Ullmann helps PHS tennis in opener

Sophomore moves up to No. 1 spot

By: Justin Feil
   Princeton High School’s Matt Ullmann knew he had some big shoes to fill coming into this season.
   Forget Chris Hoeland, who graduated from the boys’ tennis team as a four-time Mercer County Tournament champion, including last year at first singles. Ullmann was also following in the footsteps tread in the past seven years of three-time first-singles MCT champion Ilia Shatashvili as well as accomplished first-singles players Scott Willig and Peter Pine.
   None of them had to make the jump that Ullmann did, going from third singles last year to first singles this year on a team with just one senior.
   "I didn’t have as high expectations for my record this year at first singles as (if I had been) at second singles," Ullmann said. "Last year, Chris was significantly better than everyone. This year, we’re closer.
   "By me playing first, it allows David (Zheng) to win more at second and Ben (Weingarten) to win more at third and our doubles to be more balanced."
   It might seem as though Ullmann is in the unfortunate sacrificial lamb position, but he’s hardly been a pushover for opponents, particularly after grooming himself for the Central Jersey Group III state tournament against a regular-season lineup of outstanding talent.
   "The Mercer County area is probably one of the tougher in the state," Ullmann said. "It’s a good warm-up for the state tournament. I know if we end up playing Ocean, I’m going to playing someone Top 100 in the country in 14s. It’s good preparation for that."
   The sophomore left-hander performed like a seasoned veteran as he polished off Chris Langley, 6-1, 6-1, in the second-seeded Little Tigers’ 4½-½ win over No. 7 Red Bank Regional in Tuesday’s CJ III quarterfinals.
   In other state tournament action involving local teams, Montgomery High School was a 5-0 winner over Warren Hills in the North Jersey 2 Group III quarterfinals and was scheduled to face top-seeded Millburn on Thursday. With a win, they would play the Ridge-Holmdel winner on Tuesday in the sectional final.
   Central Jersey Group IV top seed West Windsor-Plainsboro South was a 5-0 winner over No. 8 Marlboro on Tuesday and was scheduled to face No. 5 East Brunswick on Thursday. The winner was to play the North Brunswick-Hillsborough winner for the sectional title on Tuesday.
   The Little Tigers were scheduled to play No. 3 Freehold Boro on Thursday, and with a win would take on the winner of No. 1 Ocean and No. 4 Hopewell Valley on Tuesday in the sectional final, either of which would present a challenge for Ullmann, who was dominant in his first state match Tuesday.
   "He played well," said PHS head coach Sarah Heyman, whose team improved to 11-2. "He won, 6-1, 6-1. He moved the ball around nicely. He put away some nice volleys and kept his opponent on his toes.
   "When he’s really on, he’s quite tough to beat. He’s got really solid groundstrokes. He drives the ball well and moves the ball around the court. And being lefty can be a bit different for some kids."
   The lefty advantage comes out more in the state tournament when Ullmann goes up against unfamiliar opponents. It’s an advantage he is hoping to use to help the Little Tigers to another sectional crown.
   "Most people aren’t used to playing lefties," Ullmann said. "Normally it takes people a while to acclimate. It’s always an advantage to be unique.
   "The lefty spin goes out to a righty’s backhand, which is typically a tougher shot. Lefties can use that to their advantage. It takes normally a set to figure you out. It’s nice to have an advantage."
   Beyond that inborn advantage, Ullmann is also another of PHS’ talented players. He got an early taste of success as PHS won the sectional championship last year. Then a freshman at third singles, he was a 6-3, 6-3 winner in the sectional final to help the Little Tigers clinch their 28th sectional crown in school history. PHS graduated three seniors from that team, but it hoping to defy the odds for title No. 29.
   "No one expected anything out of us," Ullmann said. "We have three sophomores at singles and only one senior. If we could do it this year, it’d be a great sign for the future.
   "We might be deeper than were last year," he added. "I know first doubles is really strong. Second doubles has been doing well. That could help when we play teams with good players. I think we have a good chance of winning sectional title."
   The team success has been gratifying. As for Ullmann’s season, it’s been about what he expected. He recorded the deciding point in a 3-2 win over Hopewell Valley last week.
   "I think that got the morale up," he said. "We had a tough loss against Peddie that could have gone either way. Even though Hopewell didn’t have Matt McGranaghan, everyone played well and we won pretty handily."
   He’s hoping to wrap up his sophomore year with a few more wins that would help the Little Tigers toward their ultimate goals. Regardless of his record, his play has been improved over last year.
   "It’s about what I expected," he said. "A couple matches I won, I could have lost. A couple I lost, I couple have won. There were only one or two that I’ve played that were that much better that I couldn’t compete with them.
   "I think just generally overall, I improved," he added. "I was getting used to playing every day last year. It took me half the season to get into it and start winning on a more consistent level. This year, I got right into it and have been playing pretty well all season."
   His consistent play has helped the Little Tigers into the sectional semifinals and PHS is hoping it can finish the season up strong.
   "It is a young team," Heyman said. "We did lose a lot of players. Each year is different. I don’t think you can look at one year and automatically say they should repeat or they should win. Other teams get strong. You can’t count on the same strengths of teams. I think we definitely have a good shot of making it to finals.
   "If we get there, we’ll try our best. If we can win it again, that’d be great. If for some reason we can’t, I wouldn’t consider the season a failure or anything. I’ve heard Ocean is strong. It’ll be interesting to see how they stack up with Hopewell."
   Matt Ullmann is looking forward to the challenge. It’s one final challenge to take on in a season that has seen him take on one of the biggest leaps and come out on top the majority of time.
   "Any time you have to jump a couple spots," Heyman said, "especially when it means landing at the top spot, even if a team only has one good player, you automatically get them. There’s always a lot of pressure on the No. 1 to be the best and lead the team. Especially as a sophomore, he’s done a good job of stepping up and playing some tough matches. He’ll only continue to improve as he gains more experience, especially at the No. 1 position."