NORTH JERSEY, SECTION 2

GROUP 1 | Bracket

The favorite: 1-Hanover Park

Hanover Park was the one-seed in this section a year ago, but was upset by Whippany Park in the semifinals. The Hornets are still undefeated up this point like it was last season, but there’s something just a bit different.

Hanover Park has left no doubt against its opponents this year as it has defeated every team by 5-0 or 4-1 scores. Wins include other Group 1 typical contenders Kinnelon, Mountain Lakes and Whippany, as well as Morristown-Beard. The Hornets are a veteran bunch led by Audrey Lee at first singles who also owned the most power points in this section after the cutoff date of Monday.

Contenders: 2-Lenape Valley, 3-Whippany Park, 4-McNair, 7-Rutherford,

McNair may be small, it is mighty. McNair is the top team coming out of Hudson County, and it has several key wins this year over bigger schools like Kearny, North Bergen, Memorial, Bayonne and Dickinson. McNair reached the North 2, Group 1 quarterfinals a year ago and hopes to put on a better show this time.

Lenape Valley is one of the best squads in Sussex County. The Patriots are 7-2 entering the tournament with wins over the likes of Sussex Tech, High Point, Vernon, Hopatcong and Newton. Lenape Valley was third in power points at the cutoff.

Rutherford has made the sectional quarterfinals twice since 2019, and it is aiming for a strong showing this fall. Rutherford is 6-3, but all three of its losses came via 3-2 scores including twice to Harrison. The Bulldogs made big progress by downing Secaucus, 4-1, earlier this week, after Secaucus had a number of them for a few years.

Whippany Park nearly won this tournament last season as it picked off top-seeded Hanover Park in the semifinals, and fell in a tight match to Glen Ridge in the final. Audrey Rha and Amanda Wickenheiser are back in the fold at singles, and the team has gotten extra work in with top coaches in state. Whippany Park may not be as deep as last season, but it won’t be sneaking up on anybody like it did a year ago.

Final round pick: 1-Hanover Park over 3-Whippany Park

GROUP 2 | Bracket

The favorite: 1-Parsippany Hills

Parsippany Hills has been dominant this season as it enters the state tournament without a loss. Par. Hills has knocked off several strong teams this year such as Villa Walsh, Whippany Park, West Morris, Randolph, Kinnelon, Morristown and Morris Hills. It hasn’t won going away in all of those matches, but some of the 3-2 wins have built character.

Par. Hills fell in the sectional quarterfinals last season to Mendham, but appear to have the leg up this year with three solid singles players in Taylor Wong, Sahana Singh and Harini Talluri.

Contenders: 2-West Morris, 3-Mendham, 3-Bernards, 6-Gov. Livingston

Speaking of Mendham, the Patriots were way down in power points in fifth, but jumped up with a better seed. Mendham could easily win this tournament as it battled Chatham twice to 3-2 defeats. On the year, it defeated Morristown, Sparta, Montville, Madison, Morris Hills and Randolph to prepare for states. Mendham last won a sectional title in 2012, but it was close last season when it made the final. Sofia Cicarone and Maya Gieszczynski lead the way for Mendham.

Bernards was way down the line in power points as well in eighth after the cutoff, but the Mountaineers are the defending champs as they captured their first sectional title since 2004 a year ago. Bernards has some pieces back from last year’s squad like Elizabeth Chen and Claire Ren. The Mountaineers have played a challenging schedule with wins over Somerville and Voorhees, and close losses to Bridgewater-Raritan, Summit and Hillsborough.

Governor Livingston might not have the best record at 5-6 entering the postseason, but the Highlanders are battle tested coming out of the Watchung division of the UCC. Gov. Livingston has beaten Oak Knoll, Scotch Plains-Fanwood, Roselle Park and Columbia on the year, and has hung tough with Westfield and Summit. It also gained valuable experience by playing Kent Place. A run might or might not be in the cards, but the Highlanders are a young team who figure to be better in the years to come.

West Morris has had a great year thus far as well and is 7-1 and now ranked in the Group 2 rankings. It does have a 5-0 loss to Parsippany Hills, but a win everywhere else including over Pope John, Randolph and Mount Olive in close 3-2 matches.

Final round pick: 1-Parsippany Hills over 3-Mendham

GROUP 3 | Bracket

The favorite: 2-West Windsor-Plainsboro North

Three new high profile teams make a brand new appearance in this section this season with one of them being West Windsor-Plainsboro North. The defending Central, Group 3 champion, the Knights won the Moorestown Classic earlier this season where it took down Moorestown, Episcopal (Pa.) and West Windsor-Plainsboro South. They’ve also taken down Princeton on the road, Bridgewater-Raritan, Hightstown and Lawrenceville in their second head-to-head match of the year.

Sarah Henderson is a freshman first singles who has impressed the coaches. Eva Fea and Megan Chung are two other strong singles players who could have been many other team’s No. 1. If WWPN can improve just a bit at doubles, it’ll be hard to beat anywhere, but its singles trio could be enough most days

Contenders: 2-Ridge, 3-Millburn, 4-Princeton, 5-Summit, 6-Chatham

Is this the new group of death?

This section is loaded with talented teams with six teams being ranked in the Top 20. Millburn is the state’s most successful, championship-winning program ever, while the others are strong teams as well.

Millburn made the Essex County Tournament final last weekend, and it took Newark Academy to the edge twice this year in the championship match, and in a regular season battle a few days prior. Armed with premier coaching, talented doubles, and solid singles, the Millers, who have defeated Livingston, Montville, Morris Hills, Glen Ridge, Verona, Montclair and Westfield, will be hard to beat. Millburn won the North 2, Group 3 crown last season.

Princeton made the Central, Group 3 final a year ago after winning the tournament and making the Group 3 overall final in 2022. The Tigers nearly knocked-off WWPN late last week, but it ultimately fell 3-2 as their third singles, Katie Qin, battled an injury during the match after leading. First singles also went to a tiebreaker that day between a pair of freshmen. Princeton certainly has the talent and depth to win this section as it has strong doubles as well led by Maya-Alexandra Todorov/Ashna Bushan and Lada Labas/Sophia Bruhn, but it’ll be interesting to see if the lack of matches (five) affects the team or not.

Morris County Tournament champion, Chatham, is another team capable of winning this tournament. The Cougars reached the sectional semis last season, and new coach Mike Manna’s crew is 10-1 on the season with the one loss coming to a ranked Livingston team in a competitive match. Chatham has breezed through its schedule otherwise this season with multiple wins over Mendham, Montville, and Morris Hills. Mendham also has defeated Sparta, West Essex and Morristown without much trouble. Freshman Joyce Zhang is the new engine that makes the Cougars go.

When it comes to North 2, Group 3, you can’t forget about Summit. Summit is Union County’s second best team this year which is a big deal. Behind only Kent Place in the standings, Summit has taken down perennial power Westfield, Gov. Livingston, Bernards, New Providence, Oak Knoll, Montclair Kimberley and Scotch Plains-Fanwood. Summit made the sectional semis last year where it fell on the road at Millburn, and the bulk of the team is back including Sophie Bohner at first singles.

Ridge made a big switch into this bracket after winning North 2, Group 4 and the overall Group 4 state title last fall. Jordan Lee and Isabel Su have returned at the top two singles spots giving the Red Devils a strong chance to gain two almost automatic points. Finding a third will be tricky, but they have the players to do it. Eva Rao has been solid at third singles, while Kirtana Hariharan/Sophie Logan and Pranita Murali/Elizabeth Lebedev have also done well at doubles.

This section is really tough to call as anybody from the top six could win it all.

Final round pick: 2-West Windsor-Plainsboro North over 1-Ridge

GROUP 4 | Bracket

The favorite: 1-Bridgewater-Raritan

Bridgewater-Raritan hasn’t been in the spotlight since winning its third Group 4 title in 2018. The Panthers have had a couple of sectional semifinals appearances since then, but also a handful of two-win seasons like last year. Now in a different division in the Skyland Conference (Raritan), the Panthers have thrived as it is 10-2 on the season. Their losses have come to Group 3 contenders, WWPN and Ridge.

Bridgewater-Raritan recently won the Blue Devil Invitational where it topped Mendham and Westfield. Throughout the season, it has also defeated Watchung Hills, Cranford, Bernards, Somerville and Mount St. Mary to name a few, and with Ridge gone to N2G3, the door is open for Bridgewater-Raritan to clinch another breakout campaign. Jessica Kozyra and Madison McInerney are two solid singles at the top of the lineup.

Contenders: 2-Westfield, 3-Columbia, 5-J.P. Stevens

Could this be the year for Columbia? Things might be breaking right just enough for Columbia to make a deep run. Columbia is 8-5 on the year with nice wins against Verona, Caldwell, Montclair, Glen Ridge, West Essex and Montclair Kimberley. Columbia won the consolation final at the Essex County Tournament after falling in the first round, and it just played Millburn tough on the road, 3-2. Amelia Burroughs is a player to watch here. Columbia made it through to the sectional semifinals last season.

Westfield and J.P. Stevens are two state powers of sorts who typically have been the ones fighting for the title at the end. Westfield enters the state tournament at 7-6 with wins over New Providence, Oak Knoll, Gov. Livingston, Hillsborough (Blue Devil Invitational) and J.P. Stevens (September Smash). While they haven’t broken through for a win against them, the Blue Devils have battled Summit and Kent Place as well this season.

J.P. Stevens has had a tough year at 4-5 thus far, though all of its losses have been to some of the best teams in the state like Holmdel, Livingston and South Brunswick. The Hawks have wins over Highland Park, Metuchen, Monroe and Scotch Plains-Fanwood. Despite the loss to Westfield a few weekends back, J.P. Stevens, three of the individual matches went to a tiebreaker after splitting the first two sets. That could have gone either way.

Watch out for a team like fourth-seeded Watchung Hills as well.

Final round pick: 1-Bridgewater-Raritan over 2-Westfield

Chris Nalwasky may be reached at cnalwasky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow us on social: Facebook | Instagram | X (formerly Twitter).

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