After Disappointing Weekends, Both Tennis Teams Face Brown, Yale

The Columbia men’s and women’s tennis teams will face off against Yale and Brown this weekend, as both teams are looking to right the ship, coming off relatively disappointing weekends. The men, who recently experienced a disappointing loss to a Harvard team that now sits atop the Ivy League standings at 2-0, will hit the road and face Brown’s and Yale’s talented lineups. The women, on the other hand, will face a Yale team that surprised the entire Ivy League by sweeping perennial powerhouses Penn and Princeton last weekend.

The Yale men’s team is riding a wave of momentum, coming off a win over 69th-ranked Princeton. Yale’s team (7-9, 1-1 Ivy) was jump-started in the game against Princeton by winning the crucial doubles point. The Lions’ new number-three doubles team of seniors Justin Chow and Jared Drucker won its match in a tiebreak, 9-8, giving the Lions a thrilling doubles point against Harvard. Columbia will be looking to get off to a quick 1-0 lead by winning the doubles point and stifling any momentum Yale could carry over.

Brown (10-13, 1-1 Ivy) is coming off a 5-2 loss to Penn, in which the Bears were swept in the doubles point and lost all the top four singles matches. Brown is ranked 74th out of 75 ranked teams, and has been in and out of the rankings all season long. The Lions and the Bears faced off earlier in the fall, with Brown taking a 4-3 win. In the fall matchup, Brown won a very close doubles point, 2-1, but was defeated in the top three singles matches. Columbia lost three close matches at the bottom of the lineup.

One player to watch on the Lions is sophomore Jon Wong, who defeated Harvard number-one singles player Chris Clayton, ranked 108th in the nation. Wong, who was named Ivy League Rookie of the Year last season, has had a fantastic season in both singles and doubles.

The women, welcoming Brown and Yale to the Dick Savitt Tennis Center, are searching for their first Ivy League win. They were swept by both 51st-ranked Dartmouth and a tough Harvard team last weekend. Yale, coming off the sweep of Penn and Princeton, will come to Columbia filled with confidence.

“This is a big opportunity for us,” Columbia head coach Ilene Weintraub said. “Yale is a team which has no real superstars, but is really deep and talented. If we go out and play to our potential, I think we will give ourselves a good chance to win.”

Brown, on the other hand, is a team that Columbia will definitely have a chance to beat.
“I hope that we have a lot of fans and a lot of support,” Weintraub said. “I really hope we can get that bubble rocking.”

Weintraub said she was especially impressed with the performances of freshmen Stephanie Zilberman and Natalia Christenson last weekend.

“Stephanie beat a great player at number-two singles against Harvard, and Natalia, who usually plays doubles, won her number-six singles match against Harvard as well,” Weintraub said. “I am looking for both of them to continue their strong play and continue their improvement this weekend.”

The men will travel to New Haven and Providence to face Yale and Brown on the road, while the women will be at home. Both Friday matches will start at 2 p.m., and the men will start at 2 p.m. on Saturday while the women will begin at noon.