(Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction) caption: SAM’S CLUB: Princeton Day School freshman tennis star Samantha Lieb lines up a shot in her victory in the championship match at first singles at the Mercer County Tournament in late September. Lieb’s arrival at PDS helped the Panthers finish 11-4 on their way to winning the Patriot Conference crown.

With Addition of Freshman Sensation Lieb, PDS Girls’ Tennis Became an Elite Program

Bill Alden

Over the last few years, the Princeton Day School girls’ tennis team has been building something special.

After posting a 2-11 record in 2005 which saw PDS lose several close matches, the Panthers started winning the tight matches a year later as they improved to 8-7.

This fall, PDS’ ascent up the ladder was accelerated by the arrival of precocious freshman star Samantha Lieb.

Living up to her advance notice which included a national top-40 ranking in her age group, Lieb breezed to the Mercer County Tournament title at first singles and lost only one match which came on a default due to an asthma attack.

With Lieb at the top of the lineup, the Panthers went 11-4 and won the Patriot Conference crown.

PDS head coach Patty Headley liked the way Lieb adjusted on and off the court.

“She really made a good impression,” said Headley, whose team placed fourth of 18 schools in the MCT team standings.

“She came in as an elite player and a freshman new to the school. It can be tough in a place where a lot of people have been going to school together for a while. She is committed to her athletics and academics; she really fit in.”

While Lieb missed some matches early due to commitments in national tournaments, her presence in the program raised the level of play even when she wasn’t on the court for the panthers.

“Lieb brought us depth when she was there because everybody was in the right spot,” added Headley. “When she wasn’t there, others had to step up and they did well.”

The Panthers other two singles players, Lauren Constantini at No. 2 and third singles standout Brittany Christian stepped up on several occasions.

“Lauren is feisty; she’s a tough fighter,” asserted Headley. “I think that the level of play at second singles in the area was tougher this year. Lauren had a lot of challenges and she did really well. Brittany made a lot of progress. She is just so focused; she just goes out there and does it.”

Headley got some focused work from her No. 1 doubles team of Elena Bowen and Samantha Schaeffer, who advanced to the state Prep A finals in their flight.

“Elena is a good singles player but had trouble getting through players like Lieb and Constantini,” said Headley.

“We tried to integrate her into doubles. Samantha came in as a freshman and she was also a pretty good singles player. The two of them jelled right away both in terms of chemistry and style of play.”

In Headley’s view, the Panthers have the chemistry and style to challenge for more titles in the next few years.

“The future is bright; we have two freshmen and two sophomores coming back,” said Headley, noting that the team will only be losing second doubles player Raquel Perlman to graduation.

“It’s hard to compete with Lawrenceville in the Prep A. The Mercer County Tournament always comes early; we had such a young team that we were still putting the doubles together then. We should be set coming into it the next time, I see a great level of commitment; the girls are working really hard.”

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