Jaimson's victory at No. 3 singles clinches 3-2 win over Pope John

     ROCKAWAY - Two three-set victories and Emily Jaimson's clinching three-set win at third singles sent the Morris Hills High School girls tennis team to its second victory in its last three outings, a 3-2 win over Pope John at Pope John on Monday, Oct. 12.
    The victory was the fourth of the season for Hills against 13 losses and avenged an early 4-1 loss to Pope John in a match played at Morris Hills.

     Jaimson's 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 win - the last match to be concluded - clinched the verdict for Morris Hills. With the scored tied 4-4 in the third set, Jaimson held serve to take a 5-4 lead and then broke serve in the next game to clinch her victory and the win for the team.

     "This was a very nice victory for us .. especially after the way they beat us earlier in the season," Bill Neiman, the Lady Knights' head coach, said after the match. "Emily met the challenge and played nice tennis in her last two sets to seal the win for us.

     "All the girls played well ... they have been playing as hard as they can all season and it's nice to see all that effort rewarded with a win such as this."
    The first-doubles team of Cristina Carroll and Rachel Sitzer also rallied to win, losing the first set 2-6 before coming back to win the next two sets 6-2, 6-0.
    And second-singles Audrey Lee, the only straight set winner for the Lady Knights, battled throughout her match, winning the first set 6-4 before being taken into a tie-breaker in the second set where she won 7-6 (8-6).
    In the other matches for Morris Hills first singles Avni Senjalia lost 0-6, 1-6 and the second-doubles team of Yatee Dave and Silvia Stantcheva lost 3-6, 1-6.

Hills falls to Morristown, 5-0

     ROCKAWAY - The Morris Hills High School girls tennis team saw its record dip to 3-13 with a 5-0 loss to Morristown at Morristown on Friday, Oct. 9.
      Avni Senjalia, Audrey Lee and Emily Jamison competed at singles and lost their matches by straight sets.
      First doubles Cristina Carroll and Rachel Sitzer came close to winning the only set for the Lady Knights, losing their first set 5-7 on the way to a straight-set defeat. Yatee Dave and Silvia Stantcheva also lost in straight sets at second doubles.

Lady Knight snap 8-match skid with 4-1 win over Kinnelon
     ROCKAWAY - The Morris Hills High School girls tennis team broke an eight-match losing streak with a 4-1 victory over Kinnelon in a matched played at Morris Hills on Thursday, Oct. 8.
     Audrey Lee and Emily Jamison won their singles matches in straight sets with Lee winning 6-2, 6-0 at second singles and Jamison taking a 6-2, 6-1 decision at third singles.
    The first-doubles team of Cristina Carroll and Rachel Sitzer won in three sets, winning the third set 7-5 after losing a second-set tie-breaker 6-7 (5-7).
    Silvia Stantcheva and Yatee Dave won in straight sets, taking a 6-4, 6-3 decision at second doubles.
    Avni Senjalia came close to making it a sweep, losing a 1-6, 6-7 (3-7) decision at first singles.
    The win left Morris Hills with a 3-10 record for the season; Kinnelon is 3-12.

Lady Knights edged by Vernon, 3-2
    ROCKAWAY - The Morris Hills High School girls tennis team came close but couldn't nail down win No. 3 as the Lady Knights lost a 3-2 decision to Vernon in a match played at Vernon on Wednesday, Oct. 7.
    Emily Jamison, playing third singles for the Lady Knights, won her match 6-1, 6-1 and the first doubles team of Cristina Carroll and Rachel Sitzer won their match in straight sets, too, posting at 6-4, 6-3 victory for Morris Hills.
     In other matches, No. 1 singles Avni Senjalia lost 6-3, 6-3; No. 2 singles Audrey Lee lost 6-3, 6-0; and the second doubles team of Yatee Dave and Dilvia Stantcheva went three sets before losing a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
 Morris Hills is 2-13; Vernon squared its season record at 6-6.

Lady Knights bow to sister-School Morris Knolls
    ROCKAWAY - The first doubles team of Cristina Carroll and Rachel Sitzer won the only set of the match for Morris Hills as the Lady Knights lost a 5-0 verdict to sister-school Morris Knolls at Knolls on Tuesday, Oct. 6.
    Carroll-Sitzer won the first set of their match against Rebeccca Alexander and Savita Suhka by a 6-2 score but Knolls duo came back and won the next two sets 6-2, 6-3.
    In other matches for Morris Hills, Avni Senjalia lost at first singles 6-0, 6-1; Audrew Lee lost at second singles; 6-0, 6-1; and Emily Jamison lost her third singles match 6-2, 6-4. Yate Dave and Silvia Stantcheva, the Lady Knights? second doubles team, lost a 6-3, 6-1 decision. 
    Morris Knolls improved to 11-3 with the win; Morris Hills slipped to 2-12.

Lady Knights blanked by Mendham
       ROCKAWAY - The Morris Hills High School girls tennis team ran into county power Mendham and came away with a 5-0 in a match played at Morris Hills on Monday, Oct. 5.
      First-singles Avni Senjalia won the only game in singles for the Lady Knights, losing a 6-1, 6-0 decision while second singles Audrey Lee and third singles Emily Jamison lost their matches at love.
      Cristina Carroll and Rachel Sitzer lost 6-3, 6-1 at first doubles and the second double of Silvia Stantcheva and Yatee Dave lost 6-2, 6-0.
       Morris Hills fell to 2-11 with the loss; Mendham improved to 10-1.

Knights bow to Parsippany
    ROCKAWAY - Emily Jamison won at third singles and Cristina Carroll and Rachel Sitzer combined to win at first doubles as the Morris Hills High School girls tennis team dropped a 3-2 match to Parsippany High School at Parsippany on Friday, Oct. 2.
      Jamison won her match 6-2, 6-3 and the Carroll-Sitzer tandem also won in straight sets, stopping their opponents 6-3, 6-3.
       In other matches, first singles Avni Senjalia lost her match at love; second singles Audrey Lee lost 6-1, 6-4; and Yatee Dave and Silvia Stantcheva lost their battle at second single by a 6-3, 6-4 score.
       Morris Hills is 2-10; Parsippany improved to 6-6.     

Lady Knights blanked by Knolls
      ROCKAWAY - Cristina Carroll and Rachel Sitzer's three-set defeat in first doubles was the closest Morris Hills came to getting a team point as the Lady Knights fell to sister-school Morris Hills, 5-0, in a match played at Morris Hills here on Wednesday, Sept. 30.
    Carroll and Sitzer beat the Knolls' team of Savita Sukha and Rebecca Alexander 7-5 in the first set before the Lady Eagles came back with 6-3 and 6-4 victories in the next two sets to win the match.
   In singles, Avni Senjalia lost to Brianna D?Adamo 6-0, 6-0; Audrey Lee lost to Jean Lin 6-3, 6-0; and Emily Jamison lost a 6-2, 6-3 decision to Natasha Kazakevich.
     In second doubles, the Lady Knights? Silvia Stantcheva and Yatee Dave lost to Lauren Pharaoh and Ali Rosano 2-6, 2-6.
     Morris Hills is 2-9; Knolls improved to 7-3.

Lady Knights set for County Tourney
     ROCKAWAY - Morris Hills third-singles Emily Jamison drew the only seeded position for the Lady Knights as they head into the 2009 Morris County Girls Tennis Tournament that is scheduled to start its two-day competion at 8 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 25, at Villa Walsh and Delbarton School.
    Jamison was seeded No. 10 and will face No. 7 seed Grace Holzer of Chatham in a first-round match.
     The unseeded Lady Knights will be playing preliminary-round matches Friday as Avni Senjalia meets Molly Smith of Montville at first singles; Audey Lee faces Breona Lembeck of Roxbury in second singles; the first double team of Cristina Carroll and Rachel Sitzer faces Dana Mariney and Kate Kim of Madison; and Yatee Dave and Silvia Stantcheva, the Knights No. 2 doubles team, plays the Parsippany team of Courtney Ford and Jessica Burns.

Lady Knights fall to West Morris
     ROCKAWAY - Morris Hills faced once-beaten West Morris in a high school girls tennis match at West Morris on Wednesday, Sept. 23, and dropped a 5-0 decision with four of the five matches decided in straight sets.
 The first doubles team of Chistin Carroll and Rachel Sitzer won their first set 7-6 before losing the next two 1-6, 3-6 to account for the only set won by the Lady Knights.
    First singles Avni Senjalia, second singles Audrey Lee and third singles Emily Jamison combined to win but two games in losing the three singles matches. The second doubles team of Yatee Dave and Silvia Stantcheva lost 1-6, 3-6.
     Morris Hills fell to 2-6 with the loss; West Morris is now 5-1.

Lady Knights topple High Point
    ROCKAWAY - The Morris Hills High School girls tennis team won its second match of the season by defeating High Point, 4-1, at High Point on Monday, Sept. 21.
    Both doubles matches went three sets with the fist doubles team of Cristina Carroll and Rachel Sitzer winning 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-3 and the second doubles team of Yatee Dave and Silvia Stantcheve rallying for a 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 victory.
    Second singles Audrey Lee won 6-4, 6-0; third singles Emily Jamison won 6-1, 6-0; and first singles Avni Senjalia went three sets before falling 2-6, 6-4, 3-6.
     The win moved the Lady Knights season record to 2-5 while High Point fell to 0-6 with the loss.

Montville edges Morris Hills, 3-2
     ROCKAWAY - Emily Jamison won at third singles and the team of Yatee Dave and Silvia Stantcheve won at second doubles as Morris Hills lost a high school girls tennis match to Montville, 3-2, at Montville on Thursday, Sept. 17.
      Jamison won in straight sets, winning each by a score of 6-1. The Dave-Stantcheve team also won in two sets, 6-4, 6-1.
      In other matches first singles Avni Senjala lost 1-6, 0-6; second singles Audrey Lee lost 2-6, 2-6; and the first doubles team of Cristina Carrollo and Rachel Sitzer fell 2-6. 5-7.
      Morris Hills is now 1-5 on the season; Montville is to 2-4.

Lady Knights put up a fight in 5-0 loss
    ROCKAWAY - Sparta handed Morris Hills a 5-0 defeat in high school girls tennis on Tuesday, Sept. 15 ... but this was anything but a "typica"  5-0 match where the winning team dominates each match.
    Emily Jamison, playing third singles for the Lady Knights, lost her match in straight sets, but the score in each was 5-7.
    The team of Cristina Carroll and Rachel Sitzer were also in their match to the last point in a 3-6, 5-7 loss at first doubles.
    In other matches, Avini Senjalia lost at love at first singles; Sudrey Lee lost 1-6, 3-6 at second singles; and the second doubles team of Yatee Dave and Silvia Stantcheve lost 2-6, 3-6.
    The loss was the third for Morris Hills in four matches; Sparta improved to 2-2.

Lady Knights fall to Pope John

     ROCKAWAY - Morris Hills High School second-singles Audrey Lee came back from a first-set loss to win her match to account for the only point in a 4-1 loss to Pope John in a tennis mach played at Morris Hills Monday, Sept. 14.
     Lee lost her first set 7-5 before rallying for a 6-4 win in the second set and then closing out the match with a 6-1 win in the third and final set. Lee is 2-1 for the season.
     Third singles Emily Jamison and the first doubles team of Cristina Carroll and Rachael Sitzer each took their Pope John opponents to three sets before losing.
      Jamison lost her first set 6-2, tied the match with a 6-1 win in the second set and then lost the third set 7-6, losing the tiebreaker by a 7-3 count.
     Carroll and Sitzer, who had won their first two matches of the season, won their first set 7-6, taking the tie-breaker 9-7. The Pope John team rallied to win the next two sets 7-5 and 6-3, however, to take the marathon match.
     In other matches, first singles Avni Senjalia lost 6-0, 6-1 and the second doubles team of Yatee Dave and Silvia Stantcheva fell 6-4, 6-2.
      Morris Hills is 1-2 after its first three matches.

Lady Knights top Roxbury, 4-1
         ROCKAWAY - The Morris Hills tennis team squared its season record at 1-1 with a 4-1 victory over Roxbury at Morris Hills on Thursday, Sept. 10.
       Audrey Lee won a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 decision at second singles and Emily Jamison won her third-single match 6-1, 6-2.
     In first doubles, Christina Carroll and Rachel Sitzer won their match 6-3, 6-2 and the second doubles team of Yatee Dave and Silvia Stantcheva won 6-3, 6-2.
     Avni Senjalia lost a first-set tiebreaker in her 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 loss at first singles for the only Roxbury (0-2) point.

Lady Knights drop opener to Whippany Park

     ROCKAWAY - The Morris Hills High School girls tennis team opened its 2009 fall season by bowing to Whippany Park, 4-1, on Wednesday, Sept. 9, at the Morris Hills courts.
     The first doubles team of Cristina Carroll and Rachel Sitzer got the only points for the Lady Knights as they won their match 6-3, 7-6 (7-5).
     Avni Senjalia, Audrey Lee and Emilie Chen lost their singles matches in straight sets with Chen losing a first-set tie-breaker before dropping the second set 6-1.
     The second doubles team of Yatee Dave and Silvia Stantcheva lost their match 6-4, 6-0.
     Whippany Park improved to 2-0 with the victory.

Knights lack varsity experience;
Nieman: 'Our goal is to improve'

     ROCKAWAY - Bill Nieman enters his 23d season as head coach of the Morris Hill High School girls tennis team with only two of the seven starting players returning from last year's 7-15 team.
     "It's going to be a rough year for us," Nieman was saying over the phone from his home on Monday, August 31. "With so little varsity experience on the varsity level, we're going to have a very hard time.
     "Our goal is to have the girls improve with each practice session and to learn from each match."
     As of Monday, the Lady Knights have one more challenge match to go before their singles lineup will be determined.
     Avni Senjalia, a senior co-captain who played third singles last year, will be at No. 1 singles this season.
     The Nos. 2 and 3 singles spots will be determined by the final challenge match between Emily Jamison and Audrey Lee that is scheduled to be played Tuesday, Sept. 1.
     Jamison is a junior who was a member of the junior varsity team last season and Lee is a sophomore who played varsity at second doubles last year.
     The two doubles teams will be determined by another series of challenge matches that will start after the singles lineup has been set.
     Five players are vying for the four spots with four of the five coming up form the junior varsity and the fifth trying high school competitive tennis for the first time.
     Cristina Carroll, a senior co-captain, is up from the JVs; Rachel Sitzer, a junior, is trying tennis after playing soccer the past two falls; and senior Yatee Dave and juniors Silvia Stantcheva and Jenny Purner each played junior varsity tennis last year.
     Morris Hills will compete in the newly formed Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) in the National Division this season. Mendham, Montville, Sparta, Parsippany Hills and Pope John are also in the division.
     The Lady Knights will also face all seven teams in the American Division - Randolph, Vernon, Morris Knolls (twice), Roxbury, Morristown, West Morris and Mount Olive.
     Whippany Park, Kinnelon and Mountain Lakes are in the Liberty Division; Morris Catholic and Parsippany are in the Independence Division; Newton, Sussex Tech and Lenape Valley are in the Freedom Division.
     Nieman figures the strength of schedule this year to be equal to last year's when the Lady Knights were in the Hills Division of the Iron Hills Conference.
     "We lost some very good opponents in Summit, West Essex and Chatham," Nieman says. "But we also picked up some programs such as Sparta, Montville, Morristown, Randolph and West Morris that are good year-in and year-out."
     The Lady Knights open their season on Wednesday, Sept. 9, with a 4 p.m. match against Whippany Park at the Morris Hills courts.
     The Morris Hills Girls Tennis Schedule
 September 9 Whippany Park; 10 at Roxbury (CCM); 11 Newton; 15 Sparta; 16 Lenape Valley; 17 at Montville; 21 High Point; 22 at West Morris; 24 Parsippany Hills; 25-26 Morris County Tournament; 29 at Mountain Lakes; 30. Morris Knolls.
 October 2 at Parsippany; 5 Mendham; 6 at Morris Knolls; 7 at Vernon; 8 Morristown; 9 Kinnelon; 12 at Pope John; 13 at Randolph; 15 at Mount Olive; 16 Morris Catholic.
 Note: All matches start at 4 p.m.