Newark Academy girls’ tennis made a statement on Thursday, October 12 with a 3-2 upset win over Montclair Kimberley Academy (MKA) in the state sectional semifinal. The third-seeded Minutemen hit the road and headed to the second-seeded Cougars for the early afternoon match. Newark Academy came ready for redemption, as their only three losses last season were to a powerful MKA team that went on to win the Essex County Tournament and advance to the state sectional final round.

Thursday’s match was a battle, and the victory was led by second singles Ayanna Varma ‘25, who won in two straight sets. Her win was supported by tiebreaker wins from third singles Joanna Yu ‘25 ((7-6(7-3), 1-6, 10-8)) and second doubles pair, Siyona Bordia ‘25 and Sarah Wang ‘25 ((6-7(6-8), 6-1, 11-9)). Newark Academy’s first singles Lily Schonbraun ‘27, fell to Nina Abalos and the Minutemen's first doubles pair, Molly Egan ‘24 and Maddy Kayyali ‘25, fell to Katie Chung and Hannah Lewis.

Newark Academy looks to make another upset as they head to first-seeded Pingry on Tuesday, October 17 at 3:30 p.m. for the final.

For the bracket:

Click Here