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Men's tennis performs well against slate of top-ranked foes

The Princeton men’s tennis team finished off its spring break by traveling to sunny San Diego to compete in the USD/SDSU Mission Valley Spring Classic. Facing stiff competition from a host of highly ranked ITA opponents, the team fared well, defeating No. 26 University of Memphis on Thursday afternoon before falling to No. 8 Texas Tech University on Friday and No. 34 University of San Diego on Saturday.

The Tigers were looking to build on the recent success they enjoyed during their home stand, where they decisively defeated No. 58 Indiana University and No. 24 Penn State. In past years, the tennis team has fared well at the USD tournament, and even recorded a win against then-No. 22 Harvard last year, which continues to stand as the highest ranked opponent the squad has defeated under the three-year tenure of head coach Billy Pate. On Thursday, the Tigers started off on the right note by grabbing the doubles point against Memphis. The doubles pairings were slightly different, with number one singles player Diego Vives joining fellow sophomore Kial Kaiser at the three doubles slot while the number one duo of sophomore Alex Day and sophomore Luke Gamble remained intact. At number three, Vives and Kaiser came in clutch breaking on the deuce point at 6-5 to clinch the all important doubles point for Princeton. In singles play, the back end of Princeton’s lineup proved to be the difference, as Kaiser continued his strong performance winning 6-2, 6-3 at the six spot and juniors Tom Colautti and Josh Yablon toughed out victories at the three and four positions respectively.

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On Saturday, Princeton was trying to extend its win streak of four consecutive victories against ITA ranked teams, but ran into a determined Texas Tech squad. The Red Raiders were dominant at the start, grabbing the doubles point by defeating Princeton’s two and three teams both by a score of 6-1. Though Princeton began slowly, the back of the singles lineup flirted with a comeback. After Vives and Day fell at one and two singles, the number 3-6 matches all went to three sets. Gamble, Yablon and Kaiser all won their first sets, and Colautticame back to grab the second, breaking late in the set. Unfortunately, Texas Tech’s six singles player Connor Curry grabbed the fourth and final point, finishing off a 4-0 victory that was much closer than it appears. Coach Billy Pate reflected on the team’s disappointing loss, saying, “We lost to a very good Texas Tech team today, but clearly we had plenty of chances. We were in the match down the stretch, though having to win four three-setters against a team the caliber of Tech is a tough assignment. However, we rallied and kept fighting to give ourselves an opportunity.

The Tigers were hoping to rebound on Saturday but unfortunately were not able to as they ran into a spirited University of California-San Diego Team. In doubles play, the two pair of Vives and freshman Jimmy Wasserman won 6-3, while one and three struggled early on. Both Day/Gamble at one and Colautti/Kaiser at three went down for only a break but were able to break back successfully to get on serve, only to fall late in the set. San Diego took the doubles point and carried their momentum into singles, as a Princeton player could not grab a set. Yablon, Kaiser and Gamble had tight matches however, as each fell in a tiebreak, while the one, two and three of San Diego defeated Princeton’s top order.

The Princeton tennis team will spend this weekend away from action, before beginning league play when they host Brown and Yale on April 2-3.

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