PHS tennis falls to Millburn in Group III finals
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Caroline Zhou has enjoyed some pretty big surprises this year with the West Windsor-Plainsboro High South girls tennis team.
The Pirates junior was shocked to move from third singles to first singles to start this year, but that might pale in comparison to the surprise Group IV state championship won Friday after myriad hurdles to get there.
”It feels really good because it’s the first time since 1999,” Zhou said. “I didn’t know if we were going to win or not. Claudia (Siniakowicz) and Haley (Rich, last year’s Nos. 1 and 2 players respectively) weren’t trying out this year. I never imagined I’d be first singles. After Stephanie (Ji) got injured, we were so scared. We didn’t know if she was going to come back.
”I think it just comes as a reward for us working hard and playing all these years. Even though we didn’t win last year, we were close. Knowing we could do it this year, it was really nice. I felt like we deserved it.”
Zhou gave the Pirates momentum Friday with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Alexandria Absey as WW-P South topped Ridgewood, 3½-1½, in the Group IV semifinal. Angela Li and Sanjana Ravi won a tiebreaker at first doubles and Margaret MacArthur and Kim Wong won, 6-3, 6-3, at second doubles.
”It was a good match for me,” Zhou said. “I got to finish early and cheer on my teammates. I had fun watching my teammates play.”
In the final, the Pirates won at second singles with Angela Weng winning, Ji picked up a point at third singles and MacArthur and Wong won their match with a decisive second set for a 3-2 victory over Ridge. It’s the Pirates’ first title since they split into WW-P South and WW-P North.
”Our team, we were pretty confident,” said Zhou, who lost a second-set tiebreaker in her finals match. “We knew we could do it. We’ve gone this far. We’ve gone this far before. We knew what it took to win. We did and I’m really proud of us.”
The Pirates had reached the Group IV state finals in each of the last two years but Millburn always ended their run. This year, Millburn dropped down and stopped Princeton High School, 4-1, in the Group III state final. Gillian Samios and Elise Gerdes picked up the Little Tigers’ lone point in a match that was closer than the score looked.
”We put a scare in them,” said PHS head coach Sarah Hibbert. “They competed hard. The girls all worked hard. It was great for second doubles to be able to pull out a win, especially after being down, 1-4, in the first set. They came back and won the first set. They dropped the second but were able to come back and regroup and win the third.
”First doubles, they were also down 1-4 and came back to force a tiebreak. The last set was competitive. They lost a deuce game, and they lost 6-3.”
It’s only the second time that Millburn has lost a team point. And it’s just the second loss of the season for PHS. The Little Tigers still have a conference title to play for after a run to the state final. They topped Northern Highlands in the Group III semifinal. Christina Rosca, Rory Lewis and Gerdes and Samios picked up points in the 3-2 win.
”It was definitely a good win there,” Hibbert said. “All the teams that make it to this point are pretty strong. We were ranked higher than them in the state, but we hadn’t seen them before. They were definitely competitive. It was nice for the girls to make it back to the finals. It would have been nice if Millburn had stayed Group IV.”
PHS was scheduled to play WW-P South on Monday in a regular-season match. The Pirates have to turn around and continue play in the Tournament of Champions on Tuesday. WW-P South opened the TOC with a 5-0 win over Group II state champion New Providence on Sunday. Zhou was a 6-2, 6-2 winner.
”It’s a lot more challenging at first singles,” she said. “At third singles last year, I was undefeated. This year, I’ve lost many. I know they’re all really good. I just have to play my best. If I can’t win, there’s honestly nothing I can do. I wouldn’t imagine playing them last year.
”I see myself as a better tennis player knowing I can play against those girls and have really good matches against them. I feel a little more confident about myself. There’s also some downfalls. There’s some pressure.”
Zhou has handled a big change well. She still has another year to go, and she will be even better prepared for next season. She’s happy enough with how this season has developed.
”It’s a lot better than I expected because two years when I was just a freshmen, I didn’t even know I was going to play varsity,” Zhou said. “Here I am a junior playing first singles and we’re in the Tournament of Champions.”