Men’s tennis sweep weekend with perfect 3-0 home stand

Back-to-back games fatigue the best of teams, but the men’s tennis team showed its grit by sweeping the weekend. The Tigers (11–5) topped Binghamton (3–10), Charlotte (7–8), and No. 39 Western Michigan (11–4) in their three-game home stand. Princeton extended its win streak to five games as they look to build momentum heading into Ivy League play at the end of the month.

The Tigers opened the week against Binghamton with a resounding 7–0 victory. It was the first time the Princeton side had returned home since a doubleheader in January. The Tigers looked sharp early, grabbing the doubles point. While the team had struggled at times earlier in the season, they seemed to have come together for an emphatic win.

“One of the best things we’ve had this year has been the team unity. All the guys on the team get along really well,” said senior Luke Gamble. “They have a lot more fun than we have had in previous years. We have also been competing a lot we’ve been close in everything single match, which with our schedule is no small feat.”

Gamble is a former opinion for The Daily Princetonian.

The next day Princeton returned to the court to face off against Charlotte. Princeton again took control of the match, clinching five of the six singles matches. The Tigers were unable to hold off Charlotte’s No. 77 Luca Keist despite being held to three sets by senior Kial Kaiser. Despite struggling in doubles play earlier in the season, Princeton would also clinch doubles play against the 49ers to beat Charlotte 6–1.

The Tigers would need the momentum as they faced No. 39 Western Michigan next. Princeton claimed another point in doubles play and won three of the first four singles matches off the court. Kaiser matched off against No. 88 Maik Steiner, beating him in straight sets. Junior Jimmy Wasserman won in both singles and doubles play in the Princeton victory.

The three wins improved the Tigers to 11–5 overall and helped the team build the momentum they will need heading into a challenging season. Despite the difficult road ahead, the team is excited for the new challenges it brings.

“Those are the really fun moments, when you beat teams you can beat and you know you can beat, but it really takes a full team effort,” Gamble said. “You need to be playing as good as you can. Those only really come maybe once or twice every year.”