Often, the only way to bounce back from a few tough losses is to face another good opponent quickly. A strong win over a quality adversary, especially after a disappointing series, does wonders for team confidence and morale.
Unfortunately, the men's tennis team was not able to put this theory into practice. Although they were scheduled to compete against St. John's yesterday, the game was cancelled due to the fact that St. John's was not able to field a complete team. Although Princeton will try to reschedule the match to a future date, that does not help the Tigers now, as they are eager to face some more good competition following a tough West Coast roadtrip.
"Playing against great teams in California definitely jumpstarted our season," sophomore Trevor Smith said. "Even though we hadn't had a chance to play outdoors before then, it was good playing against teams that were so intense."
The next competition for the Tigers is a match against Temple Friday at home. Last year, the Owls finished their season in second place at the Atlantic Ten Championships. However, their fall play was uninspired, and in both singles and doubles competitions they compiled overall losing records. This match should be an interesting warm-up for Princeton, and it may be exactly what they need to prepare themselves for the Ivy League play that begins April 6 against Brown.
Princeton is hoping that it will be able to repeat the success that led to senior Kyle Kliegerman being named to the All-Ivy first team for singles, and the doubles team of Kliegerman and junior Judson Williams being named second-team all Ivy. The Tigers are shooting for a team title as well.
"We are expecting to win the Ivy League title," Smith said. "We are the ones that are favored to win it, even though Harvard, Columbia and Yale will be good competition. As long as we take each match seriously and stay injury-free we should have it."
Women's tennis found itself in circumstances similar to the men's situation following their own Spring Break series. While in California, the women's team dropped two of three matches. Upon returning to Princeton, it lost yet another match to the University of Alabama-Birmingham. Currently ranked 53rd in the nation, the Blazers were simply too much to handle for the Tiger squad. Senior Anne Coates, playing in the fifth singles spot, earned the lone Princeton point by winning her match.
The women's tennis team hoped to rebound from this tough loss yesterday, when it competed against the Scarlet Knights at Rutgers. The Tigers dominated a much weaker Rutgers squad, capturing five of six singles matches, as well as the doubles point, to defeat Rutgers 6-1. This Princeton win should provide excellent motivation for the rest of the season.
Also beginning its Ivy League play, the women's tennis team will next compete against the University of Pennsylvania this Friday.
"Penn is going to be a huge match," senior co-captain Gailor Large said. "They are an absolute nightmare to play when they are at home. They bring out a lot of loud fans and are really intense. If we come out of this weekend with the win, it will be a great start for the rest of Ivy play."
The Tigers had an extremely successful run last year, and the pinnacle of their season was taking home the Ivy League title. Sophomore Kavitha Krishnamurthy was especially impressive, as she became the first tennis player ever, man or woman, to be named both Ivy League Player of the Year as well as Ivy League Rookie of the Year. Princeton hopes not only to continue its success from last season, but build upon it.
"My dream is to win the Ivy title, but I also want us to do really well in the NCAA tournament," Large said. "Our determination is definitely our main strength, and all we have to do to be successful is stay focused on our goals."
With their high expectations, both the men's and women's tennis teams should be able to reestablish their history of domination on the Ivy League.
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