Tough road win earned by Nos. 5, 6 against Md.

Exactly one week after a decisive 7-0 defeat by No. 15 William & Mary, the women’s tennis team hit the road again to take on Maryland at the Terrapins’ home courts in College Park, Md. This time around, the No. 71 Tigers returned home with a close, but decisive, 4-3 victory.

This was Princeton’s second victory at Maryland in as many years and brought the team to a respectable 4-1 record for the season, while it was the Terrapins’ third loss of the season as they struggle to improve their 1-3 record.

The Tigers did have some trouble at the top and middle of the singles bracket, as Princeton’s sophomore No. 1 Melissa Saiontz was routed 6-3, 7-5 by Michal Amir — formerly the top-ranked junior player in Israel.

Sophomore Sarah Huah, playing at the No. 3 spot, also had a difficult time in her match against Julia Huschke. Huah rallied back from a one-set deficit to level the match at a set apiece, but she was unable to consolidate her second-set win and lost the match 6-3, 2-6, 6-3. It was a similar story for her freshman teammate Sarah Hoffman, who was leading her opponent Maggie MacKeever by one set before she lost a close second-set tiebreaker. She went on to drop the third and final set to finish the day with a 4-6, 7-6, 6-3 loss.

Ivana King, the lone senior on the team and the only player to win a set last week against tennis powerhouse William & Mary, did not have much trouble in her match against Karin Lundmark. King cruised her way to a 6-3, 6-0 victory at the No. 2 spot.

The story of the match, however, was the impressive breakout performances by freshmen Rebecca Parks and Taylor Marable. Playing at the No. 5 spot, Oklahoma native Parks blew out Lisa Miller 6-3, 6-3, while Marable dropped just four games in her easy 6-2, 6-2 victory against Maryland’s Oksana Krutiyenko at No. 6 singles. For both players, this was their first spring match for the Tigers.

Both Parks and Marable were also coming off doubles wins before their single matches. Earlier in the day, Parks teamed up with Ivana King to take on the team of Amir and Lundmark at the No. 1 spot. They won their match 8-3. Meanwhile, Marable was paired with the No. 1 singles player Saiontz in her match against MacKeever and Huschke at the No. 2 spot. They also won their match, 8-6.

The No. 3 team of Hoffman and Huah was less successful in its match against Miller and Adela Matejkova, losing 8-0. Nevertheless, the game-winning doubles point went to Princeton, and the Tigers finished the day with a 4-3 victory after splitting singles. Next weekend the Tigers will stay home to host Buffalo and DePaul at the courts in Jadwin Gymnasium.