Angela Weng will occupy one of the singles positions for the defending Mercer County Tournament champion West Windsor-Plainsboro South girls tennis team.
By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
When it comes to girls tennis, success is synonymous with the programs in the Packet area.
Montgomery, which won the Somerset County Tournament and state Group IV championships last year, will be looking to duplicate that same sort of success this year.
Meanwhile, Mercer County champion West Windsor-Plainsboro South, as well as Princeton and WW-P are also looking for big things this season.
Montgomery has some holes to fill after graduation losses. But the Cougars always seem to reload rather than rebuild.
Lily Chu returns to the lineup at second singles, while Ally Yan and Amy Yan are at first doubles. At the top of the lineup will be newcomer Alexandra Mednikova.
“We are a young team with four new members on varsity this year” Montgomery coach Raheel Saleem said. “The goal is to stay competitive and to continue to get stronger as we reach states this year. It should be a challenging season in the Skyland Conference as well in Group 4 with Princeton and WW-P South joining the Group 4 Central section this year. We are to very excited to play some well respected teams.”
Khoshna Ande is slated to take over at third singles, while Katie Parsons and Allison Kang are opening the season at second doubles.
WW-P South was 22-2 last year and has a solid nucleus to build around this season.
Angela Weng and Stephanie Ji return at singles, while Kim Wong moves into the singles lineup at third singles.
“Our first doubles are Michelle deSousa and Dvi Muniappan and our second doubles are Manogna Konduri and Haija Wang,” Pirates coach Carla Crawbuck said. “I think we will be fine this year.”
At Princeton, Christian Herzog moves into the head coaching role after spending the last several years as the Little Tigers’ assistant coach. The Little Tigers were 25-4 and have hopes of being that good again this year.
“We will be returning Elise Gerdes, Brinda Suppiah, Caroline Tan, Maggie Herring and Adriana Todorov,” Herzog said. “Additionally, we have several strong freshman who will play central roles in our success this season – Samantha Singer, Spencer Watts and Nicole Samios). Princeton is looking to outperform ourselves from last season.”
WW-P North will be looking to replace its top two singles players from a year ago. The Knights were 13-14 against a very tough schedule and will face another tough schedule this year.
“Nora Binder returns for her third varsity year and moves up from No. 3 singles,” WW-P North coach Richard Arnold said. “Melinda Mao is a talented freshman who should do well at No. 2. Ishneet Sachar is moving up to No. 3 singles from second doubles last year. At No, 1 doubles is Feruza Norqulova and Catherine Wang playing at the same position as last year. At No. 2 doubles Ruhani Nigam and Shreya Gowda are a new team who should be solid
In the Prep ranks, Princeton Day School is the defending Prep B state champion. The Panthers return Sydney Vine, Arya Jha, Touria Salvati, Tarika Kumar and Giulia Gerschel to the lineup, while adding newcomers Grace Marshall and Emma Dries.
Stuart Country Day graduated four key players but returns three starters from last year’s lineup.
“Caitlyn Delaney, first singles last year, and Ally McGowen, second doubles last year, are both four-year varsity members and are expected to lead the team this year, and possibly in different positions,” Stuart coach Katherine Stoltenberg said. “Annie Liang, second doubles last year, also returns for her second varsity year. The rest of our lineup will bring some fresh legs to the program as we continue to have a competitive season.”
The Hun School has a new head coach as Stuart Woody takes over as the head of the program. He returns pair of varsity starters at the top of the lineup in sisters Paige and Chelsea Braithwaite. Tali Prozementer, a senior who did not play last year, is back this season. A pair of freshmen, Alexis English and Jackie Drozd, also figure to play key roles this season.
“Each team is like a jigsaw puzzle” Woody said. “Every year you need to figure out how all the pieces will fit together. I have the luxury of returning our top two players, plus I have the added bonus of inheriting two freshmen who will contribute immediately. My job will now revolve around getting each team member to play her role so we can have fun and find success.”
Other players in the mix for a spot in the lineup include Ishana Desai, Gaby Issa, Bella Arduini, Paige Graff and Savannah Rudek.
