TOWN TOPICS, PRINCETON, N.J., WEDNESDAY, DECEmbER 21, 2016 • 26
Displaying Intensity Under New Coach Noone, PHS Boys’ Hoops Tops WW/P-S 57-41 in Opener With new coach Pat Noone ta k i ng t he helm of t he Princeton High boys’ hoops program, the intensity level has been racheted up. “This year, it is a bit of a d i f fe r e nt p h i l o s op hy ; toughness has been really stressed,” said PHS senior point guard Sam Serxner. “Everything we are about is defense, heart, and picking each other up and just giving everything we have the entire time on the court.” Last Friday as the Little Tigers hosted WW/P-S in their season opener, they gave everything they had from the opening tipoff, jumping out to a 12-1 lead after one quarter. “We have struggled in that past with our starts, coming out a bit slow so our big focus has been on high intensity from the start,” said Serxner. “ We k n ow s o m e t i m e s there is a drop off before you can pick it up and we figure if we can be the team that plays harder from the very beginning, it is going to give us every advantage.” Leading 24-14 at half, PHS blew the game open in the third quarter, outscoring the Pirates 22-13, on the way to 57-41 win. “I think that says a lot about coach Noone, every time he gets a chance to talk to us, he really fires us up and gets us going,” said
Serxner, in assessing the team’s third quarter surge. “We love playing for him.” Ser xner and his teammates loved starting the season with a solid victory. “It is always best to start with a win; we had a great crowd and great momentum,” said Serxner. “That start really helped that. We are having a great time; it is easier to do well and be happy when you are winning.” In Serxner’s view, the Little Tigers developed a good team chemistry before the season even started. “It is a great group, there is no divisiveness, everyone is happy for everyone when we are doing well,” said Serxner. “We all want to win and when a team can come together like that, good things can happen.” In the win over WW/P-S, PHS produced a group effort offensively as sophomore Isaac Webb scored 10 points with senior Cristo Silva contributing nine points, senior Alex Filion chipping in seven, and senior Zahrion Blue adding six. “We have the best player in the CVC in Zahrion Blue; team strategies this year are going to be to take him away because they know how dangerous he is as a scorer and a playmaker,” said Serxner.
ON POINT: Princeton High boys’ basketball player Sam Serxner looks to pass the ball last Friday night as PHS opened the season against visiting WW/P-S. Senior point guard Serxner scored a team-high 17 points to help PHS prevail 5741 in the debut for new head coach Pat Noone. The Little Tigers host Nottingham on December 22. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
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“We have got a lot of people who can put the ball in the basket; we need people to step up.” Serxner put the ball in the basket more than anyone on PHS last Friday, tallying a team-high 17 points. “I probably averaged five points a game last year; this year it is not like I have a specific number but I want to be 10-12 points a game kind of a guy and do everything I can,” said Serxner, an All-State defender for the PHS boys’ soccer team who is headed to Wesleyan University to continue his academic and athletic career. “Shots are going to come my way, I just have to knock them down when they are there.” Fo r n e w h e a d c o a c h Noone, coming to PHS has been a positive experience as he succeeds Mark Shelley. “What a great atmosphere there is here in Princeton; everybody has been welcoming; it is a great family environment,” said Noone, who is coming to the program after serving as the head coach at Lincoln High in Jersey City and previously working as an assistant coach at Rutgers-Newark. “It is the same thing we are trying to do with the basketball program. Coach Shelley did a great job last year and we are just trying to pick up from where he was and trying to keep it going.” In taking the helm, Noone is looking to instill a combination of harder-nosed play and unity. “We want to have a little bit of defense and rebounding; we really want to have that togetherness that you saw tonight,” said Noone. “I think the guys were really into it; the bench was into it. That was the big thing, it was not just the five guys on the court but all 13 of the guys. Everyone was into it. We had a great crowd, the atmosphere was awesome.” While PHS got off to an awesome start, Noone was a little uneasy until his squad stifled the Pirates down the stretch. “You get up 12-1 but you are nervous ; you look at the clock and you have another three quarters,” said Noone. “It was a good start, it felt good because they built off of that. Defensively our press wore them down; we threw a couple of different things at them.” In Noone’s view, the promising start helps him solidify the bonds with his new players. “They are really excited right now, I think tonight they thought, this is kind of fun, we can trust him,” said Noone, whose team hosts Nottingham on December 22. “He is running the program the right way and they are enjoying it.” Serxner and his fellow seniors are hoping to enjoy a big winter in their final campaign with the program. “We have got nine seniors on the team; it sucks to lose and this is it,” said Serxner. “We want to play as hard as we can and make sure that we have no regrets at the end of the season.” —Bill Alden
Showing Some Offensive Punch Early On, PHS Girls’ Hockey Aiming to Be Competitive Although his Princeton High girls’ hockey team lost its first two games this winter, Christian Herzog has seen some encouraging signs. “We are scor ing some goals,” said PHS head coach Herzog, whose team fell 7-4 to Pingry in its opener on December 13 and then lost 9-3 to Princeton Day School a day later. “We are putting a few points up compared to a few years ago; it was like the fourth game until we got our first goal. We have some newer, younger talent that we can work with over time.” The Little Tigers are getting good work at forward from senior captain and star Maggie Herring and freshman standout Victoria Zammit. “Maggie is going to have a good senior year,” said Herzog of Herring, who has tallied two goals and an assist so far this season. “Victoria is leading the team in scoring (four goals). She is putting the points up so far, she is making an impact. I have her on a different line than Maggie.” Herzog is looking for a pair of sophomores, Catherine Liu and Grace Reardon, to make an impact offensively this winter. “Catherine Liu is playing pretty good on the line with Maggie; she is in the right spot, she has pretty decent hands,” said Herzog, whose corps of forwards also includes senior Ashley Dart, sophomore Angelique Bencivenga, junior Ella Nadeau, senior Ella Quainton, junior Sydney Rubin, junior Anna Schmult, sophomore Adriana Todorova, junior Valeria Torres-Olivares, and freshman Ellen Whiteside. “Grace Reardon coming back as a sophomore; she knows her positioning and also has decent hands.” The PHS defense is spearheaded by the trio of junior assistant captain Alexa Zammit along with junior newcomer Orsolya Stipsicz and sophomore assistant captain Olivia Corrodi. “I have Alexa Zammit returning, she is the main defenseman and she is looking good,” said Herzog. “Orsolya is from Hungary; she played on a national champion team in floorball there. She showed up and she skates pretty well backwards. She doesn’t know the game in and out but definitely has something to build from. She is going to be good. Olivia Corrodi is an assistant captain; I put her on defense.” Freshman Ella Chauder has stepped in at goalie, making 15 saves against Pingry and 19 stops in the PDS game. “She plays on a club team; she mentioned that she had some experience at goalie,” said Herzog. “She is already starting to work butterfly and stuff so she is making progress. She is a freshman so I have time with her.” The PHS players are having a good time so far this winter. “I am happy with the leadership, particularly Maggie and Alexa speaking up in the locker room and on the bench,” said Herzog. “Olivia does her thing on
the ice; she lets the other two do the speaking. It is not cliquey at all.” Wit h t he L it t le Tigers playing at Mater Dei on December 22 before going on
holiday break, Herzog is optimistic heading into 2017. “I am hopeful for the future,” said Herzog. “We have a limited amount of practices and I think we are gelling. There is good camaraderie. I am looking forward to rest of the season.” —Bill Alden
GETTING AFTER IT: Princeton High girls’ hockey player Alexa Zammit heads up the ice in a game last season. Junior defenseman and assistant captain Zammit has tallied a goal and an assist so far this season as PHS has gotten off to a 0-2 start, falling 7-4 to Pingry in its opener on December 13 and then losing 9-3 to Princeton Day School a day later. The Little Tigers play at Mater Dei on December 22 before going on holiday break. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
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