Tennis: Women capture Ivy title

The Tigers got the weekend off to a strong start on Friday by sweeping the doubles matches against the Big Red. The No. 26 doubles tandem of sophomore Hilary Bartlett and junior Taylor Marable continued its strong play as they beat Kristin Lim and Natalia Sanchez 8-3.

After securing the doubles point, the Tigers never looked back. No. 63 Bartlett defeated Christine Ordway in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4. Senior Melissa Saiontz, Marable, junior Blakely Ashley and freshman Monica Chow also contributed to the victory by winning their singles matches.

Two days later, the Tigers made it clear that they deserve to be the sole champions of the Ivy League. Defeating Columbia 7-0 was a performance of sheer domination, as every single Princeton woman won in straight sets. The top doubles partnership of Bartlett and Marable helped secure the doubles point as it defeated Carling Donovan and Natasha Makarova 8-2, finishing Ivy League play with a 6-1 doubles record. The singles matches were not even close, as Bartlett defeated Chelsea Davis in the closest match of the day with a score of 6-2, 6-3. Ashley was able to sweep Diana Shapoval, 6-0, 6-0.

Princeton hopes this dominating play will continue into the NCAA tournament, which begins on Friday, May 14. The Tigers are seeking their first NCAA victory and aim to improve upon their close 4-3 loss to Florida International last year.

The men’s team also entered the weekend with Ivy League title aspirations. These hopes took a hit as Princeton (8-13, 4-3) fell to No. 70 Cornell (17-7, 4-2) 5-2 at the Lenz Tennis Center on Friday. Two days later, No. 46 Columbia (16-4, 6-1) ensured the Tigers wouldn’t win the title this year by defeating them in New York City by a score of 6-1. The Lions’ victory clinched their second Ivy League title in as many years.

The Tigers found themselves in a hole early on Friday as Cornell swept the doubles point. A comeback seemed possible, however, as senior Charlie Brosens and freshmen Matt Spindler and Matt Siow led early in their first sets. But Princeton was unable to sustain this strong play, and Cornell went on to win four singles matches.

Cornell’s Andy Gauthier came back from losing the first set 4-6 to defeat Brosens by winning the following two sets, 6-2, 6-3. Spindler and Siow both lost their first sets but were able to come back and defeat Jeremy Feldman and Jonathan Fife, respectively. Spindler and Siow were the only victorious Tigers on Friday.

Princeton headed to New York City on Sunday with one last chance to keep its title aspirations alive. Columbia got off to a strong start by winning the doubles point. The Tigers refused to go down easily, however, as Spindler, Siow and junior Alex Faust took their opponents to three sets. But the Lions refused defeat, as Haig Schneiderman, Cyril Bucher and Kevin Kung came back to beat Spindler, Siow and Faust, respectively, in the final set. Freshman Matija Pecotic was the sole victorious Tiger, beating Jon Wong, 6-3, 6-3.

This match marked the end of the collegiate careers of seniors Charlie Brosens and Ilya Trubov. Despite the disappointing loss, the men’s team feels accomplished and looks forward to a promising future.

“Overall, we won more matches than we lost [in Ivy League play], which we haven’t done since [2007],” Brosens said. “This year was a big step up since the past years. The team is extremely young, and there’s a great recruiting class for next year. To comment on the season as a whole, it was great to see all of the people that stepped up, and it’s great knowing that next year there’s a bunch of great recruits coming in. I see a lot of good things happening for the [men’s] tennis team. And even though we didn’t win it, I see a lot of good things coming. I’d like to think that Ilya and [head coach Glenn Michibata] and I have helped build the team where there’s a spirit of the team that, even though we lost today, is still quite good. I’m excited to see what we’ll do in the following years, and I will definitely keep following the team.”