Tennis: Teams make waves at ECACs

Though neither team came out on top, sophomore Matija Pecotic of the men’s team said the matches were preparation for important upcoming games.

“Learning how to fight and scrap through tough moments in our matches is going to be crucial for us during the Ivy League matches,” Pecotic said.

The No. 36 women’s team has faced stiff competition this season in games against No. 25 Florida State University, No. 5 University of Texas and No. 28 Vanderbilt. After these challenges, the Tigers were ready to host a few Ivy League competitors along with New Jersey Institute of Technology. In the ECAC opener, the Tigers swept NJIT with a score of 7-0 on Saturday. Junior Hilary Bartlett, senior Taylor Marable, sophomore Monica Chow and freshman Katherine Flanigan were winners on the doubles courts; Chow was also successful in her singles match. Junior Rachel Saiontz and senior Blakely Ashley were winners on the singles courts as well; their doubles match was discontinued after the Tigers had already clinched the doubles points with the combination of Bartlett and Marable and a win from Chow and Flanigan.

The following day, the Tigers advanced to the ECAC finals match against Yale with a 5-2 victory over Brown. The pairs of Chow and Flanigan along with Ashley and Saiontz clinched the doubles points while Bartlett, Chow, Flanigan and Ashley all clinched singles victories as well.

In the final match against Yale for the ECAC title, Princeton fought hard against its tennis rival. The Tigers claimed the doubles points with victories by Bartlett and Marable and by Ashley and Saiontz, but Yale fought back in the singles matches with five wins. Chow was able to hold off her opponent with a 6-2, 6-2 win at the fourth singles, but Yale’s Annie Sullivan finished strong to clinch the title 4-2.

“Yale just happened to dig deeper today, but we can take confidence away from this match,” Chow said. “We are going to use this match as motivation to work harder. We are ready to get back to work and prepare for the Ivy season.”

On the men’s side, second-seeded Princeton took on several ECAC teams in its tournament. The No. 74 Tigers started off the tournament with a 6-1 win over St. John’s University. The pairs of sophomores Pecotic and Matt Siow, and senior Alex Faust and junior Yohei Shoji were able to top St. John’s pairs, while sophomore Matt Spindler, freshman Augie Bloom, freshman Dan Richardson, Pecotic and Siow all clinched victories on the singles courts.

The Tigers then moved on to the semifinal matchup against No. 67 Binghamton and fell 4-3 in a close match. Pecotic and Siow had victories against Binghamton’s Haggai and Jain, but it was Binghamton who took the doubles points. Despite the wins of Siow, Richardson and Faust on the singles courts, Binghamton took the singles matches on the top three courts to claim the match.

Despite the loss, the Tigers came back strong to top Harvard 6-1 for third place in the tournament. Both Pecotic and Siow were undefeated on the doubles and singles courts while freshman Dan Davies and Shoji added a win on the doubles. Bloom, Richardson and Faust were also victorious on the singles courts against their Crimson opponents.

“Sometimes the best lessons in tennis come through losses,” Pecotic said. “I think that we could have been more aggressive on the big points, but we are satisfied with the way we competed.”

The men’s team will continue their dual meets this Sunday in Jadwin Gym at 2 p.m. against NJIT while the women’s team will travel to State College, Pa. to face off against Virginia Commonwealth University and Penn State.