St. Rose girls’ tennis enjoys most wins in 11 years en route to division title
November 1, 2024 at 6:28 a.m.
The intangible thing Bob O’Brien loves about his players is that they love their sport.
“These kids play the game,” the first-year St. Rose, Belmar girls’ tennis coach said. “They are into tennis. You get some kids whose main sport is lacrosse or basketball, and they play tennis for fun, but these kids just play tennis, so it’s a good situation.
“They’re playing indoors now, they play together, they’ve been working out,” he continued. “I want them to play some tournament tennis this winter. I’m a big fan of kids playing multiple sports, but these kids play one sport and they’re really into it.”
That was obvious this past season. Playing under their third head coach in as many years, the Purple Roses went 11-3 and won the Shore Conference Patriot Division with a 6-0 mark. They were solid from top to bottom and, the best part is, they will graduate just one senior from the starting lineup.
“They re-did our divisions and we really kind of dominated it,” said O’Brien, who is also St. Rose’s boys coach and previously was an assistant at Trinity Hall, Tinton Falls. “The kids played really well. They worked hard and put a wonderful season together. We lost to two really good teams and one good team that beat us that we still feel bad about.”
Senior Jackie D'Altrui was 12-2 at third singles and also provided stellar leadership as team captain for St. Rose. Courtesy photo
The one they regret is a 3-2 setback to Red Bank Catholic in the first round of the South Jersey Non-Public A tournament. RBC got wins from second singles Maddie McConnell and the doubles teams of Nola Geffen-Olivia Rich and Adrianna Murino-Nora Feeley.
Other than that, it was a banner season as the Roses improved their win total by two from last year and had their most victories since going 14-4 in 2013.
Davida Cumbo moved from first doubles in 2023 to first singles this year, going 10-3 overall and 6-0 in division matches. The sophomore hits with good pace, has strength and a strong serve.
“The girls she lost to were outstanding players,” O’Brien said. “She has a lot of upside when it comes to volleying and just taking her way through the game. She’s got a great attitude and will only get better.”
Junior Annie Maloney went 10-4 overall (6-0 division) in her second straight season at second singles. She has good quickness and the ability to get to balls that look tough to reach.
“She puts a lot of pressure on her opponent with her pace and ability to move the ball around the court,” O’Brien said. “She had really good back-to-back seasons. She’ll be our only senior next year and I expect her to have a very good year for us.”
The only senior regular this year was captain Jackie D’Altrui (12-2, 6-0).
“At third singles you get a lot of girls that hit softballs and moon balls, and this kid won against every type of competition with her persistence on the court and ability to outhit her opponents,” O’Brien said. “She has an iron will out there. She played a lot of good girls and just outlasted them.
“More importantly she was a wonderful leader for our team and brought a lot of experience,” he added. “She’s a four-year starter, played first singles last year, went down in the ladder matches but really had an outstanding season on and off the court.”
Although it took some time to get the right doubles partners together, O’Brien eventually found a strong first singles team with freshman Pietra Cumbo (Davida’s sister) and sophomore Julianne Nguyen, who went 9-1 together.
“Pietra had a hamstring issue at the beginning of the season and didn’t play until the fourth match,” the coach said. “It took her a while to get back in the groove but down the stretch they played well.”
Second doubles was a three-girl combination of sophomores Dillian Schueler, Brielle Scott and senior Giuliana Froio. Schueler and Scott each went 7-4 while Froio was 5-3.
“They did well,” O’Brien said. “We need to get stronger at doubles. Our pairings need to commit to playing doubles and get the fundamentals down. But they are certainly going in the right direction.”
As is the entire Purple Roses program.
“I got to see them play in the summer,” O’Brien said. “We had a lot of experience coming back. I had strong expectations, and we wound up doing well.”
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The intangible thing Bob O’Brien loves about his players is that they love their sport.
“These kids play the game,” the first-year St. Rose, Belmar girls’ tennis coach said. “They are into tennis. You get some kids whose main sport is lacrosse or basketball, and they play tennis for fun, but these kids just play tennis, so it’s a good situation.
“They’re playing indoors now, they play together, they’ve been working out,” he continued. “I want them to play some tournament tennis this winter. I’m a big fan of kids playing multiple sports, but these kids play one sport and they’re really into it.”
That was obvious this past season. Playing under their third head coach in as many years, the Purple Roses went 11-3 and won the Shore Conference Patriot Division with a 6-0 mark. They were solid from top to bottom and, the best part is, they will graduate just one senior from the starting lineup.
“They re-did our divisions and we really kind of dominated it,” said O’Brien, who is also St. Rose’s boys coach and previously was an assistant at Trinity Hall, Tinton Falls. “The kids played really well. They worked hard and put a wonderful season together. We lost to two really good teams and one good team that beat us that we still feel bad about.”
Senior Jackie D'Altrui was 12-2 at third singles and also provided stellar leadership as team captain for St. Rose. Courtesy photo
The one they regret is a 3-2 setback to Red Bank Catholic in the first round of the South Jersey Non-Public A tournament. RBC got wins from second singles Maddie McConnell and the doubles teams of Nola Geffen-Olivia Rich and Adrianna Murino-Nora Feeley.
Other than that, it was a banner season as the Roses improved their win total by two from last year and had their most victories since going 14-4 in 2013.
Davida Cumbo moved from first doubles in 2023 to first singles this year, going 10-3 overall and 6-0 in division matches. The sophomore hits with good pace, has strength and a strong serve.
“The girls she lost to were outstanding players,” O’Brien said. “She has a lot of upside when it comes to volleying and just taking her way through the game. She’s got a great attitude and will only get better.”
Junior Annie Maloney went 10-4 overall (6-0 division) in her second straight season at second singles. She has good quickness and the ability to get to balls that look tough to reach.
“She puts a lot of pressure on her opponent with her pace and ability to move the ball around the court,” O’Brien said. “She had really good back-to-back seasons. She’ll be our only senior next year and I expect her to have a very good year for us.”
The only senior regular this year was captain Jackie D’Altrui (12-2, 6-0).
“At third singles you get a lot of girls that hit softballs and moon balls, and this kid won against every type of competition with her persistence on the court and ability to outhit her opponents,” O’Brien said. “She has an iron will out there. She played a lot of good girls and just outlasted them.
“More importantly she was a wonderful leader for our team and brought a lot of experience,” he added. “She’s a four-year starter, played first singles last year, went down in the ladder matches but really had an outstanding season on and off the court.”
Although it took some time to get the right doubles partners together, O’Brien eventually found a strong first singles team with freshman Pietra Cumbo (Davida’s sister) and sophomore Julianne Nguyen, who went 9-1 together.
“Pietra had a hamstring issue at the beginning of the season and didn’t play until the fourth match,” the coach said. “It took her a while to get back in the groove but down the stretch they played well.”
Second doubles was a three-girl combination of sophomores Dillian Schueler, Brielle Scott and senior Giuliana Froio. Schueler and Scott each went 7-4 while Froio was 5-3.
“They did well,” O’Brien said. “We need to get stronger at doubles. Our pairings need to commit to playing doubles and get the fundamentals down. But they are certainly going in the right direction.”
As is the entire Purple Roses program.
“I got to see them play in the summer,” O’Brien said. “We had a lot of experience coming back. I had strong expectations, and we wound up doing well.”