An Ivy League title is the culmination of many months of sustained effort. Each athlete commits hundreds of hours to being in the gym, on the court and sometimes even with the trainer. The tennis teams — which have been preparing to compete for this title since they started playing matches in September — have battled through their intense seasons thus far with almost perfect success. And now it all comes down to one weekend.
If the women's team (14-2 overall, 5-0 Ivy League) sweeps Cornell (8-9, 1-4) and Columbia (15-6, 3-2), it will win its first league championship in six years. The men's team (15-6, 4-1) is gunning to defeat the same two teams to secure a share of the title. However, neither team is looking past either of its opponents.
With its No. 1 player — freshman Kavitha Krishnamurthy — back in a groove and its toughest competition behind it, the women's team appears to be assured of a championship. But the Tigers are approaching the weekend's matches with full concentration, determined not to allow an upset.
"There have definitely been some wakeup calls," head coach Louise Gengler '75 said. Gengler noted that the loudest of these wakeup calls was Columbia's recent performances against Dartmouth and Harvard. The Lions had an important win over the Big Green, 4-3. In addition, Columbia was able to take many of the Harvard matches to three sets.
These seem minor concerns, however, for a Tiger team that hasn't dropped a match since returning from its spring trip in March.
Goliath
"We're the favorites, and we need to play with that confidence," Gengler said.
The biggest test the team has had thus far in the league was against Harvard — a match that turned out to be a confidence-builder in itself. The Tigers were able to clinch a win over the Crimson before the doubles matches even started.
"We've been able to rise to the occasion for the big matches," Gengler said. "Hopefully we can do it two more times."
The men's team does not have quite the same confidence advantage. The Tigers' loss to Harvard left Columbia (15-5, 5-0) as the only team that still owns a flawless league record. But before attending to the Lions, the Tigers must first dispose of Cornell (11-7, 1-4).
In this match, injuries could play a crucial role. Sophomore Nick Benjamin is out for the weekend and while senior Ahn Ahn Liu and junior John Portlock will definitely play the first match, it is questionable whether they will be able to go the distance for the weekend.
"They will definitely play against Cornell, but the question is whether they can play the matches on Friday and still feel fine Sunday," head coach David Benjamin said. "We don't have the luxury of not having them play Friday. If we don't win [Friday], the second match suddenly matters much less."
If the Tigers are able to rise to the occasion and defeat each opponent one match at a time, Princeton would be in a three-way tie for the title with Harvard and Columbia.
"When you look at each match individually," Nick Benjamin said.,"we have a really good shot."
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