Tennis: Pair of 4-3 victories keep men’s team undefeated in Ivy League

The Tigers got off to a slow start on Saturday as the Big Green swept the doubles point. With the support of a large group of fans, Princeton battled back on the singles courts. The charge was led by sophomore Matija Pecotic, who quickly disposed of Dartmouth’s top singles player, Michael Laser, 6-1, 6-2. After quickly falling behind in the first set, Laser became noticeably frustrated, and Pecotic capitalized to quickly earn the Tigers its first point.

Sophomore Matt Siow defeated Brandon DeBot 6-1, 6-1 at singles soon after in another straight set finish to give Princeton the lead. Dartmouth’s Xander Centenari responded with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over sophomore Matt Spindler to bring the Big Green even with the Tigers. After freshman Augie Bloom defeated Curtis Roby 6-1, 7-6 and senior captain Alex Faust fell 6-4, 6-4 to Chris Ho, the match came down to freshman Dan Richardson facing Cameron Ghorbani. After losing the first set 4-6, Richardson rallied to take the next two sets 6-3, 6-1 to clinch the match and preserve Princeton’s perfect league record.

After such a close and dramatic finish, the Tigers defeated the Crimson 4-3 the following day in a hard-fought match that saw five of the six singles matches decided in three sets. Princeton had a strong start, winning the doubles point before Harvard’s Andy Nguyen responded with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Richardson. Bloom and Faust then defeated their opponents to take back the lead for the Tigers. Pecotic clinched the match by beating Jonathan Pearlman 7-5, 2-6, 6-4.

Pecotic has been on a tear during league play. He has yet to lose a singles match in Ivy League play and was named the GoPrincetonTigers.com Athlete of the Week on Monday. Pecotic is peaking at the right time as the Tigers have gotten off to their best conference start since 1992.

“My style is impetuous, my defense is impregnable, and I’m just ferocious,” Pecotic said. “I feel if I play my way of playing, then there’s no one that can stop me. It’s really up to me to decide how I’m going to go about my matches. I feel extremely confident, and I’m really looking forward to the last two matches.”

With both victories over Dartmouth and Harvard coming at a score of 4-3, Princeton has won each of its five Ivy League matches by a one-point margin. The Tigers have shown a consistent ability to tip close matches in their favor and demonstrate that a victory is always within reach.

“[Winning each Ivy match 4-3] shows that we definitely have developed since the beginning of the year when our finishes may not have been as strong or as convincing,” Pecotic said. “It shows that everyone is on the same page when it comes to closing out matches. Everyone is sticking to their game style, whatever that is, and believing that we can do it — seven times, if need be.”

Aside from Princeton, Cornell (21-4, 4-0) is the only other team undefeated in conference play. The Tigers host Columbia (7-13, 1-3) on Friday before heading to Ithaca to take on the Big Red in what will likely determine the Ivy League champion. Pecotic is confident that if the team continues to play as it did this weekend, a championship is within reach.

“First we have to take each match one point at a time,” Pecotic said. “If we do the same thing that we did against Harvard, we’ll give ourselves the best chance of winning. During this Harvard match, even though we won 4-3, everyone was on the same frequency; every court had the same intention. We have to repeat what we did against Harvard: just believe and remain extremely confident.”

The No. 49 women’s team (10-9, 3-2) also played No. 75 Dartmouth and No. 55 Harvard this weekend. Against Dartmouth, the Tigers won the doubles point, but the Big Green responded by taking four out of the six singles to win the match 4-3. Princeton bounced back the next day to defeat the Crimson 4-3. After winning the doubles point, junior Rachel Saiontz and sophomore Monica Chow defeated their opponents in straight sets before freshman Katherine Flanigan defeated Samantha Gridley 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 to clinch the match for the Tigers.

The women’s team will travel to Columbia (9-11, 0-5) on Friday before hosting Cornell (9-9, 1-4) on Sunday to conclude conference play.