By: centraljersey.com
Belinda Ji was a part of plenty of wins for the West Windsor-Plainsboro South girls tennis team as an alternate last year.
The sophomore was able to share in the biggest win yet this year when the Pirates won their third straight Mercer County Tournament championship on Monday at Mercer County Park.
"Obviously, there’s a lot more pressure sometimes," said Ji, who was one of four flight winners for the Pirates on Wednesday. "It makes me feel happier that I’m playing more as an actual varsity player."
WW-P South swept the bottom four flights and Ammu Mandalap improved one spot over the past two years when she finished second at first singles. Sahana Jayaraman captured the third singles flight, Larissa Lee Lum and Mallory Wang won at first doubles and Catherine Wong and Nicole Joseph won at second doubles. The Pirates’ 24 points distanced themselves from runner-up Princeton High, which had 16 1/2.
"It makes me pretty happy and excited to be a part of it," Ji said.
As a freshman last fall, she filled in capably whenever the Pirates had a hole to fill in their singles lineup, mostly at third singles and a couple of times at second singles while also playing twice at second doubles.
"Belinda was 10-0 at third singles, she was an alternate at second doubles," said Pirates head coach Carla Crawbuck. "She played a few at second doubles, but I needed her more at singles because I had Ammu (Mandalap) and June (Lee) out playing tournaments. I needed her a lot.
"I knew she was going to be very, very good for us. I didn’t know if she’d play second or third. They had a three-set match between her and Sahana and Sahana lost and never wanted to re-challenge. And she’s been holding her own."
Ji didn’t mind the experience she gained last year. It’s helped her transition into this season.
"I thought last year was more like an opportunity to do well," Ji said. "When I first tried out for the team, I was just trying to get on. It really surprised me that I got varsity at all, and I got to play at all. It was just exciting to get to play at all."
Now, Ji is a critical part of a Pirates lineup that has only two players back at their same positions from a year ago. Mandalap is at first singles for the third straight season. Lee Lum is in her fourth year of playing first doubles, and has won three straight first doubles MCT titles with three different partners. Lee unexpectedly did not return to school this year, and Jayaraman moved back into the singles lineup after winning the MCT and state titles with Lee Lum last year. She won the MCT second singles crown as a freshman.
"It’s different just because I played doubles last year," Jayaraman said. "I felt like freshman year there was a little more pressure. It’s a really good feeling. We’ve won all my three years at South. It’s a lot of fun to take the trophy home.
"I think we’re really good," she added. "We lost a lot of seniors who have been on varsity all four years, and we lost our second singles player. But we got some good players to fill their spots, so I think we’re still good."
The Pirates, despite the convincing final score, were tested throughout the tournament. Wong and Joseph had to come through a three-set match in the semifinals against West Windsor-Plainsboro North to capture the second doubles crown. Jayaraman trailed in the third singles final early before taking control.
"It was competitive," Crawbuck said. "It was good, and it’s good preparation for the state team and the state singles and doubles tournaments. It was good for them."
Ji worked on her game to prepare to move into the regular lineup. It has paid off this season.
"I had to work a lot on my serve and getting it in more consistently," Ji said. "And I actually had to work on my approach shots. Before then, I wasn’t really attacking up close to the net. I had to work on that a lot, and I think I’ve improved a lot from that practice."
The Pirates have been impressed by Ji’s development since last year. Jayaraman played her in a challenge match and gets to hit with her in practice.
"I think she’s been playing really well," Jayaraman said. "I think we kind of knew when the season began that she’d be a singles player just because of everyone that left. I think she’s been doing really well so far."
Ji got her toughest tests of the year at the MCT. She had to go through Princeton Day School’s Nicole Keim, a hard hitter, in the semifinals before she knocked off another hard hitter, Princeton’s Keely Herring, in the final.
"It gives me a bit more confidence that I can do well in matches," Ji said. "I guess it’ll help me later in the season."

