Bears prove to be one of state's elite teams
East Brunswick girls finish second at Tournament of Champions
BY RICHARD JEROME
Staff Writer

PHOTOS BY JEFF GRANIT staff East Brunswick freshman Stef Balasa (above) and senior Anna Tarasova (below) were among the top 1-2 punches in the state this year, and were a big reason why the Bears reached the Tournament of Champions final before falling to state champion Millburn.

It was a stellar year for the East Brunswick High School girls tennis team, as head coach Karyn Grant's 20-1 Bears swept four titles - the Greater Middlesex Conference, the Red Division, and the Group IV sectionals and states.

EBHS made it all the way to the finals of the Tournament of Champions before finally falling to Millburn. The Bears were dominant throughout the season, winning almost all of their matches by 5-0 scores.

"This has been such an exciting year for the team and for me," Grant said. "Winning the sections and the states were really an accomplishment. It was a talented team that worked extremely hard and it led to good results."

The keys to the Bears' success were chemistry and team spirit. As it happened, some of the girls wound up moving down a notch from their positions last year - in fact, the second and third singles starters from 2005 played doubles this fall. But everyone seemed to adapt smoothly to the new roles.

A primary reason for the shakeup was the emergence of Stef Balasa, a freshman, at first singles. According to Grant, the precocious ninth-grader made a crucial difference in the club's fortunes.

"We won the sectionals last year but lost in the state Group IVs," Grant said. "Stef was a shot in the arm for us this year, a real catalyst. She's kind of tall and thin, maybe about 85 pounds, but she hits the cover off the ball, really pounds it. She's amazing. Her serves are incredible and her baseline and net play are excellent."

Moving down to number two this year, after three years in the top spot, was senior Anna Tarasova, who proved the old adage that there is no "i" in team.

"She was very instrumental to our success," Grant said. "Anna's a powerful, muscular girl, who really stepped up. Moving down to number two after three years, some people might have had a problem with that, but she took it beautifully and was a tremendous performer."

Some people moved up in the ranks this year of course, namely third singles player Sonia Tsey, who was a member of the doubles team last fall, earning her promotion on the strength of some serious off-season work. Grant is unqualified in her praise.

"She's the strongest third singles player I've ever had," she said. "Sonia is very aggressive, which is unusual for a number three player. Third singles players are usually very consistent, they hit a lot of shots. But Sonia was more than that and she was undefeated for us this year."

The first doubles team consisted of last year's second and third singles players, respectively, senior Luiza Kiyamova and junior Kristina Moehle. Again, the two Bears accepted their new roles with grace.

"When they started the season they were really two singles players playing doubles, but they worked very hard to coordinate as a team," said Grant "They made it to the state final eight, which is a great achievement."

The second doubles team of Hillary Rosen and Mallory Highstein has only one conference loss and made it to the TOC finals.

Overall, of course, Grant is elated with the Bears' performance. It was a matter of all things coming together, with strength running up and down the lineup.

"We were just a very solid team from top to bottom," she said. "It was wonderful knowing that I didn't have to worry, that I could be confident in every performer at every position."