Men snag sixth straight, women manage split

While zero may have negative connotations for some people, it is quickly becoming a favorite number for the men's tennis team (7-2 overall). Zero matches lost this past weekend, zero home losses this season and zero defeats against their past six opponents all add up to something much greater than zero.

Saturday morning at Jadwin Gym, the Tigers cruised past George Washington (4-6), notching a 7-0 shutout. Later that evening, Princeton completed the doubleheader sweep, handing St. Joseph's (3-4) a 7-0 defeat.

The women's team (3-3 overall) rallied from two tough road losses to pick up an impressive 5-2 victory over Syracuse (7-3) on Friday at home. It fell, however, to 60th-ranked Maryland (6-4) by a 6-1 score on Sunday morning.

Bring out the broom

The men's team got off to a quick start Saturday morning against George Washington, claiming all three doubles matches to earn the earn the doubles point.

Princeton followed suit in singles. At the No. 6 spot, freshman Jonathan Leslie crushed Daniel Riesbeck for a 6-1, 6-0 victory. At the top of the order, No. 1 singles player junior Darius Craton wasted little time in dropping Matt Treadgold, 6-3, 6-0.

Junior Hans Plukas faced tough competition at the No. 3 spot, but he still pulled out a 6-4, 7-5 straight-set victory. Sophomore Sratha Saengsuwarn struggled early at the No. 2 position, dropping his first set, 3-6, but he rallied in the second set and secured the match in the third. Junior No. 4 Andrew Lieu and senior No. 5 David Gopstein also earned wins, completing the shutout.

Princeton built on its momentum Saturday evening against St. Joseph's. Led by Saengsuwarn and freshman Ashwat Sarohia's 8-2 pounding of the Hawks at No. 2 doubles, the Tigers took an early lead for the second straight match.

Saengsuwarn also cruised to victory at No. 2 singles, downing Antonio Aniello, 6-0, 6-2. Freshman Andrew Husby also dominated his opponent at No. 6, winning in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2. At the No. 4 spot, junior Shannon Morales hammered Van Homer Pangilinan in the first set, dropping only one game. The St. Joseph's senior put up a fight in the second set, but Morales won the tiebreaker to end the match, 6-1, 7-6. Senior Josh Burman saw action at the No. 1 spot, and after coming out on top in the first set, 7-5, he lost only two games in the second.

The Tigers, now riding a six-game winning streak, can enjoy a couple weekends of rest before heading to San Diego to battle two nationally-ranked squads, No. 73 Purdue and No. 50 San Diego.

Taking care of business

On the women's side, Princeton could not claim the doubles point against Syracuse on Friday afternoon despite a hard-fought 8-5 victory by freshmen Christine Kansky and Natalie Arcario at No. 3. Still, the Tigers pulled out the team win on the strength of their singles performance, taking five of the six matches.

Senior No. 6 Stephanie Berg had no trouble, winning 6-3, 6-0. Sophomore Joanna Roth, playing at No. 4, also pulled off a straight-set victory, 6-2, 6-3.

The other three Tiger victories came in three sets. Sophomore No. 2 Darcy Robertson cruised in the third set, granting her Orange foe only one game. Junior Jessica Siebel and sophomore Laura Trimble, playing No. 1 and No. 5, respectively, also came away with three-set victories.

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"Syracuse was a good team, and everyone just played their respective games and took care of business," Berg said. "We lost the doubles point, but we're working on doubles strategy and really being aggressive at the net."

Princeton faced a much tougher opponent on Sunday, battling nationally-ranked Maryland. The Terrapins entered Jadwin coming off wins in their last five competitions.

Though the Tigers struggled against the Maryland squad, Kansky claimed a victory at No. 3 singles, dropping Marianne Baker, 7-6, 6-4. Baker and the Terrapins' Ramona But — ranked No. 35 in the country as a doubles team — tripped up Berg and Siebel at No. 1. But, who is also ranked No. 56 in singles, defeated Siebel at the top of the singles lineup as well.

"I think the [Maryland] match showed a lot of upside," Berg said. "We were in the match on every court, and I think everyone came away realizing that we were not outmatched."

Princeton will break for a few weeks before it sees action again, but its schedule does not get any easier. The Tigers will travel to Oregon to face a top-25 foe, the University of Oregon, on March 13.