By Bill Alden

It looked like freshman Neha Khandkar might be in over her head as she played in the third singles final at the Mercer County Tournament last Wednesday.

Princeton Day School girls’ tennis star Khandkar fell 6-3 in the first set as she battled senior Nicole Samios of Princeton High but kept her head.

“Going into the second set, I realized that I was beating myself so I needed to stay more conservative and use more topspin,” said Khandkar.

“I had to be patient and wait for the right opportunity to come to the net, that is where I finish points best.”

Khandkar didn’t wait to seize momentum in the second set. “I needed that first game to give me a boost,” said Khandkar. “I got the first game; I was exhilarated and I had more energy.”

Maintaining that energy, Khandkar won the third set 6-1 to close out the match and earn the title.

“I was pretty confident that I could carry the momentum; more so I was happy about my physical ability because I have been working on my physical fitness,” said Khandkar.

“She was a really good mover too. It really came down to who had the most stamina and who was mentally stronger. I was looser in the third set. I got rid of the burden of being down a set and was just playing to my strengths.”

Khandkar’s strong performance helped PDS place fifth of 18 schools in the team competition won by PHS.

“I am pretty happy but I know there are a lot of players I still have to beat because I am still only third singles,” said Khandkar, reflecting on her triumph.

“So here is still the second and the first singles; we will work our way through it.”

In making the jump to high school tennis, Khandkar has been trying to work smart.

“It takes up a lot of time so you have to be sure to use every minute of practice, you have to use it like it is a match,” said Khandkar.

“You can’t squander even a second of it. Now that I have better players to hit with, it has helped my movement  on court and it has also helped my mental stamina.”

PDS head coach Will Asch was impressed by Khandkar’s mental approach in rallying to her title.

“Neha really loves to play; she never felt down,” said Asch.

“She loves to run and move and she never quit. She just kept fighting the whole match.”

In Asch’s view, Khandkar has plenty of game to go with her court movement.

“She has got a lot of variety, a lot of weapons,” said Asch. “She can pretty much do everything. She hits it pretty hard so that is coming too. She is going to be a very good player. She has match experience.”

The PDS first doubles team of juniors Hayden Masia and Hannah Van Dusen showed their experience, rebounding from a three-set loss to Sophia Kim and Lucia Marckioni in the semis to top Allison Li and Claire Yen of WW/P-South in the consolation match and earn third place.

“They were right in there, I thought they played very well,” said Asch, reflecting on the loss in the semis.

“I think they are a good team, they like each other very much.”

Going forward, Asch likes his team’s chances as he looks ahead to the state Prep B tourney.

“Everybody tries really hard, you don’t have to worry about that,” said Asch, whose team hosts Hun on October 2 and Pennington on October 3 before playing at Pingry on October 4.

“The girls really want to win. That is what I said to them, we have to ride it through the Prep Bs.”

Khandkar, for her part, is enjoying the ride in her debut campaign.

“I see the competition I have,” said Khandkar. “I know what to expect and what I can improve.”