Little Tigers claim first championship in 15 years
By: Justin Feil
On the outside of the fence to the Princeton High courts is a sign that proclaims that the Little Tiger boys’ team won a Group II state championship in 1987.
Fifteen years later, PHS has added another state title, this time a Group III crown after it topped Tenafly, 3-2, Thursday afternoon at Mercer County Park. And while the sign will have to move after Princeton plays its final match at the courts today before they are torn up as part of the school’s renovation project, the memory of this state championship will last a long time, especially the way it was won.
It took three consecutive upsets for the Little Tigers to grab the hardware. PHS, 28-1 on the season, first topped Ocean for the Central Jersey Group III title on Tuesday, 3-2, the same Ocean team that had ended state tournament runs in each of the past three season.
Then, the Little Tigers handed Millburn, the defending state champion and the only other team to beat them this season a 4-1 loss Thursday morning. It came back in the afternoon to beat Tenafly, a team that had lost just once before in this season.
"We really didn’t expect this," said David Black, who is in his second season as Little Tiger head coach. "The only one who thought we could do this was Ilia (Shatashvili’s) dad."
There’s a reason that Samson Shatashvili is a professor of physics at Yale. He’s quite a perceptive man, and he had the PHS fortunes correct.
His 14-year-old son, Ilia, had a lot to do with it as well. Beaten in two sets against Millburn in the Little Tigers’ only loss of the season, he came through with a 6-3, 6-2 win Thursday morning to put the Little Tigers in the Group III final, then won the deciding match for PHS in the afternoon, 6-3, 6-3, on the very same courts where he claimed the Mercer County Tournament first singles title a month ago.
"He’s very confident here," Black said. "He really likes the surface. He turns it up a notch in the big matches. When we’ve needed him, he’s come up big."
"I just like these courts, they’re all good," explained the sophomore, who played second singles last season. "I’m something like 10-0 on these courts now. I knew that (Millburn’s) first singles was really good. I lost to him before. I knew his game. I kind of prepared for that. I knew I had to play consistently and hit deep to him. I played really, really well."
He wasn’t alone. The Little Tigers never would have had a chance at Millburn if it weren’t for third singles’ Chris Hoeland, who provided the clinching win against Ocean. The Little Tigers also won both doubles flights.
"Nothing was close in the match except Chris’ match," Black said. "It wasn’t really an interesting match except for Chris. He was showing some nerves in the beginning and he was just missing shots and over-hitting. He got better as the match when on. He just hung in there and started playing better. Once he started putting away his volleys, I felt pretty confident. He was in control."
Hoeland also won against Millburn, as did the first doubles team of Ted Distler and Chad Maisel. Greg Wu at second singles and the second doubles team of Eli Shindelman and Nate Abraham split their sets.
Distler and Maisel remained perfect on the season in the afternoon by winning their point vs. Tenafly. The second doubles team also won, while Hoeland and Greg Wu, the second singles player, lost.
Tuesday, the Little Tigers begin the Tournament of Champions at Mercer County Park. They find out today who they will play first. With a win, they would play Thursday in the overall state title.
"We’re probably going to play Livingston," Black said of the Group IV champion. "The top two get byes and Dwight-Englewood will probably be third. We’ll be fourth, I think. We haven’t played Livingston, but we see that at the Delbarton tournament. They’re a lot like us. They’re very deep like us. Their first doubles team is the No. 1 seed in the state (doubles) tournament, and ours is No. 2. It’ll be a big match."
For Distler, a win could help him finish up a perfect senior season that now comes complete with a Group III state title.
"Our original goal was just to beat Ocean… We got shut down by Ocean both of my other two years," Distler said. "I lost at third singles two years ago and I lost last year at first doubles. It’s nice to beat them.
"Millburn is our only loss. It was nice to come in and beat them. Everyone played great. No one lost. Tenafly’s ranked above us so it was good to beat them. Winning states, it’s a good way to end the senior year. I can’t even conceive what winning (the T of C) would be like. That would be crazy."
Three days ago, a lot of people would have said it was crazy to imagine the Little Tigers as Group III champions. And no one will consider them favorites in the T of C, which is just fine with PHS.
"We were underdogs in the last three matches," Black said. "This team just never quit. I think they like being the underdog. This was the first year we were favored in the Mercer County Tournament, and they were a little uncomfortable with it. There’s more pressure that comes with it. Plus, it makes it a little sweeter when you win."
In future years, the sign on the fence outside the Princeton High tennis courts won’t tell the whole story of the Little Tigers’ most improbable state title. But it’s something that any of the Little Tiger players will be happy to recall.