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OcTObeR 9-15, 2019
Enjoying the journey
Moorestown Friends is currently ranked No.1 in the state and has visions of a Tournament of Champions trophy. But the Foxes haven’t lost sight of savoring the ride along the way. By RYAN LAWRENCE Sports Editor
A year ago, she persevered through a grueling 3 ½ hours in the Non-Public B championship’s third singles match to clinch her team’s first state championship in program history. On a recent Tuesday afternoon, Moorestown Friends School senior Elena Styliades stood outside the fence along with coaches and parents, wearing a brace over her wrist. Her teammates were taking on town rival Moorestown, one of South Jersey’s perennial tennis titans. The Foxes won the match, 4-1, even with Styliades on the sidelines. “They’re strong, too,” Styliades said of her respect for Moorestown, a team with 12 state titles in program history. “So it’s really exciting.”
RYAN LAWRENCE/South Jersey Sports Weekly
Moorestown Friends School is following up the program’s first state title with a new distinction: they’re currently the top-ranked team in the state. Pictured (from left) are natalie Julien, Roma Jha, bailey butterworth, Skye Mada, bella Pescatore, Renna Mohsen-breen, Lisa Seiler and coach Mike bodary. not pictured: senior elena Styliades, out with a minor injury. Styliades, who will play at St. Lawrence University next year and is on a first doubles team with Skye Mada this season, will return before the postseason begins, joining a talented Moorestown Friends roster that includes fellow senior Renna MohsenBreen, the No.1 seeded player in the NJSIAA state singles tournament, sophomore Bella Pescatore, German exchange student
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Lisa Seiler, and second doubles team Bailey Butterworth and Natalie Julien. It’s a roster not only destined to repeat as state champions, but one with visions of collecting a Tournament of Champions title, too. “I think we can do that if everyone is playing the high level of tennis they’re playing right now,” Styliades said. “I think we definitely can do it.”
out of the park
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FREE There’s no reason to question the Foxes’ lofty aspirations after a memorable opening month. Moorestown Friends did all of the following in the season’s first five weeks: • Beat Kent Place, previously the No. 1 team in the state, to earn the No. 1 distinction in capturing the Moorestown Classic championship. • Pulled off an improbable feat in having all three of their singles players (Mohsen-Breen, Pescatore, Seiler) advance to the semifinals of the South Jersey Interscholastic Championships, the area’s premiere in-season singles tournament. Haddonfield coach Jeff Holman, South Jersey’s dean of tennis with more than 40 years of coaching on both the girls and boys teams, couldn’t think of the last time another team had pulled that off. • Nearly swept their way to the Burlington County Championship, winning at each of the first four positions. • For the second straight season, beat Moorestown, a team MFS coach Mike Bodary, in his 12th season with the Foxes, hadn’t been able to beat on the boys or girls side before 2018. • Saw Mohsen-Breen, the SJIC champion, earn the top seed in the NJSIAA singles tournament and teammates Pescatore and Seiler also earn top-32 seeds, making MFS the only team with each of its singles players among the top 32. please see FOXeS, page S8