DENVILLE - Pick any "underdog" movie you want ... "Rocky" or "Remember the Titans" or "Rudy" or "We Are Marshall" ... and replace the star with the Morris Knolls High School girls tennis team.
      This is how Morris Knolls tennis coach Dan Benz was looking at his team the day following the Lady Eagles' 3-2 loss to Montclair in a North 1, Group 4 sectional quarterfinal match at Nishuane Park in Montclair on Thursday, Oct. 8.
      "They played with the passion of an underdog," Benz explains. "I could not believe the effort of these girls.
      "Watching the teams warming up I really thought we were in for a 5-0 loss. And then the match started and my girls put together one of the best efforts I've seen in the 28 years I have been coaching girls tennis here.
      "It reminded me of one of the first 'Rocky' movies, the one where he kept getting up and getting up and getting up."
      Morris Knolls, seeded No. 7 in the 13-team sectional field, opened tourney play with a 5-0 victory over No. 10 Passaic in a match played at Morris Knolls - the first state match at home in 21 years - on Monday, Oct. 5.
     It was while the team was celebrating its victory that Benz warned them that Montclair would present a brand of tennis at "... much higher level" than what they had been seeing and higher than they had been playing.
     Benz found out Thursday that, not only did his girls take his words to heart, they kicked their game up several notches as well.
     "I've coached more than 1,000 tennis matches here," said Benz, who also coaches the boys team in the spring, "and this belongs in the top five ... the kids really played with their hearts on their sleeve ... I can't tell you how proud I am of these girls."
     The matches, in order of their finish, with Benz' comments:
     Second singles Jean Lin won her match 6-3, 6-4 ... "This had to be Jean's best match of the season ... she was awesome!"
     First singles Brianna D'Adamo lost 5-7, 1-6 ... "Brianna lost a very tough and closely played first set and then just couldn't get together in the second set ... and their No. 1 played very well."
      The second doubles team of Lauren Pharaoh and Allie Rosano lost 1-6, 6-2, 1-2 ... "Montclair dominated the first set but we came back and won the second before losing the third ... again, they played very well in defeat."
     The first doubles team of Becky Alexander and Savita Sihka won 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 ... "This was the best match of the day ... the first set was a tough loss for them but they came storming back to win the second set by the same score. We go up 5-2 in the third set before Montclair comes back and wins the next two games to close to 5-4 before we finally win the third set after the last game goes to 10 or so deuces."
     The last match to finish was third singles and Knolls' Natasha Kazakevich was up against an opponent who brought a 12-1 record into the match.
    "The was the longest match of the day," Benz explains. "Natasha lost the first set 6-4 but recovered to take a 4-3 lead in the second set before the Montclair player came back real strong to win 6-4.
    "I thought sure this match would go into its third set."
    The Lady Eagles' practice session for Friday, Oct. 9, was called off as their appreciative coach wanted to reward them for their gallent efforts against Montclair.
    "No practice ... not this Friday," Benz explains. "We're having a pizza party instead ... I'm just so extremely proud of these girls."
    "Pizza With Benz" ... could be a movie.

Lady Eagles beat Morris Hills by 5-0 score again
     DENVILLE - The Lady Eagles of Morris Knolls stayed competition-ready for their state tournament date in two days by defeating sister-school Morris Hills, 5-0, in a match played at Knolls on Tuesday, Oct. 6.
    It is the second time this season that Morris Knolls has shut out Morris Hills.
    Knolls is scheduled to meet Montclair, the No. 2 seed what started out to be a 13-team North 1, Group 4 sectional field, at Nishuane Park on Thursday, Oct. 8, at 3 p.m. The Lady Eagles go into the match as the No. 7 seed.
    The Lady Eagles swept through the singles competition in straight sets as Brianna D'Adamo won at first singles 6-0, 6-1; Jean Lin won at second singles 6-0, 6-1; and third singles Natasha Kazakevich also won in two sets 6-2, 6-4.
    In doubles, Rebecca Alexander and Savita Suhka were taken to three sets by Cristina Carroll and Rachel Sitzer before the Lady Eagles won 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 in first doubles.
    The second doubles team of Allie Rosano and Lauren Pharoah won 6-3, 6-1.
    Knolls is 11-3 with the win; Hills slipped to 2-12.

Lady Eagles beat Passaic in state tourney, 5-0
     DENVILLE - For the first time in 21 years, the Morris Knolls High School girls tennis team enjoyed a "home-field advantage"  in a state section match.
     And the Lady Eagles took advantage of it very well, thank you.
     Morris Knolls, the seventh-seeded team in the North 1, Group 4 field of 13 teams, beat No. 10 Passaic, 5-0, at Knolls on Monday, Oct. 5, with the Lady Eagles winning each match in straight sets.
     "It was a great day for us," said Knolls coach Danny Benz after the match. "The girls played very, very well and it was nice to be able to play at home ... playing at home really helped."
      First-singles Brianna D'Adamo won her match 6-1, 6-3; Jean Lin won 6-1, 6-2 at second singles; and Natasha Kazakevich won her third-singles match 6-4, 6-1.
     In doubles, the first-doubles team of Savita Sukha and Rebecca Alexander won 6-4, 6-3 and Lauren Pharaoh and Allie Rosano won at second doubles 6-4, 6-1.
     Morris Knolls (10-3) moves on to face No. 2 Montclair in a quarterfinal round match that is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 8, at Nishuane Park in Montclair at 3 p.m.
     "We're expecting a much higher level of tennis from Montclair," Benz said. "But the team is very excited about getting this far in the state tournament ... so you never know what might happen.
     "We'll be there, that's for sure."

Eagles get home state game, 9th win

     DENVILLE - There was good news on two fronts for the Morris Knolls High School girls tennis team on Friday, Oct. 2.
     First, the Lady Eagles found out they had been seeded No. 7 in the upcoming North 1, Group 4 sectional state tournament, a seed  that means they will be playing on their home court in a 4 p.m. first-round match against No. 10 Passaic on Monday, Oct. 5.
     Later, the Lady Eagles (9-3) defeated Parsippany Hills, 4-1, reversing a 3-2 loss to the same team earlier in the season.
      The match was clinched by the three singles players, with each of them winning in straight sets.
      First-singles Brianna D'Adamo won 6-0, 6-2; Jean Lin wont 7-5, 6-3 at second singles; and Natasha Kazakevich won her third-singles match by taking both sets 6-1.
     The first doubles team of Savita Sukha and Rebecca Alexander won its match 6-4, 6-1 and the second-doubles team of Lauren Pharaoh and Alexandra Rosano came very close in making it a sweep for the day with a 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7-5) loss at second singles.
     "I told the girls before the match that it was my fault we lost to them earlier in the year," said Knolls head coach Dan Benz after the victory. "I told them I didn't prepare them for the match properly.
     Then I told them that today was our day...that Parsippany had its day and now it was our turn. I told them I thought all along that we had the better team.
     "The girls responded very well ... they all played great! And I was really proud of our second-singles players for coming back the way they did and battling it out right to the end."
     As for the state tournament, the NJSIAA announced the brackets Friday morning and Benz & Co. got the news that they had a home match.
     "This is our first home match in the state tournament since 1988," Benz said. "And that team upset Livingston to win the conference title and then went on to win the state sectional that year.
    "As for this year's team, the girls are very excited about playing a state tournament game at home."
     The winner of the Morris Knolls-Passaic match moves on to the quarterfinals in the field of 13 where No. 2 seed Montclair, which drew a first-round bye, awaits.
     Livingston is the No. 1 seed.
     What if ... 

Lady Eagles notch No. 8
       DENVILLE - The Morris Knolls High School girls tennis team won its eighth match in 11 outings on the season with a 5-0 victory over Roxbury on the Morris Knolls courts on Thursday, Oct. 1.
      The Lady Eagles ran off five straight-set victories in a row as first-singles Brianna D'Adamo won 6-2, 6-2; second singles Jean Lin won 6-0, 6-2; and Natasha Kazakevitch won 6-1, 6-3 in third singles.
    The first-doubles team of Rebecca Alexander and Savita Sikha won 6-2, 6-1 and the second-doubles team of Lauren Pharaoh and Allie Rosano won 6-1, 6-1.
 
Knolls blanks sister-school Morris Hills
     DENVILLE - The Morris Knolls High School girls tennis team improved its record to 7-3 with a 5-0 victory over sister-school Morris Hills in a match played at Morris Hills on Wednesday, Sept. 30.
     All three singles matches went in straight sets as Brianna D'Adamo beat Avni Senjalia in first singles 6-0, 6-0; Jean Lin defeated Audrey Lee 6-3, 6-0 in second singles; and Natasha Kazakevich won her third-singles match over Emily Jamison 6-2, 6-3.
     In the closest match of the day, the Knolls first-doubles team of Savita Sukha and Rebecca Alexander won a three-setter over Cristina Carroll and Rachel Sitzer.
     Carroll-Sitzer won the first set 7-5, but Sukha-Alexander rallied to win the next two sets 6-3 and 6-4 and pull out the match..
    The Morris Knolls second doubles team of Lauren Pharaoh and Ali Rosano defeated Silvia Stantcheva and Yatee Dave 2-6, 2-6.
      Morris Hills is 2-9.

     DENVILLE - Morris Knolls High School drew seeded postions in four of the five championship flights for the 2009 Morris County Girls Tennis Tournament that starts its two-day run at Villa Walsh and Delbarton School on Friday, Sept. 25.
    The competition begins at 8 a.m. each day.
    Knolls third-singles Natasha Kazakevich was seeded No. 8 and faces No. 9 Jacklyn Weisz of Montville in first-round action.
     No. 9 seed Jean Lin faces top-seed Jamie Campisi of Villa Walsh in a first-round match at second singles and unseeded Brianna D'Adamo will face unseeded Gina Pioppi of Roxbury in a first-singles preliminary-round match.
     Both Lady Eagles doubles team were awarded ninth-seeded spots and will open tournament play with first-round matches.
     The first doubles team of Rebecca Alexander and Savita Sikha will face Montville's No. 8 seeded team of Danielle Rakopwitz and Nicole Armenti and Knolls' second doubles team of Lauren Pharaoh and Allie Rosano goes up against the other Montville doubles team - Jen Abrol and Pam Piminta.
    "We are looking forward to the county tournament," said Knolls tennis coach Dan Benz after the tournament was seeded Wednesday (Sept. 23) evening. "We're in a position where our players will meet first- or second-seed players from other schools if we win our first matches, but we're going into the tournament with the feeling that anything can happen.
     "I'm very proud of what these kids have accomplished so far ... they're 6-2 and have qualified for the state tournament and we feel we have a lot of good tennis left in us."

Randolph defeats Knolls, 4-1
     DENVILLE - On a match held the day before the county tournament was to open play, Morris Knolls lost to Randolph, 4-1, at Randolph.
     The Lady Eagles are 6-3.
 
Lady Eagles win sixth match of the season
     DENVILLE - Morris Knolls, a state tournament berth safely in hand, improved its record to 6-2 by beating Mount Olive, 4-1, in a high school girls tennis match at Mount Olive on Wednesday, Sept. 23.
    First singles Brianna D'Adamo won her match 6-2, 6-3 and second singles Jean Lin was extended to three sets before winning 5-7, 6-3, 7-5.
     Both doubles teams won with Rebecca Alexander and Savita Sikha winning at first doubles 6-2, 6-1 and Lauren Pharaoh and Allie Rosano beating their second-doubles foes 6-1, 6-0.
    Natasha Kazakevich, playing third singles for the Lady Eagles, lost her match 6-4, 6-2.
     In a match played Tuesday, Sept. 22, Morris Knolls dropped a 5-0 decision to county-power Mendham.

    DENVILLE - When Dan Benz took the job as girls tennis coach at Morris Knolls High School almost three decades ago, he was told he would lose more matches than he won.
    A lack of year-round players ... a lack of comprehensive feeder systems from the towns in Knolls' sending district ... a schedule that found Benz' Lady Eagles playing teams with club players throughout their lineups.
    Still, Benz has found the wins he has had with his teams very rewarding and, armed with a 222-291 career record going into his 28th season, has the feeling that his 2009 team could produce Knolls' first winning season in 21 years.
    The Lady Eagles finished 11-12 and qualified for the state tournament last year - Benz' best season in 20 years.
    The players on year's team have set goals that Benz feels are within reach, which puts a winning season within reach, also..
    "The girls' goals are to make the state tournament again, finish with a winning record, and place in the upper half of the county tournament," Benz was saying the other day. "We'e in a new conference and there are a lot of question marks concerning our opposition, but I still feel we could have a good year."
     Benz returns four varsity players and will fill in the remaining three spots in the staring lineup with girls from last year's junior varsity team, girls who have "... improved a great deal from last season," according to Benz.
     "The kids have a great attitude, get along well and work real well together," Benz says. "Plus, they are very excited about the upcoming season."
    Senior captains Brianna D'Adamo and Jean Lin waged a close battle in the preseason challenge matches with D'Adamo winning the No. 1 singles spot and Lin taking the No. 2 singles spot. 
    D'Adamo played third singles last year while Lin, who is in her fourth varsity season, played at first singles.
    Sophomore Natasha Kazakevich, who played second doubles last year as a freshman, is at the No. 3 singles spot this time around.
    Junior Savita Sukha, in her third year on the varsity, has moved up to first doubles this season after playing second doubles last year.
    Rebecca Alexander, a sophomore who played on the junior varsity last year, joins Sukha at first doubles and last year's JV first doubles team of Lauren Pharaoh and Alexandra Rosano, both seniors this year, are at second doubles.
    "We lost second singles Anita Sukha and the first doubles team of Rosey Chirayath and Oleksandra Korotchuk to graduation this past June," Benz says. "But four experienced players back and three solid players from the junior varsity give us the hope to do better than we did last season."
     The Lady Eagles play in the American Division of the newly formed North Jersey Athletic Conference along with Randolph, Vernon, Roxbury, Morristown, West Morris and Mount Olive.
     Knolls will also play National Division foes Morris Hills (twice), High Point, Montville, Parsippany Hills, Pope John and Sparta. Independence Division foe Morris Catholic is also on the schedule.
     The Lady Eagles open their season on Thursday, Sept. 10, with a 4 p.m. match against Parsippany Hills at Parsippany.

      The Morris Knolls Girls Tennis Schedule
 September 10 at Parsippany Hills; 15 Vernon; 17 Morris Catholic; 21 at Pope John; 22 Mendham; 24 at Randolph; 25-26 Morris County Tournament; 30 at Morris Hills.
 October 1 Roxbury; 5 at Sparta; 7 Montville; 8 at High Point; 12 West Morris; 13 Mount Olive; 15 Morristown.
 Note: All matches start at 4 p.m. except for the county tournament, which will probably start at 8 a.m.

(Bob Decker, who wrote this article, can be reached at bobdecker@deckbob.com)