Before the 2017 season even started, the Princeton High boys’ tennis team suffered some big losses.

The squad’s two top returning singles players, junior Noah Lilienthal and sophomore Jerry Gu, opted not to compete for PHS this spring due to other commitments.

As a result, Little Tiger head coach Sarah Hibbert has been forced to go with some new faces.

“Kevin Yang is the only full-time starter returning from last year’s lineup,” said Hibbert of the junior who is playing at first singles.

“We have a complete upheaval this year. This is a complete rebuilding year for us but we also have eight freshmen on the team.”

Despite being in a rebuilding mode, PHS has produced a promising 4-0 start.

“What I have said to this group of guys is that we want a team that is dedicated and that is here,” said Hibbert.

“I would rather have a group of guys that work hard. These guys are dedicated, working hard, and they are getting good experience. We will see what happens.”

Yang is giving the Little Tigers some good work at the top of the lineup, having moved up from third singles.

“He was in the singles mix last year and he has worked hard,” said Hibbert.

“You can see that his power and consistency has improved. He will get a lot of experience this year playing first singles. He will have to work a lot harder at first than he did at third. He will definitely learn a lot.”

As second singles, sophomore Simon Hwang is on a learning curve.

“Simon came on as an alternate for us last year; he was our fourth singles player when Noah wasn’t involved in matches,” said Hibbert.

“He got some good experience, he got to play a couple of big matches for us.”

Hibbert is hoping that freshman Brandon Peng can make big progress at third singles.

“He brings a lot of potential as a freshman; he had a really good match with Notre Dame,” said Hibbert, whose team topped Notre Dame 5-0 on April 5.

“It was very, very close and he was able to hold his nerve and win a 7-6, 7-5 match against somebody he knows from training. It was a good experience for him. As he settles into the role, he will get more more experienced and hopefully will do really well.”

A pair of seniors, Ares Alivisatos and Matt Danielson, bring experience to first doubles.

“They are good friends and they have played together; their styles do complement each other,” said Hibbert.

“Ares is very consistent. He is a cross country runner and he hustles a lot. Matt is good at the net. He is tall and is a good volleyer. Ares can run stuff down and Matt can put them away. They are captains this year for us and they want what is best for the team. They are willing to work hard together.”

PHS boasts two more seniors, Mihir Somaiya and Nikhil Vasireddi, at second doubles.

“They played together a lot last year and they do complement each other with the style of play,” said Hibbert.

“We are hoping for good things out of them. They had a very good win for us against Lawrence (3-2 on April 10). They were the clinching point and that was important.”

The main focus for Hibbert right now is to help her players adjust to their new spots in the lineup.

“It is getting everyone settled into their roles, getting the doubles teams to work well together and getting some chances to work on some strategy,” said Hibbert.

“It is getting the singles players out there and comfortable in their roles as well.”

With the Mercer County Tournament starting on April 24, Hibbert is hoping that her players develop a comfort level quickly.

“We want to get as many matches there as we can and do as well there as we can,” added Hibbert, whose team has home matches against WW/P-North on April 19 and WW/P-South on April 20 before playing at Hightstown on April 21.

“A lot will come down to the draw and how we fall in. The luck of the draw is really huge. We may get seeds, we may not.”