M. tennis loses to Ivy power Harvard after defeating Dartmouth

A shot at the Ivy League title was riding on Saturday's match. After a solid 5-2 win over Dartmouth (10-6 overall, 1-1 Ivy League) on Friday, the men's tennis team looked ready to take on archrival Harvard (8-3, 2-0).

But given tough windy conditions and an extremely deep team, the Tigers lost 6-1 to the Crimson. The win keeps Harvard's conference record untarnished.

On Friday, Princeton (8-7, 2-1) knew it would have to play well to beat the Big Green.

"The Dartmouth match was a great team effort," senior co-captain Darren Joe said. "The conditions were really brutal and everyone just played tough tennis in the clutch."

In doubles, sophomore Hendrik Chasse and junior Trevor Smith maintained their season-long momentum, winning the match 8-6. The final point was secured dramatically as Chasse ripped a topspin backhand return crosscourt, setting up a flying backhand winner from Smith.

At number three, sophomore Dan Friedman and freshman Josh Burman also won their match (8-5), securing the doubles point for the Tigers.

In singles, the men took revenge against opponents they had faced earlier in the season.

At the number one spot, senior co-captain Judson Williams supplied a solid win for the tigers as he defeated Chris Gonyer 7-5, 6-2. The win was important for Williams, for he had lost to Gonyer in the fall at the International Tennis Association Omni Hotel Regionals.

The winning trend continued as Smith won at number two 7-6, 6-4 against Dartmouth's number one player from last year, Jeff Sloves.

The number three and five spots had less success. Burman, at number three, won his first set but lost the next two.

At number five, senior co-captain Nick Benjamin also took his match to three sets, losing the first in a close 6-4. He bounced back to win the second 7-5, but lost the deciding set 6-4.

The number four and six spots for Princeton dominated their matches. Number four Joe won his match 6-1, 6-4.

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Friedman, playing at the number six spot, showed little mercy as he defeated Dartmouth's David Webb 6-1, 6-2.

"Daniel played his best match of the year and thoroughly dominated," head coach Glenn Michibata said. "David had beaten Daniel in the fall."

After the confidence booster against Dartmouth, the toughest challenge still remained for Princeton.

"I felt Harvard had the deepest team in the Ivy League all the way back in September," Michibata said.

"If we played good percentage points and played with conviction I thought we would have a chance. But they played extremely well on Saturday. Their assistant coach Peter Mandeau mentioned that this was the best tennis they have played all year."

The Tigers began the match well in doubles, but early leads were lost and the Crimson swept the three matches.

After a successful comeback mid-set for the Crimson, the Harvard momentum was difficult to stop. Subsequently, Princeton began to feel the pressure to perform well.

The sole victory for Princeton came from Friedman, as he won his match 7-6, 6-4.

"Severe winds definitely favored Harvard on Saturday," Williams said. "The Harvard players were a little sharper on that day, in those conditions. That little edge made a big difference in the end."

Though the loss to Harvard jeopardizes any chance for the Tigers at an outright conference title, Princeton can still finish as high as third among the Ancient Eight if it beats Columbia on Friday.

Columbia (3-7, 1-3) has beaten Princeton the last two times the teams have played, so a win would be at least a silver lining for the Tigers as the season winds down. Princeton also has a tough upcoming match against a solid Cornell (13-3, 2-1) team.