The Ivy League opener treated the men's and women's tennis teams in vastly different ways Saturday. While the men pulled out a tight 4-3 win at Penn, the women did not have the same luck in hosting the Lady Quakers, falling 6-1 at Jadwin Gym.
The men were keyed by an exciting three-set comeback win for sophomore Darius Craton at No. 2 singles. After dropping the first set to Penn's Mikhail Bekker, Craton roared back for the victory, winning 6-7, 6-2, 6-2.
Princeton (8-7) also got a strong performance from its top player, senior Daniel Friedman who topped the Quakers' David Lynn in straight sets, 6-2, 7-5.
The Tigers' other two singles wins came at No. 4 from sophomore Andrew Lieu and at No. 6 from senior Tim Kofol. Both won in straight sets with Lieu beating Penn's Craig Rubin, 6-2, 7-5, and Kofol ousting Jimmy Fairbanks easily, 6-4, 6-2.
Freshman Sratha Saengsuwarn, Princeton's No. 3 singles player, lost a tough match in three sets to the Quakers' Justin Lavner. Saengsuwarn won the first set, 6-3, before losing the next by the same score and then dropping the deciding set in the tiebreak, 7-6(4).
Junior No. 5 David Gopstein lost in straight sets, 6-4, 6-0 to Penn's Todd Lecher.
The Quakers took the doubles point in the match, as well, winning the No. 2 and No. 3 two-man matches. Princeton was able to escape with a win from its top doubles team of Craton and Friedman as they bested Lavner and Lecher, 8-5.
Kofol and Saengsuwarn (9-8[9-7]) and Lieu and Gopstein (9-7) both narrowly lost in their doubles contests.
In the climate-controlled confines of Jadwin Gym the women's tennis team could not pull of the same result as the men.
The lone highlight of the day for the women was sophomore Alison Hashmall's win in three sets at No. 2. Hashmall topped the Quakers' Caroline Stanislawski, 7-5, in the first set before dropping the second, 6-4. Hashmall then won 13-11 in a proset to take the match.
Two other Tiger singles players took their matches to a third set, only to eventually lose to their Penn opponents. Sophomore Jessica Siebel lost 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 to Shelah Chao at No. 3 singles, and freshman Laura Trimble fell 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 to Sara Schiffman.
Freshman Darcy Robertson, playing at No. 1 singles, lost in straight sets to Penn's Nicole Ptak, 6-3, 7-5. Junior No. 4 Stephanie Berg (6-1, 6-2) and sophomore No. 6 Rankin Williams (6-3, 6-3) also lost in straight sets.
All three Tiger doubles teams also fell in hotly-contested matches. The top team of seniors Vanti Bhargava and Alex Kobishyn fell 9-7. The No. 2 squad of Robertson and Siebel lost 8-5, and the third team of Berg and Trimble was clipped 8-6.
The women take to the road this weekend when they travel to Yale on Friday and Brown on Saturday in two important league matches.
The men's team will also face the Bulldogs and the Bears, but those matches will take place in the friendly confines of the Lenz Tennis Center. The Yale match begins at 2 p.m. on Friday and the Brown match at noon on Saturday.
Read More
Six for six: men’s and women’s track and field both complete triple crown
Luke StocklessMen’s and women’s track and field each won the Ivy League title this past weekend, capping off a dominant season in which both teams won the triple crown — a feat not seen in 14 years.
Men’s and women’s track and field each won the Ivy League title this past weekend, capping off a dominant season in which both teams won the triple crown — a feat not seen in 14 years.
Nation’s No. 2 miler Mena Scatchard ’25 to transfer to Stanford for graduate year
Luke StocklessThe Tigers’ most decorated distance runner ever has decided to use her final year of eligibility at Stanford after graduating from Princeton this May.
The Tigers’ most decorated distance runner ever has decided to use her final year of eligibility at Stanford after graduating from Princeton this May.
Two-way treats: Shenefelt and Kram do it all for Princeton baseball team
Joseph UglialoroThe baseball team features two players who hit and pitch, a rarity at the college level. Nick Shenefelt and Kaden Kram each took unique paths to playing both ways this season.
The baseball team features two players who hit and pitch, a rarity at the college level. Nick Shenefelt and Kaden Kram each took unique paths to playing both ways this season.