Pressure period has passed for Haddonfield girls’ tennis

For 99 percent of high school athletes, pressure is back-loaded.

It builds during the course of a season. It peaks during the state tournament.

It's different for the girls on the Haddonfield tennis team. These Bulldogs sweat the most in the summer, and not because of the heat.

"After that, it's all fun," Haddonfield senior No. 2 singles Martha Theodoris said.

Haddonfield won its third consecutive Group 2 state title on Wednesday. The Bulldogs beat Pascack Hills in the state semifinals and Gov. Livingston in the state finals at Mercer County Park.

Haddonfield is 31-0. The Bulldogs have won 63 matches in a row. They are the defending champion and No. 1 seed in the Tournament of Champions, with their first match set for Tuesday's semifinals.

So the athletes and coach Jeff Holman are in the middle of an intense week.

But it's nothing like the last week in August.

"That's the most stressful thing," Haddonfield senior No. 3 singles Spencer Ng said. "You're coming off a fun summer and all of a sudden, it's all this pressure."

Because Haddonfield has so many good players – in truth, Holman probably could take his top 14 and field the Nos. 1 and 2 teams in South Jersey – those preseason challenge matches represent some of the most intense competition of the season.

Holman has to settle on his top seven. And once he does, his policy is that the top seven stay in the lineup for the entire season, barring injury or other unforeseen development.

No player has moved around in the lineup during Haddonfield's three-year championship run as much as Theodoris.

She was a solid No. 2 singles player as a sophomore, winning more than 30 matches. She moved down to No. 1 doubles as a junior, as then-freshman Taylor Ng moved into the lineup at No. 1 singles and then-junior Meghan Burns won the No. 2 singles spot.

This season, Theodoris moved back to No. 2 singles, as Burns moved down to No. 1 doubles to pair with junior Catherine Senopoulos, Theodoris' partner from 2009.

"Those first couple of weeks, there's a lot of competition," Theodoris said. "Then we shut it off and we're all about what's best for the team."

Theodoris has a 29-2 record this season. She won both her matches in straight sets Wednesday, losing a total of three games.

Last season, Theodoris and Senopoulos went a combined 44-1 and finished second in the state doubles tournament. For her career, Theodoris is 136-17.

"It's like two different sports," Theodoris said of singles and doubles. "I can't say I like one more than the other because they are different games. I like them both."

Holman, who agonizes over challenge matches in August more than state-tournament battles in October, said Theodoris' switch was one of the more interesting ones of his illustrious career.

"Martha and Catherine probably were our best doubles team ever," Holman said. "And Meghan was the hero last year in singles. So some people might have looked at that move and seen it as stupid."

The players made the move look smart. Theodoris has flourished back at No. 2 singles, and Burns and Senopoulos have been a terrific combination, reaching the finals of the state doubles tournament and losing just once in team competition.

Haddonfield has won 25 of its matches by a 5-0 score. The Bulldogs have won by a 3-2 score just once, against Holmdel in the finals of the Moorestown Classic.

But things are likely to tighten up this week, with the T of C semifinals against the Red Bank Catholic-Newark Academy winner and a likely matchup with No. 2 seed Westfield in the T of C finals.

Finally, the Bulldogs will feel the pressure.

But it still won't be like August on Centennial Courts.

"This is all fun for us," Theodoris said. "After we get through those two weeks in the summer, we all support each other and we just have fun."