Men's Tennis: Princeton falls short in Ivy race but impresses along the way

Following a tough indoor season which culminated in the Eastern College Athletic Conference Indoor Championships, the men’s team knew it would be facing strong competition for the Ivy League title. Princeton finished fourth in the Indoor Championships, behind champion Harvard, Columbia and Cornell.

After a grueling non-conference outdoor season, which included five matches in Florida during spring break, Princeton entered league play with momentum from beating Florida Atlantic, 4-3. The Tigers hoped to ride their confidence to a successful Ivy League campaign.

Princeton got off to a good start in its Ivy opener, defeating Penn 5-2. Both junior Alex Faust and freshman Matt Spindler were victorious in doubles and singles.

The Tigers continued their strong Ivy League start by beating Yale 4-3 in their home opener and then defeating Brown 5-2 the following day. The victory against Yale revealed the depth of Princeton’s lineup, as Spindler, Faust and sophomore Coleman Crutchfield were victorious at the No. 4, 5 and 6 singles spots. Princeton also showed resilience in its defeat of Brown, as senior Charlie Brosens and freshman Matija Pecotic — the No. 1 and 2 singles players — bounced back from losses against Yale to defeat their opponents in straight sets.

A finish atop the Ivy League seemed a realistic prospect after the team stormed through the beginning of conference play, starting 3-0 in conference for the first time since 2001. Harvard ensured that the Tigers would not make an undefeated run through conference, though, beating Princeton in Cambridge, Mass., 5-2.

The Tigers bounced back to top Dartmouth 4-3 in what may have been the most dramatic and exciting match of the year. Down 3-2 with only two matches to go, Princeton needed victories from Faust and Crutchfield to come back and win. A comeback seemed unlikely when Faust found himself down a set and two breaks, but he silenced the rowdy Dartmouth crowd and won the next two sets, evening Princeton with Dartmouth 3-3. Meanwhile, Crutchfield was battling the Big Green’s Jeff Friedman to decide the match. Crutchfield took the first set 7-6. After moving inside due to darkness, Crutchfield secured the victory for the Tigers by winning the second, 7-5. The team erupted into cheers and stormed the court as the shocked Dartmouth crowd fell silent.

“It was really exciting because we were on the brink of losing,” freshman Matt Siow said. “There wasn’t that much hope because we were down 3-2 and down in the last two matches. Then somehow Coleman and Alex stepped up their games, fought like madmen and pulled out their matches. At the time, it was also a really big match because that kept us in the hunt for the Ivy title. If we had lost that match, it would have been really hard to win the league. But by winning that match we escaped that weekend 4-1, and we were leading the Ivy League going into the last weekend.”

Following the Dartmouth win, Princeton hoped to carry some momentum into the crucial final weekend of Ivy League play. Its hopes of winning an League title diminished, though, after it fell 5-2 to Cornell at home. The No. 70 Big Red proved too much for the Tigers, as Siow and Spindler were the lone victorious Princeton players.

A first-place finish was still possible for the Tigers as Princeton traveled to New York City to play Columbia for the final match of the year. Columbia was intent on repeating as Ivy League champion, though, bringing its best effort. The Lions proved too much for the Tigers, defeating them 6-1. Pecotic topped Columbia No. 1 Jon Wong, 6-3, 6-3.

The Ivy League proved to be a top-heavy conference this year, as Princeton’s 4-3 conference record earned it a fifth-place finish overall. Columbia finished on top with a 6-1 conference record, while Cornell, Yale and Harvard tied with league records of 5-2.

This season marks the end of Brosens’s and senior Ilya Trubov’s collegiate careers. The future looks bright for the program, though, as the season reflected the emergence of a strong freshman class in Pecotic, Siow and Spindler. Brosens and Pecotic were named second-team All-Ivy League.

Pecotic, who hails from Malta, did not foresee being named to the All-Ivy second team.

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“It was a little bit surprising, because I didn’t know until I got to the courts and [women’s head coach] Megan [Bradley] told me, ‘Congratulations,’ ” Pecotic said. “I said ‘Congratulations for what?’ and she said ‘Oh, you don’t know?’ She said ‘You got second-team All-Ivy,’ and I said ‘Cool. Thanks.’ I didn’t really know what that meant, but then Coach explained it to me. I was pretty excited, but I would have preferred if the team won the Ivy League and I hadn’t won that title.”

With a strong freshman class, the Tigers could contend for the league title for years to come.

“I’m looking forward to improving on how this year we were so close to winning the Ivy title,” Siow said. “We’re getting a really good incoming class, and I think we have a really good shot at winning it. Most of our players are returning — we’re losing Charlie and Ilya — but as a team, us freshman now have a little more experience with the college-level tennis atmosphere, and I think we can really do some damage next year. This year, we were one match away, but next year, that will change.”

The team can’t look forward to next year right away, though, as some of the players will be heading to Europe in June.

“We’re going to play two tournaments in France — one is going to be on hard [courts] and one is going to be on clay,” Pecotic explained. “It’s going to be like a really solid training camp. It’s not really a holiday, though we’ll be taking one day off to see the French Open ... Aside from the tennis, I think it’s going to be good to spend time in Europe with the team. It’s going to be a good bonding experience with the team. It’s going to bring us closer, and hopefully that will move on into the next year. I’m really looking forward to it.”