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Surging after recent wins, both tennis teams face Ivy League opponents this weekend

The Princeton tennis teams appear to be getting hot at the perfect time. Both teams are putting their perfect Ivy League records on the line this weekend with matches against Dartmouth and Harvard. On the men’s side, No. 35Harvard (15-6, 1-1 Ivy League) and No. 54Dartmouth (9-10, 0-2) will come to Princeton, while on the women’s side, the team travels to face No. 37Dartmouth (14-4, 1-1)on Saturdayand travels to play unranked Harvard (7-7, 0-2)on Sunday.

The No. 30 men’s team (18-4, 3-0) is a perfect 8-0 at home this season and will face a reeling Dartmouth team that has lost its last four matches. The Harvard team represents a familiar foe for the Tigers, as it has already faced them twice this year in the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships and San Diego Hilton Mission Valley Spring Classic. The teams split the two matches earlier this season, so this weekend represents the rubber match between the two teams. Harvard won the first match of the season with a 4-2 victory; the Tigers, however, took the second match 4-3. Over the past three Ivy League matches, the Tigers have been almost unbeatable in singles. They have compiled a 17-1 record over the course of these matches, with senior Zack McCourt at No. 1, sophomore Tom Colautti at No. 2 and sophomore Alex Day at No. 3 leading the pack.

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On the women’s side, after a slow start, the No. 53 Tigers (9-7, 3-0) have won seven of their last eight matches, including three wins against ranked opponents. Princeton suffered a loss to Dartmouth earlier in the season in the ECAC Invitational. Dartmouth hopes to sweep the season series, the same way Princeton swept the team last season. Princeton, on the other hand, looks to continue its hot streak against Harvard. The Tigers have defeated Harvard five times in a row. During Ivy League play, they have been quick to jump out to early leads and have claimed the doubles point in all three matches. Intercollegiate Tennis Association singles rankings had senior Lindsay Graff, who plays No. 1 singles for the Tigers, at No. 119. Junior Amanda Muliawan at No. 2 and freshman Katrine Steffensen at No. 4 have also played significant roles in Princeton’s success.

Last week, freshmen Diego Vives and Steffensen received Corvias ECAC Division I Metro/Upstate Player of the Week honors for their contributions in sweeping victories last weekend against Brown and Yale. Vives went 2-0 at No. 5 singles whileSteffensen went 2-0 at No. 4 singles and 1-0 at third doubles.

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