IN SHAPE: Princeton High girls tennis player Lada Labas works on her shots before a match last year. Junior Labas excelled at second singles this fall, helping second-seeded PHS enjoy another big run in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Central Jersey Group 3 section. The Tigers were scheduled to play top-seeded WW/P-North in the sectional final on Oct. 17, with the winner advancing to the Group 3 state semifinals on Oct. 19 at the Mercer County Tennis Center Park. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
By Bill Alden
As the most seasoned singles player on the Princeton High girls’ tennis team, Lada Labas has seen her game mature.
“I feel like my consistency has improved a lot with my shot placement,” junior Labas said. “That’s what I use to my advantage, I try to make the girl move.”
Last week, as PHS began play in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Central Jersey Group 3 section, Labas demonstrated that consistency by earning a 6-0, 6-2 victory at second singles. while the second-seeded Tigers were in the lead. Seventh-seeded Jackson Memorial 5-0 in an Oct. 9 quarterfinal.
“The girl I played was very nice,” Labas said. “It was a good game. We had some good rallies so it was a good way to open states.
PHS dominated third-seeded Colts Neck 4-1 in the sectional semifinals on Thursday to set up a rematch with top-seeded WW/P-North in the sectional final scheduled for Oct. 17. With PHS losing 3-2 to North in a regular season meeting on September 15, Labas and her teammates are excited to get a second chance at the Northern Knights as the rivals battle for a spot in the semifinals Group 3 state championship Oct. 19 at Mercer County Park Tennis Center.
“The girl I played, I knew her since we were kids,” said Labas, who lost 7-5, 6-1 to Megan Chung in that match. “We’re just playing together – it was close so we’ll try again.”
While the Tigers have won five straight matches to improve to 10-3 since their 3.5-1.5 loss to WW/P-South on Oct. 3, Labas believes PHS is playing its best tennis over that span.
“We’ve had a few losses recently, but I feel like the team has come together,” Labas said. “We’re doing better, we’re doing well in the United States.”
With freshman Phoebe Decker playing first singles and sophomore Katie Qin playing third singles, Labas tried to help the younger players stay the course.
“They’re on the underclassman side, so they get nervous before games, so I try to calm them down and give them advice,” Labas said. “I feel like I’m definitely an upperclassman, taking on the role and leading some of the warmups.”
PHS head coach Sarah Hibbert liked the way her players handled their nerves in the win over Jackson Memorial.
“Whenever you start states, you always want to start strong to set the tone for the rest of your race,” Hibbert said. “We didn’t know anything about them – the only comparison we had was that they played at Hightstown. We knew what we did with Hightstown, we used it as a litmus test.
While PHS has had its ups and downs this fall, going 2-3 through five games midway through the season, Hibbert believes those losses have prepared his players for a big postseason run.
“We lost three very close games, either 3-2 or 3.5-1.5,” Hibbert said, noting that the Tigers lost to WW/P-North in a regular-season meeting last year. last before dominating the Northern Knights in the sectional semifinals. the path to the Group 3 state championship game. “We’ve been there with all of them – one little thing different could have made a big difference. Hopefully we can use these experiences to our benefit in the future. Last year we lost to North and then we turned it around at USA. We were a little more seasoned, a little more experienced, and hopefully we can do it again.
More seasoning has helped Labas develop his game. “The most important thing is being able to make adjustments; she hits the ball really hard and when she goes in, she’s fantastic,” Hibbert said. “When she was a little behind, often in the past, the unforced errors accumulated. She has been better this year by being able to change her style and adjust during the match if necessary.
During the first singles, Decker benefited from the encouragement of her teammates as she faced high-level opponents.
“If a team has a good player, Phoebe gets her,” Hibbert said. “As a freshman, it can be a little difficult at times. But the difference between individual tournaments and team tournaments is that you have people here supporting you. I think she enjoyed being in a team environment and being part of the team with people there to support her. She played some really good matches for us.
Qin gave the Tigers plenty of good work at third singles. “Katie is very consistent and she works very hard,” Hibbert said. “This first set with Anna (Zhao) from WW/P-South was a tie-break; it took two hours to play this set and that’s why they didn’t finish the match. It was 5:55 p.m. when they finished their first set.
The first doubles team of junior Maya-Alexandra Todorov and sophomore Ashna Bushan and the second doubles pair of senior Scarlett Cai and freshman Sophia Bruhn gave the PHS roster a consistent game.
“First doubles has been a steady position for us, they’ve been solid,” Hibbert said of the duo who won their flight at the Mercer County tournament in September.
“The second doubles progressed well together. They settled into their roles together. This is a senior/freshman pair; they started clicking and are doing well for us.
Heading into the rematch against North, Hibbert was cautiously optimistic that his side could turn things around against the Northern Knights and return to the bottom four of Group 3.
“The opportunity is always there, but obviously they’re a very strong team,” Hibbert said. “We are very similar, all five positions could go one way or the other. He is the one who will play the best that day.
Labas is confident the Tigers will do their best as they look to stay alive in the United States.
“We’re pretty confident in our team so I think we’re in good shape,” Labas said. “I feel like if we believe in ourselves and don’t get down on ourselves and we’re all together as a team, we will be successful.”
