Freshmen step up quickly to star in women's tennis lineup

This year's women's tennis team may be expected to repeat the successes of last year up and down the ladder. But those rungs will be filled by a host of new faces.

This fall, the Tigers experienced a changing of the guard. Whereas last year's Ivy League and ECAC champion team was led by mostly upperclassmen, nearly half of this year's varsity squad are freshmen. And because of these freshmen, the team is much stronger than in past years.

"Potentially, we're the best team Princeton's ever had," senior co-captain Anne Coates said.

Junior Maria Livadiotis added: "The team has never had more depth than it does now."

The major reason for the increased depth is the addition of six freshmen, who have already begun to contribute to the Tigers' successes.

Originally seeded No. 3 in the Cissy Leary Invitational at the University of Pennsylvania Sept. 22-24, freshman standout Shikha Uberoi lost in the third round after battling the flu all week. She will play No. 2 singles at the upcoming ECAC Championships at Princeton Oct. 13-15.

Freshmen Avantika Bhargava and Mateya McCoy captured the A flight doubles title at the recent Princeton Invitational, and two Princeton pairs that included three freshmen — Jackie Arcario, Alexandra Kobishyn and Katy Milkman — faced off in the B flight finals.

In addition to those six is Bettina Roberts, who will compete in the C flight at this weekend's Brown Invitational in Providence, R.I. Kobishyn is currently the top player on the junior varsity team.

Because of the large and talented freshman class, head coach Louise Gengler '75 was forced to expand the varsity squad to 14 players this fall, two more than the usual 12 that make the roster.

"We usually have two to four freshmen," Gengler said. "To have six is very unusual."

The freshmen will fill in the gaps left by the departures of Amanda Hastings-Phillips '00, Jyotsna Vasisht '00, sophomore Kristy Watson — who is taking a semester off — and senior co-captain Gailor Large, who is recovering from summer foot surgery.

Last year's team finished No. 52 in the ITA college team poll, and this year's team looks to improve on that ranking with sophomore Kavitha Krishnamurthy ranked No. 36 and Uberoi ranked No. 98 individually.

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"We definitely have a wide range of levels," Livadiotis said. "There are a few that are clearly a step above the others."

Uberoi is one of these. After consistently being ranked in the top 20 nationally in the 16s division of junior tournaments, Uberoi moved up to the professional circuit last year, closing the summer with a WTA ranking.

She spent three years at the Harry Hopman Tennis Academy in Tampa, Fla., and finished high school with a private coach in Delray Beach, Fla.

"She has so much experience for a freshman," Large said.

This year's outstanding recruiting class adds to last year's notable recruitment of Krishnamurthy, who capped her freshman season with a No. 50 ITA ranking.

Gengler attributes her team's ability to attract talented players to Princeton's high academic standards.

"For many good students and tennis players, Princeton was the first choice," she said. "We're attracting the bright kids who want to play tennis in college."

The women's team stands perched to dominate the Ivy League and improve its national ranking in the coming years.

"It's the strongest recruiting class we've had since the Class of 2000," Large said.

The women's tennis team travels to Providence, R.I., this weekend to compete in the Brown Invitational flighted singles tournament. Gengler will hold out Krishnamurthy and Uberoi to give the other members of the squad a chance to play and to rest the duo for the upcoming ECACs, in which Princeton is seeded No. 1.