LITTLE TIGERS MOVE ON
Princeton sweeps Hightstown in CJ III tourney
PRINCETON — The Princeton High School girls tennis team enters nearly every match knowing it has a guaranteed point with Christina Rosca at first singles.
But the Little Tigers also know it takes more than one player to win a match. Their depth this season has allowed them to do plenty of winning.
Princeton improved to 13-0 on Tuesday with a 5-0 win against Hightstown in the quarterfinals of the Central Jersey Group III Tournament.
With the win, the second-seeded Little Tigers advance to the sectional semifinals, where they host third-seeded Wall. In the other semifinal, fourthseeded Steinert hosts eighth-seeded Somerville, which defeated No. 1 Northern Burlington on Tuesday.
“We look to the top of our lineup for strength, but it is also nice to know that we have the depth to back Chris (Rosca) up,” Princeton coach Sarah Hibbert said of her top singles player, who has reached the quarterfinals of the individual state singles tournament. “She can’t play matches by herself. She needs a team supporting her, and we have been lucky this year to have good depth. Both doubles teams have been coming together well, and I hope they continue to improve as we face tougher competition in states.”
Rosca, the Mercer County Tournament first singles champion, led a Princeton sweep of singles with a 6-0, 6-2 win against Hightstown’s Sneha Rangu. Princeton also picked up singles wins from Rory Lewis and Katelyn Hojeibane.
Lewis, who played first doubles a year ago with Madison Cahill-Sardinas, has made a smooth transition to the second singles spot, while Hojeibane returns for a second season at singles.
“It’s a different mentality than doubles because you are out there by yourself,” Lewis said. “But it is a lot of fun, and I feel like I am a stronger singles player than I am a doubles player.
“Last year I wasn’t as sure of myself, and (Cahill-Sardinas) helped me build up my confidence. It was my first year on varsity and I was a bit nervous. But now I am more used to the competition. It is a lot tougher at singles, but I feel like I worked hard over the summer and I have more match experience than last year, which is good.”
The Little Tigers also picked up straight-set wins at doubles, with Zhenia Dementyev and Gillian Samios winning at first doubles, while Allison Hubert and Nikhita Salgame captured second doubles.
“We have good players all around and strong players that all love tennis,” Lewis said. “Everybody on the team works really hard, so I think we deserve to be doing well. I have had some past experience (in the state tournament) so I know what to expect. But every match you have to be in the moment and go out and play your best.”
At this point, the pieces appear to fit nicely for the Little Tigers, looking to repeat as CJ III champions.
“It is a lot of the same people from last year but in slightly different positions,” Hibbert said. “And we have a couple new people in the doubles. Rory has been playing very well for us moving up from doubles to singles. Overall I have been very pleased with our progress.”