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Princeton University Athletics
Seniors Lead Women's Tennis Past Columbia
April 19, 2002 | Women's Tennis
April 19, 2002
PRINCETON, NJ - Priya Bhupathi's 7-6, 6-4 win over Melissa Nguyen and Kristi Watson's 6-4, 6-0 defeat of Miriam Rahali enabled the two Princeton seniors to put a stamp on their Princeton tennis careers as they led the Tigers to a 5-2 win over Columbia on Friday afternoon in their final match at the Lenz Tennis Center. Princeton improves to 8-9, 3-3 in Ivy action with one match remaining. The Lions fall to 9-9, 1-5 in the league.
Princeton turned in some strong doubles play to sweep the three doubles matches and take and early 1-0 lead in the match. Kavitha Krishnamurthy and Avantika Bhargava got things going with a 8-0 win over Rahali and Joyce Chang. Bhupathi and Watson teamed up at second doubles and recorded an 8-2 win over Shelly Mittal and Ilene Weintraub. Alex Kobishyn and Stephanie Berg handed Lucia Aniello and Nguyen a 8-3 loss at third doubles to complete the sweep.
Krishnamurthy, ranked No. 51 in the nation, continued her strong play with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Mittal at first singles. Mateya McCoy played out of the sixth singles slot and defeated Weintraub 6-1, 6-0. Watson turned in a 6-4. 6-0 victory over Rahali to secure the Princeton win. Bhupathi's two-set victory provided for the final 5-2 score.
Columbia posted wins at fourth and fifth singles. Kristin Martinez defeated Stephanie Berg 6-3, 6-4 and Leena Krishnaswamy defeated Jackie Arcario 6-3, 6-1 to put the Lions' two points on the board.
Princeton has one match remaining in its regular season. The Tigers head to Cornell for a 12 p.m. match on Sunday, April 21 to close out the regular season.
Princeton 5, Columbia 2 Doubles 1. Avantika Bhargava/Kavitha Krishnamurthy (P) def. Miriam Rahali/Joyce Chang (C), 8-02. Priya Bhupathi/Kristi Watson (P) def. Shelly Mittal/Ilene Weintraub (C), 8-2
3. Alex Kobishyn/Stephanie Berg (P) def. Lucia Aniello/Melissa Nguyen (C), 8-3
Singles 1. #51 Krishnamurthy (P) def. Mittal (C), 6-4, 6-3
2. Watson (P) def. Rahali (C), 6-4, 6-0
3. Bhupathi (P) def. Nguyen (C), 7-6 (7), 6-4
4. Kristin Martinez (C) def. Berg (P), 6-3, 6-4
5. Leena Krishnaswamy (C) def. Jackie Arcario (P), 6-3, 6-1
6. Mateya McCoy (P) def. Weintraub (C), 6-1, 6-0