Men's, women's tennis open spring season with home victories

With the true spring season underway for both the men's and women's tennis teams, both sets of Tigers played host at Jadwin Gym this weekend, and both emerged with solid victories.

As the men's team cruised to a dominating 6-1 win over the visiting Wolfpack from North Carolina State, the women's team struggled at the top of its lineup, but defeated Old Dominion, 6-3.

Led by junior No. 1 Kyle Kliegerman, the men's team improved to 5-2 on the season Saturday with its dominating win at Jadwin Gym. Kliegerman was one of only two Tiger victors to need three sets to dispose of his Wolfpack opponent. After a 6-4 first set win, the junior ceded a 6-3 set to North Carolina State's Eric Jackson. Kliegerman delivered another 6-4 win in the third, however, to seal the victory.

Most of the singles line cruised past the Wolfpack. At No. 2, senior captain Ahn Ahn Liu took down Keith Salmon, 6-3, 6-2, while sophomore Judson Williams crushed Deval Desai, 6-1, 6-1.

Sophomores Nick Benjamin and Darren Joe also won their matches against North Carolina State, while freshman Brandon Tung lost at the No. 6 spot, 6-4, 6-2.

Double take

In doubles action, Liu teamed with senior Scott Borenstein at No. 1 and defeated North Carolina State's top tandem in a proset, 9-8. Kliegerman and Joe cruised past their opponents, 8-3, while freshman Trevor Smith and Williams topped their foes, 8-6.

While the women's team did get past a talented squad from Old Dominion, both freshman Kavitha Krishnamurthy and senior Amanda Hastings-Phillips lost on the top of the singles ladder.

ODU's Anna Radeljevic dealt Krishnamurthy a straight-set 6-4, 6-4 loss. At the Princeton Invitational two weeks ago, Krishnamurthy — who had climbed to No. 13 in the national rankings — had to default in the quarterfinals due to injury. Sunday afternoon's loss was her third playing loss of the year.

To earn the overall win, the women's team had to rely on its depth. At No. 3 singles, junior Gailor Large defeated ODU's Iva Beli in three sets. Sophomore Pryia Bhupathi — who advanced to the finals of the Princeton Invitational — knocked off Julia Sotiriu in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4. Sophomores Kristi Watson and Julia Salzman both cruised to 6-2, 6-2 victories at the No. 5 and No. 6 spots, respectively.