Men's Tennis/ Golf: Siow, Pecotic victorious in New York

The scenario read as if it was from a storybook. It was the last match of the Columbia Invitational for the men’s tennis team, and freshman Matt Siow was locked in a third-set tiebreaker. Every point was tense, every rally a battle.

“The shots most people make every four games, [Columbia’s Cyril Bucher] was making four of those every game,” Siow said.

No matter. Siow won his final match against Bucher, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), with a beautiful passing backhand shot that bounced down the line and earned him the “B” division in the process.

Princeton enjoyed great success at Columbia this past weekend, with Tigers winning the men’s “A” and “B” singles draws. Freshman Matija Pecotic won the “A” draw convincingly, defeating St John’s Milo Hauk, 6-4, 6-1.

Heading into the finals, Pecotic and Siow were the top seeds for their respective draws.

Princeton also entered a team in the doubles competition, but the Tiger duo lost in the first round.

The team of Pecotic and senior captain Ilya Trubov fell, 8-4, in lone flight to the pair of Kevin Kung and Ekin Sezgen from Columbia. Before this tournament, Pecotic and Trubov had never played together.

The Tigers triumphed on their trip to Columbia, despite carrying a team that featured only three of the six players that were originally scheduled to travel.

Pecotic and Siow said that the personal attention they received from coach Glen Michibata helped them in their strong showings.

“Coach [Michibata] could see things we don’t see,” Pecotic said.

“We got a lot of support [from him],” Siow echoed.

Princeton now looks to the Wilson/ITA Regional Tournament, which will be held in Hanover, N.H., from Oct. 15 to Oct. 20. After a big weekend in New York, hopes are high for this Tiger squad.

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Men’s golf competes in Big Five Invitational

While the men’s tennis team was competing in New York, the men’s golf team traveled to the Philadelphia Racket Club for the Big Five Invitational. Princeton tied for 13th in a field of 17 teams.

At the end of the first round of stroke play, the Tigers stood in seventh place, only 10 shots back from the leaders. But Princeton fell behind with a 313 (+29) in the second round.

“It wasn’t our best tournament,” sophomore Patrick Wasserman said. “We were definitely in good position to put forth a good second round, but it didn’t come together for us.”

Campbell University won the tournament with an overall score of 587 (+19). Campbell was led by Zak Drescher, who shot a 140 (-2) on the weekend and finished first individually.

Tigers with noteworthy performances included Wasserman and sophomore Chase Lovett-Woodsum, who both shot 152 (+10) on the weekend to tie for 32nd place in the individual standings.

The trip to the Big Five Invitational was Princeton’s first in two years. Sophomores and juniors, who constitute almost half of the Tigers’ roster, faced a very unfamiliar course in Philadelphia.

At the club, Princeton encountered a well-maintained course with fast greens that made for tricky putting.

Princeton struggled to minimize its mistakes. On the second day of competition, Lovett-Woodsum double-bogeyed on the sixth and seventh holes, then did it again on the 13th and 14th holes. Wasserman shot +10 for the tournament, but was +5 for the weekend on the 18th hole alone.

The Tigers now look forward to the inaugural Ivy League Match Play Tournament at the Bay Club in Mattapoisett, Mass. Princeton hopes the change in format from stroke play will bring better results for the last tournament of the fall season.