Follow us on Instagram
Try our daily mini crossword
Play our latest news quiz
Download our new app on iOS/Android!

Women’s tennis makes strong impression at season-opening invitational

WTen916.jpg

The Princeton women’s tennis team began their fall season with a powerful performance at home in the Princeton Invitational tournament, showcasing their strength and versatility against Syracuse, Penn, and Temple. 

The Tigers have been steadily improving on the courts over the last few years, emerging as the heavyweights in the Ivy League and a force to be reckoned with even for traditional, big-name tennis powerhouses. Last year, after also starting their season with strong showings at the opening invitational tournaments, Princeton powered to a stellar 19–4 record. Along the way, they achieved a perfect 7–0 record against Ivy League opponents and even defeated highly nationally ranked opponents like Auburn. Their success earned them a spot at the NCAA regional tournament, where they would end their season with a loss to the University of Illinois, then the 19th-ranked team. Since then, Princeton has retained most of its starters from last year’s successful season and built a strong recruiting class, leaving its prospects rosy for the upcoming season.

ADVERTISEMENT

Playing at the Cordish Family Pavilion this weekend, the Tigers overwhelmed their competition. Over the course of the tournament, Princeton played a series of singles and doubles matches against each of the other three teams, with final standings being recorded as the cumulative wins across the whole weekend.The Tigers made an immediate impression on Friday night, with Princeton winning seven out of eight of their singles matchups and two out of four of their doubles. Several returning players had impressive singles victories, including senior Nicole Kalhorn, junior Clare McKee, and sophomore Stephanie Schrage. But the strongest performances came from first-years Grace Joyce and Brianna Shvets, who dispatched their foes in straight sets despite having just finished their first week of classes. Joyce later joined Kalhorn while Shvets joined sophomore Nathalie Rodilosso to win their first doubles matches against Penn, making Friday an excellent debut for the two program additions. 

Princeton continued its strong performance on Saturday, pulling ahead in six of eight doubles matches and four of eight singles matches. It was again an excellent day on the court for first-years Joyce and Shvets, who won both their singles and doubles matchups decisively. Other noteworthy performances included McKee, Shvets’ doubles partner, who won another straight set victory over her Penn opponent, and Kalhorn, who played with Joyce in the doubles set and then survived a grueling three-set slugfest against Penn’s Curnic.

The Tigers capped off a difficult weekend by winning five of eight singles matches on Sunday. Mckee, Shvets, Kalhorn, and senior Catalina Vives all won their singles matches and managed to go a perfect 3–0 in tournament play. The Princeton Invitational served as a potent reminder of the Tigers’ depth and strength at both singles and doubles as they approach this upcoming season. Princeton players will next head to Wisconsin for the Milwaukee Invitational, where they’ll have the chance to play against collegiate athletes from across the nation.

ADVERTISEMENT