PHS juniors overcome initial impressions

Silver, Weingarten mesh at first doubles

By: Justin Feil
   First impressions did not help Ari Silver and Ben Weingarten.
   Though they are junior classmates, the Princeton High School first doubles pairing wasn’t so sure how well they would do at first.
   "When we first knew we were both going to be doubles, we weren’t sure we could play together," said Weingarten, who played third singles last year for PHS. "We’re very different players. He was very frustrating when I played singles against them. He rallied a lot. He doesn’t go for a lot of balls. It turns out that’s what I needed in a doubles partner. He’s the one who keeps us in the points, and if I can, I try to put it away."
   The combination has been as reliable a point as any flight for the Little Tigers. And just as the combination was wrong to jump to conclusions from their first take, Freehold Boro was wrong to expect a win when the Central Jersey Group III top seeds jumped out to wins in four of the five sets against the Little Tigers on Thursday. The only PHS flight to win a first set was Weingarten and Silver.
   "I thought we were pretty confident," said Silver, who played second doubles last year. "It turned out they were better than we thought. Almost everybody except my partner and I went to three sets.
   "We were playing pretty well. They were better than I thought. They were pretty consistent, with nice strokes. We were just on that day."
   They were the first to win, in straight sets, and after a PHS substitute team at second doubles due to injury dropped its match, the fifth-seeded Little Tigers rebounded for a 4-1 win to propel it to another sectional final, Monday against No. 2 Moorestown after deadline. Moorestown handed sixth-seeded West Windsor-Plainsboro North a 5-0 loss Thursday.
   "It’s great to get back to another final," said PHS head coach Sarah Heyman. "We know Moorestown will be tough competition."
   It is Moorestown’s debut in CJ III. The Little Tigers have established themselves as perennial contenders for the sectional crown. Last year, Silver was one-half of the second doubles team that was a winner in PHS’ 3-2 loss to Ocean in the final. There won’t be the chance to avenge that loss to Ocean, but a shot at the sectional title is something that the Little Tigers are looking for. And having a confident first doubles team helps.
   "At first, I wasn’t sure how good we would be," Silver said. "After a couple good wins, and the rest of team would lose, we knew we had a good team and thought we could go really far.
   "Last year, we only lost one senior, Chris Nesi. We have Kevin Cen and a lot of freshmen now. We’re a better team and have a lot of experience."
   Cen’s addition bumped down Weingarten, but he has become a reliable leader at first doubles. He is happy to see how he and Silver have become an expected win for the Little Tigers.
   "In the beginning of the season, it was tough," Weingarten said. "We got 10 matches rained out. We got stuck with two tough matches going into the cutoff for the individual tournament. We played PDS and (West Windsor-Plainsboro) South. Against PDS, we were the only ones who won in two sets. That was the point when we knew we were the ones that had to win in tough matches.
   "It was early in the season and we talked about it. If we won, that would give our team a step up on everyone else."
   The first doubles duo gave the Little Tigers a quick step up on Freehold on Thursday. Then they looked around themselves to see a scary situation. It turned out fine when the singles swept, capped by Cen’s three-set tiebreaker victory.
   "With third singles, with David Zheng, I was confident," Weingarten said. "He was looking good. Matt Ullmann, I always feel confident in him when he’s playing well. Once I saw them going into a third set, I was pretty confident.
   "Kevin, that was probably the biggest match. We’re coming up on Moorestown and he needs some confidence. They have a good player. With that third-set tiebreaker win, that’ll be great for him."
   Added Heyman: "I was really pleased with it. It started out a little shaky. We dropped four first sets. I knew the guys weren’t playing up to their potential. I could tell they had the chance to win and I’m proud they didn’t give up. They dug in and played harder and pulled it out."
   The win could be attributed to having played some tough competition in Mercer County. Those early season losses for the team in which Weingarten and Silver picked up confidence helped the Little Tigers in the biggest match.
   "Any time you’ve played good competition," Heyman said, "it gives you something to work from. I think the guys knew they could win and they played well when they had to. Kevin gutted out probably the longest match of the season. That should be a good match for him to build from."
   Experience is only one factor that has made Silver and Weingarten work well together. Both were around last year and have been a part of helping maintain a high standard at PHS.
   "He helps me so much," Silver said. "If I have a bad day, he can carry me. It’s definitely helpful.
   "Benny was on varsity too last year so we both have experience. It helps to make our season better. I think it’s been as good as expected. We had a couple close losses with South, PDS and Hillsborough. For the most part, I think we’ve done a good job."
   The first doubles combination is 13-3 overall. Only Zheng has a better record by percentage points for the Little Tigers. More important than individual records, the Little Tigers were able to make it back to a sectional final as a team.
   "We knew we were better than we looked," Weingarten said. "We started out being 3-3, very subpar for our standards. But we came into states on seven-game winning streak. We knew we had a chance to at least do as well as last year. No one else thought that we could go this far."
   And few could have guessed from the early going how important Silver and Weingarten would be to the Little Tigers. They have become a reliable point, which is the highest compliment to any doubles tandem.
   "They’ve played well together," Heyman said. "They seem to balance each other. When they’re both playing well, they’re a very tough team to beat."
   And they’re a lot tougher to beat than they ever expected to be. Thirteen opponents can attest to it.
   "We work pretty well together," Weingarten said. "Once we started meshing, we play well. The results showed that."