Saiontz completes 7-0 shutout of Scarlet Knights with tiebreak win

Above the No. 1 singles court during the women's tennis match against Rutgers on Wednesday night, a colorful poster board read, "So tough, Saiontz." Freshman Melissa Saiontz glanced up at that sign throughout her match against the Scarlet Knights' Katrina Elder-Bush and took the message to heart, successfully fighting off multiple comeback attempts to complete the Tigers' 7-0 dismantling of their New Jersey rival.

Under head coach Kathy Sell, Princeton (6-2 overall) has shown its toughness as a team and steadily built momentum in recent weeks. With its only losses coming at the hands of No. 5 Miami and No. 35 Florida International University, the Tigers are currently on a six-match winning streak. In their biggest of win of the season thus far, the women defeated No. 33 Maryland early last week. The victory moved Princeton to No. 50 in the FILA Collegiate Tennis Rankings, the team's highest ranking since the 2000 season.

"For the four years I've been here, the team has never been this motivated, this excited, this together," senior captain Darcy Robertson said.

The team's motivation translated into a nearly perfect match against Rutgers.

The Tigers defeated the Scarlet Knights (3-6) in two of the three doubles matches to win the doubles point. The teams played only four singles matches due to Scarlet Knight injuries, giving Princeton two automatic points from the two forfeited matches. Those points were superfluous, as the Tigers swept their singles matches, all in straight sets.

Senior Joanna Roth was first off the court with an easy 6-0, 6-0 triumph over Katherine Chen in No. 4 singles. In No. 2 singles, Robertson was graceful at the net, using a variety of approach shots and volleys to secure a solid 6-1, 6-1 win over Katherine Arlak. Freshman Blakely Ashley defeated Anela Dujsic 6-3, 6-0 in No. 3 singles.

When the rest of the matches ended, Saiontz was still fighting it out on the court. Though she won the match in two sets, 6-4, 7-6 (0), Saiontz definitely competed in the longest and toughest match of the day.

After pulling out to a 3-0 lead in the first set, Saiontz showed some frustration as the match's momentum seesawed in each direction. Elder-Bush was relentless, cutting Saiontz's lead to 3-2 and later to 5-4. Despite these threats, Saiontz won the first set.

Elder-Bush battled back in the second set. After a difficult overhead return and a subsequent ace, Elder-Bush pulled away to a 5-3 lead. Saiontz, however, showed amazing resilience. She won three straight games and came back from a 0-40 deficit to take control of the set at 6-5.

Elder-Bush won the next game to send the set into a tiebreaker, but Saiontz won it easily, 7-0.

This resilience and competitiveness is not unusual for Saiontz.

Ranked No. 78 nationally in women's singles, Saiontz has only lost one singles match this year, and that was against the No. 1 player in the country, Audra Cohen of Miami.

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After this win, the Tigers hold an impressive 10-year winning streak over the Scarlet Knights.

"We've always beaten Rutgers, but it's very exciting to come through and have everyone play really well and steamroll through," Robertson said. "It was just a great day for Princeton tennis in general."

Princeton will need this enthusiasm and momentum as it continues its season. During spring break, the team will travel to California for four matches, including tough matchups against No. 21 Duke, No. 24 Pepperdine and No. 58 Long Beach.