Jenkins gives PDS fast start to tourneys

Panthers advance in MCT field hockey

By: Justin Feil
   I’m a lacrosse player.
   It’s the way that Mariel Jenkins used to think of herself. Princeton Day School field hockey coach Jill Thomas, who is also the PDS girls’ lacrosse coach, told her that the best athletes focus on more than one sport. Over the last year, Jenkins has proven that she can be just as good at field hockey as she is in lacrosse.
   "In the winter last year, I did a four day a week lacrosse league," Jenkins said. "This year, I’m going to do field hockey and lacrosse. I’ve come to see it as an equal to lacrosse. I really like it."The PDS sophomore scored the first two goals of the game to get the ball rolling for the Panthers as they won their Mercer County Tournament opener, 5-0, over Hamilton West on Saturday. The No. 4 Panthers advance to host No. 5 West Windsor-Plainsboro South, a 2-1 winner over Steinert on Saturday, 3:30 p.m. today.
   "She’s got great speed," Thomas said. "You can’t beat speed. What she’s started to do is have her stick catch up with her feet. She’s had some key goals. She’s working hard to get some touches and learning to play the game at the speed she can run."
   Jenkins and the Panthers could be busy running all over this place this week. In addition to continuing the MCT, the prep state tournament also begins and the Panthers are the No. 4 seed. They play the winner of the Ranney-Newark Academy match on Friday.
   "We could play Thursday, Friday, Saturday," Thomas said. "It’s fun and exciting. I told the kids to look at it as an opportunity. You don’t get a chance many times to avenge many losses."
   PDS could have a couple of those chances. With a win today in the MCT, they could face top-seeded Stuart Country Day 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Mercer County Community College. The Tartans host Robbinsville today in the MCT, and are the top seed for the state tournament as well. They host the Montclair-Kimberley vs. Pennington winner 2 p.m. Friday in states. Hun received the No. 7 seed and will host No. 10 St. Elizabeth’s 3 p.m. Wednesday. The Raiders are not playing in the MCT.
   On the other side of the MCT bracket from Stuart and PDS is No. 2 West Windsor-Plainsboro North, a 7-0 winner over Nottingham on Saturday. The Knights, who improved to 14-0, play Lawrence today and with a win would face the winner of the Allentown-Hopewell Valley game 5:30 p.m. Thursday at MCCC.
   "We always look back on games we didn’t play so well and games we lost," Jenkins said. "For the Hun game, we lost to them by a point last year. It made us want to come out and beat them. We tied them, but at least we didn’t lose to them. It got us really excited.
   "For the Lawrenceville game, we looked back on lacrosse season when we beat them and never thought we would. That helped. Hopefully we can do that again and show them what we’re made of. I hope we meet the teams we lost to and play it out in the tournaments."
   The Panthers got off to an ideal start. Barely 15 minutes into the game, Jenkins had two goals on the board and PDS was off and running.
   "We said, we can’t lose this game," Jenkins said. "It was not an option. That really fired us up. If we keep winning, we play consecutive games. I don’t even know if it’s Mercer County or preps.
   "It’s hard not to look ahead. When you know you’re playing a school that’s not as well known like Hamilton West, it’s hard not to look to next week when we’re going to get to bigger games. But one of Coach Thomas’ goals is to never underestimate a team."
   There are some that could have underestimated Jenkins this year. As a freshman last year, she had a respectable five goals. She’s shown quite an improvement with eight goals and three assists.
   "This summer, I did a lot of field hockey camps," said Jenkins, a Montgomery resident. "Last year, it was my second year I played. I wanted to get a lot better. Freshman year was like my practice round. I wanted to learn more about the game and learn more about techniques. And I was hoping to get more goals."
   Jenkins’ output has helped PDS to an 11-3-1 record. Her early burst Saturday helped the Panthers show quickly that they would not stumble out of the gate.
   "You have to get that first one," Thomas said. "That’s the trick with tournaments. You have to take every game one at a time. You can’t be looking to play on Wednesday or Thursday."
   The Panthers like how they entered the MCT and how they opened the first of their two tournaments this week. Jenkins sees a lot of potential in the PDS field hockey team that has shown steady improvement, just like her own game.
   "From the first day when we had the first team and our first practice, we’ve shaped up in the last two months," Jenkins said. "Coach Thomas has done a great job of getting us together. I feel like she keeps us in shape. It’s great. I feel like we’ve had so much improvement from everyone. It’s not just one person. It’s everyone as a whole.
   "As the season progressed, one of our main goals was to stay as a team and fight through it as a team. That’s something that was new to me. It’s not just a few people. It’s all of us. If you make a mistake, it hurts the team. We’re working together as a team. Knowing everyone is relying on you, that’s what keeps me going."
   And keeps Mariel Jenkins focused on field hockey, a sport to which she’s grown a lot fonder this year. The MCT opener was just one example of where the Panthers have seen the benefits of Jenkins’ new love.