Women’s tennis wins Ivy title, makes return to dynastic dominance

Princeton women’s tennis (18–3 overall, 6–1 Ivy League) ended its regular season in triumph, bringing the Ivy title home to Princeton for the 19th time. The moment of victory came with sophomore Madeleine Jessup’s win at No. 4 singles against Brown. Coming back from a set down, she hit a forehand winner to seal the match and claim the title, which is shared with Yale. With a roar of “come on!” she was immediately mobbed by her screaming teammates.

“To be honest, I kind of forgot the title was on the line in the moment and was just so happy to celebrate another win together,” Jessup wrote to The Daily Princetonian after the game. “I think what made this season so special is that we played every match like there was a title on the line and celebrated every win the same way, which is why we’ve come this far,” she continued.

Princeton is sharing the Ivy League title with Yale, which was the Tigers' only loss in the ECAC tournament. After a blazing 9–1 start to the year, the Tigers headed out west during spring break for a three-match slate in sunny Southern California. Not only did they sweep all three dual matches, but the Tigers dropped only one point, as junior Bella Chhiv and senior Eva Elbaz shone in both singles and doubles.

But the Tigers' path to clinching the title was not without tribulation. The team was brought down to earth with a 4–3 loss to Wake Forest, their second loss of the season, but this evidently did not curb their momentum. As conference play began against Penn, vengeance was on the agenda; last season, the Quakers overcame the Tigers in painful fashion. This time, Princeton made quick work of Penn with a 4–0 sweep. The Tigers kept rolling against Harvard and Dartmouth, defeating both with clinical singles performances despite dropping the doubles point. The win over Dartmouth was particularly significant, as another difficult loss last season came at the hands of the Big Green.

After a win against Cornell, the next big test was against Columbia, the only other remaining undefeated team in the Ivy League. After a standout performance by junior Alice Ferlito at first singles, which saw her save a set point and later rip three consecutive winners to win the match, the Tigers were the last team standing in Ivy League play.

But would the Tigers be able to avenge themselves agaainst Yale, who earlier dismissed them 4–1 in the ECAC tournament? Not this time, as the Tigers fell by that same scoreline. Princeton dropped first through third singles in straight sets, and the team's lone point was delivered by Jessup. That loss meant everything would come down to Princeton’s final match of the season against Brown, with the title still in play.

After two straightforward doubles victories, as well as straight-set singles victories for Ferlito and Chhiv, Jessup sealed the deal in a moment that won’t soon be forgotten.

“Winning a share of the Ivy League Title with this team is an amazing feeling that really isn’t quantifiable,” Women’s Tennis Head Coach Elizabeth Johnson wrote to the ‘Prince.’ “We really believed the last month that they would do it, so it was a great feeling when that last ball was hit.”

Jessup was even more effusive: “This is definitely one of the greatest moments of my tennis career, and probably always will be,” she wrote. “Winning for something bigger than just yourself, with incredible people right next to you, is a really tough experience to beat.”

As Princeton shares this title with Yale, which also had a 6–1 conference record, and lost the head-to-head against the Bulldogs, it is Yale that received the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, leaving Princeton in the difficult situation of waiting to see if they will make it in.

“This is an unusual position to be in,” Johnson wrote. “There are still conference tournaments playing this weekend, so hopefully the cards fall into place, and we get in.”

Despite the stressful circumstances, Princeton players are handling the end of the season with optimistic equanimity. “It goes by so fast,” Jessup wrote of her time playing tennis with Princeton, “and before you know it, you’re playing the last match of the season and your last one with your senior(s). Whether that’s in the postseason or next season, I just want to keep leaving it all out there and be proud of the way we compete together.”

Johnson was similarly hopeful but grounded: “It’s hard to predict what we could do in the tournament,” she wrote. “We have won a lot this season, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we continued to do just that.”

Whatever happens when the NCAA Tournament field is announced on Monday, Princeton has a season they can be proud of forever. This is Princeton’s fifth Ivy title in six seasons, which cements the Tigers as a dynasty, and it is Johnson’s first title with the team in her second year. 

More than any outcome, Johnson wants to linger on the process. “Something I want to emphasize [is] the way they win,” she wrote. “They make it fun. They come up with new cheers. They really do pull each other over the finish line every match, and I am so happy they get the recognition of an Ivy Title.”

Julian Benkin Danoff is a Sports contributor for the ‘Prince.’

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