Top-seeded Millburn girls tennis faces No. 4 Northern Highlands at 2 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 8, in the North Jersey, Group 3 state semifinal at Millburn High School.

The Millers enter at 16-2 overall and 5-1 in the Super Essex Conference (SEC) American Division. Northern Highlands carries an 11-4 record. NJ.com picked Millburn to advance.

Millburn has rolled through the bracket so far, beating Wayne Hills 5-0 in the first round on Thursday, Oct. 1, and Ramapo 5-0 in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, Oct. 6. The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) moved to a North/South model with 24-team brackets for each group this season, replacing the previous four-section format.

Head coach Bill Wickenheisser's lineup is built around freshman first singles player Alyssa Liang, whom NJ.com called "one of the top freshmen this season in the entire state." Emma Kathleen Millerman holds down second singles and Alisha Mahajan plays third singles. At doubles, sophomore Ava Mondshine and senior Vasuda Madhusudan have paired at first doubles for most of the season. Junior Sivan Abir anchors second doubles alongside seniors Olivia Liang and Driti Ayinala.

Millburn opened 2026 on a 12-0 tear before Newark Academy, ranked No. 3 statewide, handed the Millers both of their losses. The first came in the Essex County Tournament final on Sept. 19, 4-1. The second was a regular-season rematch on Sept. 22, also 4-1.

After that Sept. 22 loss, Wickenheisser framed the defeats as preparation for the postseason. "Each match gives us better indication of the things we need to work on, and what we're improving on to set us up for the big part of the year, which is the state tournament," he told NJ.com.

Millburn won the North Jersey Group 3 title in 2023, beating Montgomery 3-2. Last season, the Millers fell in the semifinal round to Princeton, 3-2. NJ.com's championship prediction has Millburn over Chatham, 3-2, in this year's final.

On the other side of the bracket, No. 6 Ridge (9-2) plays at No. 2 Chatham (15-1) Thursday. Livingston girls tennis (11-3-1), seeded fifth, also plays a semifinal Thursday, traveling to top-seeded J.P. Stevens (11-3) in the North Jersey, Group 4 bracket.

A win Thursday would send Millburn to the North Jersey, Group 3 final.