Although the scores may not show it, the women's tennis team had quite a competitive weekend as they went up against Dartmouth and Harvard. The Tigers beat the Big Green Friday, finishing with a 5-2 victory, but lost to Harvard, 6-1. Nevertheless, there were some standout wins and the majority of the matches were close.
On Friday, Princeton established early confidence by sweeping all of the doubles matches. Throughout the season, the Tigers have improved their doubles game a great deal, and the two senior co-captains — Priya Bhupathi and Kristy Watson — have had especially strong seasons in doubles.
The scoreboard showed a dominant Princeton, but the Big Green did not go down without a fight. Playing at No. 1, junior Kavitha Krishnamurthy and sophomore Vanti Bhargava won their match in a tie breaker, 9-8, as did freshman Stephanie Berg and sophomore Alex Kobishyn at No. 3. At No. 2, Watson and Bhupathi also had a close match, winning 8-6.
The singles matches brought more success for the Tigers. Krishnamurthy won her match playing at No. 1 easily, 6-1, 6-1. At No. 2, Watson defeated the Big Green opponent in a tie-breaker match of 7-6, 7-6.
"I really think the highlight was Kristy's match," Berg said. "It was great because she was the last one and it came down to that tie-breaker and she was really able to pull it out."
Dartmouth handed losses to Princeton at the No. 3 and 5 spots but those matches were not brought to a complete finish as the final third set was only played to the first game.
Nevertheless, Dartmouth dropped the No. 4 and 6 spots as Berg, playing No. 4, won her match in two sets of 6-4, 6-0. And at No. 6, freshman Kristin Carlin defeated her Big Green opponent 6-4, 6-1.
Ending on that competitive match on Friday, the Tigers had to get everything in line for one of the biggest matches of the Ivy season. Second to Penn, the women knew Harvard would be the toughest team to beat and despite the loss of 6-1, Saturday afternoon's matches were very competitive.
The Crimson controlled the doubles matches. At No. 1, Harvard handed Princeton's team of Krishnamurthy and Bhargava a loss of 8-5. The duo of Watson and Bhupathi, however, still maintained its season's momentum in doubles, taking an 8-5 victory. Unfortunately for Princeton, the Crimson secured a win at the number three spot as Berg and Kobishyn endured a tough match ending in a tie-breaker loss of 9-8.
Though Harvard may have had the early assurance of the doubles point, given the level of play that the Tigers had maintained, there was still a good chance that Princeton would pull out a win in the end.
At No. 1, Krishnamurthy had a huge win. Ranked 69th in the country, she defeated No. 23 Courtney Bergman in a close match. Krishnamurthy secured the point for Princeton in the first set, 7-5. She lost the second, 6-3, but came out in the third set with a 1-0 win.
Although Krishnamurthy had the only win for Princeton, the rest of the team battled Harvard with a different demeanor than the early loss to Penn at the beginning of the Ivy season.
"Kavitha's win was big and there was one point in the match when we were all pretty close. I think we were right there [concerning the level of playing], it was just a matter of a few crucial points that [Harvard] got," Berg said.
Except for Berg's match at No. 4, the rest of the matches were finished within two sets. Though the scores do not indicate a necessarily close match, the Tigers have now played the two major competitors of the season — Penn and Harvard — leaving them 2-3 for the Ivy season.
Next weekend will be Princeton's final Ivy match of the season as the Tigers play Cornell and Columbia.
Read More
Women’s ice hockey names Courtney Kessel as new head coach
Lily PampolinaFollowing the resignation of Cara Gardner Morey, Princeton appointed Courtney Kessel as head coach.
Following the resignation of Cara Gardner Morey, Princeton appointed Courtney Kessel as head coach.
Former women’s basketball forward Parker Hill ’25 signs professional contract in Switzerland
Doug SchwartzAfter a successful senior season, women's basketball forward Parker Hill signed a contact to play professional basketball in Europe, following in the steps of her past teammates.
After a successful senior season, women's basketball forward Parker Hill signed a contact to play professional basketball in Europe, following in the steps of her past teammates.
No. 7 women’s lacrosse season ends in NCAA quarterfinals against No. 1 UNC
Hayk YengibaryanWith the loss, the career of senior attacker Mackenzie Blake comes to an end. Blake finished her career with a program-best 231 career goals and three first-team All-Ivy selections.
With the loss, the career of senior attacker Mackenzie Blake comes to an end. Blake finished her career with a program-best 231 career goals and three first-team All-Ivy selections.