Princeton Women’s Tennis cleans up No. 42 Georgia State

Returning to home soil this weekend, Princeton women’s tennis also returned to some winning form with a sweeping victory over No. 42 Georgia State.

After two disheartening losses in last week’s Blue Gray National Tennis Classic down in Alabama, the Tigers came out swinging against a spirited Panthers lineup. Doubles duo junior Caroline Joyce and freshman Nicole Kalhorn capitalized on a couple early breaks in their No. 3 doubles match, running away with an impressive 6-1 victory to claim the first points of the day.

On the courts next to Joyce and Kalhorn, the Tigers faced a much fiercer battle, with scores deadlocked in both the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles matches. Senior Emily Hahn and sophomore Katrine Steffensen faced stiff competition from the Panthers pair of Niri Rasolomalala and Kristin Rehse as the two teams matched each other step for step, shot for shot. Hahn and Steffensen played some impressive tennis, only to be ousted by the Panthers at the very end, falling by a score of 6-4 and allowing Georgia State to even up the overall score 1-1.

All eyes turned to court 1, where senior Amanda Muliawan and junior Dorothy Tang were locked in an equally thrilling contest of their own. The senior-junior pairing of Muliawan and Tang proved too strong for the Georgia State Panthers, as the Tigers outgunned their opponents, earning a 6-4 win and clinching the deciding doubles point for the Tigers.

With the doubles point safely in hand, the Tigers went into the singles matches with all the momentum. Hahn was the first to draw blood in the singles with a comprehensive 6-2, 6-2 victory. Fighting back bitter disappointment from her earlier doubles loss, Hahn outplayed her opponent with some classy and controlled tennis to extend Princeton’s lead. Meanwhile, Muliawan backed up her doubles win with another impressive performance, cruising to a 6-2, 6-2 victory. It was the battle of experienced players, as Georgia’s Linn Timmermann was no match for the in-form Muliawan.

The next Tiger to prevail was Kalhorn, after a closely contested win over Georgia’s Chiara Volejnicek. There were moments of brilliance for both competitors, with Kalhorn clinching the vital points to secure a 6-4, 6-4 victory. Kalhorn’s win was followed closely with a win from her doubles partner, Joyce, who had to dig deep to fight off a fierce challenge from Panther Daniela Ramirez. Joyce was striking the ball sweetly from all parts of the court, toughing out Ramirez to secure the first set tiebreaker. She then steadily asserted her dominance throughout the second, winning the match in two sets, 7-6, 6-4.

Unfortunately, the Tigers could not complete their shutout as junior Sivan Krems fell to Georgia State’s Rasolomalala in a nail-biting three-set encounter. After losing in a tight first set, Krems bounced back, showing some impressive tenacity to dominate the second 6-2. Unfortunately, her opponent fought off the spirited Krems, winning the 6-2 to finish with a score of 7-5, 2-6, 6-2.

Princeton’s Steffensen closed out the one-sided affair with a mentally tough three-set victory over Georgia State’s Rehse. The first two sets saw the two competitors produce some of the most stunning rallies and ballplay of the day as Steffensen won a thrilling first set tiebreaker, and Rehse replied with an inspiring 7-5 comeback in the second. Steffensen gathered herself and brought back her brilliant best in the third, silencing Rehse with a 6-0 bagel to finish with a score of 7-6, 5-7 and 6-0.

The Princeton Tigers produced a character-defining performance to finish with a score of 6-1 against the No. 42 Georgia State. The Tigers will take a break next week to gear up and take on Texas-Austin, Houston and Rice the following weekend. It will be interesting to see how the Tigers match-up against Texas-Austin this time around after a disappointing loss to them earlier in the season. The tennis season is gaining stride and the Tigers are looking strong for these matchups in two weeks’ time.