Trimble wins singles and doubles titles

For junior Laura Trimble and the women's tennis team, this weekend's National Tennis Center Invitational in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. ,proved to be an exciting one.

Senior Jessica Siebel turned in a strong performance, defeating Harvard's Cindy Chu and Brown's Amanda Saiontz in the first two rounds and working her way to the semifinals in the B2 Singles draw, where she would eventually lose, 7-5, 6-4, in a close match against Clemson's No. 3 Carol Saige. Siebel also placed well in doubles play, earning a quarterfinals spot in the A2 bracket with junior Joanna Roth after defeating a tough Virginia team in the first round.

But this tournament was an extra-special one for Laura Trimble. She won the D1 Singles championship this past Monday in an epic match against Virginia's Amanda Rales, 5-7, 6-4, 1-0 (10-8). The road to victory was not an easy one for Trimble, though. After dropping the first set and facing a 2-0 deficit in the second, the steady drizzle turned into a downpour and the court became too wet to continue play. The match was moved indoors, an ideal change of pace for Trimble.

"She totally stepped up and found a rhythm and took it to her girl and came back to win," assistant coach Marc Lucero said.

What made Trimble's comeback even more impressive was that she had to face Yale's Lillian Nguyen that same morning due to wet conditions from Sunday. She defeated Nguyen decisively, losing only one game in each set, and pulled through despite having to play two matches in one day.

"It was a huge breakthrough for Laura and should provide motivation to keep working hard," Lucero said.

Doubles title, too

It is a testament to the way Trimble has been playing lately that the singles championship would not be the only one she would capture. Earlier in the weekend, Trimble and senior Ali Hashmall paired up to win the B1 Doubles championship, defeating Virginia's No. 4 seeds Caroline Hammond and Kristen James in a close match, 8-6, coming from behind after trailing 5-2 and 6-3.

Once again, the road to the finals wasn't easy. The duo ousted two of the other top four seeded teams in the bracket before knocking off the top seeds from Boston College in the quarterfinals, winning with a convincing score of 8-2.

"Winning the doubles definitely gave me confidence and momentum going into the singles," Trimble said. "I was feeling especially competitive in the singles knowing that I was playing in the D draw against mostly freshmen, and I knew I could use my experience to my advantage. I learned a lot from playing with Ali this weekend. She's such a solid player and so mentally tough that I think her fighter attitude rubbed off on me."

But as impressive as the Tigers' performance in this tournament was, there is always room for improvement.

"The wins this weekend have definitely motivated me to keep practicing hard," Trimble said. "I know what shots I want to keep working on, and I'm motivated to keep working on fitness."

As Princeton looks ahead, the team realizes that a good attitude toward the game will be very important for a successful year.

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"I actually came up with a saying to keep myself focused: commit to the moment — enjoy the task at hand. Enjoyment was key," Trimble said. "I can honestly say that being on the court out there all weekend was fun, and for me that was refreshing. Wanting to be out there made it easier to fight back when I was down."