Men's and women's tennis teams deliver excellent performances down south

The Princeton tennis teams travelled to Montgomery, Ala. for the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic this weekend. The men’s team, ranked No. 50 in the nation, had posted an impressive 7-1 record to start the season. The team was in a bracket with the University of Alabama, Auburn University, Boise State University, Clemson University, Mississippi State University, University of South Florida and Texas Tech University. The women’s team (2-5) was ranked No. 60 in the nation, and was in a bracket with Alabama, Boise State, DePaul University, Ohio State University, Texas Tech, Tulane University and Yale. The men’s team had an excellent showing at the Classic this weekend, placing second in their bracket after a 4-0 loss to South Florida in the final, after completing two upsets to knock out Mississipi State and Clemson. The women’s team, unable to complete their final match against Tulane due to rain, settled for tie for 5th place.

The men opened the tournament with a thrilling 4-3 victory over the No. 30 ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs (7-3). The men got off to a rocky start as they quickly dropped the doubles point. The Tigers immediately turned things around, however, in singles. Senior Dan Richardson evened the score at one apiece by coming away with a swift 6-1, 6-2 at the sixth singles spot. The Bulldogs quickly reclaimed the lead with a win at the fifth singles spot. Sophomore Tom Colautti had an upset victory over Juan Estevarena, who was ranked 99th in the nation and was also the number two Mississippi State singles player. He fought back for a 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory. The singles matches at first and third split matches before sophomore Alex Day clinched the match for the Tigers at the fourth singles spot with a 7-6, 5-7, 6-2 victory. This was men’s team first victory over an SEC opponent since 1996.

Princeton advanced on to play a Clemson (6-5) team that was ranked No. 35 in the nation. Princeton had much less trouble with Clemson as the Tigers rolled over the team with a 4-0 victory. The teams of Colautti and senior Zack McCourt and sophomores Day and Josh Yablon both secured victories at the first and third doubles spots respectively to gain the point for Princeton. The momentum gained from the doubles point carried over into the singles matches as the Tigers won five of the six first sets in the singles matches. Josh Yablon ultimately won the match for the Tigers at the third singles spot after McCourt and Richardson won at the first and sixth spots.

In the finals, the men’s team faced off against the No. 24 ranked South Florida Bulls (7-4), and the Bulls’ superiority showed. The men just barely dropped the doubles point, with the freshman team of Luke Gamble and Diego Vives losing at the second doubles spot in an exciting tiebreak after the first and third doubles split. South Florida rolled in the singles matches, winning five of the six first sets. The Bulls ultimately went on to win the singles matches at one, three and six before the match was decided as a 4-0 victory for the Bulls. Coach Pate was quick to commend the Bulls, but also lamented his team’s performance, saying: "South Florida played a great match in singles and though I don’t think we played our best, they had a lot to do with that." Despite their defeat, the men’s team improved to a 9-2 record and will look for their national rank to vastly improve after two victories against ranked opponents.

In the women’s bracket, the Tigers began the weekend by facing off against No. 49 ranked DePaul (8-2). DePaul took a quick lead with wins at the one and three doubles spots. Princeton fought back with wins from senior Lindsay Graff and sophomore Alanna Wolff at the first and third singles spots respectively. DePaul, however, was able to clinch the singles matches at the fourth, fifth and sixth spots for a 4-2 victory.

In the consolation finals, the Tigers played Boise State (4-4). The Tigers once again dropped the doubles point and fell to an early deficit. The Tigers rebounded in the singles matches, however. Four singles players won their matches in straight sets to secure a victory for the Tigers. Graff won her match with a quick 6-2, 6-2 victory. Junior Amanda Muliawan clinched the match at second singles with a thrilling second set tiebreaker victory. At third singles, Wolff rolled to a 6-2, 6-0 victory. Sophomore Dorothy Tang won her match at fifth singles by a score of 6-4, 6-2. This would be the final match for the Tigers due to a rain cancellation for Sunday’s match.

After a succesful weekend, the two teams will head off in opposite directions, as the women’s team will travel to Memphis, Tenn. to play University of Memphis, whilst the men’s side will first travel to Penn State University on Saturday, before returning home to face off against University at Buffalo and Monmouth University on Sunday, as both teams hope to repeat their success this weekend.