Women's tennis to take on Vols in first round of NCAA tournament

The women's tennis team has made winning a habit. Now, for the first time since beginning its undefeated Ivy League season, the team will enter competition as an underdog. The Tigers, who were most recently ranked No. 52 in the nation, will compete against the University of Tennessee Friday at William and Mary in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The Lady Vols are currently No. 17.

"We're clearly the underdogs," head coach Louise Gengler '75 said. "But we're going down with a shot to win."

The Tigers are counting on winning at least two of the doubles matches.

The No. 2 team of senior Jyotsna Vasisht and sophomore Kristi Watson and the No. 3 team of sophomore Priya Bhupathi and freshman Kavitha Krishnamurthy were both undefeated through the spring season. Vasisht and Watson went 13-0 while Bhupathi and Krishnamurthy, who started playing together in the first Ivy match, have proven to be an undefeatable combination, accumulating a 7-0 record this season.

The No. 1 doubles team of junior Gailor Large and senior Amanda Hastings-Phillips will also be a force to contend with, though Large may not be able to take part in singles competition because of a foot injury. Krishnamurthy will compete at the No. 1 singles spot and is currently ranked higher than the No. 1 Tennessee player.

"We should be able to get a win from Kavitha," Gengler said. "We've got a shot to pick up two more, but it's hard to know where they might come from."

Hastings-Phillips is always a good prospect. The senior was undefeated at No. 2 throughout the Ivy season. Gengler also noted that Vasisht is "coming on" now and playing at a high level.

The Tigers have been working to make sure that their chances are as good as possible, though exams have put a dent in their practice schedule, allowing only one workout most days.

Despite the straining circumstances, Princeton is determined to make its best effort.

"We're going in with the same attitude as we had in Ivy play," Krishnamurthy said. "We're confident, but we can't take them lightly."

The Tigers are looking at the tournament as a no-lose situation, where they will at least come away a more experienced group.

"There's really no pressure on us," Krishnamurthy said. "It's an upset if we can pull through, and that would be great, but we'll all play well either way."

Get the best of ‘the Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

If the Tigers defeat the Lady Vols, they will go on to compete against the No. 1 regional seed, William and Mary on Saturday.

Although the men's team did not qualify as a team, the doubles tandem of seniors Ahn Ahn Liu and Scott Borenstein qualified individually from Region I. Their seeding has not yet been announced, but Liu and Borenstein will compete at the University of Georgia from May 24-28.