PDS frosh Lieb made immediate impact
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Samantha Lieb already has all the tools of a great player, and she is only a freshman.
The Princeton Day School freshman is tall, athletic and can mix powerful strokes with devastating precision.
”She was as good as I heard,” said PDS head coach Patty Headley. “I was told she was a really high level elite player and she did not disappoint.”
Lieb joined the Panthers this season and, after missing the first two matches of the year for an outside tournament, it didn’t take her long to make an impact.
The first setting for her arrival was the Mercer County Tournament. Lieb became the first freshman since 1998 to claim the first singles title. She did so in dominant fashion. She did not lose a game in the first two matches, and lost a total of just five games on her way to becoming the first PDS first-singles champion in program history.
”I was the only freshman from PDS to ever win,” Lieb said. “That was really nice to know. I worked really hard for it. I was really happy about it. That was one of my main highlights.”
Lieb went on to win all of the regular-season matches she played in, including a straight sets win over East Brunswick’s Stefania Balasa. Balasa was the second seed in the individual state public tournament, but was a 6-4, 6-2 victim against Lieb.
”She got more games off her than anybody did,” Headley said. “This was not a cakewalk. It was impressive, but the score didn’t reflect how well that other player played. Samantha wasn’t able to kick back and relax. She had to earn that one.”
Few others had the ability to challenge Lieb, the former No. 1 ranked Middle States Under-14 player before she moved up to U-16 while she was still just 13 years old.
”A lot of people don’t really know what it’s like to play a player on that level,” Headley said. “Between her and (Lawrenceville’s) Emma Levy, we’ve got amazing tennis in this area right now.”
Lieb never got her chance to play one of her hitting partners. Levy was hurt when their teams met in the regular season. Lieb suffered an asthma attack while trailing Hun’s Kara Shoemaker in the Prep A state tournament semifinals and had to injury default. It was the only loss in her 16-1 season. Her steady play enabled PDS to improve to 11-4 this season after going 8-7 last year.
Samantha Lieb is the Princeton Packet Girls’ Tennis Player of the Year.
”I didn’t expect to win all my matches,” Lieb said. “I had some good competition. I was looking forward to getting to know my team members. I was just looking forward to having a good season with all my team members and hopefully I could be a good asset to my team.”
Two of the Panthers’ losses came without her in the lineup, proving just how important she was as a teammate as well as individual. The other two losses came against unbeaten Prep A champion Lawrenceville and Central Jersey Group IV semifinalist East Brunswick.
”One of the wonderful things,” Headley said, “is she is on a different level than most people, but she came to practice and practiced with her teammates. That enabled everyone’s game to rise. That’s one reason our team did so well.
”I want to make sure the other girls on the team get their proper credit. They worked hard. Having an elite player, it really helped everyone else on the team step up their game. And they did.”
The enjoyment her teammates got from this year’s success was part of what made Lieb’s first high school season so enjoyable. Lieb’s contributions came after plenty of work on her part.
”I think I improved a lot in the past year,” Lieb said. “I’ve been practicing more. I’ve been growing and maturing. I just became stronger and I was working out a lot during the year. I think that improved my game a lot. I think I became more fit and quicker. When I played 16s, that helped. A lot of players are more experienced and better. That was a good choice to play up.”
Particularly since she figured to face older, more experienced players in high school. But no one had much success against the PDS first-year player. In addition to her racket skills, she has some advantages that are hard to teach.
”Like most elite players, she has the ability to anticipate,” Headley said. “She has great anticipation skills. When she’s hitting, she’s already planned where she’s going to be and what she’s going to do next. That’s the difference between good and elite.
”You have all the mechanics down. You have to get your mental game. That anticipation is a big one. She does that very well.”
The only thing that did fell her this season was asthma. It was the only thing she couldn’t control or overcome.
”I have bad asthma,” said the Newtown, Pa. resident. “It gets bad during this time of the year. Usually I play through it. I never have defaulted. I felt really bad. Kara is a good player.”
Lieb defeated Shoemaker in their previous two meetings. She considered her most impressive showing in the East Brunswick match when she stopped Balasa in two sets.
”She was a very good player,” Lieb said. “I didn’t think I was going to win. I’ve seen her at many tournaments. She was up on me. I woke up and I was playing a lot better. She was a tough player and she never gave up. I played pretty well against her.”
She thinks she could play even better. She has three years to prove it in the scholastic ranks, and hopes to continue to lead the Panthers from the top.
”There’s always ways to improve,” Lieb said. “One thing I have to work on is my serve and moving the player around the court. I want to play more aggressively than I have.”
As for next season, she said, “I guess everyone will be better because it’s the next year. I’m sure there will be a lot of new freshmen coming in and a lot of new competition.”
It’s competition that will taking aim at her. Samantha Lieb figures to be tough to stop. She’s not slowing down any time soon.
”She works really hard,” Headley said. “That’s what it takes. She conditions. She trains year-round. For such a young person, she has really dedicated herself to her tennis game.”