The men's and women's tennis teams closed out their seasons last weekend, slamming down wins to post winning Ivy League records for the season. The men split their weekend, defeating Cornell, 6-1, but followed with a loss to a tough Columbia team by the same score. The women rebounded from a few tough recent losses to sweep their weekend opponents, topping Cornell, 6-1, and Columbia, 4-3.
At home at the Lenz Tennis Center against Cornell, the men came out strong, clinching the doubles point with two wins — by senior co-captain Dan Friedman and sophomore Darius Craton at No. 1, and senior co-captain Tim Kofol and freshman Sratha Saengsuwarn at No 2.
The Tigers then followed with four straight-set singles wins at Nos. 2-5 to take the match.
And though the men's final match at Columbia did not yield the ultimate results they desired, several individuals had solid performances. Friedman fought at No. 2 to take Rajeev Emany to three sets, and at No. 4, sophomore Hans Plukas also split sets against his opponent, Rohan Saikia, to take the match into a third set. Sophomore Andrew Lieu was the lone bright spot for the men against Columbia, as he defeated his opponent at No. 5 singles in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2 to put the Tigers on the board.
With the weekend split, the Tigers finish their season on the winning side, with an 11-10 overall record and 4-3 within the Ivy League.
The women enjoyed a more successful weekend, winning big Friday at Cornell and returning to top Columbia at home on Sunday to complete the weekend sweep. At No. 1 singles, Cornell's Laura Tallet came out talentless, succumbing to Tiger sophomore Alison Hashmall in straight sets. At No. 3, Tiger sophomore Jessica Siebel also took care of her opponent, Erika Takeuchi, in a straight-set victory. Junior Stephanie Berg, en route to a win at No. 4 singles, took her first set against Kasia Preneta by a perfect score of 6-0. The Tigers also swept their doubles matches to take the doubles point and complete the win.
Against Columbia, the Tigers brought the same intensity, with senior co-captains Alex Kobishyn and Avantika Bhargava swiping a huge match at No. 1 doubles. At the No. 2 doubles spot, senior Mateya McCoy and freshman Darcy Robertson lost only one game in their victory. And coming back after Friday's heroics, Hashmall won at No. 2 to clinch the match for the Tigers.
"We had a wonderful season-ending weekend," Koshibyn said. "Speaking for the captains, I couldn't have asked for a better way to close out our collegiate tennis careers."
The weekend proved to be a real breakthrough for the Tigers and a satisfying end to a tough season.
Along with the players, the victories were equally as good for the women's head coach, Louise Gengler. With the team's final game Sunday, Gengler will retire from coaching Princeton tennis.
All in all, the weekend capped off a great run for the Tigers.
"This season has been outstanding," Kobishyn said. "I think we can look back on it with pride. We always kept fighting and looking to improve. I'm so proud of this team."
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