Tennis teams have successful weekend in out-of-state competitions

During their short stay in the Peach State, the Tigers competed against Georgia Tech, Georgia and Arizona State. All three teams are ranked in the top 25 nationally.

“I was thrilled to be included in the tournament this weekend because I knew it would give us a perfect opportunity to test ourselves in very competitive matches from spots one through eight,” head coach Kathy Sell said. “Overall, I am pleased that we were able to take away a lot of good lessons from this tournament, and I’m anxious to address those areas we most need to improve on to have chances to beat those teams in the future.”

Princeton showed it was up to the challenge of facing such talented competition, winning matches against all three opponents. Against No. 23 Arizona State, the Tigers won two of six singles matches, with two of their losses coming in three sets.

“We will take a look at how we handled the momentum shifts [in the three-set matches],” Sell said. “I told the players they should all be very proud of their effort, and I really believe that they should be excited about the weekend.”

In its most impressive performance of the weekend, Princeton took two of three doubles matches and two of six singles matches against No. 8 Georgia. The Tigers’ star freshman class played a key role in this match, with newcomer Lauren McHale winning matches at first singles and second doubles.

“The freshmen are awesome,” Sell said. “I couldn’t be more proud of their effort — not just in the form of wins, but by being great competitors and by listening to the messages we are trying to communicate to the team.”

After suffering through an injury-plagued Ivy League campaign last spring, the men’s tennis team competed at the Northeast Region Invitational in Flushing Meadows, N.Y., at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Princeton entered the tournament wanting confirmation that last year’s woes were a thing of the past. Three days later, the Tigers emerged from a weekend of difficult tennis intact and with the confidence that, when healthy, they boast one of the most talented and experienced lineups in the Ivy League.

“Overall, it was a step forward toward where we want to go,” head coach Glenn Michibata said. “We have some work to do, but it was a step forward.”

Among the weekend’s highlights was the play of Princeton’s top two doubles teams, which both reached the semifinals of the Flight 1 bracket. The only teams capable of defeating Princeton in doubles came from well south of the Mason-Dixon Line.

The Tigers’ No. 2 doubles team of seniors Peter Capkovic and Alex Vuckovic won two matches against Ivy League opponents before falling to the nation’s ninth-ranked team of Jonas Berg and Bram ten Berge from Mississippi, 8-3.

Princeton’s No. 1 doubles team of senior Alex Krueger-Wyman and junior George Carpeni also won two matches before falling to the Louisville pair of Robert Rotaru and Alejandro Calligari. Krueger-Wyman’s play over the weekend was a positive step in his return from knee surgery last spring, as the senior complemented his doubles success by stretching Mississippi’s Kalle Norberg to three sets in the first round of singles play.

Princeton also received a pleasant surprise from the play of walk-on freshman Yohei Shoji in his first tournament. Less than two weeks after making the team, Shoji won two of three singles matches in his flight.

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“[Shoji] tried out, and we threw him into the fire,” Michibata said. “I didn’t know what to expect, and he competed well.”

The weekend provided the Tigers with a glimpse of what this spring could look like if Princeton is able to field a healthy lineup.

“I think we stack up pretty well [in the Ivy League]. It’s going to be a pretty even year,” Michibata said. “If we’re healthy, we’re the most experienced team in the Ivy League.”