Weintraub Faces Former Team

The upcoming match against Seton Hall on Friday holds special significance for Ilene Weintraub, CC ’02 and head coach of the women’s tennis team. Weintraub, who joined the Columbia coaching staff this year, is looking for a victory over the team she spent the last three years coaching.

“I’m happy and excited to see my old players,” Weintraub said. “Of course no matter where you coach, you always form mutually respectful and nurturing relationships with players. I’ll be happy to see them and see that they’re doing well.”

The match is expected to be an easy win for the Lions, who defeated Seton Hall 7-0 in 2005. The team will also have an advantage with Weintraub’s knowledge of the Pirates and their playing styles.

“Scouting is always an important part of any sport,” she said. “I think that it will be an advantage that I will know many of the opponents’ games inside and out. In fact, I developed those games.”

Strong performances are anticipated from sophomore Carling Donovan and freshman Natasha Makarova, both of whom excelled at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center Women’s College Tennis Invitational earlier this week. Weintraub is also looking to freshman Stephanie Zilberman to deliver after defeating the third-ranked player at Penn and a Harvard freshman last weekend.

“Stephanie has shown some really great potential here as a freshman,” Weintraub said. “She’s just been racking up a lot of wins against a lot of strong Ivy League competitors.”

Weintraub said she is looking to use this match as a chance for the Lions to improve and hone their playing skills for the spring.

“Because Columbia’s so much better than Seton Hall, I might play my second team,” she said. “I always want to give whomever I think needs the most experience another chance to play. Everything we do in the fall is always preparation for the spring. The result doesn’t matter. Right now, we’re just trying to work on our game.”