Women's tennis splits league weekend

There is one thing that is guaranteed for the women's tennis team — regardless of whether they win or lose – they are going to do it with a fight.

Princeton has battled through a number of close matches this season. Sometimes it ends up with the victory, and other times it is left with the defeat. But the Tigers always know that they must fight through every match they enter. They know that they have to leave everything out on the court if they are going to even have a chance at victory.

"Our strength is definitely our determination," senior Gailor Large said after a March 28th win over Rutgers. "If we work and play hard, we can be successful. We just have to stay focused on our goals."

As was demonstrated this past weekend, however, in their matches against Dartmouth and Harvard, strong will and determination do not always translate into a win.

The Tigers began the weekend in Hanover, N.H., with a string of difficult matches. Though the team was eventually victorious, winning the contest 6–1, three of the six singles matches were decided in three sets.

Large, playing in the No. 1 singles spot, defeated Sarita Yardi 6–2, 6–7, 7–5. The No. 2 singles player, junior Kristi Watson, beat Carly Bashleben (3–6, 6–4, 6–1) in spite of dropping the first set.

Princeton also earned the doubles point when the teams of freshman Mateya McCoy and Watson, and junior Priya Bhupathi and freshman Jackie Arcario won two of the three paired contests.

The Tigers clawed their way through a hard-fought contest and prevailed with the victory. Against Harvard, however, the team would not be so fortunate.

Playing in Boston, the team fell to the Crimson, 6–1. Arcario was the only Princeton player to pick up her point, defeating Olivia Garcia-McKean 6–4, 6–0. When Arcario was paired with Bhupathi in the No. 3 doubles match, the pair also emerged victorious, defeating Harvard's Lara Naqushbandi and Sarah McGinry 8–4.

The Tigers' other two doubles teams, however, did not win, thereby allowing Harvard to take the doubles point and the victory.

The incredible work ethic and level of desire for the team has been met with many obstacles, the greatest of which has probably been the injuries that have plagued a number of key players.

For a large portion of the season, the Tigers were missing their No. 1 and 2 players, sophomore Kavitha Krishnamurthy and freshman Shikha Uberoi, who have battled injures throughout the year. Though this would be a daunting predicament for any team, the squad has taken it in stride as other teammates have stepped up to fill in the voids. Large, for example, defeated nationally ranked Martina Nedelkova of Virginia Common-wealth April 1 while playing in the No. 1 singles spot.

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Princeton's next battle will be against Columbia Friday in New York. The Tigers hope to again prove that laying it all out on the court will bring forth a victory.