Tiger men push win streak to four

Boston College's men's tennis team had some trouble finding its way into Jadwin Gym on Saturday, delaying their match against Princeton by five minutes. As difficult as it was for the Golden Eagles to get in, however, the Tigers had no trouble showing them the way out.

Princeton (5-2 overall) crushed No. 3 Boston College (2-4), 7-0, for its second victory of the day. During their second straight weekend sweep, the Tigers overwhelmed Stony Brook, 6-1.

The women's team (2-2) wasn't as fortunate, dropping two close matches on the road. On Saturday, the Tigers battled nationally ranked Boston College (3-4) and let the Golden Eagles escape with a 4-3 win. The next day, Princeton once again fell by a 4-3 score, this time to Boston University.

Dominating play

The men got off to a strong start against Stony Brook by taking the doubles point, 2-1, thanks to a hard-fought 9-7 victory by juniors Andrew Lieu and Hans Plukas at the No. 2 doubles spot.

Princeton then proceeded to dominate singles play. Freshman Jonathan Leslie hammered Matthew Jacobson at the No. 6 spot, blanking Jacobson in the first set and dropping only two games in the second. Junior Darius Craton also had a strong showing at the No. 2 spot, granting Tal Meir only three games, all in the second set. Plukas and junior Shannon Morales, playing at No. 3 and No. 5, respectively, also downed their opponents in straight sets.

In the second half of the doubleheader, the Tigers struggled in doubles. The Golden Eagles won the No. 1 match, and the team jumped to a 4-1 lead against Leslie and sophomore Sratha Saengsuwarn. But behind Saengsuwarn's strong serving, the Tigers won the next seven games of the set for an 8-4 win.

Leslie and Saengsuwarn's refusal to concede was mirrored in the No. 2 doubles match. Lieu and senior co-captain David Gopstein held on to win the set, 8-6, when Lieu hit a return winner down the line to clinch the match.

Princeton never looked back from there, winning all six singles matches. Craton, who struggled early on in doubles play, double-bagelled Bogdanovich at No. 1. Saengsuwarn and Lieu both battled their way to victories at Nos. 2 and 3, respectively, and Gopstein won 6-4, 6-1 win at No. 4.

"We put together two very solid efforts on Saturday," Gopstein said. "Playing a doubleheader can be tough, especially for the guys who have to play two singles matches and two doubles matches in one day. But we finished on a strong note."

Doubles defeats

The women's team opened their weekend on Saturday by nearly upsetting Boston College behind strong play from the bottom half of its lineup. The host Golden Eagles, ranked No. 66 out of the nation's top 75 teams, ultimately pulled out a 4-3 victory.

Junior No. 4 Alison Hashmall won in three sets, while sophomore No. 5 Joanna Roth and senior No. 6 Gia Nafarre both grabbed straight set victories.

On Sunday morning, Princeton faced Boston University. Early on, sophomore Darcy Robertson and Roth had their way with the Terriers at No. 2 doubles, winning 8-3. The Tigers were unable to hold on, however, at No.1 doubles, where Berg and Junior Jessica Seibel dropped a close 9-7 contest.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

Boston University went on to take the doubles point, which turned out to be the difference in the match, as each squad claimed three singles victories. Berg and Roberton both won in straight sets for the Tigers, and Roth split the first sets with Katarina Draganova before winning the deciding tiebreaker 10-8. But the Terriers claimed the other three singles matches, and with them, the victory.

Ultimately, the lost doubles points proved to be Princeton's downfall this weekend.

"We do not have our teams set as of yet," Roth said, "but I think that as soon as we toughen up our teams and get the doubles point, the matches will turn in our favor."