NET GAIN: Princeton High boys’ tennis doubles player Zach Hojelbane covers the net in action this spring. Last week, Hojelbane and PHS fell 3-2 to defending champions and top-seeded Hopewell Valley in Central Jersey Group III finals. The defeat left the Little Tigers with a final record of 16-2. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

In the beginning of the spring, the Princeton High boys’ tennis team didn’t seem destined to end up in the sectional finals.

Losing four key players to graduation and dealing with a series of injuries, PHS had to scramble all season long.

Yet last week, the third-seeded Little Tigers advanced to the Central Jersey Group III finals against defending champions and top-seeded Hopewell Valley and came one win away from making it to the state Group III Final 4 as they dropped a 3-2 nailbiter to the Bulldogs.

PHS head coach Sarah Hibbert was proud of what her team accomplished in its topsy-turvy campaign.

“We pushed HoVal as far as we could, I think they thought they were just going to walk over us,” said
Hibbert, whose team posted a final record of 16-2.

“We definitely made the most out of things. We weren’t considered as much of a threat in the beginning of the season.”

Fighting off unseasonably warm conditions with the temperature in the 80s, PHS battled to the end in its defeat to HoVal.

“They definitely worked hard,” said Hibbert. “The conditions were tough; it was really hot and humid. It had been cool for much of the spring. You can’t train for the heat.”

Junior Brock DeHaven brought the heat at second singles as he posted a 6-4,7-5 win over Trevor Johnson.

“He played a great match without feeling particularly well,” said Hibbert. “He was down 1-4 in the second set and fought back to win.  He was doing well with being patient. He has big shots and if he rushes to use them, he makes unforced errors. He was constructing points and staying away from unforced errors.”

The second doubles duo of Tyler Hack and Zach Kleiman produced a big comeback as they posted a 3-6, 6-0, 6-4 win over Roger Toussaint and Andreas Vermeulen.

“They had a great season,” asserted Hibbert of her second doubles pair who won their flight at the Mercer County Tournament.

“They were disappointed after the semifinal with Wall where they didn’t finish in the third set. Luckily we didn’t need their point that day. They came back with a vengeance; they wanted to go out big. They started out slow; they were able to withstand the loss of the first set and came back with a vengeance in the second set with a 6-0 win. They were ahead 5-2 in the third set and let up a little bit with the finish line in sight. They came through.”

Although Rishab Tanga at third singles and the first doubles pair of Zach Hojelbane and Eddy Zheng didn’t come through against the Bulldogs, Hibbert had no qualms about the efforts she got in those matches.

“Rishab is the kind of kid who doesn’t make excuses but he was sick the week before and he was struggling more with the heat more than he would have been,” said Hibbert, whose first singles player Michael Feeney retired early in the first set of his match against HoVal due to an ankle injury.

“I could see that. I think he was hoping he had more energy and played better. The first doubles had a tough match. They weren’t quite ready at the start. They made it competitive, we were right there with them in the first set. We made some unforced errors at the wrong time. We were right there in the second set and we had some unforced errors and Hopewell found a final gear.”

In the final analysis, Hibbert believes her team achieved as much as it could under the circumstances.

“It was one of the most successful seasons result-wise with the most chaos,” said Hibbert.

“We had people at different positions at different times. We had a great win over Wall in the semis. They were a very tough team and challenged us at every flight. We won a third set and closed out two tiebreakers.”

In Hibbert’s view, her
players’ upbeat attitudes helped them deal with the challenges they faced this spring.

“We had a very easygoing group of guys and they rolled with the punches,” said Hibbert.

“They came out everyday and figured out who was playing where and made the best of it. Everyone who got a chance, stepped up, and played as well as they could.”