ANSWERING THE BELL: Princeton High girls’ tennis player Bella Lependorf displays her form in a match at the Mercer County Tournament in late September. Sophomore Lependorf’s three-set win at second singles gave PHS the decisive point in a 3-2 win over Marlboro in the Central Jersey Group 4 quarterfinals on October 7. PHS, which previously won the MCT team title, fell 4-1 to top-seeded East Brunswick in the sectional semis last Friday. Lependorf and the Tigers, now 12-1,  will look to complete an undefeated CVC season and earn the Colonial Division title as they host Nottingham on October 16 and Notre Dame on October 17. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

For the Princeton High girls’ tennis team, surviving a Central Jersey Group 4 quarterfinal clash against Marlboro last week came down to Bella Lependorf’s skills and pain threshold.

With 4th-seeded PHS locked in a 2-2 tie with fifth-seeded Marlboro in the October 7 clash, sophomore Lependorf jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the third set of her match at second singles only to hurt her ankle at that point.

Undeterred, Lependorf gamely pressed on, pulling out the set and clinching the win for the Tigers.

“She got wrong-footed and her ankle rolled slightly; she really had the guts to fight through,” said PHS head coach Sarah Hibbert, noting that the match lasted three and a half hours.

“She wound up getting up 4-1 in the set, which was really exciting. But then the girl [Brianna Yao] rallied and came back to 4-3. I talked to Bella and I told her ‘you can see the finish line, you know you can do this, you have worked so hard, this is really your moment.’ She was able to play some of her best tennis when it really counted and did a great job. She wound up closing out the set 6-3.”

Three of the team’s four seniors got the other two points for PHS in the win as senior Nicole Samios prevailed in straight sets at third singles and the second doubles team of classmates Sora Sato and Ilana Scheer also came through in two sets.

“Nicole has really been a rock for us this season, she has been a very steady position,” said Hibbert, whose team won the Mercer County Tournament team title in late September.

“She brings three years of experience at third singles and has gone out and gotten better each year. It was a great effort from the second doubles team because Marlboro’s second doubles team was a strong team who had competed well in the state individual tournament. It was great for Sora and Ilana to be able to play well, rise to the occasion and play a great match for us.”

Last Friday in the sectional semis, PHS fought hard but couldn’t overcome top-seeded East Brunswick, falling 4-1 to end its states run.

“The girls all played hard and the matches were a lot closer, they had great points,” said Hibbert, whose team moved to 12-1 with the defeat.

“We were competing with them, we were staying in games. It was closer than the score indicated but they were too strong for us.”

Once again, PHS got strong effort from the second doubles pair of Sato and Scheer as they posted a 6-4, 6-4 win to earn the lone point of the match for the Tigers.

“They really came together, worked hard and fought through that match,” said Hibbert.

“Being able to follow up on their county second place and then winning the match at Marlboro and be our point there in their final state match was a nice highlight.”

In the wake of the state defeat, PHS still has a title to play this week as it hosts Nottingham on October 16 and Notre Dame on October 17, looking to clinch Colonial Valley Conference’s Colonial Division title.

“We want to continue our undefeated regular season; as long as we stay focused and play well in these last three matches, we will go undefeated in the CVC which will be a great accomplishment,” said Hibbert, noting that the conference includes such formidable foes as Hightstown, WW/P-South, and WW/P-North, among others.

“We have had a great season. If we can wrap it up like that, we will take the division, which would be really exciting.”

As it produced a memorable season, PHS exceeded expectations with a revamped lineup. “During preseason I wasn’t sure what to expect after losing several seniors, trying to put the pieces in place,” said Hibbert.

“I knew we had the potential with Spencer [Watts] coming back at first singles, Bella moving to singles, and Nicole holding down third singles. Sophia [Kim] and Lucia [Marckioni] looked like they could be a strong pairing at first doubles and Sora was back in the doubles roundup. We knew we had the pieces to be good but you never know how you are going to compete. You also never know who else has gotten good freshmen.”

In Hibbert’s view, the team’s 3-2 win over three-time defending county champion Hightstown on September 17 in a regular season contest proved to be a turning point for the Tigers.

“The fact that we were able to beat Hightstown head-to-head set the tone that we might be able to have a really good season,” said Hibbert.

“At that point, they started to believe. They might not have believed going into Hightstown but after they came away with that win, they realized this is a team that beat us the last three years and we can beat them. We could be the best team in the area this year.”