FIRST TAKE: Princeton High boys’ tennis player Garrett Mathewson hits a groundstroke in a match last season. Junior Mathewson has starred at first singles as PHS has gotten off to a 1-1 start this spring. In upcoming action, the Tigers host Hightstown on April 17 before competing in the Colonial Valley Conference (CVC) tournament on April 21 and 23 at the Mercer County Tennis Center. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Although the Princeton High boys’ tennis team suffered a 4-1 loss to powerhouse WW/P-South its second match this season, Sarah Hibbert saw reason for optimism.

PHS junior star Garrett Mathewson posted a straight-set win at first singles in the April 8 match while junior Andrew Kuo forced a match tiebreaker at second singles and the second doubles pair of senior Matt Chen and sophomore Emil Kapur lost in two hard-fought sets.

“Garrett played really well, that was great for him; Andrew had a very good showing as well,” said PHS head coach Hibbert in assessing the April 8 match. “There were pieces of the other matches that were really strong in addition. Second doubles was very close. Even the matches that were lopsided on the scoreboard weren’t lopsided on the court. They are ranked as the No. 1 team in the state at the moment, so if we are able to be competitive with them it shows that we have the potential to compete with anyone.

We just have to get a little more experience.”

Lefty standout Mathewson can compete with anyone, benefiting from a year of experience in the first singles spot.

“Garrett had a great season there last year as well, he is one of the top players in the county,” said Hibbert. “He is continuing that solid level of play against the big teams. The other day it was really the serve was helping him out a lot, giving him some good free points.

His pace and placement was impressive.”

At second singles, Kuo brings some impressive consistency.

“Andrew is a very steady player, he always plays really long matches,” said Hibbert. “He had a great showing against the player from South (Shritan Gopu) who I believe is a 9 UTR (Universal Tennis Rating). Andrew really held his own — he was just a couple of points away from pulling off a win. He can move the ball around well. He is very steady and willing to play long rallies. He does have good pace on the ball as well.”

In the South contest, junior Aashil Patel played at third singles.

“He was coming back from an injury in that match,” said Hibbert. “He has improved a lot, he has worked really hard on his game. He has put a lot of time in.”

The first doubles pair of senior Shaan Zaveri and sophomore Tacto Yamada has shown improvement after playing together at second doubles in 2024.

“They were a really solid team for us at second last year, I feel with the year of experience they would really jell into a solid first team for us,” said Hibbert. “They know how to work together and communicate. Doubles is one of those tricky things where one player can be on and the other can be off. People have good days and bad days and you have to be able to work through it with your partner. Style-wise I think they do work together well. Shaan has a good serve and Tacto has great hands at net.”

At second doubles, Chen and Kapur have come together nicely in the early going.

“Emil was our alternate player last year, it was a natural progression and they have started their season playing really well,” said Hibbert. “They had a couple of close challenge matches with Shaan an Tacto. They look to be a solid team. They both move very well around the court. Emil gets a lot of balls back and Matt has really worked hard on his game this year as a senior.”

With the Tigers competing in the Colonial Valley Conference (CVC) tournament on April 21 and 23 at the Mercer County Tennis Center, Hibbert believes her squad will be up for the challenge as it faces a tough field.

“South will obviously be an obstacle, WW/P-North has a lot of strong players, Hightstown is tough this year, and Robbinsville has some top players,” said Hibbert, whose team will be hosting Hightstown on April 17. “Seeding can make a huge difference for placement and how matches fall out. Hopefully we will be able to put our best foot forward in the tournament and play our best tennis when it counts.”