WW-P South is team favorite in boys’ tennis
By: Justin Feil
Graham Macdonald doesn’t put as much time into tennis as most second singles players in Mercer County.
"I play in the summer," said the Princeton High senior. "I play maybe once a week in the fall and winter. Then maybe a week before the season starts. I don’t have time. I have band and other sports and school. I don’t have that much time to do it. I don’t have time for tennis."
Yet Macdonald has proven he can be a force on the courts when he gets his game into shape. Already this season, he was victorious in PHS’ loss to state powerhouse Delbarton. That was at third singles, but Macdonald has climbed to second singles recently where he hopes to be dark horse for the Little Tigers.
While first singles’ Chris Hoeland is a No. 2 seed behind Princeton Day School’s David Holland and the second doubles team of Chris Nesi and Yoshihiro Tachibana is a No. 3 seed, the Little Tigers’ best chance for a team title rests in the hands of players like Macdonald who will have to pull an upset of No. 2 seeded Ben Harms of Hightstown if the two advance to the second round today at Mercer County Park.
"They’re both very athletic, both seniors, both soccer players," said PHS head coach Paul Lynch, whose team defeated the Rams, 3-2, despite a loss from Macdonald on Wednesday. "It’s really going to be a matter of who gets more good shots that day."
Macdonald is looking forward to the rematch with Harms, with whom he’s plenty familiar. The two played together on a soccer team when they were young, so young that Macdonald hadn’t even taken up tennis. The Cranbury resident didn’t start until seventh grade.
"I just picked it up," Macdonald said. "A lot of my friends were doing it. Cranbury tennis team isn’t the most competitive. I played doubles in seventh grade. I was first singles in eighth grade."
Macdonald has risen just as quickly this season. After playing both doubles and singles last year for the Little Tigers, he came into the season with high aspirations and made his way through the PHS ladder to reach the No. 2 spot after a slow start.
"He was sick at the beginning of the season," said Lynch. "Then he was away for spring break and was kind of a little behind for the first two weeks of the season. Once he was able to challenge in, he’s now at the two spot.
"He does get better and better," he added. "He started off slowly and is finally getting his swing back and is very athletic. He can frustrate a lot of players. He just hustles around to everything and he has the ability to put shots away."
PHS will need his best to have any shot of topping defending champion and prohibitive favorite West Windsor-Plainsboro South. The top seeds in the bottom four flights are all Pirates Leland Richardson at No. 2, Russell Nitzberg at No. 3, Greg Kelley and Ben Cornfeld at first doubles and Steven and Stewart Fernandez at second doubles. Nitzberg will face PHS’ Matt Ullman in a first-round matchup that carries plenty of weight.
"If Matt can win the match, we have a possibility of winning the tournament," Lynch said. "That’s the way we’re looking at it. Realistically, it’s our best chance of winning. It’s a lot to do."
Macdonald is the second PHS player who has a chance to sneak up on opponents. Macdonald likes the role.
"No one thinks anything of me," he said. "I’m just there. I have an obligation to my team. I don’t have any pressure on me. I know I can do well. At least it’s not like the eyes of other people are watching me."
But more than a few people will be watching an interesting rematch that could develop in the second round. Macdonald is looking forward to another shot at Harm after a 6-2, 6-2 loss in their last meeting.
"On Wednesday, I was working on my game, working on my serve," Macdonald said. "I was more concerned with getting ready for counties. I won’t go for as many risks. We’re similar players.
"It’s going to be a long day if I play him. My serve is really hard now. That will help me. He could miss a lot of returns on my first serve hopefully. Other than that, it’s going to be a lot of running and getting to balls. He’s a very similar player."
Both have plenty going on outside of tennis which makes their high position all the more remarkable in a county dominated by year-round tennis players. Macdonald, who also ran winter track this year, has a simple reason for being so involved in athletics.
"I just like to compete," said Macdonald, who will try to walk on the Vanderbilt men’s soccer team next fall. "It’s not as high-end as soccer. It’s something I like to do. I am a competitive athlete. I just want to win. That’s what will be so fun about counties, seeing what I can do."
There’s also the little matter of some revenge, not just avenging the loss to Harms last week but also avenging a quarterfinal loss with Aaron Maltby to WW-P South at second doubles last year that was instrumental in the Pirates’ narrow team victory.
"Last year, we lost to them barely," Macdonald said. "I’d rather win it all, but to get to that to be able to play them would be good."
Macdonald wasn’t in the lineup when PHS lost, 4-1, to the Pirates earlier in the regular season. But now the Little Tigers have another senior at the top of their lineup with Hoeland. It’s otherwise a lineup filled out by players who haven’t been to the MCT before.
"Senior year, I’m a lot more confident, not just in tennis but in every sport," Macdonald said. "Being older has helped me.
"I think Chris can take it this time. Our team is definitely young. We’ve also played some hard teams and hopefully that will help us. Hopefully we’ll get to the later rounds."
Outside of avenging a loss in the MCT last year, Macdonald has one thing on his mind before completing his high school career. He’d like a shot at the Group III state title that he didn’t even have the chance to play for last year.
"Last season, we lost in the state semis," he said. "Me and Brent Willig, there was a problem with the lineup. I wasn’t allowed to play. We lost, 3-2. I think our team is good enough, I don’t know if we’re experienced enough. It’d be great to win states like we did freshmen year. It’s just can we get it there. I’m in a great position to do that. It’s my senior year, and I’m at second singles."
It’s where he expected to be before the season began. It wasn’t an easy road, but Graham Macdonald has made his way there and is in position to help the Little Tigers boys’ tennis team to another strong county finish.

