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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Men's Tennis Heads to Virginia For First NCAA Tournament Match Since '98
May 06, 2015 | Men's Tennis
| Men's |  Virginia |
 Minnesota |
 Princeton |
 St. John's |
| Match Date/Time | Saturday, May 9, 3 p.m. (Possible opponent, if win first round) | Friday, May 8, 10 a.m. | vs. Minnesota, Friday, May 8, 10 a.m. vs. Virginia/St. John's (if win), Saturday, May 9, 3 p.m. |
Saturday, May 9, 3 p.m. (Possible opponent, if win first round) |
| 2015 Record | 23-3, 12-0 ACC | 20-7, 10-1 Big Ten | 19-7, 4-3 Ivy | 15-8 |
| ITA Team Ranking | 3 | 25 | 36 | None |
| ITA Singles Ranked | (8) Ryan Shane (19) Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (20) Mitchell Frank (77) Collin Altamirano |
(22) Leandro Toledo (60) Matic Spec |
(75) Zack McCourt | None |
| ITA Doubles Ranked | (2) Luca Corinteli/Shane (42) Mac Styslinger/Kwiatkowski (87) Kwiatkowski/JC Aragone |
(37) Mathieu Froment/Jack Hamburg | (53) Tom Colautti/McCourt | (89) Lucas Hejhal/Vaidik Munshaw |
| Series vs. Princeton | Princeton leads 8-3, last meeting in 1987 (Princeton won 7-2 at Princeton) | Princeton leads 3-1, last meeting 2002 (Minnesota won 7-0 at Malibu, California) | Eighth NCAA tournament appearance | Princeton leads 15-3, last meeting 2013 (Princeton won 5-2 at Princeton) |
at Snyder Tennis Center, Charlottesville, Va.
NCAA Round of 64: Friday, May 8, 10 a.m. vs. Minnesota | Live scoring | Twitter @putigers_live
NCAA Round of 32: Saturday, May 9, 3 p.m., Minnesota/Princeton vs. St. John's/Virginia
The 17-year drought for the Princeton men's tennis team in the NCAA tournament will come to an end Friday morning in Charlottesville, Virginia, when the 36th-ranked Tigers face 25th-ranked Minnesota in a 10 a.m. match.
Princeton's NCAA Tournament History
• The Tigers have been to seven previous NCAA tournaments, the last in 1998. Here are the team's results:
1998, at Princeton, Round of 56, Virginia Tech defeated Princeton, 4-1
1996, at Harvard: Round of 40, Florida defeated Princeton, 4-2
1994, at Notre Dame: Round of 16, USC defeated Princeton, 4-0
1980, at Georgia: Round of 16, Clemson defeated Princeton, 5-4
1979, at Georgia: Round of 16, Princeton defeated Arkansas, 5-4; Quarterfinals, Stanford defeated Princeton, 7-2
1978, at Georgia: Round of 16, California defeated Princeton, 8-1
1977, at Georgia: Round of 16, SMU defeated Princeton, 7-2
• If Princeton is able to defeat Minnesota, it would mark Princeton's first advancement in the tournament since 1979.
• A win over the Golden Gophers would also be Princeton's 20th win of the season, tying the program record set in 1995. Princeton has already won the program's most matches since 1999.
• Minnesota will be the 18th ranked opponent Princeton has faced this season. The Tigers are 9-7 against ranked opponents this season and have been as ranked as high as 23rd in late February and early March. That ranking was Princeton's highest on record since 1980.
• Columbia won the Ivy's automatic bid this year, and with Harvard and Princeton joining the Lions in the bracket, it's the first time since 1998 and the second time in the tournament's history that three Ivy teams are in.
Head Coach Billy Pate
• This is Billy Pate's third season as the head coach of the Princeton men's tennis program. At 48-24, Pate is already the fourth-winningest coach in program history, behind the outgoing executive director of the ITA, David Benjamin (339 wins, 1975-2000), John Conroy (259 wins, 1946-71), Glenn Michibata (135 wins, 2011-12).
• Pate is only the second coach to take Princeton to the NCAA team tournament, as Benjamin was at the helm for all seven previous appearances.
• Princeton's is Pate's third NCAA school as coach. He was an assistant coach at Notre Dame from 2000-02, earning the ITA's National Assistant Coach of the Year award in '02. He then went to Alabama, where he guided the Crimson Tide to seven NCAA bids in 10 seasons, reaching the Round of 16 in 2003 and 2007.
• Mississippi State, from which Pate graduated in 1992, made its first NCAA team tournament appearance in Pate's senior year of 1991.
Princeton Player Notes
Sophomore Jonathan Carcione • Franklin Lakes, N.J.
Has not yet played this season
Sophomore Thomas Colautti • London, England
28-19 singles record, 17-15 doubles record
Second-team All-Ivy League in singles. Played at No. 2 singles for most of the season and has won seven of his last eight matches. With Zack McCourt, ranked No. 53 in the nation in doubles. Played No. 1 doubles nearly the entire season, pairing with McCourt continuously since mid-February.
Sophomore Alex Day • Vancouver, B.C.
16-18 singles record, 22-14 doubles record
Played primarily at No. 3 singles and split tine between No. 2 and No. 3 doubles
Junior Mohamed El Tonbari • Doha, Qatar
8-6 singles record, 3-4 doubles record
Played all of his singles and doubles matches in the fall.
Freshman Luke Gamble • Boise, Idaho
20-10 singles record, 19-14 doubles record
Has played all positions between third and sixth singles and has won six of his last eight matches. Played all three doubles positions over the spring.
Freshman Kial Kaiser • Saratoga, Calif.
18-9 singles record, 8-7 doubles record
Has played primarly fifth and sixth singles and has won six of his last eight matches. Played third doubles, including in three Ivy League matches.
Senior Michael Katz • Owings Mills, Md.
0-0 singles record, 4-0 doubles record
Played three fall doubles matches and one in the spring, picking up a win on court three against Bucknell.
Senior Zack McCourt • Sunrise, Fla.
25-11 singles record, 17-12 doubles record
First-team All-Ivy League in singles in 2014 and 2015, first-team All-Ivy doubles in 2013. Has played No. 1 singles all season and No. 1 doubles for most of the spring. Has faced 14 ranked opponents this season and has six wins in those matches. Ranked No. 58 in the nation in doubles with Tom Colautti, has faced eight ranked doubles opponents this season (both with Colautti and with other teammates) and has won three of the last five such matches.
Senior Ben Quazzo • Chicago, Ill.
0-3 singles record, 4-4 doubles record
All three singles matches were in the fall and seven of eight doubles matches were in the fall. Won his only spring singles match, taking the win at No. 3 against Bucknell.
Junior Florin Radu • Toronto, Ont.
9-5 singles record, 5-2 doubles record
All 14 singles matches and seven doubles matches came in the fall.
Senior Dan Richardson • Owens Cross Roads, Ala.
23-11 singles record, 6-3 doubles record
Played fourth, fifth and sixth singles over the spring. Has won three of his last four matches and lost only once in Ivy League play. All doubles matches were during the fall.
Freshman Ben Tso • Lexington, Mass.
7-4 singles record, 19-8 doubles record
Played all but one singles match during the fall. Has played 19 spring doubles matches between the second and third positions, most often at No. 3 with Alex Day. Has won nine of his last 11 doubles matches played to decision.
Freshman Diego Vives • Santiago, Chile
15-6 singles record, 11-9 doubles record
Has played at each position between third and sixth singles and has a 10-2 spring singles record. Has played at first and second doubles, most often with Luke Gamble at No. 2.
Sophomore Joshua Yablon • New York, N.Y.
20-14 singles record, 7-14 doubles record
Has played second, third and fourth singles, playing fourth throughout the Ivy League season. Has played second and third doubles, most often at No. 3.
All-Time Results Against the Virginia Regional
vs. Minnesota (Princeton leads 3-1)
1911, 2-1 Princeton at Princeton
1912, 3-0 Princeton at Princeton
1997, 4-3 Princeton at Princeton
2002, 7-0 Minnesota at Malibu, Calif.
vs. St. John's (Princeton leads 15-3)
1943, 9-0 Princeton at Princeton
1996, 7-0 Princeton at Princeton
1997, 5-2 Princeton at Princeton
1998, 6-1 Princeton at Princeton
1999, 6-1 Princeton at Princeton
2000, 6-1 Princeton at Princeton
2002, 6-1 Princeton at Princeton
2005, 5-2 Princeton at Princeton
2006, 6-1 Princeton at Princeton
2007, 4-3 Princeton at Princeton
2008, 4-3 Princeton at Princeton
2009, 5-2 Princeton at Princeton
2010, 4-3 Princeton at Princeton
2011, 6-1 Princeton at Harvard
2011, 4-3 St. John's at Princeton
2012, 4-2 St. John's at Dartmouth
2012, 7-0 St. John's at St. John's
2013 ,5-2 Princeton at Princeton
vs. Virginia (Princeton leads 8-3)
1927, 9-0 Princeton at Princeton
1934, 8-1 Princeton at Princeton
1937, 5-3 Virginia at Princeton
1939, 7-2 Princeton at Princeton
1941, 12-0 Princeton at Virginia
1947, 7-1 Princeton at Princeton
1948, 6-3 Princeton at Princeton
1949, 5-4 Virginia at Princeton
1984, 8-1 Princeton at Princeton
1986, 5-4 Virginia at Princeton
1987, 7-2 Princeton at Princeton
Matches between active Princeton players and current players from the rest of the Virginia Regional
(There were no doubles matches where both members of both teams are current players)
Tom Colautti
Minnesota
Lost to Jack Hamburg, 3-6, 6-1, (10-3), 2013 Minnesota Fall Invitational
Alex Day
Minnesota
Lost to Mathiew Froment, 5-7, 6-4, (10-6), 2013 Minnesota Fall Invitational
St. John's
Def. Eric Reyes, 3-6, 6-3, (10-6), 2013 Farnsworth at Princeton
Mohamed El Tonbari
Minnesota
Def. Eric Frueh, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2, 2014 Penn Invitational
Luke Gamble
Minnesota
Def. Matic Spec, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 2014 Penn Invitational
Michael Katz
St. John's
Def. Michael-John Every, 6-2, 4-0, 2012 Farnsworth at Princeton
Zack McCourt
Minnesota
Lost to Ruben Weber, 5-7, 6-1, (10-6), 2013 Minnesota Fall Invitational
St. John's
Def. R.J. Del Nunzio, 6-0, 6-3, 2013 Farnsworth at Princeton
Def. Lucas Hejhal, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, 2014 Farnsworth at Princeton
Florin Radu
Minnesota
Def. Tucker Saxon, 6-2, 7-5, 2014 Penn Invitational
Dan Richardson
Minnesota
Lost to Felix Corwin, 6-1, 7-6(2), 2014 Penn Invitational
Diego Vives
Minnesota
Def. Jeremy Lynn, 6-4, 7-6, 2014 Penn Invitational
Josh Yablon
St. John's
Def. R.J. Del Nunzio 6-1, 6-3, 2014 Farnsworth at Princeton