Women lose to Maryland; men beat Stony Brook

After a lackluster 0-4 start, the men's tennis team seems to be on the road to a strong season after its third consecutive win this weekend. The Tigers (3-4 overall) defeated Stony Brook, 5-2, on Saturday, earning their third consecutive win with a boost from some strong freshmen. The women's team (4-4), however, lost a 4-3 nailbiter at No. 33 Maryland on Sunday.

"We got off to a slow start," sophomore Jonathan Leslie said. "A couple of our guys were not able to play at 100 percent, but now that everyone is back, we have been playing a lot better."

The No. 2 doubles team, seniors Darius Craton and Shannon Morales, earned the day's first victory by stomping Stony Brook's Tal Meir and Youssef Fassi-Fehri, 8-2.

Princeton's No. 3 doubles team, freshmen Alex Krueger-Wyman and Alex Vuckovic, followed suit by winning six straight games to defeat Stony Brook's Michael Crooks and Matt Jacobson, 9-7, giving the Tigers the doubles point.

"Although it was early in the game, I feel the victory at No. 3 doubles was vital to the tide of the game," Leslie said.

Stony Brook began singles play by taking the first two matches, earning their only points of the match.

No. 3 senior Hans Plukas recovered from a 6-2 loss in his first set to beat Nihal Advani and give the Tigers their first singles point. No. 4 Vuckovic followed his victory in the doubles match with an impressive 6-1, 6-2 win over Stony Brook's Jean Francois Robitaille.

"Our freshmen really came through for us this weekend," Leslie said.

Continuing Princeton's sweep of the bottom matches, sophomore twins Andrew and Christian Husby both earned victories in straight sets at the No. 5 and No. 6 spot, respectively.

The Tigers hope to extend their winning streak to four when they square off against Army this Friday at Jadwin Gym.

Unlike the men's squad, the women's team could not pull away with the win this weekend. Saturday's match was the team's second consecutive 4-3 loss.

At No. 1 doubles, senior Jessica Siebel and sophomore Ivana King started the day strong for the Tigers, defeating Maryland's Marianne Baker and Veronika Subertova 9-7 after coming back from a 7-4 deficit. The No. 2 team, junior Darcy Robertson and junior Joanna Roth, jumped to a 7-6 lead but could not earn the last point, losing 8-6 to Maryland's Jennifer Dent and Michal Amir.

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The Tigers' No. 3 doubles team lost 8-2, giving Maryland the doubles point.

"The doubles point has proven to be a huge factor in the outcome of our matches," head coach Kathryn Sell said.

An impressive 6-4, 6-0 win by No. 2 Siebel over Subertova earned Princeton its first singles point of the match. Maryland followed by taking the No. 3 singles match, earning a 3-1 lead.

King posted her second win of the day at the No. 4 singles spot, defeating Dent in straight sets, bringing the Tigers within one.

However, No. 5 Joanna Roth lost her match 6-2, 6-4 to Amir, giving Maryland a 4-2 lead and the match.

Despite knowing that her match could not earn the team a victory, freshman Kelly Stewart fought hard to defeat Maryland's Juliana Naso, continuing her perfect season.

"[Stewart] plays within herself," Sell said. "She focuses on what is happening on her court only, and she has been able to outplay all of her opponents so far."

The women's team will get two weeks' rest before their spring break match against North Carolina State on Sunday, March 19, in Raleigh, N.C.