(Photo by Frank Wojciechowski) SERVING NOTICE: Princeton High boys’ tennis senior star Jessie Chai blasts a serve in action last year. Last week, Chai and partner Akash Khanolkar advanced to the finals at first doubles in the Mercer County Tournament. The pair fell to Abhinay Tumati and Thomas Weng of WW/P-S in the championship match as PHS placed fifth in the team standings.

Chai Goes Out With Bang in 1st Doubles As PHS Boys’ Tennis Takes 5th in MCT

Bill Alden

For Princeton High boys’ tennis senior star Jesse Chai, making the finals at first doubles at the Mercer County Tournament last week was a matter of saving his best for last.

“It was my first county final and it felt great,” said Chai, who was playing with Akash Khanolkar and had advanced to the semifinals the last two years with other partners.

Chai and Khanolkar fought hard but came up short, falling to Abhinay Tumati and Thomas Weng of WW/P-S 6-2, 6-2.

“The score was definitely not indicative,” said Chai. “It was a lot closer than it looks. A lot of the games went to deuce. In the beginning, we played really well and they were a little uptight. They found a rhythm and found a counter to our plays.”

While Chai wanted a title, he was proud of what he achieved in his last MCT.

“In the previous two years, I have come in fourth which wasn’t that satisfying,” said Chai. “To actually win a medal gives me a sense of accomplishment.”

In Chai’s view, he and Khanolkar can accomplish a lot over the rest of the spring.

“I think he complements my game really well because he is really good on ground strokes and I am a lot better on volleys,” said Chai.

“He can force the other player to hit a weak return and I can put it away. We started working really well and developing a chemistry last week with the drills and just playing together.”

PHS head coach Sarah Hibbert liked the work she got from Chai and Khanolkar last week.

“It is their first year together as a team; Jesse has been at first doubles for a while and has always struggled in the semis so it was great for him as a senior to finally make it to that final match,” said Hibbert, whose squad placed fifth of 17 teams in the team standings.

“They played really well, they were at deuce a lot and had lots of chances. There were definitely some good points there and they worked hard. South does have a strong team this year; any time you get a team to the finals you are very proud of that.”

The team’s second doubles pair of Kevin Qiu and Eddy Zheng also made Hibbert proud.

“They made it to the semifinals as well and they are a new pairing,” said Hibbert.

“There is definitely room for improvement. I am hoping they will just keep getting better as they keep working together.”

Second singles star Eddie Percarpio played some of his better tennis of the season as he advanced to the semifinals.

“Eddie pulled off a great first round upset,” said Hibbert, referring to Percarpio’s 6-4, 6-2 win over Sammer Bekhiet of Robbinsville.

“He made it through to the semis and very nearly to the finals. He had a really tough match in the semis against Nick Gorab of Pennington. He started with great momentum but there was a momentum shift and Nick really started picking up his game. Eddie really worked hard today and pushed Nick to three sets.”

The team’s other singles players, Robert Zhao at No. 1 and Julian Edgren at No. 3, also pushed hard even though they didn’t make itto the semifinals.

“Robert faced a very tough draw in the first round, going up against Evan Samet of WW/P-N but he managed to win the consolation final,” said Hibbert.

“It was a disappointment in the first round but something very positive came out of that. Julian fought hard yesterday, a few points didn’t go his way.”

With some big matches around the corner, including state competition, Hibbert is hoping her team can build on the positives of their effort at the MCT.

“Hopefully the guys will be able to take some of the lessons they learned today and use them going into next week’s matches,” said Hibbert, whose team suffered its first dual-match loss of the year when it fell 5-0 to powerful WW/P-S last Monday and will try to get back on the winning track when it hosts WW/P-N on May 4, plays at Hightstown on May 5 and Nottingham on May 9, and then hosts Notre Dame on May 10.

“We are getting to the meaty part of the season. It is a quick season. The states are coming up and you cram in the last few matches.

Chai, for his part, is looking forward to the homestretch of the season. “We feel pretty confident,” said Chai.

“Our challenge matches were dead even. The whole team is on almost the same level. There is no big drop-off.”

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