Tennis: Siow claims ‘B’ Division championship

The professional tennis season is winding down, but the college scene is just heating up, as both the men’s and women’s tennis teams enjoyed moderate success in tournaments over the weekend.

The men’s team competed in the Yale Invitational in New Haven, Conn. Despite inclement weather, which forced many contests indoors and shortened the match program, the star of the tournament for Princeton was freshman Matt Siow, co-champion of the “B”-division singles draw.

“Coming into the tournament, I was playing well, so I knew that I had a chance to make it deep into the tournament,” Siow said in an e-mail. “And I was mentally ready for some tough matches over the weekend.”

In a thrilling first-round match Saturday, Siow needed a tiebreaker to defeat Graham Knowlton of Maryland, 7-6(8), 6-7(3), (10-8). On Sunday, Siow dispatched Joel Samaha of Yale, 6-2, 6-2, before sneaking by Evan Bernstein of Cornell, 4-6, 7-5, (10-7), in another close match to claim the title.

“I loved playing the third-set tiebreakers. That’s what we compete for,” Siow said. “You get to see how you react in those pressure situations, and you definitely have to have the right mentality and play to win instead of playing not to lose.”

In the “A” singles division, senior Charlie Brosens easily defeated Sacred Heart’s Kirill Kasyanov, 6-0, 6-1, before bowing out to Calvin Bennett of Yale, 6-2, 6-4. Sophomore Ravi Yegya-Raman also competed in the “A” division, winning 6-3, 6-3 in the first round against John Huang of Yale before losing to Andy Gauthier of Cornell, 4-6, 6-1, (10-8), in a close match.

On the doubles side, Siow and his partner, sophomore Yohei Shoji, beat St. Bonaventure, 8-2, in the first round of the “A” division Saturday but lost to Cornell, 8-5, on Sunday.

Three thousand miles away in Los Angeles, sophomore Hilary Bartlett competed in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s (ITA) All-America Tournament. The tournament, hosted by college tennis’ governing body , brings together many of the nation’s top women’s tennis players.

Unseeded Bartlett was placed in the pre-qualifying bracket and needed to win three matches to progress to the qualifying draw. On Saturday, she defeated Lauren Megale of Boise State, 6-2, 6-2, in the first round of pre-qualifying before upsetting seventh-seeded Berkeley Brock of NC State, 6-4, 6-3, in the second round.

“My second-round win against Brock was especially exciting, because I lost to her around this time last year, and it always feels good to be the underdog and knock out a seed,” Bartlett said in an e-mail.

On Sunday, though, Bartlett was eliminated from the tournament by USC’s Danielle Lao, 6-3, 6-2, in the final round of pre-qualifying.

“This tournament was definitely a positive experience for me — just to be included in the draw is an honor, and it’s been a great way to start the year,” Bartlett said.

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Bartlett’s California tour is not over yet. On Tuesday, she and her doubles partner, junior Taylor Marable, will play Duke in the qualifying round of the doubles tournament.

“Taylor and I are excited to get out on the court for our doubles match,” Bartlett said. “It looks like a really strong field, but we’re honored to be part of such a prestigious event and are really looking forward to the chance to go out there and represent Princeton tennis.”

The pair is seeded seventh in a field of 32, of which the top four teams advance to the main draw.