Tennis: No. 74 men, No. 37 women play in ECAC tournament

The men are coming off a strong start to the indoor season in which they defeated two ranked opponents.

After a hard-fought victory over then-No. 71 Penn State to open the season, the Tigers convincingly disposed of then-No. 60 Northwestern by sweeping the Wildcats 7-0. This past weekend, Princeton dominated Fairleigh Dickinson, defeating them 7-0 at home.

The Tigers look to ride this momentum into play at the ECAC Championships, which they open in Jadwin on Saturday against the winner of Friday’s matchup between Dartmouth (3-1) and St. John’s (1-0).

The ECAC Championships provide the first opportunity of the year for the Tigers to face Ivy League opponents as a team. Princeton is prepared for the added significance that playing a conference foe brings.

“I think we should definitely be ready for a dogfight,” sophomore Matt Spindler said. “If there’s one thing that defines inter-Ivy League play, it’s that they are usually ferocious and highly competitive affairs. We should be ready mentally for this type of dual match.”

The Tigers also understand the importance of the tournament in gauging the Ivy League teams and sending a message to the rest of the league.

“[The tournament] serves as a measuring stick for how teams are playing,” Spindler said. “It is important for us to show the rest of the Ivy League teams what we are made of and give them a glimpse of what they will be up against in the spring.”

Princeton looks to improve on its performance last year, in which it upset Yale as the sixth seed before falling to Harvard and then losing to Cornell in a consolation match.

“I think that last year we were a little unprepared for what this tournament meant in terms of our season,” Spindler said. “As a freshman, I was not sure of the scope of our season and often felt like I was just along for the ride. This year, as a sophomore, I am much more aware of what this tournament means and what to expect. From this point of view, we are much more prepared than last year.”

The women’s team is coming off a tough schedule to open the indoor season in which it faced three teams ranked in the top 20. Despite falling to all of them, the Tigers said they are confident entering the ECAC Championships and are prepared to make a statement to the rest of the Ivy League.

“It’s a great opportunity to see how the Ivies are playing, and it will be sort of a preview to what Ivy season will be like, but we are planning on going into these matches just like how we would versus any other opponent,” sophomore Monica Chow said. “We did all the preparations we could possibly do and are ready to compete.”

Princeton enters the tournament as the No. 1 seed for the second year in a row and recognizes the ramifications this fact brings.

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“I think we will take confidence from the fact that we are the No. 1 seed and highest-ranked team in the draw,” Chow said. “But at the same time, the schools are going after us so we cannot underestimate them in any way. We know that we will have to compete and bring our best tennis to do well.”

While the Tigers somewhat underperformed in this tournament last year when they were upset by Dartmouth in the semifinal round, the team aims to use its home court advantage to help erase that memory and win the tournament.

“I think the main difference is that we are at home this year,” Chow said.

“We’re playing on the courts we feel most comfortable with and will hopefully have a great group of fans cheering for us, which can make a big difference. We were undefeated all last year at home and are looking to keep that up.”

The women begin their tournament on Friday at 6 p.m. against New Jersey Institute of Technology.