Vuckovic and Capkovic provide key doubles win

With two of three doubles matches won, senior Ted Mabrey secured the third win, and the doubles point, with an overhead smash. The men's tennis team went on to crush Loyola Marymount, 6-1, Monday afternoon in Jadwin Gym. Mabrey's fighting spirit characterizes the entire men's tennis team, whether the Tigers are playing good tennis or not.

Prior to its domination of the Lions, Princeton (5-1) won a close 4-3 victory over St. John's at home Friday. While the Tigers struggled Friday afternoon, they managed to come out with a win.

"It was a close match — we didn't play our best tennis," sophomore Alex Vuckovic said. "We didn't hit the balls as well as we could, but we're really tough, we kept fighting and we basically won ugly."

Freshman George Carpeni and freshman Charlie Brosens won their singles matches against St. John's. Carpeni handily overpowered Alex Svetlakov 6-1, 6-1 in No. 3 singles, and Brosens defeated Tom Green 6-4, 6-2. Though the teams came out even in the singles matches, with each squad earning three points, the difference was decided beforehand in doubles play.

"[The match] was very close, and we were fortunate to come away with a 4-3 win," head coach Glenn Michibata said via email. "The key was winning the doubles point."

The doubles' point was clinched by Vuckovic and fellow sophomore Peter Capkovic, who defeated St. John's 9-8 (3) in a tiebreaker. Vuckovic went on to secure Princeton's overall victory with a 6-2, 6-1 win in No. 6 singles.

The Tigers came ready to play against Loyola Marymount. After "winning ugly" against St. John's, Princeton made the win against Loyola Marymount look quite pretty. The Tigers began their domination by sweeping the doubles matches.

"We came out of doubles, and we started flying," Vuckovic said. "Our coach said it was the best he'd seen us play doubles in a while. We basically flew out of the gates and got off to a good start."

After cruising through doubles, Princeton won five out of the six singles matches, all in straight sets.

Senior captain Sratha Saengsuwarn played particularly well, finishing his No. 2 singles match early. He dropped only one game to Nikola Petrov, winning the match 6-0, 6-1. Saengsuwarn holds an impressive 4-0 record in singles matches this season.

Capkovic was next off the court, defeating Nico Terrien 6-3, 6-2 in No. 1 singles. Once again, Vuckovic secured the team's overall victory with the fourth point, a 6-3, 7-5 win at No. 5 singles.

"We're fighting hard," Vuckovic said. "It's easier when you execute."

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In No. 3 singles, sophomore Alex Krueger-Wyman won 7-5, 6-4, and Charlie Brosens won a solid 6-2, 6-2 victory at No. 6 singles.

The team is young, but it is strong and determined. Out of Princeton's seven starters Friday and Monday, only two were upperclassmen. Age, however, does not seem to matter on the tennis court. In his fourth season on the tennis team, Saengsuwarn is pleased to see the way the team is developing this year.

"Our program is getting better and better every day," Saengsuwarn said. "I think we have a good chance [in the Ivy League] this year."

The Tigers will look to maintain the momentum from their victory over Loyola Marymount when they face Stony Brook this Saturday afternoon at Jadwin Gym.