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 (Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction)
caption:
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PHS Girls' Tennis Hits Wall in Sectional Final, Youthful Lineup Poised for Future Success
By Bill Alden
While Priya Joshi wasn't happy to lose at second singles for the Princeton High girls' tennis team in the Central Jersey Group III final against Wall Township last Friday, she viewed the match as a valuable learning experience.
"This game is going to really help me improve," said the freshman Joshi, who fell 6-2, 6-1 to Julianne Kasinow as the Little Tigers dropped a 4-1 decision to Wall in a match played at the Jadwin Gym tennis courts.
"It was what I was hoping for even though I lost. I think I played my game. I was a little inconsistent but I was able to move her sideways. If I learned something by losing, I'm better off than before."
With freshman Joshi at second singles and sophomores Alex Willig and Jennifer Yi at first and third singles, the Little Tigers should be better off in the future.
"I'm going to be back for the next three years," noted Joshi. "Next year I want to come back here and win something. Our top singles players are going to be here. We can try again and again. We have more chances."
Joshi has seen marked improvement even within her debut season. "I think my game has improved since the beginning of the year," asserted Joshi, who placed fourth in second singles at the Mercer County Tournament.
"This is as hard as its going to get. I would have been badly crushed if I had played this girl earlier in the season. I learned how to handle power on the serve today. I found a lot of confidence in my shots. I put up a good fight."
PHS head coach Sarah Heyman was happy with how her players fought against Wall, which came into the match ranked in the top 20 in the state.
"We knew going into today's match that it was going to be a tough one," said Heyman. "Their No. 1 and No. 2 players are both seeded in the state singles tournament. I wanted the girls to go out and play their best. They all tried hard; they all put in a good effort."
Heyman was impressed with Joshi's effort. "Priya can play with anyone," maintained Heyman. "She just needs to stay confident and play her game. It's hard when you know that the player on the other side of the net is that much better than you. Priya was moving her around on the court."
PHS first singles player Willig showed some good moves as she battled Caitlin White hard in the second set before succumbing 6-0, 6-4.
"Alex played a really great second set," said Heyman. "She was hitting the ball deep and angling it to the corners. She has the potential to play with the best of them. She showed that today; a 6-4 second set is no walkover."
The biggest highlight for PHS last Friday was produced by the second doubles team of Liz Haughton and Liana Dorman, who gutted out a 5-7, 7-6, 7-6 win over Brianne Crines and Collette Crines to give the Little Tigers their lone win.
"They are both good athletes, they play other sports," said Heyman, referring to her second doubles pair. "It's been taking them time to understand doubles strategy. You can be a good tennis player and not be good at doubles. They are starting to find their rhythm and starting to work as a team."
For the young PHS squad, whose only seniors are the first doubles team of Anna Pang and Julie Szymaniak, reaching the sectional finals should be a harbinger of good things to come.
"Any time you get to a sectional final, you are impressed and proud of the result," added Heyman. "They worked really hard to beat WW/P-N in the semifinals. I hope this will be a good experience for them to build on."
And with several key regular season matches remaining, the Little Tigers have the chance to experience some more good wins.
"We just need to go out and win as many matches as we can," said Heyman, whose team topped WW/P-N 4-1 last Monday in regualr season play to improve to 10-3 and is slated to host Ewing on October 20. "We have some tough matches left. We're going to play WW/P-N again as well as Hopewell Valley and Allentown."
Joshi, for her part, is primed for the matches ahead. "I think we're going to have some rematches with some good players," said Joshi. "I'm looking for a positive record. I'm at 10-5 right now and I want to keep on going like this, winning more games."
