No. 29 Yale Upset 5-2 By No. 56 Princeton
PRINCETON, N.J. – Saturday, the No. 29 Yale women's tennis team (16-4, 1-1 Ivy) hit the first roadblock of its Ivy League season with an upset loss to No. 56 Princeton (9-8, 2-1 Ivy) on the road at the Lenz Tennis Center.
The match was a tough one for the Bulldogs, who were playing without senior captain Stevi Petrelli. Beginning with a win by the freshman doubles team of Blair Seideman and Kim Szokol in the third spot, Yale looked poised for a good day, but ended up losing two close 8-6 matches. At the number one spot, senior Lindsay Clark and junior Vicky Brook couldn't pull off a win, and at number two junior Stephanie Kent and freshman Annie Sullivan were also frustrated.
Down 1-0, Yale came back with two-set wins by Szokol and Seideman sandwiched around a loss by Sullivan to even the score at 2-2. However, the team would be held up there as No. 115 Elizabeth Epstein lost in two sets and Brook was unable to capitalize on a 6-1 first set. Princeton also got a win at No. 4 for the 5-2 final.
The result puts Princeton into fourth place in the Ivy League with a 2-1 record. Brown, Dartmouth, and Harvard all have perfect 2-0 records at the top. Yale stands in fifth place with a 1-1 record, in addition to a 16-4 overall mark that is the best in the Ivies.
Next weekend the Bulldogs will have a chance to rebound as Columbia and Cornell, both with 0-2 records, come to visit.
Doubles
1. Bartlett/Marable (P) def. Brook/Lindsay Clark (Y), 8-6
2. Chow/Saiontz (P) def. Kent/Sullivan (Y), 8-6
3. Seideman/Szokol (Y) def. Flanigan/Krakaris (P), 8-2
Order of finish: 3,1,2
Singles
1. Hilary Bartlett (P) def. Vicky Brook (Y), 1-6, 6-3, 6-0
2. Rachel Saiontz (P) def. (115) Elizabeth Epstein, 6-2, 6-2
3. Blair Seideman (Y) def. Taylor Marable (P), 6-3, 6-0
4. Monica Chow (P) def. Stephanie Kent (Y), 6-2, 6-4
5. Katherine Flanigan (P) def. Annie Sullivan (Y), 6-1, 6-2
6. Kim Szokol (Y) def. Alexa Krakaris (P), 6-0, 6-1
Order of finish: 6,5,3,2,1,4
Report by Calvin Bohn '14, Yale Sports Publicity