The RCSJ Men's Tennis team captured their third straight Region 19 championship this weekend at Mercer County Park in convincing fashion, and once again punched their ticket to the NJCAA Division III National Tournament.
The Roadrunner Women's Team, meanwhile, placed a solid second in the Region 19 tournament in a close loss to Camden County College.
Men's Tournament
The Runners played consistently well throughout the singles and doubles competition. The Roadrunner singles and doubles champs included:
Region Champions included:
4th Singles: Justin Abrego
5th Singles: Brayan Cardenas
6th Singles: Mike Olsen
1st Doubles: Kyle Deacon/Rich Feldman
2nd Doubles: Christian Rafanello/Justin Abrego
3rd Doubles: Brayan Cardenas/Nick Meehan
The championship was the third straight for RCSJ and 11th in program history. The Runners grabbed the team title with 15 points followed by Ocean County (10), Brookdale (3) and Mercer (0).
Click Here for NJCAA Region 19 Men's Photo Highlights
Cliick Here for Region 19 Women's Photo Highlights
Head coach Brian Rowan noted that his players performed at their highest levels when it counted most.
"I'm really proud of the way our players performed today and responded after some tough singles matches – we played absolutely our best tennis of the season in those doubles championship matches to clinch the title and close out the day. A lot of what we practice really showed up in those matches so you love to see that. We need to carry this momentum into the next few weeks."
Among the players, sophomore Justin Abrego enjoyed his finest outing of the campaign. He captured the 4th singles title and then teamed up with Christian Rafanello to win the 2nd doubles crown in a tough battle. Abrego had competed for the RCSJ program two years ago in 2022 and narrowly lost out on a chance to win a Region title -- but his performance this weekend proved to be key to the Runners' title run.
"I wanted to come in here today and help the team any way I could," said Justin. "I'm glad to have played a role. It's been a great season."
Sophomore Kyle Deacon and freshman Rich Feldman, meanwhile, also pulled through in the clutch in winning the 1st Doubles title after both players placed as region runner-up in their singles competition. In the No. 1 double title match vs. Brookdale, Deacon proved dominant around the nets while Feldman was flawless on serves and returns to spark the win. The doubles title was the second straight for Deacon, who won a Region crown at No. 1 doubles last season.
Next up for the Runners an automatic berth to the NJCAA D III National Championship Tournament, set for May 10-12 at Champions Club in Chattanooga, TN. RCSJ finished second nationally in the 2023 tournament.
Women's Tournament
The Roadrunner Women's team, guided by fist-year coach Mary Jewett, finished as Region runner-up to Camden CC in a tight battle. The Runners led the team race by one point heading into Saturday's finals, but the Cougars emerged victorious with key wins in singles and doubles matches.
For the Runners, freshman Brynn Danley captured the 6th Singles title, and then teamed with freshman Janelle Colon to claim the 3rd doubles crown. Also performing well for RCSJ were standouts Sydney Ivey and Melissa Blanchard.
The solid showing occurred despite a slow start to the regular season, when the youthful Runners dropped their first four dual meets before winning three of the final five matches in advance of the Region 19 tournament.
"We expected to be competitive based on all of the improvement we showed from the middle to the end of the regular season," said Jewett. "And these players stepped up and played very well. We are proud of everyone who competed for us here."
Danley, who also competed on the women's soccer team, had never competed in tennis until the start of the current season.
"I was asked to give it a try, and luckily I was able to pick up pretty quickly," said Danley. "The coaches really helped me a lot and were very patient. I'm glad I was part of this team -- it's been a great experience!"