W. tennis cruises in easy weekend with two wins

Still looking for cohesion and confidence, the women's tennis team faced two non-conference opponents this weekend, and easily defeated both of them. Advancing the season record to 6-1, Princeton found success against weaker teams from Binghamton and Virginia Tech.

Though the competition was not that strong, it was a chance for the lower players in the lineup to flex their muscles and build confidence to start the season. The Tigers remain undefeated at 3-0 for the spring.

Princeton annihilated their New York opponents, 7-0, Saturday without its full lineup. The Tigers' top two — senior captain Kavitha Krishnamurthy and freshman Neha Uberoi — opened the match with an 8-4 doubles win before taking the sidelines to give the less-experienced players an opportunity to compete.

Sophomore Stephanie Berg shifted up to No. 1 singles for the first time. With a crowd of alumni cheering her on, Berg clinched the match, 10-8, in a third-set tiebreaker.

"It was a little nerve-wracking," Berg said after her first set loss. But she bounced back to win in the next set and tiebreaker.

"It was a fun chance to play Number 1," Berg said. "It gave me a boost."

Junior Avantika Bhargava, who primarily played only doubles last spring because of a persistent knee injury, said she was happy to bring back her singles game.

"It was great to get a win under my belt," she said.

At No. 4 singles, Saturday's game was Bhargava's first competitive singles match since the team's summer Marx Tour in Europe.

"My game is not up to par as yet," Bhargava said, "but I'm getting there and hopefully will be fully back into it by the Ivies."

Bhargava won handily in straight sets — as did freshmen Susan Meng and Rankin Williams, who opened their seasons with wins at No. 3 and No. 5 singles, respectively.

Junior co-captain Alex Kobishyn, who also specializes in doubles, easily defeated her opponent, 6-2, 6-1, at No. 6 singles.

We'll take it

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While most students were still sleeping through a dreary Sunday morning, the Tigers cruised through their early morning match against No. 73 Va. Tech.

The match did not start as swiftly as it finished. Tied 1-1 in doubles, the opening point came down to a tight battle at No. 3 with Berg and Kobishyn.

Berg said that when they were down, 4-6, the cheering from the rest of her teammates — who had just finished their matches — helped turn the tide. She said they also stepped up their games to be more aggressive. The duo pulled through with a 9-7 victory.

In singles, Krishnamurthy and Uberoi sailed through the top two matches. Krishnamurthy — who has led the Tigers at No. 1 for four straight years — won, 6-1, 6-1. Uberoi, at No. 2, also won, with scores of 6-0 and 6-2.

Freshman Susan Meng also shut out her opponent in one set with her 6-4, 6-0 win at No. 6.

Back at No. 3 singles, Berg again pulled out a three-set win. Junior Mateya McCoy, however, was not as successful at No. 5, losing the 10-point tiebreaker after splitting sets.

Though Binghamton and Virginia Tech are not in the same league ability-wise as the Tigers' biggest rivals in the Ivy League, winning is always a confidence booster.

"The most important thing is that we played good tennis to win," Krishnamurthy said. "It's nice to play consistently good tennis, which is what we've done."

The Tigers do not currently hold a national ranking, while Harvard and Yale are in the top 40 and Penn follows at No. 41. These are the teams to beat – last year the Tigers placed third in the Ivy League, behind the Quakers and the Crimson.

"We're all really pumped up for the coming season and I'm really excited that we are off to a great start," Bhargava said.

The Tigers will take on Maryland in another Sunday morning match next weekend.