Light Blue Tennis to Open League Play Against Big Red

The Columbia men’s and women’s tennis teams’ real seasons begin this weekend with Ivy League play against Cornell. The men will be looking to repeat last season’s stellar performance and defend their Ivy League title, while the women, under first-year head coach Ilene Weintraub, will be looking to improve on last season’s 4-10 (1-6 Ivy) record.

The men’s team will travel up to Ithaca this weekend to take on the Big Red in a match that head coach Bid Goswami expects to be indoors.

“In all of my years at Columbia, Cornell is the only school we have never played outdoors,” Goswami said. “The NCAA rules say it must be over 50 degrees and under 15 mile per hour winds in order to play outdoors, and that is rare in Ithaca in late March.”

If the match is played indoors, it should be a big boost for this talented Lions lineup. The team struggled to adjust to outdoor conditions on its spring break training trip to Texas, going 0-3 against very tough competition.

“Despite our record in Texas, I kept telling the boys to keep their heads up and not to lose their confidence,” Goswami said. “All of the matches were so close, I think we were maybe a combined 10 points from going 3-0.”

Heading the Cornell lineup will be junior Kyle Doppelt, who had a solid fall season going 8-5 in singles and 5-4 in doubles. While Doppelt has been a solid contributor to the lineup for three seasons, freshman Andy Gauthier has emerged quickly as one of Cornell’s premier players, playing at number-six singles. In addition, fellow freshman Jonathan Jaklitsch has stepped into the number-three spot in the singles’ lineup. Additionally, Jonathan Jaklitsch has a win over Columbia number-one singles player Mark Clemente in a fall tournament.

Head coach Goswami expects the Big Red to be a good challenge for the Lions, who are beginning the defense of their Ivy League crown.

“Cornell is always a good team and they are this year, but if we play the way we are capable of, I like our chances,” he said.

For the women’s team, first year head coach Ilene Weintraub has been telling her players that if they keep their confidence up, they have a chance to win many matches in the Ivy League.

“For us, the key thing is to believe that we can win,” Weintraub said. “We need to believe that we are capable of winning. Especially in a sport like tennis, so much of it is mental; you need to believe in yourself.”

As far as Cornell and the Ivy League schedule as a whole is concerned, Coach Weintraub believes one crucial area for the team will be the doubles point.

“If we win the doubles point, all we have to do is split the singles to get a win. And as far as the singles are concerned, I think that we are dead even with Cornell.”

A healthy group of players, a fortune that does not often befall the Lions in their spring schedule, should boost the Columbia team. According to coach Weintraub, the team has never looked better in practice, and should be ready to make a run at the first winning season in Columbia women’s tennis history.

“At the end of the day, we are going to give Cornell our best shot and that is all I can ask of my players,” she said.

The men’s tennis team will travel up to Ithaca and play Cornell on Saturday. The women’s team will take on Cornell at the Dick Savitt Tennis Center. Both matches will begin at noon.