By Bill Alden

Youth is being served this fall for the Princeton Day School girls’ tennis team.

With sophomore Robyn Karchere-Sun playing at first singles and a pair of freshmen, Amy Zhou and Neha Khandkar, competing at second and third singles, respectively, PDS boasts some young talent in key spots.

With PDS head coach Will Asch returning from a sabbatical last spring, he is stepping into a good situation.

“It is nice to be back and coaching the girls,” said Asch, whose team topped Stuart Country Day 5-0 last Monday to improve to 4-1. “It is nice weather, a nice season, and nice girls.”

Karchere-Sun gives the Panthers a nice presence at the top of the lineup.

“She is a very good player, she will play in college if she wants,” said Asch. “She is not a big person but she is very strong. She is a good athlete and has got a big forehand. She has some experience, she plays tournaments in the USTA.”

Having Zhou and Khandkar at second and third singles will give them some valuable experience as they adjust to high school tennis.

“Amy is a pretty big hitter, she has got some heavy groundstrokes,” said Asch.

“Neha is little more polished but not as big a hitter. She has played more tournaments, she has a more well-rounded game. She can come to the net. They are very close.”

A pair of juniors, Hayden Masia and Hannah Van Dusen, bring cohesiveness to first doubles.

“Hayden played last year with Giulia Gerschel at first doubles,” noted Asch.

“In most years, Hannah would be playing singles. She is a very good doubles player too. They have good chemistry. They are good friends and they really like to play as a team. They are going to be good.”

Senior Zaiya Gandhi and sophomore Eshaa Doshi are working on developing their chemistry at second doubles.

“They just won the challenges so they have only played two matches,” said Asch.

“They are just really starting to figure out how to play together. They are very different kind of players. Zaiya is a big, tall girl and is very intimidating at the net. Eshaa is sort of a retriever so we are trying to figure it out.”

Looking ahead to the Mercer County Tournament, which starts on September 23 at the Mercer County Park tennis complex, Asch is confident that his players will figure things out and make a good run.

“We could be very good, it is hard to really say,” said Asch, whose team hosts Lawrence High on September 20 and plays at the Blair Academy on September 21 as it tunes up for the county competition.

“We don’t have that sure win any place. In the county tournament, you have to be a good team and you need to have a little luck. We have had some incredible teams and came in second. We won it one year and it was one of those years where nobody really had a dominant team and we kind of eked it out.”