Season Preview: Fort Lee Boys' Tennis

With a championship-winning rival no longer in their conference, the return of all but one starter from last year and the addition of an athlete that Fort Lee has coveted for years, this tennis season may belong to the Bridgemen.

Fort Lee finished in second place last year, but with those points in mind, it is the Bridgemen believing that they are the team to beat and this is their year.

“We hope to improve from where we left off last year with the county and state tournament,” said Fort Lee head coach Phil Zappel. “We hope to at least make it to the second round of states, and then we would be disappointed if we don’t win the league.”

The goal does hinge on the play of the individuals in a game that is also about the team as a whole.

“It’s an individual sport but as a team we need to win,” said Jason Halpern, a senior and the number one singles player for Fort Lee. “I think we can do it if we all do well.”

Coach Zappel has all three of his singles players returning this season, including Halpern, who captained the Bridgemen team last year. It’s a close-knit group of upperclassmen, who wish to guide Fort Lee from their early season dreams to postseason success.

“Leadership is good because they have been on the team and with the program for four years now,” the Bridgemen coach said. “We don’t have to worry about underclassmen having good role models to look up to. It has been consistent for the past years and especially with the seniors this year.”

Along with Halpern, senior Peter Chin will be joining him in a familiar spot at second singles with Henry Huang returning in the third singles position.

“We have the experience that others might not have,” Huang said. “We are much stronger this year.”

The duo of juniors Yuki Takahashi and Andrew (Pei Chang) Lee also return as the first doubles team for Fort Lee. That almost didn’t happen as Lee planned to play golf for Fort Lee this spring, but with a small turnout, decided to stick with tennis.

Coach Zappel was also very pleased to have Max Leblanc join the team this year. A senior, who has long played tennis, Leblanc had previously considered joining the Bridgemen but never made the commitment until this season.

“[Max] is a huge bonus and he definitely makes our team better by being here,” Phil Zappel said. “We wish we had him for the past three years but are glad to have him this year.”

And now as Fort Lee joins a new conference called the Big North, they don’t have to worry about a hostile rivalry with Tenafly for a league title. The two teams will still meet during the year but the Bridgemen eye an opportunity this year to win a title in the Big North.

With weeks of running drills down, and scrimmages coming to a close soon, the Fort Lee Bridgemen are eagerly waiting the start of the spring season.

“I am really excited,” Henry Huang said with a smile. “The beginning of the season tells us how we are going to do…so hopefully we get off to a good start.”

The season opening match is scheduled for April 1 at 4 p.m., when Fort Lee visits Bergenfield.