STRINGING IT TOGETHER: Princeton High boys’ tennis player Jonathan Gu hits a shot in action last spring. With junior Gu starring at first singles, PHS is off to a 5-0 start. In upcoming action, the Tigers host Notre Dame on April 21 before starting play in the Mercer County Tournament on April 25 at the Mercer County Park tennis complex. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Sarah Hibbert has been doing some mixing and matching this spring with the Princeton High boys’ tennis team.

With last year’s second singles star Jack Ling deciding not to play this spring in his sophomore season so he can focus on junior tennis, PHS head coach Hibbert has been forced to shuffle things around.

“That is obviously a big gap in our singles lineup,” said Hibbert, referring to the loss of Ling. “Jonathan [Gu] returned to give us a lot of strength at first singles. Melvin [Huang] has been working really hard as well at second. All of the other guys have been working really hard to step into the starting varsity lineup.”

In the early stages that work has been paying off as PHS defeated WW/P-North 3-2 on April 11 and Robbinsville 3-2 on April 13 with makeshift lineups.

“We were able to get past North which was a nice win for us, especially considering that our second doubles played at one and we had Luke Bornstein filling in at second doubles,” said Hibbert, whose team defeated Allentown 5-0 last Monday to improved to 5-0.

“He really stepped up. He got called up in a big spot twice this week; he is usually right on the cusp there for third doubles. He moved in and won a match at second doubles for us against North and moved into first doubles for us against Robbinsville and were still able to pull off the win. We had JV doubles at second. It made it a lot more exciting than perhaps it needed to be.”

PHS figures to get some exciting play all spring from junior Jonathan Gu at first singles.

“He has a fantastic all-around game,” said Hibbert of Gu. “He has a really impressive serve and can follow it up with either the groundstroke or a volley combination. He has a lot of pace on all of his shots. He can outplay even the best in the county so far.”

At second singles, sophomore Melvin Huang brings a special work ethic and tenacity.

“Melvin is one of the hardest working players, he plays very long, grinding matches,” said Hibbert. “The Robbinsville match was another testament to that, Jonathan had finished his match while Melvin was still in the first set. He has added more pace to his shots this year, he is more match tough.”

Senior Eric Zhu has worked his way up the PHS ladder to earn a spot at third singles.

“I think the doubles play from last year helped his singles game because it made him more willing to come to net and put away volleys,” said Hibbert. “He has really solid groundstrokes and a big forehand. He has gained more confidence over the years. He worked his way up, starting on JV as a sophomore and making varsity last year before getting into the singles lineup this year.”

The duo of senior Roberto Haubold and sophomore Jason Singer has the potential to do some big things this spring.

“Roberto is a really solid doubles player, he has great volleys and a good sense of where to be on the court,” said Hibbert. “Jason is new to doubles, he played third singles at times last year. He adds the steadiness, the groundstrokes and the solid serve. He and Roberto are learning how to work together to be a good doubles pairing. It does take time to put the pieces together to be a solid team.”

At second doubles, sophomore Nikita Medvedev and senior Varun Vaidyanathan have quickly developed a good chemistry.

“The first time they played together was in preseason and they seemed to click with their styles,” said Hibbert. “Nikita has a great serve, Varun has worked hard on his game as well.”

The Tigers are looking forward to competing in the MCT which is back to its flighted format for the first time since 2019 where players compete at first, second or third singles and first and second doubles, earning team points with their wins.

“None of these guys have played in one because the seniors were not on varsity then,” said Hibbert, whose squad won the CVC tournament last year which featured head-to-head team matches.

“We should definitely be in the running for it. We were able to win the CVC tournament, but that was last year and we are down a player. The other teams have gained players and the prep schools are in the counties this year. I think, as usual, it could be a really exciting tournament with a lot of close matches and good competition.”