Panthers’ Trivedi has many options off the court
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Vinay Trivedi admits that he is struggling in his senior year at Princeton Day School.
Trivedi, one-half of the boys tennis team’s first doubles tandem with Jeremy Lu, isn’t having any problems on the court. His trouble is in deciding where to spend his next four years.
”He’s been accepted at Harvard, Princeton, Dartmouth, MIT, Duke and North Carolina,” said PDS tennis coach Rome Campbell. “He’s a phenomenal student-athlete. He’s right off the charts.”
Trivedi only has until May 1 to decide which of those schools to matriculate to next fall.
”I was lucky enough to get into a few schools,” Trivedi said. “I’m struggling. I don’t know where I’m going.
”It’s crunch time. I’ve visiting schools every weekend.”
Comparatively, it’s been a breeze on the tennis court, though Trivedi has been forced to adjust yet again. For the fourth straight year, he is playing doubles for the Panthers with a new partner. He and Lu picked up their most impressive win of the season, 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 6-2, in the Panthers’ 3-2 loss to Hopewell Valley on Tuesday. Hopewell’s first doubles duo includes Bennett Kelley, who played second singles last year for the Bulldogs.
”It was definitely one of my better wins,” Trivedi said. “It was tough. It went on very long. It was a three-set match. We pulled it out once we got focused and composed ourselves.”
It wasn’t easy when Hopewell rallied from a 3-0 second-set deficit to force a tiebreaker that they won. It extended the match and forced the Panthers to regroup.
”As captain, I felt obligated to tell Jeremy we have to do more to win,” Trivedi said. “Everyone was feeling lethargic. No one wanted to be out there past 6 o’clock.
”I cheered after every point we won. It energized Jeremy. We both fed off each other.”
Trivedi called upon his experience to pull out the win. After three prior years of doubles, there aren’t many situations he hasn’t seen.
Said Trivedi: “A large part of doubles is experience, knowing where you have to be on the court and where your partner is and how to work with your partner when times are rough and times are good and talking strategy. Through my four years, I’ve worked with a different partner every year, I’ve learned to adapt my game to my partner’s and work with whomever I’m playing with.”
It began four years ago as a freshman paired with Neil Sharma at second doubles. Trivedi moved up to first doubles as a sophomore with Alvin Song, then junior year paired with Patrick Murphy. This year, he is working with Lu, a sophomore.
”Jeremy was mostly injured last year,” Campbell said. “The chemistry is starting to work. They played a good match (Tuesday) and beat a good team. It was probably one of their better wins. It’s probably one of Vinay’s better performances, and Jeremy’s stepping up. He doesn’t have lots of doubles experience.”
Fortunately, Trivedi does. It’s something that has helped him adapt each and every season. He’s to the point where he would play doubles if he had the choice.
”I’ve been playing doubles a while,” he said. “It is challenging. Last year, I was on the backhand side. This year, I’m on the forehand side. It does call on my versatility. I have to work on my game. I just have to practice. I’ve been lucky, I’ve found people willing to make the same sacrifices to practice with me.”
Said Campbell: “He’s really turned into a fine doubles player. He was injured a little in his earlier years. If he can avoid injury, he’s pretty good.”
PDS is counting on Trivedi’s experience to be a help in the doubles lineup. The singles lineup returned just Neil Karandikar, who has moved up from second to first singles to replace three-time Mercer County Tournament champion David Holland. Max Gebhardt is a transfer to PDS and Dylan Dreher returned to tennis after two seasons off.
”Neil and I are the only returning varsity players,” Trivedi said. “Dave McCourt played last year, but was an alternate. We’ve had some ups and downs in our early matches, but if we all perform at our highest, I think we can impact any tournament.”
The MCT next week will test the Panthers depth. PDS finished second last season.
”I think there’s a lot more parity,” Campbell said. “There’s no more big guns in the tournament like Lance (Goulbourne of Hun) or David (Holland) or Leland Richardson (of West Windsor-Plainsboro South).”
Trivedi is feeling better about the Panthers as they gain more experience in their spots. No other PDS player has as much experience as he does in his current flight, and it certainly helped in a big win for him and Lu on Tuesday even as the Panthers suffered their first team loss.
”It was a tough loss,” Trivedi said. “I know some of the guys could have played better. In practice, we know how well we play. We have to produce those results in actual competition.”
The MCT would be a perfect time for PDS to put it all together. Trivedi figures to be busy that week as he finalizes his college selection and faces the pressure of what should be a high seed for the MCT.
”I definitely have to balance a lot of things in addition to tennis,” he said. “I’ve been managing. My tennis isn’t suffering. Even when I go to visit, I try to work out.”
It’s what makes Vinay Trivedi a leader for the PDS boys tennis team, and one of the top doubles players in the county.
”It requires a different skill than singles,” Trivedi said. “It requires collaboration and teamwork and a different type of motivation. It takes the individual tennis game and applies it to a team setting. That’s what I love about doubles.”

