SERVING UP A WINNER: Princeton High girls’ tennis player Elise Gerdes blasts a serve in a match earlier this season. Last Monday, senior star Gerdes rallied for a 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 win over Stephanie Ji of WW/P-S at second singles to help PHS edge the Pirates 3-2 in the Group 4 Central Jersey sectional final. The Little Tigers, now 15-2, advanced to the state Group 4 semifinals on October 20 at Mercer County Park against the winner of the Ridge-J.P Stevens North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 final. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Elise Gerdes knew that she got a break as the top-seeded Princeton High girls’ tennis team hosted fourth-seeded Montgomery in the Group 4 Central Jersey sectional semifinals last Friday.

“I felt pretty confident because I knew that their regular second singles player was hurt,” said senior star Gerdes.

“That gave me a little bit less pressure to deal with because I knew that their lineup was not as strong as it should have been.”

Gerdes produced a strong effort, rolling to a 6-3, 6-2 win over Khoshna Ande at second singles to help PHS pull out a 3-2 win over the Cougars.

“I just played my game and whenever things weren’t working out, I just thought positive,” recalled Gerdes.

“This is what I want to do. It is my last year, I persevered and finished strongly.”

The Little Tigers needed a strong finish from its second doubles team of senior Brinda Suppiah and sophomore Adriana Todorova to earn the clinching point in the match against Montgomery as they battled to a 6-3, 7-5 win over Somali Desai and Katie Parsons.

“I definitely was a bit nervous but I knew they could do it,” said Gerdes, who nervously watched the end of the second doubles match with the rest of her teammates and coaches. “I knew they had the potential to do it and they came through.”

Priding herself on being consistent, Gerdes came through against WW/P-S in the sectional final on Monday, rallying to a 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 win over Stephanie Ji at second singles to help PHS edge the Pirates 3-2.

“I guess they do need that on the team, the steady Eddie,” said Gerdes. “I try to stay cool and positive. I try to stay in the groove and help the team that way.”

Gerdes is proud to see the PHS team back in the groove after it faltered in the 2015 sectionals.

“I am very proud and happy that we can do that this year because last year we dropped a little bit and we weren’t able to get as far, although we did do it for five years before that,” said Gerdes, who was in the PHS lineup for its 2014 sectional crown.

“I am glad that we can jump back on the bandwagon and get back up to where we were recently.”

PHS head coach Christian Herzog didn’t see a sectional title in the cards when the 2016 season started.

“I knew that we were going to get some talent in but I had no idea that we were going to get as strong a group of freshmen as we did,” said Herzog, who got a straight-set win from freshman Samantha Singer at first singles against WW/P-S with the second doubles team of Suppiah and Todorova pulling out a three-setter for the other team point.

“Spencer Watts has been giving us points at No, 3 all season. Sam always comes out and plays her best, some she will win, some she won’t. She plays the toughest competitor but she never gives up. At the end of last year, I would not have thought that we would be in this position.”

In the win over Montgomery, the toughness of Suppiah and Todorova at second doubles made the difference.

“Today it came down to the more experienced team; Adriana had been playing doubles and this is Brinda’s last year as a senior,” said Herzog.

“My heart was skipping a few beats there, that has been our M.O. If you look at a lot of the scores, we don’t feel the pressure in the first set and then all of a sudden, we let a few points get away from us and we get a little sloppy. Then we come back and finish it, whether it be 7-5 or winning in a tiebreak. They have shown even when we let the second set get away from us a little bit we can come back and reel it in in the end. I think that is a testament to their willingness to work together for the shared goal.”

Having achieved the goal of a sectional title, PHS is now pursuing a state crown as it will play in the Group 4 state semifinals on October 20 at Mercer County Park against the winner of the Ridge — J.P Stevens North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 final.

“We want to go as far as we can, particularly for the seniors,” said Herzog, whose team is bringing a 15-2 record into the Group 4 semis.

“The vision starts with the seniors and getting everyone to buy in and trying to make the best of what we have in terms of talent.”

Gerdes, for her part, is looking to make the most of her last season with the Little Tigers.

“The season is almost over and we just want to keep going,” said Gerdes. “There are only so many matches left; it means so much that we can achieve this in my last year.”