Ocean City takes South Jersey tennis title with exciting win over Shawnee

Ocean City’s Charles DiCicco and Shawnee’s Sean Sipera, both highly skilled, battled with long volleys for about two hours.

With the other four matches completed and the whole crowd, including many fans from Shawnee, focused on them, DiCicco won the tiebreaker 10-5 to clinch both his match and the sectional team title.

DiCicco’s victory gave Ocean City a 3-2 win. The senior’s victory was 6-7 (4-7 on a 7-point tiebreaker), 6-2 and 10-5. Ocean City brothers Colin and Chase Bowman won 6-4, 6-4 in first doubles against Matt Pierson and Clark Mangan. The Red Raiders’ other win came in second doubles as Luke Wagner and Joey Goodman edged Ryan Senft and Kevin Baumann 4-6, 6-2, 10-5 (another 10-point tiebreaker).

Ocean City (16-3) will play a state Group III semifinal match Thursday at a time to be determined at Mercer County Park. A win would put the Red Raiders in a state final later that day at the same site.

Ocean City coach Tim Kelley said local sports historian Tom Williams says that the Ocean City boys tennis team’s last previous South Jersey championship was in 1983.

“It’s an amazing feeling (to win the South Jersey championship), especially knowing how much time and effort this group of seniors has put into it,” Kelley said. “For them to be able to see the reward at the end, that’s the ultimate goal. They knew what their goal was, and they had that goal for themselves. They couldn’t actualize that goal over the last few years, and this year the way everything fell, it just happened to work out for us.

“That’s what we were hoping for, actually,” he said of the No. 1 singles match. “Once we knew that we had to go 3-2, there’s no one I’d rather have in that position than Charles. He’s four-year No. 1 player, two-time (Cape-Atlantic League) champ, he never gets too high, he never gets too low. He’s had some matches where he hasn’t played his best. Today I don’t think he had his best stuff, but he still found a way to win, and that says a lot about him.”

DiCicco took a 3-0 lead in the 10-point tiebreaker and led throughout. Sipera closed it to 4-3 and then 6-5 before DiCicco scored the final five points.  

“I think in those moments, you’re always tempted to get very panicked and worried because so much is on the line,” said DiCicco, a 17-year-old resident of Seaville in Upper Township. “But you kind of have to almost put those thoughts aside. You just focus on every individual moment, each point, each shot. So I tried to simplify it and put less pressure on myself by focusing on each individual moment.

“It feels quite incredible (to win the South Jersey Group III title). It’s amazing to be here with my team, to do this in my senior year. With the way it happened, it is spectacular. I couldn’t really envision it in a better way, to be honest.”

Wagner, a senior, and Goodman, a sophomore, had to rally to win.

“We started down, but we worked our way back up, got the momentum, and we finished,” said Wagner, an 18-year-old Ocean City resident. “Joey Goodman, the best partner I could have asked for, played great.”

The first doubles match was competitive the whole way, but the Bowman brothers were usually ahead. Colin is a senior, Chase a sophomore.

“I guess I went into it feeling a little bit (of pressure),” said Colin Bowman, an 18-year-old Seaville resident. “But I’m kind of used to it, I didn’t let it get to me too much. I just kind of played the way I always play. I kind of stayed calm, and that helped.”

Third singles finished first, and Shawnee’s Gavin Prom beat O.C.’s Jackson Barnes 6-1, 6-4. Also for the Renegades (9-10), Alex Michaluk defeated Ocean City’s Tracy Steingard 6-3, 6-2 in second singles.

“I said at the end of the Mainland match (Shawnee’s 4-1 semifinal win on Friday) that there has to be a winner and there has to be a loser, and unfortunately we’re on the wrong side of it this time,” Shawnee first-year head coach Jeffrey Provost said. “I couldn’t be any more proud of the guys. It wasn’t from a lack of trying. Every single one gave their heart and soul out there. At the end of the day, we are a family, and they did it for each other. I couldn’t be more proud of them. Kudos to Ocean City, but again, my guys gave it their all.”