By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
At first glance, West Windsor-Plainsboro High South’s sweep of all five flights made its Mercer County Boys Tennis Tournament championship look easy.
But first looks can be deceiving.
The Pirates were pushed on their way to their 12th championship in the last 13 years. They faced a stern challenge from Princeton, which reached the finals in four flights, and WW-P North, which reached the second doubles final.
I did not expect that to happen,” WW-P South coach Richard Arnold said of the Pirates’ five-flight sweep. “I felt like one of the double or possibly Kabir (Sarita) could have lost. But they all played with some soul and passion. The other teams were good and the matches we played were tough. Princeton has a real good team with talented players. We certainly needed to play well to win.”
WW-P finished with a perfect score of 25, while Princeton was second with 18 points and WW-P North finished third with 16 points. Princeton Day School was sixth, while Hun finished tied for 12th.
“I don’t know if this has happened in a long time where we have won all five flights,” Arnold said. “Even thought we might have been favored you still need to go out and complete the assignment. There were good players on the other teams. Robert (Siniakowicz at second singles) had a tough semifinal. That kid (Princeton Day’s Lex Decker) was very good. If Robert had an off day he would have lost.
“We have won it five years in a row since I have been head coach and South has won 12 of 13 years. It’s been a good run but I don’t think they have ever swept all the flights.”
The Pirates won all five flights in 2000 before the district split into two high schools. The team was a county powerhouse back then and appears to be just as strong now.
“This team, if they mentally stay together, could be best I have been around as an assistant or head coach,” Arnold said. “If our two doubles improve and get better we can hang with anybody. We’ve changed the doubles since we lost to Newark Academy in April. We’re going to the Newark Academy Invitational on May 7 just before states and Millburn and Delbarton and Livingston will be there. That will be a big test.”
The Pirates swept on Wednesday at Mercer County Park as Sarita picked up a 6-4, 6-3 win at first singles over Noah Lilienthal of Princeton, the defending champion. Siniakowicz topped Jerry Gu of Princeton, 6-3, 6-2 in the second singles final. Matthew Michibata topped Kevin Yang of Princeton, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the final at third singles.
At the doubles, Mihir Singh and Alex Yang topped Princeton’s Andrew Lin and Eric Lin, 6-2, 6-1 to win at No. 1, while Akul Telluri and Aditya Ravi won at second doubles, 6-4, 6-4 over WW-P North’s Vihan Desilva and Aditya Shastri.
“There is always pressure and you have to play hard,” Arnold said. “There were a lot of flights that could have gone either way. Michibata beat the Princeton kid badly earlier this season but today the kid played well and the match went three sets. You still have to fight to win.
“Kabir lost the regular season match earlier but has been playing better and better. He’s improved his serve and his two-handed backstroke down the line has been incredibly good.”
When the Pirates won the title in 2014 they won just one flight. Last year they captured two flights and this year made it a clean sweep.
“This team could be the best we have had if the doubles keep improving,” Arnold said. “The singles are all good and will be fine. If the doubles teams can be consistently good and we can get a point from them on a day when one of the singles losses we will be tough to beat.
Princeton finished second for the second straight year and made a strong run with four finalists.
“They were competitive in all of the matches,” Princeton coach Sarah Hibbert said. “Noah’s match was straight sets but it seemed like they were at deuce every game. We had a lot of close matches. Sometimes the score doesn’t reflect that. Kabir had to battle. I feel like Noah had to play a much harder semifinal and that took a little out of him.”
With a freshman and two sophomores in the singles lineup the future looks bright for the Little Tigers.
“Kevin split sets at third after losing a match to him earlier,” Hibbert said. “So we have seen growth. South just has a lot of depth this year. We had four in the semis and they all made finals. You can’t ask for too much more than that. It would have been nice if we had won but they all worked hard. We have had some injuries and illness and guys have worked hard.”
WW-P North put four flights in the semis and reached the finals at second doubles. Arjun Krishman finished fourth at first singles, Nihal Sidhu was third at third singles, and the first doubles team of Anoop Patel and Srirarn Bapatla was third.
PDS put Lex Decker into the semis and he finished third.
