John Jay nets victory over rival Fox Lane in season’s first match

Clockwise from left. Devon Kislin returns a volley at the net for John Jay. Matthew Marchini hits a backhand in first singles match. Fox Lane’s Jack Cristiano lunges for a return in second singles. Jim MacLean photos

By JIM MACLEAN

The tennis season got underway with a showdown between local rivals as John Jay hosted Fox Lane on March 28.

It was the first match of the season for John Jay, and the Wolves have several returning veterans anxious to turn in another good season. The Wolves got off to a good start recording a 6-1 victory over the Foxes.

“It was a strong start to the season, and I was really pleased with the team’s energy and focus,” said John Jay coach Paul Crivelli. “There’s always room to grow, but they handled pressure points well and competed at a high level from the start.”

At the top of the lineup John Jay has a familiar face as junior Matthew Marchini returns at the number one singles spot for the Wolves for his third season as a starter on varsity. His brother, Jonathan Marchini, is back at second singles, and Karl Shue is another returning veteran who will be playing singles for the Wolves. Senior Devon Kislin returns at first doubles with Chaz Thea.

“The Marchini brothers are a great foundation for us; Matthew continues to be a key player at the top spot, bringing experience and leadership,” added Crivelli. “Devon is back anchoring first doubles with Chaz, and his leadership has been a huge asset. We’re also seeing some younger players stepping up, which makes for an exciting season ahead.”

For Fox Lane, it’s been a rough start to the season starting out with an injury to number one singles player Jared Landau, who hopes to return to the lineup in mid April. The Foxes were also missing some other starters out with the flu. The Foxes moved up to compete in a stronger league this season against John Jay and other strong teams, and the team knows the stronger competition will make them better.

Fox Lane has a lot of returning veterans anxious to make it a winning season for the Foxes. In addition to Landau, returning starters for the Foxes include Cam Lau, Dex Osherow, Jack Cristiano, Mark Chen, Jacob Betensky, Addison Townley, Ryan Barone, and Maleo Mancuso.

“We wanted a stronger league than last year and we got it,” said Fox Lane coach Scott Shannon. “We have not been able to have our full starting lineup due to injuries, conflicts and illnesses so far. There has been the flu going around the team and it’s made our start a shaky one. The boys should pull it together by the end of the week and we hope to have a successful season.”

Fox Lane started the season with back-to-back matches as the Foxes opened at home against Eastchester on March 25, and suffered a 7-0 loss before facing John Jay on the road Friday and falling by the 6-1 score.

For the match at John Jay, in the first singles match John Jay’s Matthew Marchini faced Cameron Lau and scored a 6-0, 6-1 victory. At second singles Jonathan Marchini faced Jack Cristiano of the Foxes and scored a 6-1, 6-2 victory. Tyler Nakajimo-Graham provided the highlight of the match for Fox Lane with a win at third singles over Kalyan Ganesan by the score of 3-6, 4-2, 7-3. 

First doubles was another tight match going to three sets as Devon Kislin and Chaz Thea of John Jay pulled out the win against Mark Chen and Addison Townley by the score of 4-6, 6-2, 1-0. Second doubles pitted Jackson Beiber and Evan Outwater of John Jay against Maleo Mancuso and Ryan Barone with the Wolves scoring a 7-5, 6-0 victory. At third doubles, Eli Hiller and Hudson Lutz of John Jay scored a 6-3, 6-3 win over Deacon David and Emile Schonfeld, and at fourth doubles it was the John Jay duo of John Doe and Kishen Kathuria recording a 6-0, 6-1 win over Anthony D’Alisa and Alex Aleshin.