The PDS tennis team has been successful in recent years, consistently winning matches and capturing the Prep B Championship four times in a row. Much of this success can be credited to Varsity Coaches William Asch and Ed Tseng, who work hard with their players to ensure that the team is maximizing its potential. Although there have been some notable roster changes over the last couple of years, such as losing seniors Scott Altmeyer and Josiah Meekins, the team is looking as strong as ever.

The varsity team is comprised of seven players: three singles and four doubles players. In the singles lineup, Coach Asch is confident that “Lex Decker is a solid first singles, and Chris Delaney is going to be a very good number two,” adding that “Vivek [Sharma] can be a very good three. Although the doubles lineup is “up in the air as of Spring Break, due to incomplete challenge matches (matches within the team itself to determine the lineup for the season), Coach Asch believes that “Noah Liao and Riley Gudgel, two players who are in the doubles lineup, are very, very solid.”

The PDS team competes in matches with schools in and around the state, in addition to the Mercer County Tournament (MCTs) and the Prep B Championship towards the end of the season. One of its biggest rivals in this upcoming season is The Lawrenceville School, which is not a surprise due to the fierce competition between the two schools in other sports as well. Previous seasons’ matches have been fierce in competition, and this year will be no different. According to Coach Asch, however, because “we aren’t really in a [league], the individual matches we have with other teams are really not as important as the Prep B Championship.” This year, the Panthers will look to expand upon their streak of winning the Prep B Championship for the last few years, which has helped build their reputation as a local powerhouse. With regards to MCTs, however, Coach Asch does not feel that we are quite strong enough to win yet, “but [that] we’ve made good showings there the last few years.”

Because the team has mostly upperclassmen competing, the future of the program will be largely dependant on rising underclassmen. According to Coach Asch, who has organized plenty of strong teams, you “only need one or two great players to put together a successful program.” He feels that Delaney is a good option, and that “we have some other freshman who will get a lot better.” The future of the PDS tennis team is in good hands.