Tennis teams hopeful for Ivy success as league play continues

With the NCAA tournament still on the top of its mind, the Princeton men’s tennis team (16–9 overall, 1–2 Ivy) went up against two top-50 teams as it continued its Ivy League play. At their Ivy home opener on Friday, April 6, the Tigers defeated Cornell (7–9, 0–2) 4–3 in multiple close matches.

Head coach Billy Pate said that he is “very proud of how his men played during their matches, especially after facing a tough loss from UPenn earlier in the week.”

On Sunday, April 8, the Tiger men faced Columbia (13–3, 2–0) in what ended as a 0–4 defeat and a split weekend for the men. Pate said that in this match, the Tigers played good tennis, but it wasn’t enough.

“They simply couldn’t execute, but they are looking forward to getting more work in before their Ivy League play continues,“ Pate said.

The Tigers still remain hopeful for the rest of the season and plan to use their two losses as learning experiences and motivation in order to advance to the NCAA tournament. With four matches remaining in the season, the Tiger men need to go on a run in their conference. This weekend, Yale (10–7, 0–1) and Brown (14–7, 0–2) will both travel to Princeton in order to compete in two matches. Princeton will play Yale on Saturday and Brown on Sunday before finishing out the last weekend of play on April 21 and 22 with matches at Cambridge, Mass., against Harvard (19–3, 3–0) and Hanover, N.H., against Dartmouth (16–5, 2–1).

For the women’s tennis team (15–3, 3–0), Ivy League play is off to a good start. Currently tied with Harvard (11–8, 3–0 Ivy) as the only undefeated teams in the conference, the women are showing their strength this season, with the NCAA tournament at the top of their wish list.

During their Ivy League opener, the Tigers defeated Penn (8–10, 1–2) 5–2, as the No. 79-ranked doubles team, junior Nicole Kalhorn and first-year Stephanie Schrage, dominated on the court. Continuing on the undefeated play, the Orange and Black traveled to face Cornell (6–10, 0–3), defeating it 7–0, and hosted Columbia (10–6, 2–1), winning 6–1. The tennis team hopes to finish its season undefeated, but it has tough competition approaching it in its schedule.

The women plan to continue to show their strength on the court as they finish out their season and Ivy League play. With their also undefeated rival, Harvard, quickly approaching, the team is making adjustments, practicing hard, and keeping a winner’s mentality. The Tigers will travel to New Haven, Conn., to face the Yale Bulldogs (6–14, 0–3) on Saturday and Providence, R.I., to face the Bears at Brown (9–10, 2–1) on Sunday before their final Ivy League weekend on April 21 and 22 brings Harvard and Dartmouth (8–10, 1–2) to New Jersey.