Tennis teams face key adjustments

Both the men's and women's tennis teams will be spending the first few weeks of the fall season trying to adjust to several recent changes. The women will be reworking their ladder to fill spots left empty by last year's graduating seniors and this season's absentees. For the men, these weeks will involve adapting to a new coach and an altered roster.

Glenn Michibata was named the new men's tennis coach and will be replacing David Benjamin, who retired after 26 seasons of coaching the Tigers. The men must also fill the void left by All-Ivy doubles and singles player Ahn Ahn Liu '00.

"It's not going to be easy to replace [Ahn Ahn]," senior captain Kyle Kliegerman said. "We lost one of our best players, but hopefully by the spring we'll be able to make up for it."

With returning singles players Kliegerman, junior Judson Williams and sophomore Trevor Smith at the top three singles spots, the team will have a strong backbone to rely on during this transition period.

In addition, the squad will have three notable newcomers to count on — freshmen Tim Kofol, Daniel Friedman and Hendrik Chasse. Princeton will especially rely on this young talent as it tries to pair up new doubles teams.

This weekend, the Tigers will be able to test out their new lineup as they host the Princeton Invitational starting Friday afternoon at the Lenz Tennis Center.

Defending the crown

Women's tennis, last year's Ivy League champion, hopes to dominate the league again this season. However, it must also work out a few minor kinks before attempting to do so.

"Our team will definitely have a different look this year," said coach Louise Gengler, who will be entering her 20th season as coach of the Tigers.

With the loss of graduates Amanda Hastings-Phillips '00 — who was undefeated last year in Ivy League play — and Jyotsna Vasisht '00, who maintained an undefeated doubles record in the Ivy League, the team must look to younger players to help balance the ladder.

Top singles player, sophomore Kavitha Krishnamurthy, will be returning this season to the No. 1 singles spot. Senior Gailor Large will be back to play this fall after having foot surgery and will most likely be playing doubles until the spring season. The squad will also look to juniors Priya Bhupathi and Julia Salzman, both of whom had strong finishes last season. Junior Kristi Watson, who is taking the fall semester off, will be back to play in the spring.

The Tigers will also be relying on six new freshman players.

"We're expecting immediate contributions from [our freshmen]," Gengler said. "We have some talented younger players and will look to them to help us hold onto the Ivy title."

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The women's team will first hit the courts this weekend. The top of the ladder will be heading to Philadelphia to compete at the Cissy Leary Invitational. The rest of the team will stay on campus for the annual Princeton Invitational in which Princeton will take on teams such as Brown, Rutgers and Penn State. Krishnamurthy, however, will be at neither tournament — the sophomore will be in Baltimore competing in the 32-draw clay court national tournament.