Delbarton tennis earns Morris County Tournament title again
· Yahoo Sports
MORRIS TOWNSHIP — Hayden Lee had never played in the Morris County Tournament before. But the Delbarton sophomore knew the tradition well.
Two flags hang near one entrance to the Green Wave's new home court, one with the list of 29 MCT titles and the other for NJSIAA sectional crowns. All those dates – 23 of the last 24 MCT – were hard to miss.
Visit bettingx.club for more information.
Lee and his doubles partner, Hugh Weldon, extended their own unbeaten streak as Delbarton claimed yet another MCT plaque on May 2.
"I didn't really fit in (at Summit) as much as I fit in here," said Lee, who is 20-0 since transferring after his freshman year.
"Athletics is so much better here. I wanted to be part of a team that takes it seriously. In the county, we're expected to win."
Delbarton and Chatham were tied at 15 points coming into Saturday's semis and final round. The Cougars had earned spots in all five finals, to four for the Green Wave.
But Delbarton earned a sweep of all its matches. It had also beaten Chatham, 4-1, in the regular-season opener on March 24, with the only Cougars victory by senior Davis Zhang at first singles.
The Green Wave even had a little influence on the lone match they didn't win. Mendham junior Kabir Kaushal outlasted Zhang on Saturday afternoon. But it took four rackets to get Kaushal through the final.
Kaushal broke his first one in a quarterfinal on May 1. He popped a string on his second in the first set of the final. Kaushal borrowed freshman teammate Phillip Jee's racket for the second and third sets, but broke another string. So for the decisive tiebreaker, he was playing with Mendham assistant coach Jack Gibbons' racket. It actually belonged to the coach's son, Delbarton alumnus Jack Gibbons, who had won the MCT third singles title in 2023 and lost in the first singles final as a senior in 2024.
Kaushal had advanced to a second singles semi as a freshman. But last spring, he was burned out and stepped away from the game for a few months.
Kaushal returned to the Mendham team for his junior season, and was buoyed at the MCT final by a cheering section that included Jee, senior Kyle Murray, and Parsippany sophomore Anish Gupta. Kaushal had defeated Gupta – the first Red Hawks boy to advance to the second day of the MCT – in a semi, then gave him a ride to Delbarton for the last round.
"I lost the enjoyment for the game, but in the end, it just turned into a long break," Kaushal said. "I don't really focus on winning or losing anymore. ... I didn't think about (the racket switches). I kept playing my game and stayed positive."
Delbarton junior Adi Somaiya claimed third singles in a 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 marathon against Chatham freshman Elias Bruu-Syversen, whose self-talk could be heard far beyond the court. Somaiya, a Chatham resident, had the clinching point for Delbarton at second doubles in the MCT two years ago, but stepped away from the school team as a sophomore to focus on tournament tennis.
"Every year, people think it's going to be easy for us. But every year, it comes down to one point," said Weldon, who is 16-0 with Lee this spring. "It comes down to who wants it more. Universal Tennis Rating can mean a lot in other matches, but at counties, it's a battle of wits. Even if it's not the prettiest, we do what we have to to get it done."
Team scores
Delbarton 23; Chatham 20; Mendham 16; Montville 11; Morristown Beard and Mountain Lakes 9; Morris Hills and Morris Knolls 8; West Morris, Morristown and Randolph 7; Madison 6; Parsippany and Pequannock 5; Kinnelon, Mount Olive and Parsippany Hills 3; Roxbury 2; Whippany Park, Hanover Park and Boonton 1.
Final round results
First singles: Kabir Kaushal (Mendham) def. Davis Zhang (Chatham) 6-1, 4-6, 6-0; Second singles: Aiden Paul (Delbarton) def. Roger Lin (Chatham) 6-3, 6-2; Third singles: Adi Somaiya (Delbarton) def. Elias Bruu-Syversen (Chatham) 6-2, 2-6, 6-3; First doubles: Hayden Lee and Hugh Weldon (Delbarton) def. Aiden Wong and Ranvir Iyengar (Chatham) 7-6 (7-5), 7-5; Second doubles: Chase Eagan and Alex Choi (Delbarton) def. Chris Allen and Grayson Rivero (Chatham) 6-2, 6-4.
This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Delbarton tennis earns 2026 Morris County Tournament title