HOLDING COURT: Princeton Day School girls’ tennis player Kavita Amin follows through on a shot last Thursday as PDS faced the Pingry School in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Non-Public state final at the Mercer County Park tennis complex. Senior Amin and sophomore Zarna Kalra lost 6-1, 6-2 to Isabelle Chen and Leila Souayah at first doubles as the Panthers fell 5-0 to Pingry.

By Bill Alden

As a senior captain for the Princeton Day School girls’ tennis team, Kavita Amin aims to positively influence her teammates.

“I really like being a mentor to the younger players and keeping the team culture really high which I think we have done good job of,” said Amin. “We have become really close, not only as teammates but we are really good friends. We know how to look out for each other.”

Last Thursday, Amin and one of those younger teammates, sophomore Zarna Kalra, did a good job at first doubles as PDS faced undefeated and top-ranked Pingry in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Non-Public state final at the Mercer County Park tennis complex.

Facing Isabelle Chen and Leila Souayah, the 2022 NJSIAA state doubles champions who made it to the quarterfinal this fall, Amin and Kalra looked to stay in the moment.

“It was a challenging match but coming into it my partner and I just wanted to keep our energy up and think about taking each point as a new one,” said Amin. “We wanted to just make the best of the situation and take every opportunity that we could.”

While Amin and Kalra challenged the Pingry pair, they ended up falling 6-1, 6-2. Their loss was a microcosm of how things went for the Panthers as they fell 5-0 to the powerhouse Big Blue, who won each match in straight sets as they earned their fourth straight Non-Public state title.

“We had a few pretty good rallies, we tried to keep it high crosscourt, go for angles and go for opportunities when we had them,” said Amin. “Despite how each point went, we thought of each point as new one. We tried to change up our strategy and tried to keep them on their toes.”

The team of Amin and Kalra have kept on their toes in their second year playing together.

“I had a great time with my partner, “ said Amin. “We like it when we are challenged. We welcome every opportunity. We really wanted to continue playing from last year, we have really good chemistry. We know how to lift each other up. We complement each other’s games really well and we know how to set each other up and we know our strengths.”

Amin credited PDS assistant coach Jon Brown with playing a key role in helping the pair produce a strong campaign.

“He has done a really good job of encouraging us throughout the season,” said Amin. “He gives us great advice and teaches us how to work well with our partners.”

For Amin, making the state final was special for her and the squad.

“I am super proud of myself and the team, I am really happy with how everybody played,” said Amin. “It definitely wasn’t up to just one person, we did a really good job of keeping everyone together and encouraging everybody along the way.”

With PDS competing in the Prep B state tourney and the Colonial Valley Conference (CVC) Tournament this week, Amin is primed to keep playing well.

“I am excited, we want to take on the hard matches we have played this year and take on the same strategy,” said Amin. “It was good practice playing with Pingry. We learned a lot of things playing them and with North and PHS too.”

PDS head coach Michael Augsberger liked the way that Amin and Kalra competed against Pingry.

“First doubles performed really well, I think they had the strongest chance to put a dent in the armor today,” said Augsberger. “They were in sets early until Pingry eventually ran away with each set later on. We were able to be aggressive with them at first doubles.”

Augsberger also cited Brown’s influence as a key factor in the pair’s success.

“JB had a big impact on that first doubles team,” said Augsberger of Brown, who is in his 16th year with the program. “I would say he is responsible for that sort of turnaround where over the last half of the season they have become the best that they have ever been.”

Augsberger has seen a turnaround in Amin as she has matured into a senior captain.

“Kavi has grown from being a really shy, quiet really small freshman to a very communicative, good leader,” said Augsberger. “She is so much more aggressive at the net, even in the last half of this season.”

PDS showed a lot of growth collectively in making it back to the Non-Public final after having advanced that far in 2022.

“Especially after last year when we had had the really tough loss (in the sectional final), I remember feeling that one for a couple of days,” said Augsberger. “We were so close to doing it then. So to turn it around this year and take care of business with all of the new faces with a lot of stalwart seniors high in the lineup having left, that is really good performance from the girls.”

Augsberger was looking for some more good performances from his players as they competed in the Prep B and CVC tourneys.

“It is nice to be able go from this and have this sort of amazing test to still have something left because we have our sights set on the Prep tournament and CVC,” said Augsberger.

In Augsberger’s view, battling Pingry was good preparation for those competitions.

“It shows you the height of what’s out there and we know that we are willing to face it,” said Augsberger, whose team saw freshman Arundhati Prabhu make the Prep B final at second singles with Amin, moving to third singles with two starters missing, advance to the final at third singles.

“What is coming up is strong but it is not going to be that strong, nobody is that strong. That gives you confidence when you are able to come out here and hold you own against them.”

Amin, for her part, is looking to enjoy a strong finish to her PDS career.

“I am just trying to have a lot of fun, I don’t want to think about it being the end of the season,” said Amin. “Every match is different and I am just really excited to play with my partner. I am really happy for the team. I think we have come a long way and played really well together.”