Tennis: Ivy title returns to Princeton for the first time since 2000

Princeton entered the weekend in control of its destiny, knowing that two victories would ensure that it would at least be part of a three-way tie atop the Ivy League standings. The Tigers opened the weekend Friday afternoon against Cornell (6-14, 2-5) at the Lenz Tennis Center, and Princeton’s focus and determination were present from the start,

Princeton dominated the doubles matches, losing only three games in the three matches. The Tigers continued their strong play in singles, with every player winning in straight sets and junior Melissa Saiontz, who competed at No. 3 singles, not even dropping a game.

The momentum of its convincing win over Cornell on Friday carried into its Sunday games, as Princeton put together another perfect outing to defeat Columbia 7-0. Each player won her singles match in straight sets, and no doubles team dropped more than two games.

The successful ending to the regular season that Princeton had was far from assured less than three weeks ago after the Tigers suffered a heartbreaking loss to Yale. The team, however, remained confident in its ability to win through the rest of its schedule and remain focused on what it could control.

“I was still confident in our ability to capture the title and an at-large bid despite our loss to Yale,” head coach Kathy Sell said. “Good teams stay focused despite setbacks, and I think we did a very good job staying on task throughout April. I am just thrilled to see these players in the position they are in because they absolutely belong here, and I think we have an incredible opportunity in front of us.”

While the Tigers are extremely proud to have made it this far, they said they have room for growth before play begins at the NCAA tournament. While it would appear that the team is running on all cylinders after last weekend, Sell highlighted a few areas in need of improvement over the coming weeks.

“Our success will entail increasing our conditioning and identifying one or two things for each player to focus on,” Sell said. “We will definitely try to solidify three doubles teams early and work with those teams to improve before the [NCAA] Regionals.”

Despite heading into the weekend as a contender for the Ivy League title, a series of injuries hampered the men’s tennis team (11-10, 3-4) as it saw its title hopes extinguished by consecutive losses.

The Tigers’ No. 1 singles player, senior Peter Capkovic, suffered from a back injury that plagued him during the 2008 season. The injury was so severe that he had to concede the doubles match before finishing, effectively ending his season. The loss of its player at No. 1 singles rippled through the team, as the ensuing lineup shift ended up having a large negative effect up and down the lineup.

“Losing players to injuries is tough, but especially when it is to your No. 1 player,” head coach Glenn Michibata said. “It forces the whole lineup to shift up one spot, causing tougher matchups all the way through the lineup. Peter was playing at such a high level that we were pretty much guaranteed a win at his position, and this gave the rest of the team an extra lift. Losing that advantage was a huge factor in how the weekend matches went.”

In addition, sophomore Ryan Kim had his mobility severely limited by a hip injury he sustained last weekend. Junior Charlie Brosens’ chronic shoulder injury finally caught up to him this past weekend and prevented him from playing at his highest level.

On Friday afternoon, the Tigers got off to an inauspicious start against Cornell (14-5, 5-2) by losing all three doubles matches, including the first doubles match, from which Capkovic withdrew. Though senior Alex Vuckovic filled in well at No. 1 singles with a straight-sets victory, junior George Carpeni’s victory at No. 3 singles was the Tigers’ only other point. The 5-2 loss officially ended the Tiger’s Ivy League hopes.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

And Sunday afternoon’s 7-0 defeat at the hands of Columbia (16-5, 5-1) was certainly not how the Tigers wanted to end their season. After dropping all three doubles matches, the Tigers fell in straight sets in five of their six singles matches, including the match in No. 3 singles, which Kim retired from due to injury. The true disappointment, however, lies not with the team’s effort but rather with the unfortunate slew of injuries.

“Our disappointment comes from being hit by injuries at such a crucial time,” Michibata said. “The team has worked hard to — and put themselves in a position to — win the Ivy League for two years in a row, only to see those dreams cut short by these unfortunate events. The team had been resilient and had maximized their abilities all season, so it was disappointing to not be able to put out our full lineup against Cornell and Columbia.”