ON THE BALL: Princeton High boys’ tennis player Kevin Yang slams a backhand in recent action. Junior Yang’s superb play at first singles helped PHS go 14-5 this season and advance to the North 2 Group 3 sectional quarterfinals. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

The spring ended on a down note last week for the Princeton High boys’ tennis team as it fell to Summit in the North 2 Group 3 sectional quarterfinals and to Hopewell Valley in its regular season finale. 

But in reflecting on the season, PHS head coach Sarah Hibbert liked the way her players rose to the occasion as the squad posted a 14-5 record.

“Considering that we didn’t have the strength that we were expecting returning for us and that we wound up with only one full-time starter out of last year’s seven, we had a very good season,” said Hibbert.

“The guys worked really hard, we pulled together. We had a couple of really good wins, particularly the one over Hightstown (on April 21) when it came down to three third sets and everyone was able to win a third set to pull out a 3-2 victory.”

In the 3.5-1.5 loss to fifth-seeded Summit on May 16 in the sectional, the fourth-seeded Little Tigers got a win from junior Kevin Yang at first singles with sophomore Simon Hwang’s match at second singles being declared a draw.

“Summit had done very well this year and they looked like they had strength in their lineup,” said Hibbert.

“I knew it would come down to playing well and we had a shot. We won at the top of the lineup and we were close at doubles. We weren’t playing as well as we could have that day, unfortunately.”

In reflecting on the season-ending 3-2 defeat to Hopewell last Wednesday, Hibbert liked the way her players fought to the end.

“Hopewell was ranked ahead of us; they have been considered the stronger team all season,” said Hibbert.

“I knew we had a shot with them. I didn’t think they were that much better than we were; they were just a little bit better that day.”

Over the spring, PHS got a strong effort from the four seniors who played doubles with Ares Alivisatos and Matt Danielson at first doubles and Nikhil Vasireddi and Mihir Somaiya at second doubles.

“They have all been a part of the program for a long time so it was nice for them as seniors to all get the chance to play doubles,” said Hibbert.

“At the start of the season it looked like it was going to be a real dogfight between all of them to decide who was going to get a spot and then when the lineup shook out the way it did, they were all able to contribute.”

Junior Yang made a major contribution at first singles. “He did step into the No. 1 role, he played really well,” said Hibbert.

“He was able to win a lot of big matches for us considering that he moved from three to one in a very tough county. He did a great job; I think he will just continue to get stronger for his senior year.”

Sophomore Hwang had a strong spring as he moved up to second singles.

“Simon had a really great season, he stepped into that No. 2 role and he played with the best of them,” said Hibbert.

“He hits the ball well, he is a sophomore as well so he has a lot of potential for us in the future.”

In the third singles spot, freshman Brandon Peng showed potential as well.

“Brandon definitely grew a lot this season,” said Hibbert. “He started with some good wins at the beginning of the season. As a freshman, he got a lot of experience playing singles.”

The experience gained this spring by the team’s singles players had Hibbert excited about things going forward.

“We definitely have a foundation for strength in the future,” said Hibbert, noting that there were eight freshmen in the program this season.

“We won the matches we should have and we were able to pull out a couple of matches that maybe it wasn’t sure if we would win. There was good team bonding and good team camaraderie as they all had to step up and they did.”