By Bill Alden

Wearing a black surgical mask and dealing with a nagging cough, Princeton High boys’ tennis player Andrew Kuo wasn’t sure he could make it through the second singles final last Wednesday afternoon at the Colonial Valley Conference (CVC) Tournament.

“It was a struggle at times, it was hard to breathe,” said junior star Kuo. “It was probably allergies mixed with a cold, the allergies probably made the symptoms worse.”

But as Kuo battled Prahalad Dharma of WW/P-South at the Mercer County Tennis Complex, he relied on some literary inspiration to help him press on.

“I had this poem called Invictus running through my head the entire time,” said Kuo. “I know it sounds a bit corny but I found those words extremely powerful. It is just a case of controlling what you can control and ignoring what you can’t.”

Living up to the two final lines of the poem by Willam Ernest Henley, “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul,” Kuo rallied to win 2-6, 6-4 (10-8).

Kuo’s heroics helped PHS take second as South edged the Tigers 26.5-26 in the event which was previously known as the Mercer County Tournament. (The Mercer County Tournament Association announced last spring that it was discontinuing county tournaments in favor of a Colonial Valley Conference Tournament, which bars local private schools who are not members of the CVC.)

In battling back from losing the first set, Kuo fine-tuned his serve and stayed in the moment.

“I felt that what I really needed to do was to get my serving under control,” said Kuo. “Not double-faulting was probably what got me into that game as well as giving absolute focus to the match. That was probably the most focused I have ever been.”

PHS head coach Sarah Hibbert credited Kuo with showing grit in pulling out the win.

“Andrew had an amazing showing today, he wasn’t even sure he was going to be able to play the final because he was having a hard time breathing and didn’t feel great,” said Hibbert. “Last year he had a second match of the day here that didn’t go as well as he wanted it to. He is a year older, a year more mature. He has been through it now and has really worked hard.”

Kuo’s more focused mental approach is a product of that maturity.

“He is an incredibly smart individual as well and he carries that over to the tennis court, he thinks through his matches,” added Hibbert of Kuo who lost to Dharma in match break in a regular season contest. “He plays smart tennis and he really fought hard today. He wanted it and made some really good shots. He didn’t let the foot fault calls and the point penalty get in his head which it very easily could have. He went to a tiebreak again like he did in our team match and it was nice that he was able to get the win today.”

For Kuo, who had previously won a MCT doubles title, winning a singles crown was a major breakthrough.

“This would be my first singles title,” said Kuo. “It means a lot, it was a struggle to get here. In the matches I had, my opponents gave me respect. I respect my opponents. That is what is most important about tennis.”

In reflecting on his run to the title, Kuo believes that approach set forth in Invictus proved to be an important factor in his success.

“I think it came down to mental fitness because before I wasn’t always very level-headed,” said Kuo. “How a game was going at the start would impact how I would play later but I feel like I have matured as a person. Even though my technique may not be on the level of my opponents and I might make some errors, I feel that ignoring that and powering through is what has made my game.”