Gabby Pasternak ‘03
Gabby Pasternak was the best girls tennis player in the history of Glen Rock High School. In 2010, she was one of four singles players recognized by The Record on its All-Decade All-County Team.
During her four years as Glen Rock’s #1 singles player, Gabby never lost a league match and never lost a match in North Jersey.
As a freshman, Gabby immediately assumed the #1 singles position on the tennis team. She won the Groups 1 & 2, Bergen County Individual Championship. She then led the 1999 Girls Tennis Team to a B-PSL King Championship and then a Group 1, Sectional Championship before the team lost in the Group 1, State Semifinals to Rumson-Fair Haven by a score of 3-2. Gabby ended the season undefeated in all matches until she lost in the All Group, Individual State Tournament to the ultimate State Champion.
As a sophomore, Gabby repeated as the Groups 1 & 2, Bergen County Individual Champion. She then led the 2000 Girls Tennis Team to the most successful season in school history. The team did not drop a point as it won the Groups 1 & 2, Bergen County Team Championship and then the B-PSL Carpenter Championship. After winning the Group 1, Sectional Championship, it defeated Mountain Lakes 3-2 in the semifinal match and then Pitman 3-2 in the final match to win the Group 1, State Championship. The team’s first and only loss was in the subsequent Tournament of Champions to a much larger school. Gabby was undefeated until she lost in the semifinals of the All Group, Individual State Tournament to the ultimate State Champion and lost in that Tournament of Champions match.
With Gabby and the other six starters returning from the 2000 team, the 2001 team met all expectations and repeated the prior year’s accomplishments. Gabby won the Groups 1 & 2, Bergen County Individual Championship for the third year in a row. Once again, the team did not drop a point as it won the Groups 1 & 2, Bergen County Team Championship and the B-PSL Divisional Championship. After winning the Group 1, Sectional Championship, it defeated Gateway 3-2 and then Mountain Lakes 4-1 to repeat as Group 1, State Champions. The team’s first and only loss was in the subsequent Tournament of Champions to a much larger school. Gabby was undefeated until she lost in the quarterfinals of the All Group, Individual State Tournament to the ultimate second place finisher and lost in that Tournament of Champions match to the #1 ranked player.
In her senior year, Gabby won her fourth consecutive Groups 1 & 2, Bergen County Individual Championship and led the 2002 team to a B-PSL Divisional Championship. Unfortunately, despite Gabby winning her matches, Glen Rock lost to ultimate Group 1, State Champion Leonia in the Groups 1 & 2, Bergen County Team Championship and in the Group 1, Sectional Final. In addition, in the All Group, Individual State Tournament, Gabby was forced to drop out after pulling a back muscle during her match in the Round of 32. Gabby ended that season with a final record of 25-1 and with a four year combined record of 103-6.
In 2010, The Record selected Gabby as one of the four singles players on its All-Decade All-County Team.
After high school, Gabby played for four years as the #1 singles and doubles player at Quinnipiac University. She was named to the First Team All-Northeast Conference all four years and earned Player of the Year recognition her sophomore and junior years and was a two-time team MVP. Gabby became the first player in program history to win four straight conference singles championships and she competed in four straight NCAA Tournaments. During her time at Quinnipiac she earned 133 singles wins and 73 doubles wins, putting her near the top of the school’s all-time wins lists,
Gabby graduated from Quinnipiac University with a bachelor’s degree in Public Relations in 2007, and a master’s degree in Journalism in 2009.