DOUBLE WHAMMY: Princeton High girls’ tennis second doubles player Brinda Suppiah warms up before the finals of the Mercer County Tournament last Wednesday. Senior Suppiah and sophomore Adriana Todorova went on to defeat Manogna Konduri and Haijia Wang of WW/P-S, 6-2, 6-3 to earn the title. Their victory helped PHS tie WW/P-S for second in the team standings behind champion Hightstown. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Coming into the final day of the Mercer County Tournament last Wednesday, the Princeton High girls’ tennis team faced an uphill battle in contending for the title.

PHS stood fourth in the team standings, trailing Hightstown, WW/P-S, and Hopewell Valley.

While Hightstown ended up winning the crown, the Little Tigers moved up the ladder, ending up tied for second with perennial power WW/P-S.

PHS head coach Christian Herzog was proud of how his players battled in the final day of competition at Mercer County Park.

“Given how things looked the first day and coming into the second day down two points, it showed something to pull up into second,” said Herzog.

The team’s surge was highlighted by the second doubles team of senior Brinda Suppiah and sophomore Adriana Todorova, who ended up winning the title in their flight, defeating Manogna Konduri and Haijia Wang of WW/P-S, 6-2, 6-3 in the finals.

“They just clicked, you could see it,” said Herzog of his second doubles pair.

“You don’t even have to coach them up too much, just point out the things that they already know and they are already aware of them. They are very calm. They are good friends, they have really good chemistry.”

For Suppiah, getting the crown in her senior season was special. “It feels really good, it is the last time I will be playing here,” said Suppiah.

Todorova, for her part, had a tough time processing the victory at first.

“When we finished the match, Brinda said this is surreal, it is happening,” recalled Todorova.

The triumph was surreal for Suppiah, considering that she played singles last year and had hoped to fill that role again this fall.

“At first I didn’t know I would like doubles but I realize having another person on the court makes it less lonely,” said Suppiah. “It feels really good to have another person there.”

In Todorova’s view, the two have proven to be a good fit on the court as their styles complement each other.

“Brinda is really good in the back on the baseline and I do better at net,” said Todorova. “It works well, there is the lefty/righty thing, there is always that advantage.”

Suppiah feels that the key factor underlying the pair’s success is their chemistry.

“I think we just get along as a pair really well, we both keep it positive,” said  Suppiah.

“We have been friends for a while, our personalities are always positive. When I get down, she lifts me up.”

Another PHS senior, Elise Gerdes, enjoyed a positive finale at the MCT, taking second at second singles, falling 6-1, 6-0 to Sahithi Muthyala of Hightstown in the championship match.

“As far as Elise, obviously she was playing someone who is a very strong player,” said Herzog.

“In fairness to Elise she is probably about 70 percent as far as health, she has a cold. I think she could have fared a little better if she was at full health. She was playing a really strong player. We looked at the draws and our goal was to be playing in the finals.”

Freshman Spencer Watts fared very well in her MCT debut, taking second at third singles, losing 6-1, 6-1 to Anushu Rangu of Hightstown in the finals.

“Spencer is a great kid, I love her aggressiveness on court,” said Herzog. “You see the big crowd of people checking out the match out, everyone is looking at every single call and every single ball, second guessing every player and their choice of shots. She doesn’t let that faze her. It seems like it calms her at times; she enjoys it a little bit.”

Another PHS freshman, first singles player Samantha Singer, wasn’t fazed after falling behind Angela Weng of WW/P-S in the third-place match at first singles, rallying to a 5-7, 7-6, 6-4 win, to earn the final half-point that pulled the Little Tigers even with the Pirates for second place.

“Sam winning her match to get third was key,” said Herzog. “We knew Sam was going to have the toughest draw, there are always a lot of hard players at first singles. She takes down the second set and in that third set, she was barely sweating. It is a testament to how much she does off the court, working out and all the rest.”

In Todorova’s view, working hard at the MCT will pay dividends for PHS in the upcoming state tourney.

“I think we all had really tough matches,” said Todorova. “Hightstown is very good this year, they came in very strong. A lot of their new players are really good but we did the best we could. It gets our confidence going for states.”