Title time for Nichols, PHS boys’ tennis

Transfer wins first title as Little Tigers claim third straight MCT

By: Justin Feil
   Winning the Mercer County Boys’ Tennis Tournament on Wednesday was business as usual for Ilia Shatashvili, Chris Hoeland, Chad Maisel, Eli Shindelman, Nate Abraham and Greg Wu.
   Those members of the Princeton High team had been there before. For three of them, it was their third straight year as MCT champions. But it was the first time for Marc Nichols, the Little Tigers’ new second singles player, who moved from Lawrence before the start of the school year.
   "I never got to experience any of the things that Princeton has," said Nichols, who was Lawrence’s No. 1 the last two seasons. "Lawrence was a decent team, but it wasn’t as deep as Princeton."
   Having Nichols in the lineup only makes Princeton deeper this season, one year after it lost just three matches while winning the Group III state title. Expectations have been even higher this season for the Little Tigers, who lost for the first time, 3-2, to Marlboro in the Delbarton Tournament on Sunday but have otherwise been unchallenged in team play.
   PHS showed its strength and depth by winning all five flights Wednesday for a perfect score of 40 points. West Windsor-Plainsboro South finished second with 29 points while Hun was third with 24 points. West Windsor-Plainsboro North and Princeton Day School tied for fifth with Hopewell Valley.
   "These guys have been playing well as of late," said PHS head coach David Black. "They’ve had a couple wins over Top 10 teams. We had match point against Marlboro and just lost it. They’re playing with a lot of confidence."
   Nichols rebounded from an ankle injury that hampered him in the Delbarton Tournament to make it through Monday’s first two rounds before hitting his stride Wednesday with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Hun’s Hakan Gonca followed by a 6-1, 6-2 win over the Pirates’ Benny Gordon-Goldstein in the finals. That win avenged a loss to Gordon-Goldstein in last year’s semifinals and earned him his first-ever individual MCT crown.
   "My goal was to win the Mercer County Tournament," Nichols said. "It’s something that’s been evading me here for four years. That was my No. 1 goal. I proved I was the No. 1 second singles in Mercer County. That’s what I wanted to do."
   Nichols, the second seed, had finished only as high as third as a freshman at third singles. Making his first title that much more enjoyable was that he wasn’t alone. This year, the Little Tigers won every flight for the first time in their program’s history.
   "It’s nice for everyone to win," said Black, whose team returns to action at Ewing today before taking on perennial power Newark Academy on Saturday. "Nobody is leaving here feeling defeated."
   The outcome was far from decided, however, entering the second day of the tournament. Hun, South and Princeton all had all five flights in the semifinals. Hun was knocked to third when South advanced four flights to the finals. Only Hightstown’s Chris Clayton at first singles prevented an all-Princeton-South finals.
   "We’d seen Hun and we figured West Windsor South was still the best team that had a chance to beat us," Black said. "It helped us that South and Hun had to play each other in a couple of the flights. It pays to get those No. 1 seeds."
   At first singles, Shatashvili beat Clayton for the second straight year, 6-0, 6-2. It was his third straight MCT individual crown, and perhaps his easiest. For once, he was done first out of all the flights. He lost just five games the entire tournament and at one point won 40 straight games.
   Nichols followed Shatashvili on the second court with also a relatively quick 6-1, 6-2 victory over Gordon-Goldstein.
   "He seemed very focused," Black said. "He has been very intense the last couple of matches. He’s definitely had this tournament marked on his calendar. I’m proud of the way he played. But there’s still a lot more tennis to be played."
   Hoeland captured his second straight third singles title, though South’s Brian Lee made him work for a 7-5, 6-1 win. The second doubles team of Wu, who won the second singles MCT title last year, and Abraham won, 6-1, 6-4, over Alex Wong and Greg Kelley before Princeton’s first doubles team won the toughest of the team’s matches. Maisel and Shindelman won, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, over Russell Nitzberg and Shintaro Mori for the clean sweep.
   "Everyone seemed to elevate their games today when the tough matches came around, especially our doubles teams," Black said. "They were not tested before and this was their first real test. There’s a good chance we’ll see West Windsor South in states. They certainly have the talent to beat us. I give them credit for playing some great tennis."
   Yet, the Little Tigers proved again to be tops in Mercer County, something that Nichols was happy to be a part of in his first year on the team.
   "It’s great to win a team title," said Nichols, who will play at Monmouth University next fall. "It’s good to have a team that has your back. You like to feel like everyone’s a winner.
   "We thought we had a really, really good chance to win the whole thing. And if we could sweep, that would be icing on the cake."
   Having Nichols at second singles certainly helped the chances of the Little Tigers.
   "If Nichols doesn’t transfer," said South head coach Jim Giovacchini, "who knows what would have happened?"
   It was certainly a big addition, one that had both Nichols and the Little Tigers happy with the results.
   "We still have Greg Wu, last year’s second singles champ, and we would have been a strong team with or without Marc," Black said. "He definitely strengthens our lineup though. He was really motivated for this. After losing last year to Benny in the semis, and getting the No. 2 seed this year, he really wanted it. He’s happy to be here, and we’re happy to have him."
   And the county tournament title is far from the only goal in the eyes of Princeton and Nichols. They open the state tournament in a week and the only way to top last year is by going for a Tournament of Champions title.
   "Not only does he have a chance to win an individual title," Black said. "But he also can play with a team that has a chance to be a state champion."
   It would be another first for Marc Nichols, and a first for the entire Princeton High boys’ tennis team.