Princeton University
Auburn
Princeton Knocks Off No. 12 Auburn
February 04, 2018 | Women's Tennis
Sunday in Jadwin, the Tigers took down Alabama's chief rival, toppling No. 12 Auburn 4-2, following a doubles-point win by taking the next two matches off court and succeeding in the battle for that fourth point.
Tiffany Chen's 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 win provided that fourth point, following Nicole Kalhorn winning on court three and Gaby Pollner winning on court five.
Down goes #12 Auburn! Tiffany Chen finishes off the win on court six! The Tigers have their first win over an SEC opponent since 1982! pic.twitter.com/SMemF0rMKH
— Princeton Tigers (@PUTIGERS) February 4, 2018
The win was Princeton's first over an SEC team since 1982, when the Tigers had an 8-1 win over Mississippi in a match played at Iowa. Princeton had defeated Auburn once before, in 1981, 5-4 at Clemson.
Auburn was coming off a 7-0 win over Cornell Friday in Ithaca to improve to 6-0 on the season, a run that included a win over current No. 17 Miami (Fla.) last weekend. Princeton was unbeaten too, opening its season with wins over Temple and Delaware in Jadwin to start a three-match, four-day home weekend.
Sunday, Princeton started strong with a 6-0 win on court three by Sara Goodwin and Nathalie Rodilosso, and after Auburn took the match on court one, Clare McKee and Katrine Steffensen won their match on court two, 6-4, to claim the doubles point.
More wins followed, with Nicole Kalhorn giving up just four games in a 6-3, 6-1 win over Alizee Michaud on court three. Gaby Pollner then did the same in a 6-2, 6-2 win over Andie Dikosavljevic on court five to put Princeton within a point of victory.
That point wasn't easy to get. Auburn pulled to within 3-1 with a win on court four. Court two went to Auburn after 77th-ranked Taylor Russo and 75th-ranked Stephanie Schrage battled to three sets.
That left Tiffany Chen, on court six, and 87th-ranked Katrine Steffensen, battling 53rd-ranked Jaeda Daniel on court one. Chen rebounded from a first-set loss to win the second set 6-4 and complete the win, 6-3 in the third set. Steffensen's match was halted once the team victory was decided.
The Tigers will continue their long homestand to start the season when they host the ECAC Championship next Friday through Sunday.
Doubles
1. Daniel/Michaud (Auburn) def. Kalhorn/Schrage (Princeton), 6-4
2. McKee/Steffensen (Princeton) def. Meredith/Russo (Auburn), 6-4
3. Sara Goodwin/Nathalie Rodilosso (Princeton) def. Georgie Axon/Griffin (Auburn), 6-0
Singles
1. #87 Katrine Steffensen (Princeton) vs. #53 Jaeda Daniel (Auburn), 3-6, 7-5, 2-5, unfinished
2. #77 Taylor Russo (Auburn) def. #75 Stephanie Schrage (Princeton), 0-6, 6-4, 6-2
3. Nicole Kalhorn (Princeton) def. Alizee Michaud (Auburn), 6-3, 6-1
4. Madeline Meredith (Auburn) def. Clare McKee (Princeton), 7-6(0), 6-3
5. Gaby Pollner (Princeton) def. Andie Dikosavljevic (Auburn), 6-2, 6-2
6. Tiffany Chen (Princeton) def. Alannah Griffin (Auburn), 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (3,5,4,2,6)
Players Mentioned
