Men's tennis trounces Army, Temple, 7-0, 7-0

If the men's tennis team needed to prove it could beat inferior teams, this weekend provided the perfect opportunity. The Tigers took care of business on Saturday with a 7-0 win against Army, followed by its 7-0 win against Temple. The weekend helped fine-tune Princeton's game, which will need to be at its best in order to compete against tougher opponents this season.

During break, the Tigers (9-3), ranked No. 75 in the country, will be busy competing against southern California schools that will include Loyola, No. 18 University of Southern California, No. 31 San Diego State University and No. 41 University of San Diego.

But the latest matches for the Tigers have not helped much to push the team to top shape. All players dominated in the doubleheader Saturday in both the singles and doubles lineups.

Despite the temptation to dismiss the matches as a waste of time, freshman No. 4 Hans Plukas remains levelheaded.

"No matter who we are playing, we keep a routine or ritual," Plukas said. "In the end, you have to focus on the ball. You have to play the ball and not the opponent and forget who your opponent is or how good he is supposed to be."

Army, which was coming off a 5-2 win against Yale from the weekend before, could not match up against Princeton, winning only three sets and a doubles proset from the Tigers. Senior Trevor Smith had some difficulty finishing off his match at No. 1 singles, dropping the second set, coming out with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 win. Plukas also struggled in two tight first sets, eventually pulling out a 7-5, 5-7, 6-1 victory at No. 4 singles. Fellow freshman Andrew Lieu played, and lost, the sole tiebreaker of the match, but ultimately defeated his opponent, 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3.

The other singles players sailed through their matches. Freshman Josh Burman won, 6-4, 6-2, at number two singles, while the steady freshman Darius Craton eased through, 6-3, 6-4, and sophomore Daniel Friedman cruised, winning 6-2, 6-1.

As for doubles, only the third team of freshmen Shannon Morales and Blaise Goswami lost, 8-5, in the proset. The team did not suffer much, though, as No. 1 doubles Smith and Burman won, 8-5, and No. 2 doubles Friedman and Craton contributed an 8-1 win.

With the nearly effortless victories of the past weeks and a below-par Temple team to follow the Army match, how could the team get psyched up to play?

"For a match that we are expected to win, we still have to prepare the same way as when we are facing tougher opponents," Craton said. "We have to make sure we stay businesslike and finish off our opponents as efficiently as possible, no matter who we are facing."

The team showcased its efficiency in the 7-0 win over Temple following its destruction of Army on Saturday. The Tigers did not even drop a set. The quickest win came by default for Trevor Smith at No. 1 singles, but the other matches did not take much longer. Craton blew by No. 2 singles, 6-1, 6-0, while freshman Lieu won at No. 3 singles, 6-4, 6-2. Goswami had a close second set, winning, 6-0, 7-6(4), as Morales and junior Tim Fusezi swept their No. 5 and No. 6 singles matches, respectively, winning,, 6-1, 6-0, and 6-1, 6-1. Both doubles teams won, 8-2, with Smith and Burman at first doubles and Goswami and Morales at second.

Plukas, who has had opportunities in some of the past matches to play in the singles lineup, has used his weaker opponents as an opportunity to work on his game.

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"One of the hardest parts of any tennis match is focusing on each point and keeping your level of play consistent," Plukas said. "I have been working on developing a game plan and on dictating the points."

Craton, who has been performing well at No. 3 singles so far this season and had a chance to play No. 2 singles against Temple, has needed these matches as an opportunity to gain experience.

"Each match gives you the opportunity to work on aspects of your game," Craton said. "And having some easier matches earlier on can be a good way to get your confidence up going into spring break and the Ivy season."