The last time the women’s tennis team finished with a perfect 7-0 Ivy League record was in 2000. In that season, Princeton finished its season with 8-1 victories over Cornell and Columbia. This weekend, the No. 32 Tigers (18-5 overall, 5-0 Ivy League) look to set back the clocks and repeat the feat by winning their final two matches of the season against the same opponents. On the men's side, the Tigers (8-11, 4-1) look to continue their late-season surge that has them in the thick of the Ivy League title race.
These last two matches will also be the regular season finales for seniors Charlie Brosens and Ilya Trubov on the men’s side and Melissa Saiontz for the women's team.
After their 4-1 loss at North Carolina State last month, the Tigers have never let up, winning their next eight matches by a whopping 48-8 margin. But they will not set their sights on the NCAA postseason tournament just yet.
The men’s team faces off against two nationally ranked opponents, No. 70 Cornell and No. 46 Columbia.
“Numbers don't mean much to me," freshman No. 2 Matija Pecotic said. "It's all about what you bring to the court. Each match starts at 0-0, and its one player with a racket versus another. My focus is solely on my matches: I know what I have to do to win, and I'll leave the rankings for NCAA statisticians to worry about.
“We can't go into this match thinking about a previous loss, although we should think about how and why they beat us, or how they were winning the majority of their points,” Pecotic said. “Certainly the team has developed a lot since the fall, and trust me, the confidence and belief is just flowing in our practices.
The Tigers are guaranteed a winning Ivy League record. If they defeat both opponents this weekend, they will finish with 6-1 league mark — their best record since the team moved to the Ivy League from the Eastern Intercollegiate Tennis Association in 1999 — and at least a share of the Ivy League title.
“The key to this weekend is for everyone on the team to be on the same frequency," Pecotic said. "There must not be a trace of doubt in anyone's game. I would easily say that 90 percent of these victories are mental battles, and the guy who goes for their shots and wants it more will win. Ultimately, we have to feed off each other's energy and get through, but I'm ready for a tough battle.”
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