Injured w. tennis struggles through Spring Break

The Tigers raced like limping horses during Spring Break competition. Hampered by illness and injury, the women's tennis team trudged through three intense battles against top Div. I teams in Southern California, only to return home Sunday night worn-out and empty-handed.

Princeton went 0-3 for the week, bringing its spring season record to 4-4.

Junior Alex Kobishyn said the week of intense practices and matches under the hot sun "grinded everyone down physically." Their physical fatigue was apparent in the final match against University of San Diego (5-9) Saturday, when they were defeated, 5-2.

With a traveling squad of eight, only two players were fully functional, according to Kobishyn. Two were battling the flu, another two were sidelined with injuries, and another two played through pain.

Senior Kavitha Krishnamurthy was forced to sit out because of back pain that had developed during the second half of her previous match. Freshman Susan Meng was too ill to play. Junior Mateya McCoy pulled a hamstring while warming-up and defaulted her singles match, giving San Diego a free point. However, she managed to help earn the doubles point for the team with a deciding win in a tiebreaker at No. 1 with junior Avantika Bhargava.

Without Krishnamurthy and freshman Neha Uberoi, who stayed home to rest a shoulder injury Princeton was forced to alter its lineup. Siebel was the lone Tiger to post a singles win, at No. 5.

"It was a team rundown into the ground," Kobishyn said about the Tigers. "But everyone played the best they could under the circumstances."

The first battle

In their first match over break, however, the women were fresh physically but still adjusting to outdoor play. Kobishyn said they weren't yet used to serving into the sun and adapting to the wind.

Up against No. 30 San Diego State University (12-3), the Tigers faced their fiercest opponents first. The Aztecs blasted a 5-2 victory by sweeping the doubles matches and earning four singles wins in straight sets.

Thanks to Krishnamurthy and freshman Allison Hashmall's wins at Nos. 1 and 3 singles, respectively, the Tigers were spared a shut out. Both prevailed in third set super-tiebreakers; Krishnamurthy went 4-6, 7-6, 1-0 (8) and Hashmall won by an even narrower margin, 7-5, 6-7, 1-0 (9).

Hashmall's success earned her a shot at No. 2 singles in the following match against No. 67 Loyola Marymount, (7-6), where she was not as successful. Yet again, Princeton prevailed only at Nos. 1 and 3 singles, this time with sophomore Stephanie Berg pulling through, 6-3, 6-3, at No. 3.

However, Princeton earned the doubles point this time and with the scoreboard tied at 3-3, the team sensed victory literally at the tips of their fingers. But one bad volley left Bhargava unable to capitalize a match point opportunity and she lost the deciding match in a tiebreaker at No. 6.

On Friday, Princeton was scheduled to play No. 61 University of Denver but lacked a sufficient number of healthy players and withdrew. Kobishyn attributes the abundance of injuries to a lack of practice to build their physical endurance.

Kobishyn said that head coach Louise Gengler maintained a positive attitude despite the team's losses because she always keeps results in perspective.

"She looks at the results from a progressive point and not as a product," Kobishyn said. "She doesn't put that much emphasis on wining and losing, mostly on your individual progress as a player. It's a good inspiration to have her (as a coach) in that respect."