NO BACKING DOWN: Princeton Day School girls’ tennis player Arya Kalra smacks a backhand in recent action. Last Thursday, senior Kalra battled through illness to post a 6-0, 6-1 win at first singles to help second-seeded PDS defeat third-seeded Donavan Catholic 5-0 in the semifinal round of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Non-Public South sectional. The Panthers, who improved to 8-4 with the win, were slated to host 16th-seeded Rutgers Prep in the final on October 15 with the victor advancing to the Non-Public state final on October 17 at Mercer County Park. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Earlier this month, Arya Kalra wasn’t sure if she would be well enough to compete for the Princeton Day School girls’ tennis team in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Non-Public South state tournament.

“This past week, I got really, really sick; I was out that whole last week,” said senior Kalra. “When we started states, I wasn’t playing a lot. I still wanted to play in their state tournament.”

Kalra did make it to the court for a second round contest against seventh-seeded Ranney School on October 8, but labored in her match at first singles against Annabel Sparano, falling 6-3, 6-2.

Last Thursday, against third-seeded Donovan Catholic in the semifinal round, Kalra, still coughing and sniffling, got into a groove, posting a 6-0, 6-1 win over Stephanie Stulich.

“I think it was just consistency and getting the ball back,” said Kalra, reflecting on her performance. “My main strategy was to hit to her backhand and get her running to the net and back from the net. I was playing aggressive.”

Kalra’s performance helped set the tone for PDS as the Panthers rolled to a 5-0 win over the Griffins to improve to 8-4. PDS was slated to host 16th-seeded Rutgers Prep in the final on October 15 with the victor advancing to the Non-Public state final on October 17 at Mercer County Park.

In Kalra’s view, making the sectional final is a special achievement for the squad.

“It is a really big deal for us, especially because a lot of our players last year left,” said Kalra. “We have gotten a lot of new players, especially for second doubles. We have had to introduce new partnerships so it has been really big deal getting the bond with the players. It has really worked out.”

Over the offseason, Kalra worked hard to improve her game.

“I think I have improved a lot since last year, I played a lot this summer,” said Kalra. “It was just a lot of training to prepare. Last year, I struggled a lot of my matches. I was at first singles and I was put against players that were a lot better than me. It really opened my eyes as to what I needed to work on. I worked a lot this summer on technique and aggressive playing. I also did conditioning so I think I was prepared for this year.”

As a result, Kalra has been more competitive at first singles this fall.

“I think it is exciting because I like playing people that are better than me,” said Kalra. “It is fun, there is nothing to lose. It is just fun to see how well I can do against them.”

PDS head coach Michael Augsberger credited Kalra with showing a lot of grit in willing herself to get back on the court for the state tourney.
“I am really proud of the girls and they are super excited,” said Augsberger. “I think the one we are most proud of is Arya because of her battling through the illness that she had last week. We brought her back to see how she would feel in Tuesday’s match. She battled through that. She had tightness in her chest and was really spent afterwards. I could tell that it was affecting her play. I asked her what should we do about today and she was fully a game time decision. We spoke with her parents, we spoke with the trainer.”

Kalra did make some some tactical adjustments to work around her illness.

“From Tuesday, she also realized that she didn’t have the fitness to play long points,” said Augsberger. “She went for a little more today and tried to shorten the points a bit and it worked. She was coming to the net. I could tell that she was hitting with a lot more power than usual.”

At second singles, freshman Arundhati Prabhu produced a powerful performance, topping Emma Cookson 6-3, 6-3.

“She served first serve really well, 60 percent on first serves and won 57 percent of her first serve points,” said Augsberger. “For her, it was about limiting the forehand errors today. Emma is a defensive player, she gets everything back. You are not going to hit it past her. Arundhati was kind of pulling the trigger a little early and at first was content to play a little defensive tennis. Then she started to play more offense and took the right risks.”

At first doubles, senior Kavita Amin and sophomore Zarna Kalra played some very good tennis in cruising to a 6-1, 6-3 win.

“Kavita and Zarna played in the individual state tournament and they did well against Holy Angels which is now in the quarterfinals,” said Augsberger. “Their best match of the season was just recently where they played super aggressive. We have been trying to get them to have the doubles mentality of getting both girls to the net and having a lot of movement, a lot of agility at the net going for balls. It is being forward in your play and not so much from the baseline. They finally started to show that and they are playing better than ever.”

At second doubles, PFDS didn’t miss a beat with sophomore regular Shuchi Vanga and a freshman fill-in Devaki Nanavati as the posted a 6-0, 6-2 win over Annmarie Bologna-Zajda and Bree Nelson.

“We had a substitute for second doubles with Devaki,” said Augsberger. “She was playing with Shuchi who is the leader in that group. They played really consistent tennis today. I wasn’t worried about Devaki at all in terms of being nervous. She has shown that she is an outstanding doubles player. This is her third or fourth match this season.. Her style of game is suited for doubles, she is a great volleyer.”

Looking ahead to the sectional final, Augsberger knows that it will be a challenge even though Rutgers Prep is seeded 16th and has a 6-7 record.

“They have proven that the record is not really relevant, it is just about matchups,” said Augsberger, noting that the Panthers defeated Rutgers Prep 4-1 in the Non-Public South quarters last year. “They beat Trinity Hall in the first round. They lost to some really good teams this season. They are like the Mets, they are coming in super-hot at the end of the season. They are the lower seeded team but they are not a 16 seed. I told my girls to block that stuff out because it is totally meaningless.”

In Kalra’s view, the Panthers have come together well as the season has unfolded.

“The team has a really strong connection this year,” said Kalra. “I think that helps with team chemistry and cheering each other on and motivating each other.”