SPOILS OF VICTORY: Members of the Princeton Day School boys’ tennis are all smiles as they show off the hardware they earned after placing first in the Prep B state tournament last week at Wardlaw-Hartridge. PDS titled 12 points to win the tournament as they edged runner-up Rutgers Prep who had 10. The Panthers won three flights in the event as Aryn Jain took first singles, Max Wang prevailed at second singles, and the first doubles pair of Avi Saran and Faizan Mohammad were victorious. Pictured, from left, are assistant coach Jon Brown, Max Wang, Abhishek Srinivasan, Avi Saran, Faizan Mohammad, Aryn Jain, Brayden Wang, and head coach Michael Augsberger. Not pictured is Archie Douglas. (Photo provided by Michael Augsberger)
By Bill Alden
Although the Princeton Day School boys’ tennis fell 3-2 to Princeton High in its regular season finale, that defeat helped sharpen the Panthers for postseason play.
“Princeton is ranked ninth in the state right now so to play somebody of that quality right before you head into Preps helps us,” said PDS head coach Michael Augsberger, reflecting on the May 15 match.
A day later, the Panthers came up big in opening day action at the Prep B state tournament at Wardlaw-Hartridge, advancing to the finals in four of the five flights at the competition.
The first doubles team of senior Avi Saran and sophomore Faizan Mohammad set the tone in the opening rounds.
“The first doubles were pretty dominant in their matches, that was really good to see,” said Augsberger. “They were confident going in. They performed and backed that up which was good.”
At first singles, freshman Aryn Jain toughed out a semifinal win in two sets as he battled the heat and Liam Hong of Morristown-Beard.
“In the second set which was the fourth that he played that day in the grueling heat, he started to fade a little bit,” said Augsberger. “He fought through it and came back from 4-1 to where it was manageable at 4-3 when he needed the break. He pulled out the set at 7-5. I think he saved a set point. That was at the point where all of the guys except second doubles were out there watching him and he was really drawing on their support.”
Entering the finals on May 18, PDS was locked in battle with Rutgers Prep for the team title.
“Rutgers is a rival and an opponent we play against year after year in different competitions,” said Augsberger. “This time it was in the prep atmosphere. They were missing their No. 1 so they were fired up because they were trying to rally around the fact that they knew they would have more of an advantage if he had been there. They were pumped up for it for that reason.”
Displaying its depth, PDS prevailed in three finals to win the team title as it ended with 12 points to edge runner-up Rutgers Prep who came in at 10. Jain won at first singles, freshman Max Wang took the title at second singles and the doubles pair of Saran and Mohammad won to clinch the team crown. It marked the program’s first Prep B championship since 2023.
At first singles, the precocious Jain displayed his savvy as he posted a 6-3, 6-1 win over Holt Wilson of the Ranney School.
“The scores don’t tell the story because the games were much close,” said Augsberger. “He does a great job of shaping his shots. He can dial up the miles per hour if he wants to. You know you are dealing with someone with a lot more nuance and wisdom when he doesn’t dial it up when you expect it.”
Wang kept his cool as he topped Rutgers Prep’s Aryen Parikh 6-3, 6-1 in the second singles final.
“He has just had such a dominant year at second singles, he has only lost a couple of matches this season,” said Augsberger. “He fights for everything. He has really learned to be respectful to the officials and understand that they are the final call and after that, that’s it. He is able to reset himself after every single point. He is the one that is telling the guys when you step up to serve or receive serve, you put that out of your mind.”
Appropriately, the first doubles pair of Saran and Mohammad secured the team title as they defeated Carl Lowe and Arun Gokhale of Rutgers Prep 7-6, 6-3.
“That is where we clinched it and there was nothing more fitting,” said Augsberger. “You have got the lone senior who was playing in the finals for us. He is our charismatic leader. Then you have the locker room leader of the team in Faizan. There were no more fitting guys to clinch the title for us. They had to battle in the first set to win that tiebreak at 7-5.”
After battling to the title, the pair showed how much the title meant to the program.
“The embrace that Avi and Faizan had at first doubles after they won, having endured the 100 degrees heat and the tiebreak and the fighting spirit of Rutgers Prep who really pushed them captured the feeling of the team,” said Augsberger. “They embraced, they dropped their rackets. There’s that sense of accomplishment and pride for bringing it back home.”
Augsberger likes the team feeling his players have exhibited this spring.
“It is the supportiveness they give to each other,” said Augsberger. “These are guys who grew up watching professional tennis and wanting to emulate the pros. They do it down to the tics they see on TV. They look to their coach and they look to that teammates for that support. That really does fire them up.”
PDS is fired up to go after another title as it will be starting action this week in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) South Jersey Non-Public tourney. The Panthers are seeded second and were slated to host seventh-seeded Ranney School in the quarterfinal round on May 26 with the winner advancing to semifinals on May 28.
“The thing that gives us the biggest confidence is the seed,” said Augsberger. “For a long time we were relying on our strength of schedule and this is one of the two years in my six where we have also had the record to back it up. To have the confidence from the committee shows, we are not the only ones who believe strongly in our skills. You could see it in the Preps too.