Successful Season Wraps For Mendham Girls Tennis Team

MENDHAM, NJ — The Mendham girls tennis team finished the season with a 13-3 record, placed second in the Morris County Tournament, and tied for the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference American division title.

Mendham earned the No. 2 seed in the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 2, Group 2 tournament. After a first-round bye, it lost, 4-1, to eventual sectional champion Leonia, the seventh seed, in the quarterfinal round on Oct. 6.

“The state tournament was tougher than expected,” said Mendham head coach Jessica Borkowski. “Leonia was a fantastic team that ended up winning the group. We played really well but were just outmatched against such a talented group of girls. The singles players fought for every single point, and our doubles teams made it difficult for Leonia, but they were just overall the stronger team, and I was happy to see that they won our group.”

The team played well with a competitive schedule.

“Overall, this season, our only loss was to Chatham in the conference,” Borkowski said. “Out of conference, we had losses to Westfield and Leonia. I was thrilled with how the girls played, and I believe that we earned the conference title, and will share it with Chatham, with one loss in the conference each. I think we performed to the best of our ability this season, earning a singles position at the state tournament with Samantha Matkowski, fighting for the conference title, playing our best in the state tournament, and overall enjoying a season together again, without many of the restrictions we faced last year due to COVID.”

Borkowski said highlights of the season included two 3-2 victories over Randolph.

“Any match against Randolph was close, and the girls really had to rise to the challenge,” she said. “We came from behind the first time we played to secure the win, and the second time we played, again the singles girls rose to the challenge, but our first doubles team was also able to win against a team that they had not been able to beat the first two times they played them. It was exciting to watch.”

Several players led the team this season.

“This season our MVP was Isabella Wartchow-Schmitt, who was undefeated in conference matches,” Borkowski said. “But I can't say that she is the only player that performed well. Ella McFadden is the county champion at second singles, Samantha Matkowski, our first singles, went to the state singles tournament and represented us well. Lastly, our first doubles team, Amelia Paone and Whitney Romweber, were able to win crucial matches at the end of the season to help us secure our conference title. I am so proud of the girls and what they were able to accomplish, and they all stepped up in key moments to make the team successful.”

Matkowski defeated Natasha Sharnoff of Shawnee, 3-6, 6-4, (12-10), in the first round and lost to Olivia Zuba of Marlboro, 6-4, 6-0, in the second round of the state singles tournament, both on Oct. 2.

The team was made up of seniors and juniors this year.

“There were no newcomers to the team this year. We had a well-established varsity team with the seniors and juniors that came out,” Borkowski said. “Next year, though, the varsity team is wide open for newcomers, new talent, and returning players.”

Borkowski, who concluded her third year as head coach, said the team’s five seniors will be missed.

“I cannot put into words how much these graduating seniors mean to this team, and to me,” she said. “On a personal level, the seniors this year are the girls that I started my coaching career with when they were freshmen. They were part of the team that I got to make my own after the other coaches had left the program. They were so gracious at the start of my career and helped me learn to be a coach; they really helped to form the way that I handle the team, and I am grateful for them.

“On an individual level, these girls are talented, both on and off the courts,” she said. “They are working part-time jobs, coaching tennis lessons, volunteering with the fire departments, applying to competitive college programs, dancing, taking AP [advanced placement] and IB [International Baccalaureate] courses, and doing all of these things well, while also going ‘all-in’ at our tennis practices and matches. I am constantly in awe of this senior class and will miss their talent, their dedication, and their charm immensely. You could not find a nicer group of girls and a more humble group―after all, they have been vastly successful on the courts over the last four years.”

Paone and Wartchow-Schmitt will be back next season.

“I have two juniors returning next year and then the team opens up to the new talent,” Borkowski said. “Amelia Paone and Isabella Wartchow-Schmitt will return as multiyear varsity starters and will be major assets to the team. After that, I am looking forward to seeing what new talent comes in, as well as looking for our JV members to improve and play on the varsity team next year.”