The Ivy League duels begin this Saturday for the men's and women's tennis teams, as both will take on Penn. The men travel to Philadelpia to play on the Quakers' home turf, while the women will have their own home-court advantage.
On both sides, Penn will be a worthy opponent, coming into this weekend with solid winning records. The Quaker women are 10-3 overall, coming off a win against Temple, 6-1, while the men are 8-3 in dual matches.
The women (3-8), who took a loss last year against Penn, are looking to avenge last year's defeat. But they will have to come out strong to defeat the Quaker squad, No. 40 in the nation.
"They've been a tough squad since I've been at Princeton," senior Alex Kobishyn said. "But we're ready."
Penn is expected to give defending champion Harvard a run for the title this year, but the underdog Tigers are ready to give both teams some trouble.
"It's a tough opener," head coach Louise Gengler said, "But we're coming off a great weekend, and we're ready to give Penn a big setback."
Last April, the Tiger men (5-5) were victorious over Penn, posting a 6-1 win. This year, though, the Tigers hope to play well and to improve upon last year's match. Winning is the only thing on their minds.
"We care to win. The rest is insignificant," senior Tim Kofol said. Coming off a solid victory against Rutgers last Saturday at home, the Tigers hope to do just that.
"This is what we play for," senior Dan Friedman said. "This is the reason we did all the off-season workouts, the reason we go to Florida and California, the reason we come every day to Jadwin. All those things were for one purpose — winning the league."
Though the men are without top players Trevor Smith '03, last year's senior No. 1 singles star, and current junior Josh Burman, the Tigers will still head to Penn strong. Burman is out with a knee injury.
Sophomore No. 1 singles player Darius Craton will come to play, high off a well-earned victory he swiped off of Rutgers' No. 1 last weekend. Senior Dan Friedman will come in fresh after taking last weekend off. Together, the Tigers look to be in good shape to pull off a repeat performance of last season in their Ivy opener.
For senior captains Kofol and Friedman, this weekend begins the final games of their Princeton careers. They know how important it is to play hard, score wins and have a little fun at the same time.
"We want to enjoy the battle, love the moment and savor these opportunities," Friedman said. "You only get a finite number of them. Next year, some of us will be busy grinding out 15-hour workdays, wishing we were still playing college tennis."
The men will go to Penn ready to battle and ready to win. After all, everyone knows winning is more fun.
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