Both the men’s and the women’s tennis teams battled this weekend in their first Ivy League matches of the season. The women outplayed Penn, winning 5-2, but fell to Princeton (14-5) the next day, 6-1. The men’s team dropped both its weekend matches, falling to the Quakers 4-2 Saturday and to the Tigers 4-3 Sunday.
Women’s tennis (12-6, 1-1 Ivy)
Bruno did not disappoint in its home opener Friday afternoon, riding a wave of five individual victories to a win over Penn (7-6). Dayna Lord ’17, Hannah Camhi ’16, Nikita Uberoi ’15, Ammu Mandalap ’16 and Ashley Noyes ’16 all secured victories, with Camhi’s and Noyes’ coming in straight sets.
The impressive win came after a number of long and hard-fought matches. Uberoi had six hours of match play Friday — her singles match lasted four hours. Despite the long and taxing match, Uberoi was the “one who clinched the match,” said Camhi, a Herald staff writer. Uberoi won at third spot singles 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-6 (5). Uberoi described the match as a “tough grind” filled with “very long points.” She just focused on remaining consistent and “getting balls back until (her opponent) missed.” Uberoi finished with a risky drop shot to set up the last match point. Camhi applauded Uberoi’s audacity, saying that tennis players need to take those types of risks in order to attain victory.
Uberoi was not the only one Camhi said displayed “courage” over the weekend. She said Lord, in her first Ivy League opener, was confident in handling the pressure. Lord’s win against Penn’s number one player was a turning point for the team, Camhi said. Lord, at first spot singles, won 6-2, 4-6, 6-1.
Camhi maintained this momentum, excelling at second spot singles, with a 6-0, 6-2 win. Camhi said she was “moving the ball around very well,” but that the key to her win was her consistency transitioning into the second set. She said she has a tendency to drop her level of play in the second set, but this time she “didn’t back down.”
All these tight matches tired out the girls heading into the next day’s Princeton matchup, Uberoi said. Princeton was coming off a huge win against Yale — last year’s Ivy League champions — and Camhi said Princeton was “really hungry to beat” them.
Uberoi said the team was “doing everything right” and that “the energy was there,” but the Tigers kept fighting back. The only Saturday win for Brown went to Sarah Kandath ’15, who came out of four spot singles with a 6-2, 6-3 win. Camhi slipped in a close match at second spot singles, losing 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (2). She lost in a tiebreaker in the third set. Mandalap also fell in her tiebreaker, suffering a 7-6 (2), 6-3 loss.
Uberoi also said Noyes “was almost there in the second set.” The sophomore fought back after a 6-2 loss in the first set, but could not clinch the second, losing 7-5. Princeton also seized the doubles point.
Despite this tough loss Saturday, Uberoi said, “we know we’re close” and that the team has “a lot of potential for this semester.” The spirits still seem high; Camhi said the women’s squad is excited to take on Cornell and Columbia this coming weekend.
Men’s tennis (10-8, 0-2)
The men’s tennis team wrestled through some tight matches in Quaker territory Saturday, but it could not come out on top. Bruno came out strong with an early lead. Doubles partners Daniel Hirschberg ’15/Gregory Garcia ’17 and Brandon Burke ’14/Sam Fife ’14 both won matches to earn the doubles point for Brown. Despite this momentous start, Lucas Da Silveira ’17 was the only player to grab a singles win. Playing from six spot singles, Da Silveira finished with a 6-2, 7-6 win.
“Two 4-3 losses are always rough,” Da Silveira said. “A couple points here and there decided both matches.”
Penn’s victory kept the Quakers remain undefeated in Ivy League play.
Brown could not respond in its match against Princeton the next day, falling 4-3. Wins from William Spector, Hirschberg and Da Silveira gave Bruno a 3-3 split in individual matches, but two losses in doubles matches sealed the defeat.
“Even though we are 0-2 in the Ivies we know we are better than both teams we lost to this weekend,” Da Silveira said. “We know we can beat other Ivies.”
The men’s team will move on to host Columbia (16-1, 3-0) and Cornell (10-6, 0-2) next weekend.
“Anything can happen in the Ivies,” Da Silveira said. “We will be looking to take down Columbia on Saturday. Cornell will also be a tough match. We just have to work on a few things this week and get mentally ready to battle.”
ADVERTISEMENT
