Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
North Carolina State
Men's Tennis Opens Spring Season With 5-2 Win Over NC State
January 30, 2003 | Men's Tennis
Jan. 31, 2003
The Princeton men's tennis team began the spring portion of the season in style defeating North Carolina State 5-2 late Thursday night. The evening began with Princeton earning the doubles point after partners David Gopstein and Darius Craton won at first-doubles and Josh Burman and Tim Kofol won at second doubles.
The singles portion of the match began with NC State's R.J. Murray topping Trevor Smith at No. 1 singles 6-2, 7-6(2). Princeton then earned wins in four of the remaining five singles spots to claim the team win. At No. 2, after dropping the first set, Josh Burman rallied to defeat Val Banda in three sets. Then at third-singles, Darius Craton won a first set tiebreaker and then the second set to top Will Shaw. Tim Kofol earned a 6-1, 6-1 win against Rehman Esmail and the Tigers' final win came from Daniel Friedman as he knocked off Chris Mills at No. 6. Princeton returns to action on Friday night when they take No. 26 North Carolina at 6:00 p.m.
Princeton 5, NC State 2
Singles
No. 1 R.J. Murray def. Trevor Smith - 6-2, 7-6(2)
No. 2 Josh Burman def. Val Banada - 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-2
No. 3 Darius Craton def. Will Shaw - 7-6(7), 6-4
No. 4 Tim Kofol def. Rehman Esmail - 6-1, 6-1
No. 5 Jon Davis def. Hans Plukas - 6-4, 6-4
No. 6 Daniel Friedman def. Chris Mills - 6-0, 3-3(7)
Doubles
No. 1 David Gopstein/Darius Craton def. Val Banada/R.J. Murray - 9-7
No. 2 Josh Burman/Tim Kofol def. Jon Davis/Rehman Esmail - 8-5
No. 3 Will Shaw/Jirou Nakajima def. Trevor Smith/Andrew Lieu - 8-5