By Frank Rizzo
MONTICELLO — September 29, 2000 — The Monticello tennis team made history by beating Port Jervis 4-3 in an Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association (OCIAA) Central Conference match on Wednesday.
“I’ve been coaching nine years and we’ve never beaten them,” noted Monticello coach Urvashi “Tutu” Gupta. “And we’ve never won a match against them — so I was told.
“We’ve lost badly to Port Jervis over the years,” she added.
On September 15, Monticello hosted Port Jervis and was ahead 3-1 with three matches suspended because of rain. No makeup date has been set yet.
Results of Wednesday’s contest:
First singles: Jayme Ahmed (PJ) defeated Caitlin Gunther 6-0, 6-0. Though she lost to a state caliber player, Gunther “is playing beautiful tennis,” according to Gupta. The soph is in her fourth year on the varsity, and was the first singles last year as well.
Second singles: Erin Jenks (PJ) beat Kate Davidoff 6-1, 6-2. Chosen as captain by her teammates (as were her sisters Amy and Carrie, both Monticello graduates), Davidoff is a senior in her fourth year. This is her second year at second singles. In her September 15th match against Jenks, Davidoff was down 5-4 in the second set when rains stopped the match. She lost the first set 7-5.
Third singles: Brady Dollard (M) beat Amanda Hess 7-5, 6-2. Dollard, a soph, moved up from first doubles a year ago and beat out Ashley Bloom for the third singles spot.
Fourth singles: Ashley Bloom (M) defeated Theresa Usischon 6-1, 6-0. Bloom is a freshman in her third year on varsity.
First doubles: Carolyn Larson-Jennifer Larson (PJ) defeated Jen Franklin and Julie Stackhouse 6-1, 6-2. Franklin and Stackhouse are both seniors. Stackhouse was fourth singles in 1999 while Franklin returns after a year’s absence.
Second doubles: Casey Berson and Lauren Brinkerhoff (M) defeated Morgan Ehre and Jen Keane 6-3, 6-2. Both Berson and Brinkerhoff are sophs and have lost just one match in the past two years.
Third doubles: Kim Franklin and Rebecca Roberts (M) defeated Colleen Ney-Dana Romer 6-1, 6-0. Franklin, an eighth-grader and Roberts, a senior, got the clinching win.
With the victory, Monticello improves to 5–1 in conference play and 6–1 overall. The Lady Panthers’ sole loss was to Valley Central (7–1, 7–0 conference), 4-3 on September 20. The Panthers will travel to Valley Central next Wednesday for a rematch.
That first encounter was competitive, with six of the seven matches going to three sets. Winners for Monticello were Gunther, Bloom, and Franklin-Stackhouse.
“This is the best team I’ve ever had, with the best record ever [at this stage of the season],” Gupta noted.
Gupta noted out a compelling reason behind the Panthers’ success: “They’re all my students, I’ve had ’em five or six years,” pointed out the professional tennis instructor.
Though young, the Panthers have had plenty of court varsity experience, having passed the tough physical test modified-level students need in order to play jayvee or varsity.