By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Noah Lilienthal grew a little taller in the last year, but it was his growth mentally that made the difference in an incredible debut season.
The Princeton High School freshman has been a strong tennis player coming up through the rankings, but he hasn’t always won the matches against his toughest foes. This year, he found a way to come through in the biggest matches thanks to his biggest area of development.
“I think my mental stability,” credited Lilienthal. “I was mentally a little bit weak before. Now I feel like I’m really comfortable on the court and I’m in the right frame of mind. And also it was a confidence thing. That’s more of a short term thing — if you win more matches, you get more confidence.”
Lilienthal’s confidence had every reason to grow. He was tested early in the season. In the first week, he met Notre Dame’s Eric Biscoveanu and won the match. There was still a week left in April when the Mercer County Tournament began with Lilienthal seeded third, mostly based on his win over Biscoveanu. Seeded ahead of him were top-seeded defending champion Jerry Jiang of Pennington as well as second-seeded Kabir Sarita of West Windsor-Plainsboro South, a player who had handled Lilienthal before. The county saw an improved Lilienthal stop both of the top seeds. He rallied after losing the first set to Jiang in the semifinals to advance to the finals, where he stopped Sarita in straight sets. In doing so, he became the first freshman in more than 20 years to win the first singles championship at the MCT.
“He doesn’t play like a freshman,” said PHS head coach Sarah Hibbert. Lilienthal only looks like one with his small stature. His game and his increased mental fortitude and confidence made for a successful debut in his first season.
“I was expecting to have tough matches against Eric Biscoveanu and Kabir and a lot of players and all those really strong players from the area,” Lilienthal said. “I was happy I was able to come out on top because in past years, they’ve always beaten me pretty easily. Now I’m competitive with them. Kabir and I had two tough matches. It shows I’ve gotten a lot better than a year or two ago.”
Sarita won the rematch in the regular season, but it took him three sets. The only other loss that Lilienthal suffered was to Tyler Schick, Millburn’s No. 1 and the top seed in the state singles tournament. Even in that one, it was 4-4 in the first set before Schick pulled away.
“Noah’s play was frustrating him early,” Hibbert said. “The shots that would normally be winners kept coming back.”
Lilienthal’s play helped Princeton win the Central Jersey Group III state championship and they advanced to the Group III state final before falling to Millburn. PHS finished 17-4 with their new ace at the top. Lilienthal lost just twice while impressing with his steady play and success against the best in the area.
Noah Lilienthal is the Princeton Packet Boys Tennis Player of the Year.
“The consistency with which he was able to play well impressed me,” Hibbert said. “Obviously, he was at his best in counties. He really came out and exceeded the expectations and didn’t worry about the pressure. He took it one point as a time and one game at a time and one set at a time. Considering how early it was, he hadn’t had many tough matches going into the county tournament. We didn’t know how he’d rate against the older players, especially Jerry who won it last year.”
Lilienthal was thrilled with his early results. They set his season in motion and gave him faith that he could top anyone on the schedule if he used sound strategy combined with his shot-making abilities.
“Actually I’ve always been the type of player where I had flashy moments and then I’d be inconsistent and miss shots,” Lilienthal said. “One of reasons I was able to succeed was I understand the game more. I don’t have to be the big man and hit a huge shot every time. I’m more of a grinder. I try to wear down opponents more rather than trying to slug it by them.”
Lilienthal has started to understand what can make him the most effective on the court. He doesn’t have to try to out-hit other opponents, though he has solid strokes. He can return shots to spots that are tough for an opponent to do anything but get back. Adjusting his playing style is a recent change.
“Maybe even in the last half-year,” Lilienthal said. “It’s still a work in progress. I think that’s definitely one of the main changes in my game. I’ve had good hands and I can hit the ball pretty hard from the backcourt. The thing that was missing was the regular shot that makes the other guy hit a weak ball. It’s been more consistent.”
Almost every top player has plenty of fitness, so it takes more than wearing down an opponent. The way that Lilienthal plays, however, can have a deflating effect. He has the quickness to run down almost any shot, and he knows how to go from defensive to offensive in a hurry.
“That’s definitely a big part of it,” Hibbert said. “He gets so much back, and not that he just gets it back, he gets it back well. When people think they’ve won the point, it’s often not over. You have to keep working.”
Lilienthal was able to experiment with his changing style during his first high school season. Playing for PHS allowed him to take on challenges of how to finish off points.
“Last year, I was drilling and drilling and drilling and working on my game,” Lilienthal said. “I was able to play more matches this year and put myself in situations where I could win, and play against guys like Kabir and play against Eric, and that’s a tough match. Playing different players and getting more experience and confidence instead of drilling helped me. I’m definitely coming out of the high school season with more confidence and self-belief.”
Lilienthal valued the chance to join the high school team for the first time. It gave him a new experience.
“It was really fun because I had teammates there to support me,” he said. “We always want each other to win. Rishab (Tanga) and Tyler (Hack) are such good captains, they welcomed me more than I expected. We were competing for PHS and competing for PHS tennis. Tennis isn’t the most recognized sport in most schools. I feel like we’re singled out. We were competing to make a better reputation for tennis, maybe get 15 seconds on the intercom instead of five seconds.”
There were plenty of highlights for the Little Tigers. Lilienthal gave them a steady presence at the top of the lineup that they could count on in any match.
“There’s definitely some strong competition in this area from the public and private schools,” Hibbert said. “He had to be able to play well most of the time. Hightstown, Robbinsville, (West Windsor-Plainsboro) North, (WW-P) South, Hopewell, they all have strong players. Trenton’s 1 this year is a strong player. Noah has trained with him in the past, so he knows him well.”
Even those that had played Lilienthal in recent years saw an improved player this year. He handled the success well.
“I think I approached everything the way I wanted to,” Lilienthal said. “I think in the past, this goes back to having more experience, I’d win a few matches and be seeded high and crack under pressure when I’d play someone lower than me who’s good.”
Lilienthal benefited from his wins as well as his losses. He didn’t have many setbacks, but he found them valuable.
“Kabir played better than me when he beat me,” Lilienthal said. “He’s always a challenge. For more than half of the match, he was a little better than me. I didn’t take advantage of opportunities and that’s why I lost.
“Against Kabir, I learned a lot. I think I was on a roll, and I had a lot of confidence. I don’t remember that match that well, but all I remember I was up a set and a break and I got too relaxed and all of a sudden he was beating me. I learned I had to focus every point. That’s what I did at Mercer County, or I would have lost to him. Against Tyler Schick I played a pretty good first set. And in the second set, my legs were gone.”
His back also started to spasm, and it cost him a chance to play in the state singles tournament where Lilienthal was considered a contender. Looking back, Lilienthal felt he didn’t warm up enough before playing Schick and his back felt the consequences. While he couldn’t finish up the season the way he wanted, he was encouraged by the improvements he saw on the court and how they translated into success.
“Next year, I definitely want to manage my body a little better and be more disciplined getting ready for matches so I don’t have situations where I have to default for the state tournament,” Lilienthal said. “One of the big things my coaches have said is results are results, they’re there to confirm your hard work. I’ve been working really hard so that’s what’s been giving me results. I’m the same player. I definitely have a lot more confidence. Next year will be better because right off the get-go I know I can win almost every match I play.”
