Men's, women's tennis pick up key wins before league seasons

The sunny skies brought nothing but good tidings for Princeton tennis Saturday, as both the women and the men came out with a victory on their home courts. The women, facing Temple (2-12), edged out the competition, 4-3, while the men breezed past Rutgers (1-6), 7-0.

The women were strengthened by the return of sophomore Alison Hashmall and confident after an easy victory against Temple last year at this time. They came out eager to record similar results.

For a team that has had a tough time of late when the matches get tight, it seems like the Tigers (4-8) have finally began to show their opponents what they're made of. Taking the doubles point early on with wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions, the women played with excellent teamwork and intensity, while setting a winning precedent for the team to follow as the match progressed.

"Winning the doubles point set the momentum for the rest of the match," senior co-captain Alex Kobishyn said. "And it was a big deal for us since we haven't been successful in doubles lately."

This momentum was enough to carry the Tigers through, as the women followed with three singles victories won in straight sets by Hashmall, freshman Laura Trimble, and sophomore Rankin Williams.

"[Hashmall] has been out for a while with a knee injury, so for her to come back and win decisively was huge," Kobishyn said.

The Tigers have been working to improve some particulars in practice to help their game, and the hard work seems to finally be paying off up and down the lineup.

"We've been working a lot recently on our on-court intensity at practice," Kobishyn said. "And I think it really showed on Saturday. Everyone fought hard for each point."

As Kobishyn also noted, Saturday's match against Temple was a real breakthrough mentally for the team. Pulling out a close match has boosted the women's confidence heading into Ivy League play this weekend. Although the Tigers will face Penn, which will probably be the Tigers' toughest competition in the league this season, they enter this weekend hopeful.

"We are going to use this win against Temple to propel us this weekend," Kobishyn said. "The great thing about college tennis is that anything can happen when you're on the court. We're hoping the momentum will swing in our favor."

With last Saturday's win, the Tigers improved their home record to 3-1. This weekend will be a chance for the Tigers to continue their recent home success.

The men (5-5) are also geared up for this Saturday's match against Penn. Coming off a relatively easy victory over Rutgers in which the Tigers didn't drop a match, the team is looking strong and hopes to improve with each opponent.

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"Though we won, there is always the notion that we can be better for our next matches," freshman Sratha Saengsuwarn said. "We're looking to Saturday's Penn match to play even better."

Saengsuwarn, who teamed up with senior co-captain Tim Kofol at the No. 1 doubles spot, posted an 8-1 victory for the Tigers and was also successful at the No. 2 singles spot. Saengsuwarn won his singles match in a nailbiter, a 10-point tiebreak. Sophomore Darius Craton also pulled out a big third-set tiebreak win, knocking off Rutgers' Tyler Deming at the No. 1 spot.

This Saturday's match against Penn may be tough, but it looks like the Tigers have caught fire just in time to fuel a huge Ivy League victory that may prove crucial later on.