Emerging as 4-Time MCT Boys’ Tennis Champion, Hoeland Entering PHS Athletics Hall of Fame
NET GAIN: Chris Hoeland hits a forehand during his career with the Princeton High boys’ tennis team. Hoeland, a 2005 PHS, grad won four Mercer County Tournament singles titles for the Little Tigers and helped the team win the state Group 3 title in 2002. Hoeland went on to the Washington University in St. Louis where helped the program win the 2008 NCAA Division III national title and earned All-American accolades in doubles. This Saturday, Hoeland is being inducted into the 13th class of honorees for the PHS Athletics Hall of Fame.
By Bill Alden
As a grade schooler growing up in Princeton, Chris Hoeland’s main athletic interests centered on baseball and basketball.
By the time he entered Princeton High in 2001, though, Hoeland had turned his focus to tennis.
“It was mainly basketball and baseball for a long time,” said Hoeland.
“I got into tennis, I enjoyed it. No matter what happens, you are involved in some kind of action and it is all on me. I started playing tournaments when I was 12.”
As he started his high school career, Hoeland didn’t harbor any grand ambitions of success on the court.
“I didn’t really have any specific goals,” said Hoeland. “I knew some players on the team from growing up in the area and other sports as well.”
Hoeland grew up quickly, winning the title in third singles at the Mercer County Tournament in his debut campaign.
“It was certainly special,” said Hoeland, reflecting on win the title as a freshman. “As a freshman, you don’t quite know what is going on.”
Going on to have a special career for PHS, Hoeland ended up taking four MCT individual titles, winning third singles as a sophomore, second as a junior, and first as a senior. He also helped the Little Tigers to the state Group 3 title in 2002.
This Saturday, Hoeland will be inducted in the 13th class of honorees of the PHS Athletics Hall of Fame in a dinner at Mercer Oaks Country Club in West Windsor.
Joining Hoeland in the class will be athletes – Chris Cahill ’78 (lacrosse, football), Sue Lofgren ’85 (diving, field hockey. lacrosse), Kesti Ringland ’90 (track), Libby Bliss ’07 (track, cross country); a team – boys’ golf 2005-08; and a contributor – Bob Nuse, the longtime sports editor of the Princeton Packet.
While he is proud of his individual success at PHS, which included a 100-9 career singles record, it is the bonds with his teammates that have left indelible memories for Hoeland.
“It is just the friends I have made over the years and getting the exposure to the team atmosphere even though it was an individual sport,” said Hoeland, noting that he is still close to fellow PHS star and Hall of Famer Ilia Shatashvili ’08.
“The team aspect of it really got me excited about college tennis.”
After graduating from PHS, Hoeland headed to Washington University in St. Louis where he enjoyed a stellar career. He helped the program win the 2008 NCAA Division III national title in his junior season and was a three-time All-American in doubles.
“I came into the program with five other freshmen and we had some very good seniors,” said Hoeland, a 2009 WashU graduate.
“We had good leadership. When we came in, we had a good team but we weren’t quite there. We made the NCAA tournament freshman year but I didn’t even know if we won a round. It was a cool buildup between freshman and junior year for the team to go from being a good team, but not necessarily any major presence on the national scene to being one of the teams in the mix at the end of the year. We were seeded sixth, and we ended up winning.”
His success in doubles at the college level came naturally to Hoeland.
“I was a server and volleyer; that always translated well to doubles,” said Hoeland.
“If you can control the net, that gives you a big advantage. I played for three years with the same doubles partner, my friend Charlie Cutler. You know what to expect from your partner and exactly where you need to be.”
Since college, Hoeland, now 32, has stayed in the game, working as an assistant coach for the Princeton University men’s tennis team for three years, serving as a program manager for the National Junior Tennis and Learning (NJTL) of Trenton and is now working as a sports marketing manger for tennis equipment company Babolat in the Denver area.
“I have been very lucky to know a lot of people who I have been able to potentially get jobs through,” said Hoeland, who oversees U.S. junior competitions for Babolat.
“It is also that I love tennis. I have seen the sport through a lot of different lenses – playing, coaching, working in NJTL, a non-profit, and now I am on the business side. It has been pretty interesting.”
For Hoeland, getting the call to the PHS Hall of Fame brought to mind all the different people who fostered his love affair with tennis.
“I didn’t have any expectation at all but it is certainly awesome to be recognized,” said Hoeland, reflecting on getting the HOF honor.
“I don’t live for any public recognition. I am just going to be thanking all of the people that allowed me to be recognized. I would say everyone there played a part in my success at PHS.”