Tigers top Terps in thriller

This weekend was all tennis all the time for the Tigers, as the men's and women's teams took on two opponents each. The women (5-2 overall, 0-0 Ivy League) began the action by sweeping St. John's (0-4) Thursday and capped off the weekend with a dramatic 4-3 win over its toughest opponent to date, No. 33 Maryland (7-4). In between, the No. 74 men (3-1, 0-0) had worse luck against their own ranked adversary, falling to No. 27 Alabama (7-1) Friday, 5-2. The men did notch a win by conquering St. Joseph's (4-4) Saturday, 6-1.

The women's Sunday match was the most thrilling of the weekend, as the Tigers stepped up their game to narrowly upend the Terrapins.

It didn't look promising in the beginning, as the Terps were able to sweep the three doubles matches to secure that point. Princeton also lost the first singles match as senior captain Darcy Robertson fell to Maryland's Michal Amir at the No. 3 singles position.

Some hope arose when senior Joanna Roth defeated the Terps' Brooke Rogers, 6-4 and 6-2. Freshman Melissa Saiontz continued the rally as she took down Eleanor Peters, the No. 66-ranked women's player in the nation. Saiontz, who is ranked 100th, made it look easy in the second set, winning 7-6, 6-0.

After freshman Blakely Ashley fell at No. 5 singles, it was up to the last two Tigers on the court, junior captain Ivana King and freshman Sarah Huah.

After dropping the first set, King managed to stave off two match points in the second to win the set. After some great points and games, the match went to a tiebreak. King proved too tough for her opponent, the 98th-ranked Marianne Baker, and won the match in dramatic fashion.

"I was a little lucky at the end, and it was kind of a fifty-fifty chance, but she missed a couple crucial points and then in the last point I hit it low enough so that she hit the net," said King of the last moments of her match.

That notched the score at 3-3, and as King's match ended, Huah was also battling in the third set at No. 4 singles. She had lost the first set but came back to win the second. With all eyes on her, she sent the match to a tiebreak and won easily, 7-1.

Happy about her individual performance, Huah also had some positive words for her team as well, who cheered her on throughout the match.

"The team was very confident, and lately our team has been coming together with a lot of team spirit and belief in ourselves," said Huah.

The Princeton women breezed right by St. John's, capturing every point to win 7-0. In doubles, the Tigers only lost at the No. 3 position but pulled out the point when King and Saiontz squeaked by in the No. 1 doubles match, 8-6.

Saiontz and King, along with Huah and Ashley, won their matches easily in straight sets. The four only lost eight games between them. Robertson had a slightly tougher match but still managed to pull it out in a long three-setter.

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The men began the weekend with a tough 5-2 loss against No. 27 Alabama. The two victories came from sophomore Peter Capkovic and senior Sratha Saengsuwarn.

"I'm not really looking at the scoreboard too much," said head coach Glenn Michibata. "Alabama is a highly ranked team, so if we had beaten them, it would have been one of the bigger upsets of the year across the nation. And I think we had a good shot at winning."

In contrast, the Tigers won handily against St. Joseph's, 6-1. Despite the final score, the win did not come easily, as four of the singles matches went to a third set, and the Hawks were able to win the No. 1 singles point.

An exciting, hard-fought match finished the day when sophomore Alex Krueger-Wyman lost the first set and came back to win in a third-set tiebreak.

"This match was a great test for me because I started out down and not playing very well, but I was able to tough it out," said Krueger-Wyman.

For the Tigers' coach, these early season tests are really just preparation for later matches to come.

"I think what is really exciting is that we started with a good core of talent and ability," said Michibata. "I think if we can accomplish our goal to get better every day, come April when Ivy Leagues start, we are going to be in a very good position."