M., w. tennis face non-conference opponents to prep for Ivy play

With Ivy League play nearing, both men's and women's tennis host tough non-conference opponents this weekend in preparation for the weeks of league play ahead.

Women's tennis (5-3) got a head start to its weekend play — and a much needed boost — with a 5-2 win over Rutgers (6-5) on Wednesday. For their first outdoor home match, the Tigers brought forth the experience gained from intense Spring Break training. Back in business are junior Jacqui Arcario, sophomore Kristen Carlin, and freshmen Neha Uberoi and Rankin Williams, who missed the California trip. All contributed points to the scoreboard.

Princeton swept doubles, with junior co-captain Alex Kobishyn and sophomore Stephanie Berg stepping up at No. 1 from their usual No. 3 slot. Uberoi won handily at No. 1 singles, doing senior co-captain Kavitha Krishnamurthy a favor as she rested an injury.

Though Princeton had a significant edge over Rutgers, the Scarlet Knights fought hard to avenge their 7-0 loss to the Tigers last year. Rutgers earned two singles wins in three sets.

Carlin noted that Rutgers competed very well in what amounted to some tough matches for the Tigers.

"I thought we handled the pressure well," she said.

The pressure will be on the team again Saturday when Princeton faces George Washington (0-4) at Lenz Tennis Center. Temple (3-4) will then challenge the Tigers Sunday to close the final weekend of non-Ivy League competition.

Though George Washington has not met any other Ivy schools this season, Temple will give Princeton a good indication of the relative strength of other Ivy teams. The Owls have defeated Dartmouth and Brown this season, winning 6-1 and 4-3, respectively. Temple lost to Penn last weekend, however, 6-1.

Last week the Tigers stood at No. 73 nationally, lagging behind rivals No. 18 Harvard (8-3) and No. 39 Yale (9-1).

Princeton is eagerly looking ahead to Ivy competition, but they know this weekend's matches against underdogs require focus.

Men's tennis is also in full force, gearing up for this Saturday's match against Rutgers. With half of their spring season finished, the Tigers now face the pressure of heavy Ivy competition beginning next week.

"We are playing well coming off the California trip, and the guys are confident about the Ivies, which are just around the corner," senior captain Trevor Smith said.

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Princeton (8-5) has had a solid spring season thus far, growing stronger from its tougher matches.

"This year we have come very close to beating several teams ranked pretty high," junior Dan Friedman said. "Part of the reason we have lost is that in the crucial moments, we have shied away from playing our game and let our opponents dictate."

That was then. This is now. The Tigers are confident and ready to play their best tennis.

"In the Rutgers match, our goal is to go out and focus on playing our game style and really take it to our opponents," Friedman said.

Princeton faced Rutgers this past fall and came out on top, 4-0. Due to a rainout, the match was played out only until a victor was decided. Princeton won the doubles point, and Smith, freshman Josh Burman and freshman Darius Craton won the final three points for the team.

Rutgers will be hoping to improve its record, currently at 2-7. The team has already played a number of Ivy schools, including Penn and Columbia, the two teams that will open Princeton's Ivy season next weekend. Rutgers fell 6-1 to the Quakers and 7-0 to the Lions.

Despite an easy win against Rutgers earlier this year, Princeton wants to make every match count and take advantage of each chance to compete.

"The Rutgers match provides us with another opportunity to find out what we are made of and hopefully will propel us into the Ivies with a sense of belief and conviction that we can win the league," Smith said.