Princeton review

???The women's tennis team comes back to Buffalo with what might not be a great record on paper, but with a lot of experience gained from their tournament in Princeton over the weekend.

???Facing Penn, Princeton and Virginia Tech in their first tournament of the season, the Bulls struggled to capture victories. The reigning MAC champions finished with just one singles victory in the tournament.

???Head coach Kathy Twist knew coming into Princeton that all three teams would provide challenges for her team, and for that reason, she accepted the invitation to go.

???"We were facing some of the best teams in the country, so this is what I wanted us to do," Twist said. "We wanted to see how we stacked up against those teams."

The doubles teams took the stage on Friday against Virginia Tech and Penn. Buffalo's best chances to grab doubles victories came from the team of junior Diana Toia and sophomore Jenelle Jones-Mitchell.

Toia and Jones-Mitchell opened up the day with a close 9-7 loss to Jasmin Hamza and Abbey Walker. They would see a similar result against the team of Emily Wolf and Jordan Schaefer of Penn, falling 9-8.

Buffalo looked to have more success when singles play began on Saturday. Their losing ways continued against Penn, including four straight losses from Popescu, Toia, Jones-Mitchell and junior Anna Subenkova.

???Junior Smaranda Stan would stop the Bulls losing streak by capturing the Bulls lone victory. She battled with Maria Anisimova of Princeton to a 6-0. 3-6 tie after two sets. Stan would go on to win the decisive tiebreaker 10-5.

???Stan would then try to double Buffalo's win total. She battled with Hamza of Virginia Tech and was tied 2-6, 6-2 after two sets. Hamza would squeak out a 10-7 win in the third set for the victory.

The doubles team could not manage any success against Princeton on Saturday. Popescu and Stan had the best match of all the doubles teams, but fell by a score of 8-2.

Buffalo finished the tournament on Sunday with three losses. Petrova was swept in straight sets by Melissa Saiontz of Princeton. Melissa Saiontz's sister, Rachel, would knock off Stan 6-4, 6-4. In the final doubles match, Jones-Mitchell and Ivanyuk fell 8-3.

???The team's success on the score sheet was secondary in Twist's mind. Her primary concern was her team's readiness to play and to know what to do when the time calls for it.

???Playing against powerhouse teams, Twist wanted her players to be aware during the match and learn when to make adjustments. She claims the biggest adjustment that needs to be made is more psychological than physical.

???"I want them to play smarter tennis," Twist said. "I want them to understand how the game is played...you sometimes have to go from offense and defense and vice versa."

???The quote spoke more to her doubles teams, who struggled to keep most of their matches close. Once her players realize when to hit a lob rather than a forehand, Twist believes her squad will be ready to handle MAC matches.

???When asked about the conference, she applauded the skills of the other teams, but was uncertain how her team would fare as the season went along. She is aware of her team's capabilities, but sees them on an equal playing field after struggling at Princeton.

???"There's a lot of evenness in the MAC," she said. "It has a lot of quality, but there is similar talent and ability."

???With so much congruency in conference, there must be a factor that will lead one team over the top. Twist considers mental strength, which the team will gain from competitive tournaments like the one in Princeton, the x-factor. When her team plays, she wants them to be ready to perform the quick, lateral movements necessary to play tennis.

???"You can run on a treadmill forever, but if you don't have that mental ability to say 'I need to play this strategy against this player,' you're doing it over and over." Twist said.???

???The Bulls look to recover from their struggles in Princeton when they head to the Army Invitational in West Point. The tournament starts on Friday, September 26th.