The tennis teams saw a painful shade of red this weekend, as the Crimson men's and women's squads descended on the Lenz Tennis Center on Saturday. The men's team (13-7 overall, 2-3 Ivy League) had its hands full with No. 43 Harvard (11-10, 3-1), falling 6-1, and the women's team (9-8, 3-2) suffered a similar result, running into trouble against the No. 17 squad (13-6, 4-0) in Cambridge, Mass.
On Friday, the men defended their home court with a 4-3 win over Dartmouth (6-10, 0-4). The women traveled to Hanover, N.H., on Friday to top the No. 73 Big Green (12-6, 2-2) by the same 4-3 score.
The men's netters got it done in doubles Friday against Dartmouth, though not without a few narrow victories. Senior co-captain Josh Burman and sophomore Sratha Saengsuwarn had their way at No. 2, earning an 8-3 win. Juniors Hans Plukas and Andrew Lieu, playing No. 1, handed their opponents a close 9-8 loss. Junior Darius Craton and sophomore Ted Mabrey also came out on the right side of a 9-8 set at No. 3.
Having clinched the doubles point, the Tigers manufactured the three necessary singles wins to claim the match. Burman easily disposed of David Webb at No. 1, granting him only three games. Saengsuwarn cruised to a 6-2, 6-2 victory at No. 3, downing Jeffrey Schectman. Lieu, playing No. 5, won a three-setter, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6, to send the Big Green home.
Lieu continued to perform well the next day against Harvard, but Princeton struggled to find its rhythm. Plukas and Lieu managed a 9-8 win at No. 1 doubles, but the Crimson came away with the doubles point after Burman and Saengsuwarn fell, 9-8, at No. 2.
Harvard showed its strength at singles and took five of the six points. Lieu did snag a win at No. 5, though, defeating Brandon Chiu, 6-4, 6-2. Senior co-captain David Gopstein got off to a running start in the first game of his No. 6 match against Gideon Valkin, slamming home an ace to take the first game. Gopstein aced Valkin twice more in the third game and had numerous chances to take the game, but a double fault off his raquet put Valkin in a position to break, and he capitalized. Valkin managed to overpower the Tiger and take the match, 6-4, 7-5.
Princeton ends its regular season this weekend, playing Columbia at home on Friday before finishing up at Cornell on Sunday.
Doubles still key
The women's team earned its third Ivy win — and its second over a nationally-ranked opponent so far this season — on Friday at Dartmouth. Taking the doubles point has been crucial for the Tigers thus far, and Friday's match was no different. Sophomore Laura Trimble and freshman Ivana King dropped their opponents at No. 3, 8-2. Juniors Alison Hashmall and Jessica Siebel held on to earn a 9-8 win at No. 2, giving Princeton the doubles point.
King also fared well in singles, dropping Megan Zebroski, 6-2, 6-3 at No. 5. Sophomore Darcy Robertson, playing No. 2, landed a straight-set victory over Lindsay Winingham. Sophomore Joanna Roth took the first set of her No. 4 match in a tiebreak before finishing off Maggie Suydam, 6-4, in the second set.
Siebel took the first set of her No. 1 match in a tiebreak, but Jayme Ahmed came out on top in the final set. After dropping the first set of her No. 6 match, Trimble charged back but was downed in a tiebreak by Ann Scott. Still, the three singles wins were enough to guarantee victory for Princeton, which took the match by a tight 4-3 margin.
The Tigers faced a menacing Harvard team on Saturda,y and victory eluded them. The Crimson, undefeated in the Ivy League, was Princeton's highest-ranked opponent all year.
For the most part, Harvard dominated doubles play. Hashmall and Trimble fought hard at No. 3 but ultimately fell, 9-7. Siebel and King took six games in their No. 1 match, but they were unable to hang on as Courtney Bergman and Elsa O'Riain escaped, 8-6.
The Tigers struggled to gain momentum in singles play and dropped all six matches. King had more success than her teammates, but she still fell, 6-3, 6-3. Siebel faced tough opposition from Bergman, ranked among the nation's top 50 singles players, losing 6-1, 6-1.
Princeton looks to rebound on Friday at Columbia before returning home to finish out the regular season against Cornell on Sunday.
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