Having victory slip from their rackets against Penn and Princeton over the weekend, the women’s tennis team used the memory of hard-luck losses to fuel a 5-2 win over Brown yesterday.
Playing outdoors for the first time in the spring season, Yale (9-4, 1-2 Ivy) took to the courts, contending with whipping winds, overcast skies and a light drizzle.
The Bulldogs captured the day’s first point by outdueling Brown (9-3, 1-2 Ivy) in the three doubles matches. Andrea Goldberg ’02 and Biffy Kaufman ’03 nipped Brown’s No. 1 team of Victoria Beck and Alex Arlack 8-5. Twins Ashley and Karlyn Martin ’04 handled Pricilla Zeff and Olivia Wong easily in a 8-2 win, while team captain Liz Oosterhuis ’02 and Susie Hiniker ’02 completed the sweep 8-3.
“I told the girls it was a good start,” Yale head coach Chad Skorupka said. “But they had to get to the match point [in singles] and close it out this time.”
Out of the No. 6 spot in the lineup, Karlyn Martin was the first to wrap up her match, winning 6-3, 6-2 over Wong.
“I was consistent in coming to the net to answer her slicing backhand,” she said of her winning performance.
Yale’s No. 1 starter Margaret Purcell ’04, down 3-1 in the first set to Beck, kicked her game up a notch to win it 6-4.
“Tight competition is what makes tennis fun for me,” said Purcell. “Close matches are where players are really tested, both stroke-wise and mentally.”
Once Purcell got ahead, she wrapped up the match with a flourish, taking the second set 6-0.
“[Beck] was winning points with low slices, which were especially hard to return in the wind,” said Purcell. “But once I got used to her game, the strokes started getting easier.”
A mainstay at No. 2 in the lineup, Kaufman kept her 13 game undefeated streak alive, by winning 7-5, 6-4 against Adriana Marianella.
“Biffy’s so dependable for the team,” Skorupka said. “There are not many women who can compete against her serve, hands and ability to volley the ball.”
On a neighboring court, Hiniker had a quick 6-2, 6-2 victory over Caroline Casey. The two had played a match in the fall which Hiniker lost in a third set super tiebreaker.
“I was pissed about it,” Hiniker said. “So this time I decided to change my game and come to the net more to win short points. It worked”
Playing with strep-throat like symptoms, Oosterhuis lost in a 6-0, 6-4 match to Meath.
Goldberg served up against Arlak in a taxing match that was eventually taken inside because of poor weather conditions.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been responsible for moving 20 people,” said Goldberg. “I feel powerful.
Pumped by the shouts of encouragement from teammates, Goldberg engaged in a high-intensity duel with Arlak eventually taking the match 7-5, 3-6, 10-7.
The Bulldogs are now gearing up to travel to Columbia and Cornell on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
“We need to be more consistent,” said Skorupka. “We need to pull away with more dominating wins like today.”