The Newark Academy boys’ tennis team won the North Non-Public state sectional final on Tuesday afternoon with a final of 4-1. The Minutemen bested fourth-ranked (second seed in Non-Public North) Pingry, who entered the match with a 14-2 record. Newark Academy has prevailed in all of the last six meetings between the two state juggernauts, giving up only six total points.

Andrew Kotzen notched a commanding win at first singles (6-1, 6-1), with Josh Mandelbaum also securing a win at second singles (6-0, 6-2). Andrew Zielinski tied up any lose ends at third singles, bringing home an exciting win (6-4, 6-4) to secure the team victory. Aryan Grover and Evan Lai came up short at first doubles (2-6, 4-6), while Aadit Shrivastava and Jean-Luc Marchand fought hard and overcame a second-set deficit to win in the tie-break at second doubles (6-2, 3-6, 10-7).

The Minutemen will work to defend their state title when they face Christian Brothers Academy on Thursday afternoon at Mercer County Park. Earlier this season, Newark Academy blanked CBA in the Newark Academy Tennis Invitational. This leaves the Minutemen optimistic for the match in hopes of remaining reigning champions.