Tennis: Women fall to No. 3 Duke, men sweep Farleigh Dickinson and Bucknell

The men’s tennis team eased into its spring schedule this weekend as it handled Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday and Bucknell on Sunday, dropping only one set in 14 matches over the two days. While the men faced opponents unranked in the ITA, the women went on the road to face a third-ranked Duke squad and came up short.

For the men, these matches were a nice opportunity to take more chances and try new things that may be too risky in a tighter match with more weight.

“[In these matches,] it is not necessarily just about focusing on the outcome,” head coach Billy Pate said. “It is important that we get the victory, but the focus becomes less on the need to win this break point or this set point and more about the little things each player can try to improve.”

For many players, this means transitioning from strictly baseline play and taking more approach shots so they can get to the net. Players like junior Dan Richardson and freshman John Carcione, who usually grind out long baseline points for their victories, did a nice job of making improvements in that department this weekend.

On the other side, some players, like junior Augie Bloom, are working on building a bit more consistency and picking the spots where they need to be aggressive and attack. Bloom, along with sophomore Zack McCourt and senior Matt Spindler, won four matches apiece over the weekend, two in doubles and two in singles.

Freshman Mohamed El Tonbari and sophomore Ben Quazzo both played their first matches of the season on Sunday against Bucknell in singles and doubles, respectively. Pate was happy to play some of the players who are not currently in the starting lineup but emphasized that even when not playing, these players have a huge impact on the team’s success.

“Quazzo and [sophomore Michael] Katz are a huge part of our team,” Pate said. “These guys are not sulking, even when they aren’t everyday starters. They are great guys. If you have seen them at the squash games, you know how much enthusiasm they bring. That’s been big.”

Next weekend, Princeton will take on Buffalo on Saturday and UC Santa Barbara on Sunday; both matches will be in Jadwin Gymnasium. The Bulls’ head coach, Lee Nickell, was Pate’s assistant during his time at the University of Alabama. Pate said he is looking forward to a well fought, energy-filled match against Nickell’s team. The Gauchos are currently ranked 73 in the ITA national rankings, just seven spots behind the Tigers, who sit at 65.

The women’s team did not fare as well this weekend, losing 7-0 to a Duke team that has four nationally ranked players. While the Blue Devils won eight of the nine matches, a bright spot for the Tigers came at third doubles, where freshman Amanda Muliawan and junior Katherine Flanigan won 8-5. Duke was still able to grab the doubles point because of victories at first and second doubles.

Sophomore Lindsay Graff played a tight match with 45th-ranked Ester Goldfield in the number-one singles spot. Graff hung with Goldfield until the end of each set, forcing a tiebreak in the second before falling 7-5, 7-6(1).

The women will hit the court again for a two-match trip to Colorado next weekend, facing University of Colorado Boulder on Saturday and Denver on Sunday.