Although the chance of competing in postseason play all but evaporated for the men's and women's tennis teams with losses to Harvard last weekend, both are looking forward to this weekend's games against Cornell and Columbia as an opportunity to build toward the future.
Tomorrow, the men (9-10 overall, 3-2 Ivy League), will host Cornell (13-7, 2-3) as they look to avenge their loss to the Big Red at Regionals earlier in the year. Saturday, in their season finale, the Tigers will travel to New York for their noon matchup against Columbia (7-8, 1-4).
"Winning this weekend is very important," sophomore standout Darius Craton said, "because it will allow us to finish third in the Ivies behind two strong teams."
The Tigers do not expect Cornell to be a formidable opponent. The path to victory, though, will not be easy. Although Cornell was defeated last weekend against Yale and Brown, they appear to be a tough challenge. The Big Red will depend on their No. 1 singles player, Zach Gallin, to lead the way. Gallin has yet to lose a match in Ivy League play and has earned praise from his opponents. Princeton will likely counter with Craton or senior co-captain Dan Friedman.
At Columbia, the story is the same. Last weekend, Columbia dropped both matches and prolonged its losing skid. They have now lost seven of their last nine matches. The lone bright spot on the Columbia team has been their No. 1 singles player, Akshay Rao, as he comes in riding a four-game win streak.
Despite tough competition at the No. 1 spot in both games this weekend, the matches will be decided based on how well the team performs as a whole and not solely on the No. 1 singles game.
"I think it's really important that everyone plays their best." Craton said. "We match up pretty well against [Cornell and Columbia]."
Although the Tigers are not able to achieve their ultimate goal, winning the Ivies, it has not been a season of disappointment.
"It's been a tough season, full of ups and downs." Craton said. "But we've learned to grit out some close matches and win in that clutch and that's important."
In a similar position, the women (6-11, 2-3), look to close out their season on a positive note as they travel to Cornell (6-8, 1-4) on Friday, and host Columbia (9-8, 1-5) on Sunday.
The Tigers faced a similar fate as the men last weekend — winning one and losing the other. Princeton started the weekend by falling to No. 35 Harvard, 7-0, on Friday. They followed up that disappointing showing with a convincing 5-2 victory over Dartmouth.
This weekend, the Tigers will try to continue their success as they face the Big Red and the Lions, the seventhand eighth-place teams in the Ivy League, respectively. Neither team, though, should be overlooked.
The Tigers figure to have their hands full with a Cornell team that is fresh off a 5-2 victory over Brown. Columbia is coming off a loss in a close match to first-place Yale, 4-3.
Despite the fact that Princeton will not be playing in the postseason, the final two games of the year are still important. This weekend allows the Tigers to gain momentum and invaluable experience for next year's Ivy League schedule.
On paper, the future looks promising for the Tigers, as all of their singles players will be back for next year's campaign, including freshman No. 1 Darcy Robertson. But tennis isn't played on paper, and only time will tell how much the Tigers really learned from this season.
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