Men notch season-opening win while women struggle in Florida

Despite the recent freezing cold temperatures in the Northeast, the men's tennis team was in action over Intersession, both at home and at the Harvard and Columbia Invitational tournaments. The women's team escaped the cold weather during its Intersession trip to Florida, where it took on Miami and Florida International to open its spring season.

Competing for the first time in more than two months, the women's team (0-2 overall) faced some tough competition in Florida. On Jan. 27, the Tigers were beaten, 6-1, by No. 5 Miami, and the next day they fell in a closer game to No. 35 Florida International, 4-3.

The men's team (1-0 overall) opened things up with a 6-1 win over Central Florida this past Sunday. Earlier in the break, individual Tigers were in action at the Harvard and Columbia Invitationals. Sophomore Peter Capkovic lost in the finals at Harvard, while freshman Charlie Brosens won the "B" flight singles at Columbia.

On the women's side, freshman Blakely Ashley notched the sole singles win against a tough Miami team, playing the No. 5 singles match against Claudia Wasilewski and sweeping her, 6-3, 7-5. Junior Ivana King and freshman Melissa Saiontz won their doubles match 8-5 over Wasilewski and Romy Farah.

Miami's top two singles players, Audra Cohen and Laura Vallverdu, are nationally ranked No. 1 and No.6, respectively. Cohen defeated Miami-native Saiontz, 6-0, 6-1, and Vallverdu beat Tiger senior Darcy Robertson, 6-0, 6-2. At the No. 3 singles position, King fell in a closer match, 6-4, 6-4, to Miami's Caren Seenauth.

Saiontz, King and Ashley turned things around the next, notching singles wins against Florida International at the No. 1, No. 3 and No. 5 spots. Ashley came from behind to defeat Maria Pazo in three sets 3-6, 6-1, 6-2. King's match was the last to finish, and she won it in a 10-point pro set after splitting the first two sets with opponent Marijana Cutuk.

The Tigers were swept in the three doubles matches, losing 8-3, 9-7, 8-5.

Princeton has two upcoming home matches, hosting East Tennessee State on Feb. 9 and then Penn State two days later. Though the Tigers lost their first two matches of the spring season, they also gained the experience of playing two nationally ranked opponents. They hope to use this to their advantage as the season progresses.

"I told the team that it is a compliment to them that we are playing a tough schedule this year," head coach Kathy Sell said. "I would like to play the toughest schedule we can because I believe it is the best way to improve, and we want to operate with the best in the country. The ideal would have been to play another match before Miami, but we wanted them on our schedule, and I was willing to play them when they had an open date."

At the men's Harvard Invitational, Capkovic reached the finals only to fall in a tough three-set match to Harvard's Gideon Valkin by scores of 7-6, 2-6, 6-4. Capkovic, who finished the fall season with a 6-3 record, was ranked No. 100 nationally going into the tournament and was given a No. 1 seed in his bracket. Unseeded sophomore Alex Krueger-Wyman also had a good tournament, advancing to the quarterfinals.

"The tournament at Harvard was a great opportunity to play some matches before the season kicked off," Capkovic said. "I played well, and I finally found the game plan I am comfortable with and which should bring me some more wins."

At Columbia, Brosens won the "B" flight singles title. Head coach Glenn Michibata was happy about his team's performances in the two tournaments.

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"Overall, it was a good first step as we start the season," he said.

On Sunday, the men's team took on Central Florida at home. The team played very well, topping the Golden Knights 6-1. This was a significant victory for Princeton because Central Florida had beaten Penn, 4-3, two days earlier, and Penn is currently ranked No. 1 in the Ivy League.

The Tigers swept the three doubles matches against the Golden Knights early in the day, setting the tone for the singles matches to come. In singles, Princeton won the No. 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 matches. Even in the No. 4 match, Brosens played very well before losing a tough three-setter. Capkovic and Krueger-Wyman were winners in three sets — with Krueger-Wyman winning in a pro set — while all other Tiger wins were in straight sets.

"The key match was at the No. 6 singles, where senior co-captain Ted Mabrey clinched the overall match with a 6-4, 6-4 victory," Michibata said.

The next match for the men's team will be on the road against Army on Feb. 11. After that, the Tigers have almost two weeks off before their next match at home against Alabama. The spring season begins to heat up after that point with one or two matches every week.

"My expectation for this season is that the team plays with poise, intelligence and heart," Michibata said. "I'm not worried about the results as long as we take care of those three things."