Athlete(s) of the Week: Andrew Lee and Yuki Takahashi

 The Fort Lee boys tennis team finished the regular season with an impressive record of 11-1, and their first doubles team had an impressive stat line of their own. Andrew Lee and Yuki Takahashi headed into the County Tournament undefeated with a record of 12-0.  They also won their preliminary match  for the County Tournament Friday against Paramus.

 Lee and Takahashi, who are both juniors, capped off a great season this week with a 6-2, 6-2 win on Monday, when they went up against Pedro Sanchez and Hatef Jahankhah of Cliffside Park. The streak continued during their last regular season match of the season on Wednesday, when defeated Patrick Thane and Jared Sapin of River Dell in two sets as well, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3).

The Bridgemen won both matches with 5-0 sweeps.

The confidence is high for this pair moving forward into the postseason.

“I believe that our team will continue to prosper and move on to playing in the County and State matches," said Lee. "I feel that moving forward is great,but sometimes there should be times where the team stagnates, improve, and then continue to move forward.”

Lee’s partner, Takahashi, is driven and really wants the team to move forward.

“With four seniors on the team, this is probably the year that we will go the furthest in my high school career," he said. "I know I still have much to improve and a lot to learn, so my hunger to move forward stays with me everyday.”

The two tennis standouts share memories as a duo for the Fort Lee Bridgemen.

"The best moment that occurred in this season is when my partner and I beat the first doubles from Tenafly in straight sets," said Lee. "The feeling was awesome, thinking that we beat the sixth ranked school in our county."

 Takahashi remembers that moment as well and also another one from last season.

"Apart from the match against Tenafly, where Andrew and I were able to come back in the second set from 1-5 all the way to 7-5, our best moment was probably last year during the county tournament match against Palisades Park," said Takahashi. "Our opponents took the first set and were at match point at least five times. We were able to save all of them and actually come back to take the second and third set for the win."

Moments like those make it easy to understand the immeasurable chemistry that the two have when they go out on the court to represent the Bridgemen.

"The chemistry between is rooted deeply," said Lee. "We know our weaknesses and strengths. Yuki covers for my weakness while I support him with my strength. Therefore, we're extremely compatible. In addition, we've been playing doubles together from last year, so our communication between each other is fluent."

The two juniors will most likely be playing singles during their final season next year and believe that what they have learned in doubles will benefit them in the future.

When Lee is not playing tennis he enjoys playing golf, playing the violin, reading, using computers and working out. Takahashi likes to spend time with friends, play poker, video games, frisbee, go to the mall and sometimes go for a midnight run.