PHS boys third; Hun fifth
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
The West Windsor-Plainsboro North boys’ tennis team set a goal this season of being the best in school history.
The Knights’ fourth-place finish at the Mercer County Tournament on Wednesday is a good start.
”This is our best year yet,” said Knights head coach Albert Paulsson. “We’re very pleased with our performance. There were a lot of guys that made it through the second round and played well against the best players in the area. We come away from this with some confidence and some satisfaction that we placed fourth.”
Sean Lee and Jun Yoshitake were instrumental in helping the Knights climb from last year’s seventh-place showing to fourth this year. The second doubles tandem advanced to the finals before settling for second place in a hard-fought match with WW-P South, 7-6 (7-4), 7-5.
First-singles’ Tim Wu, second-singles’ Scott Weinreb and third-singles’ Brandon Frank all reached the consolation finals before finishing fourth. Instead of pure disappointment, the tournament showing is a stepping stone.
”In the eighth season that we’ve had a team at North,” Paulsson said, “this one might be the most competitive one yet. It’s very deep and they have a good work ethic. Coming into the state tournament, we’re looking to do well.”
Princeton High also hopes to build on one of its better performances in recent years. The Little Tigers earned three more points than they had last year to finish with 25, just one point behind second-place Princeton Day School. Second-singles’ Kevin Cen, third-singles’ David Zheng and the first-doubles team of Ari Silver and Ben Weingarten all reached the finals. Cen did so with a 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 marathon win over WW-P South. Zheng battled South for a 7-5, 6-4 victory to reach the finals.
”Obviously, the semifinal matches were highlights for us,” said PHS head coach Sarah Heyman. “David and Kevin both played really well and I’m proud of what they were able to do there to give us a shot for the team title. Advancing three flights to the finals was definitely exciting.
”Unfortunately, none of them were able to get it done in the finals. I know both Kevin and David were pretty tired after their semis. They both had tough matches, but they also had strong opponents. It’s just disappointing that they couldn’t have come away with a better outcome.”
As the afternoon wore on, Silver and Weingarten battled South before falling, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, in the first doubles final.
”First doubles were close,” Heyman said. “They lost the first, and managed to fight back and take the second. They did not start the third well, but once again managed to fight back and get back on serve. Just when I thought they were back in the match, it slipped away.”
Hun was fifth overall in the team standings. Only first-singles’ Lance Goulbourne returned for the second day. The senior was the only Raiders player that was seeded.
”I was really pleased that they all won their first rounds,” said Hun coach Joan Nuse. “That was good. I thought overall they played really well. Both Matt (Everts) and Rob (Solonick) had good second-round matches. And the doubles hit some tough teams, but still played OK. They’re still coming together. Then it was unfortunate that Lance had David in the semifinals.”
For many of the Raiders, it was their first time competing in the MCT. The experience can only help as they get into Mid-Atlantic Prep League play and eventually, the Prep A state tournament.
”They’re still learning and growing and we have to deal with injuries and other things,” Nuse said. “We’ll do the best we can and see how it goes. They’re a good group of kids. They’re working hard.”