The Princeton Tigers took down the Buffalo Bulls women's tennis team on Sunday, resulting in Buffalo's first loss of the season. Buffalo's uncharacteristic sloppy play led to a 5-2 loss to the 70th-ranked Princeton Tigers at the Jadwin Gym Cours.
"I thought we could have played better," said head coach Kathy Twist. "There should have been more consistency. It was a good match to show that no matter who we play, there has to be consistent play."
In the singles matches, the Bulls (2-1) won two of six. In the first match, Buffalo senior Andreea Novaceanu fell to Princeton sophomore Melissa Saiontz, by the score of 4-6, 0-6. Ivana King, a Princeton senior, defeated UB sophomore Denise Harijanto in the second match, 7-5, 6-3.
UB gained a victory in third singles with freshman Diana Popescu beating out freshman Rebecca Parks of Princeton by a score of 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. Buffalo junior Smaranda Stan followed up Popescu's victory with a win over Princeton's Sarah Huah by a score of 6-3, 6-7 (8), 1-0 (9).
"I thought that they had tough matches," Twist said. "They came out with tough wins."
Ending Buffalo's short-lived winning streak in the singles, Princeton's Taylor Marable defeated sophomore Diana Toia by 6-0, 6-4. Finishing off the singles matches, Buffalo senior Tina Jacob lost to Princeton freshman Sarah Hoffman with decisions of 6-4 and 6-3. Last year, Jacob was 2-1 in singles play at the Princeton Invitational and the Niagara Regional Tournament. Also, in the 2005-2006 season, she was second on the team, with 18 doubles wins (paired with Andreea Novaceanu).
In the three doubles matches, Buffalo lost the first two. The Tigers team of Ivana King and Rebecca Parks won 8-4 against Bulls team Harijanto and Popescu. Buffalo lost the second doubles match when Stan and Toia fell to Princeton's Marable and Saiontz 8-6.
To end the meet, the Bulls pulled out a victory in the final doubles match between Bulls Novaceanu and Jacob and Princeton's Sarah Hoffman and Kristen Scott by a score of 8-5.
"It was a hard-fought match that we could have actually won," Twist said. "The girls at Princeton were a little more steady. It was an excellent match to have to show we need to work on consistency. On everything else, I think we were equal."
Looking into the future, the Bulls feel that they have gained an upper hand coming out of the game against nationally ranked Princeton.
"I feel really confident going into our next match," Twist said. "I'm sure the girls will dominate. We need to learn how to work through nervousness, and you can do that with anyone. We need to work on mental toughness for when it counts."
This Friday, Feb. 22, the Bulls will once again be on the road, traveling to face local rival St. Bonaventure. Their game against the Bonnies will start at 3 p.m.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
