The No. 48 Tigers (12-6 overall) hung tough throughout much of the match, despite what the lopsided score would indicate. Though the Tigers fell behind in most of their first sets, Princeton was competitive in each individual match. Sophomore Blakely Ashley earned the lone singles win for the Tigers.
“I looked up at the scoreboard during the match to see that all of the matches were on serve and scores of 4-3 and 2-1,” freshman Hilary Bartlett said. “No one got blown out.”
But Princeton battled back from their slow start, as Ashley, freshman Rachel Saiontz and sophomore Taylor Marable won the second sets of their matches. But for all three, the brief surges were too little, too late: The Cardinal went on to clinch the match early after taking a 4-0 lead.
Despite falling victim to vaunted Stanford on its home court, the Tigers still remain confident in their ability to compete at the highest level. Perhaps the aura of the Taube Tennis Center at Stanford did more to fell the Tigers than the actual opponents they faced. In addition, the upcoming Ivy League season may have been on the team’s mind as it looked to return home after a grueling road trip.
“I think that us psyching ourselves out definitely contributed to the loss,” Bartlett explained. “We got caught up in thinking about their tradition, and that is certainly not the way to win.”
With the Ivy League opener at Penn on Saturday, Princeton will have little time to bemoan the missed opportunity to carve its place in the history books. The Tigers will need to put the loss behind them and focus on their successful 4-2 road trip as well as their seven victories in their last nine matches. After all, they won’t have to face an opponent of Stanford’s caliber in the Ivy League.
The Tigers will have today to recuperate after taking the red-eye home last night. They are right back to work Wednesday with a half week of practice to prepare themselves to pursue their ultimate goal, an Ivy League championship.
But the team remains undaunted by the challenges that lay ahead, and it looks forward to getting back to its winning ways. Focused and resolute, the Tigers see no other option than to forget about the Stanford match and show the Ivy League that the they are a force to be reckoned with.
Bartlett summed up the team’s mentality rather matter-of-factly.
“It’s very simple,” she said. “We need to return home and get back to our winning ways.”
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