Tennis: Tigers down No. 71 Nittany Lions

The Tigers rushed out to an early lead by sweeping the doubles matches. Sophomores Matija Pecotic and Matt Siow defeated Penn State’s Eddie Bourchier and Jason Lee 8-5. Freshman Augie Bloom and sophomore Michael Lin defeated Russell Bader and Chris Hasyn 8-6, while senior captain Alex Faust and junior Yohei Shoji defeated Taylor Cohen and Bryan Welnetz 8-7.

Princeton carried its momentum into the start of the singles matches when Bloom defeated Chris Young in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4. The Nittany Lions responded with two straight set victories of their own when Bourchier defeated Pecotic 7-5, 7-5 and Siow fell to Welnetz 6-4, 7-5.

The Tigers regained the match lead as freshman Dan Richardson earned a hard-fought victory over Cohen 6-4, 2-6, 6-3. Penn State refused to go down easy, however, and Bader squeaked by junior Ravi Yegya-Raman, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5. With the match tied at 3, the team result hinged on the lone remaining singles matchup between sophomore Matt Spindler and Penn State’s Lee.

Spindler started off the match strong, taking the first set 6-3. Lee responded in the second set, pushing Spindler to a tiebreaker and taking the set 6-7 (5). Despite losing the tightly contested set, Spindler said he was not discouraged.

“I just tried to stay positive,” Spindler said. “I knew I was doing the right things and playing well. There wasn’t much more I could ask for. I knew that the break would come — it was just a matter of time.”

With the outcome of the matching riding on his match and with his team cheering him on, Spindler came up big in the final set, defeating Lee 6-2 and clinching the victory for the Tigers. Despite the pressure of the situation, Spindler said he was able to maintain his focus to earn the victory.

“For some reason I was real calm,” Spindler said. “I was aware of all the support I was getting, but I was trying real hard to stay in the moment and not let the situation freeze me up.”

Princeton’s victory over the Nittany Lions was the first since 2002 and follows last year’s lopsided 6-1 Penn State victory.

“This is a big win for us,” Spindler said. “Everyone says that we are a good team, but we need to prove it to ourselves. This win gives us some confidence going forward. I think it’s a step in the right direction toward realizing our full potential.”

The victory also showcased the depth of the team and the impact the strong freshmen class can have. Both freshmen Richardson and Bloom contributed victories in their singles matches, while Bloom also won his doubles match. Defeating Penn State also provided a learning experience for the freshmen as the Princeton team adjusts to team play and prepares for its Ivy League campaign.

“[The freshmen] will be huge,” Spindler said. “They are so talented. That is another reason why this win is big for us. It allowed the freshmen to experience what college tennis is all about and realize what will be expected of them as the season progresses.”

The men’s tennis team returns to action next weekend when it travels to Chicago to face Northwestern and DePaul.

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The No. 37 women’s tennis team (1-2) also opened its season this past week, earning a 6-1 victory in Jadwin over Rutgers on Wednesday, Jan. 26. The Scarlet Knights were no match for the Tigers, as Princeton swept doubles and took five of the singles matches. Among those victorious in singles were junior Hilary Bartlett, who defeated Amy Zhang 6-2, 6-3, and sophomore Monica Chow, who defeated Maryana Milchutskey 6-3, 6-1.

Success from the victory over Rutgers did not continue into this past weekend when Princeton travelled to Tallahassee, Fla., to participate in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend tournament. Princeton fell to No. 14 Florida State 5-2 in the opening round of competition. Chow earned a singles victory over Ruth Seaborne, 6-3, 4-6, (10-6), while senior Blakely Ashley contributed the other point for the Tigers with a dominant 6-0, 6-0 victory over Manon Veldman.

Princeton’s loss to the Seminoles earned them a consolation match against No. 16 Texas. The Longhorns proved to be too much, defeating the Tigers 6-1. Princeton’s lone point came from doubles victories in which the duos of Bartlett and senior Taylor Marable and Ashley and freshman Katherine Flanigan defeated their Texas counterparts.

Princeton resumes competition next weekend when it travels to Nashville, Tenn., to face Memphis and Vanderbilt.