Will Asch believes that tennis is on the upswing in the Mercer County area.

“There are a lot of good youth programs around like Nassau and PTC with some really good coaches,” said Asch, the head coach of the Princeton Day School boys’ tennis team. “There is a lot of interest in this area in tennis.”

In Asch’s view, his PDS squad should draw plenty of interest this spring.

“We all know we have a very good team, the boys are very confident in themselves,” said Asch, whose program has won two straight state Prep B titles.

“We have a very deep team, it is impressive for a school our size. It is one of the most talented teams I have seen here. We also know that there are a lot of other good teams in the area.”

PDS boasts an impressive player at first singles in sophomore Anupreeth Coramutla.

“He is very good, he is quite a bit better than last year,” said Asch of Coramutla. “He is stronger this year. He is a better athlete and he hits the ball harder.”

The Panthers should be strong throughout their singles lineup with freshman Alex Decker in the second spot and junior Scott Altmeyer returning at third singles.

“Alex Decker is at second singles; he is a very crafty player,” said Asch, whose team topped Pennington 4-1 last Monday to improve to 2-0.

“He is very intelligent. He is a good competitor and has excellent groundstrokes. He can do a lot of things on the court. Scott is back at third singles; he is very good.”

The first doubles team of battle-tested Josiah Meekins and newcomer Vivek Sharma figures to be very good.

“Josiah is a very strong player and he has a lot of experience which is important in doubles,” said Asch.

“Vivek Sharma, another freshman, is playing with him. He is very talented and has a nice serve. Josiah is an excellent net player; he has a good overhand. He is a great athlete and he covers the court well. He is very strong, he hits the ball hard.”

Experience is the strong suit of the second doubles pair, seniors Andy Erickson and Hariharan Rajagopolan.

“They were able to hold off the freshmen,” said Asch. “They have experience and know each other very well. They played at second doubles for us last year and they had some big wins.”

Asch is confident his team can come up with some big wins in the upcoming Mercer County Tournament, scheduled for April 20 and 22 at Mercer County Park.

“I hear WW/P-S and PHS have very good teams; it is always tough for us to compete against schools that size,” said Asch, whose squad placed third in the team standings at the 2014 MCT.

“I think we should be in the mix. We are a long shot but we can compete with anybody.”