Men's tennis drops first Ivy match of season to tough Harvard

Just as they were beginning to seem invincible, the men's tennis team was re-minded just how human it is.

The Tigers have been riding a five-match winning streak that began with a March 24 victory over Loyola Marymount. The team began its Ivy League season with a flourish last week, defeating Brown, Yale and Dartmouth soundly on Friday in Hanover, N.H. This Saturday, however, Princeton's momentum was brought to a standstill when it met Harvard.

In their first league contest of the season April 8, the Tigers faced up against Brown. Senior Kyle Kliegerman and junior Judson Williams, playing the number one and two singles spots, defeated Chris Wolfe and Nick Malone respectively. Freshmen Tim Kofol and Dan Friedman also won their matches against their Brown opponents – decidedly beating Ben Brier and Kris Goddard. Though the Tigers did not earn the doubles point, their strong singles play sealed the 4–3 victory.

The following day, against Yale, Princeton continued the system of domination that it began against Brown. Williams, Kofol, and Friedman all won their singles matches as the doubles teams of Kliegerman and senior John Portlock, Kofol and Trevor Smith won their matches in order to gain the doubles point and the 4–3 win.

It was obvious that the team was on a roll.

The Tigers were not only playing hard and well, but their effort was paying off in the form of victories. The squad was extremely confident going into their contest Friday against Dartmouth, and that confidence proved to be well-deserved as Princeton killed the Big Green squad 6–1. Portlock was the only Princeton player to drop his singles match. He and Kliegerman were also the only pair to fall to Brown in doubles. Though the afternoon did feature some close matches, such as the 7–5, 4-6, 7–5 Kliegerman victory over Dartmouth's Jeff Sloves, the overall effort put forth by Princeton resulted in an impressive win.

"We had a really strong team effort against Dartmouth," Kliegerman said. "We knew they could be tough, but we all played well."

But when Harvard – the only other undefeated team in the Ivy League – came into the match, Princeton's winning streak was brought to an end.

The Tigers knew from the beginning of the season that the Crimson would be one of their most difficult league opponents. Kliegerman and Williams were the sole winners of their singles matches, but Harvard claimed the rest, including the doubles point. Though several Princeton players won their first sets, they were unable to secure the second or third set wins and eventually fell 5–2.

"We were able to beat Harvard in the fall, but this time they came out really determined," Kliegerman said. "We were ahead in some matches, but we just weren't able to close them out and they took advantage of that."

Princeton has a chance to start its winning streak again and restore its aura of invincibility when it hosts Columbia this Friday.