’s girls tennis and girls volleyball teams turned in strong preseason performances, with the Cougars edging Ridge on the tennis courts and sweeping Franklin in volleyball action.
Both contests provided an early look at the fall squads, with Montgomery getting contributions throughout the lineup in a pair of victories.
Girls Tennis Edges Ridge, 3-2
Montgomery’s girls tennis team relied on its doubles play to secure a 3-2 victory over Ridge, winning both doubles matches while splitting the singles points needed to come away with the team win.
Emily Ma earned Montgomery’s lone singles victory at second singles against Ridge’s Isabella Xu. Ma dropped the opening set, 4-6, before responding with a 6-2 win in the second. The box score credited Ma with the victory but did not include the score of a deciding set.
At first singles, Ridge’s Eva Rao defeated Montgomery’s Lanxin Xiao, 6-1, 6-1.
One of the closest matches of the day came at third singles, where Montgomery’s Mihika Doshi battled Ridge’s Celina Chen. Chen took a tight opening set, 7-6, before Doshi answered with a 6-4 second-set victory. Chen ultimately prevailed in the deciding tiebreak, 10-5.
The Cougars made the difference in doubles.
At first doubles, Rachel Silverberg and Annie Xu defeated Ridge’s Elizabeth Lebedev and Chiara Noble in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4.
Montgomery’s Nikitta Chandane and Nidhi Soppimath then delivered another important point at second doubles. After taking the first set 6-2, the Cougar duo dropped the second 1-6 before rebounding to win the deciding tiebreak, 10-3.
With victories at second singles and both doubles positions, Montgomery secured the 3-2 team win.
Volleyball Sweeps Franklin
On the volleyball court, Montgomery controlled its matchup with Franklin, earning a 25-18, 25-10 sweep.
The Cougars received production from throughout the roster, finishing with 23 kills, 24 digs, 20 assists and five aces.
Sidney Koslow led Montgomery’s attack with six kills while adding two digs.
Leah Fenmore contributed four kills, while Julia Vessoni, Anshika Verma and Anita Balashova each recorded three. Avery Zhao added two kills, with Pooja Venkat and Carly Zissman each contributing one.
Verma also recorded Montgomery’s lone block and finished with two aces.
The Cougars were particularly active defensively and in setting up their attack.
Ritisha Mungi led Montgomery with 13 assists, while Selina Tan added three assists and a team-high seven digs.
Pooja Venkat recorded four digs, Carly Zissman added three, and Koslow and Mungi finished with two apiece.
Montgomery also generated pressure from the service line. Verma led the team with two aces, while Venkat, Tan and Mungi each recorded one.
After Franklin stayed within striking distance during the opening set, Montgomery pulled away for the 25-18 win. The Cougars were even more decisive in the second, holding Franklin to 10 points to complete the sweep.
The victories gave both Montgomery programs positive early results as the Cougars continue preparations for the fall season.
Photo Credit: Nick Mistretta/headlinenewsmontgomry.com