Spirits are high on the women’s tennis team as it travels to Philadelphia this weekend for Penn’s 11th-Annual Cissie Leary Invitational. The field for this year’s tournament is deep—Virginia Tech, Kansas, UMass, Cornell, Yale, and Princeton are some notable competitors.
In the face of adversity, new head coach Ilene Weintraub kept a sanguine demeanor, pleased with her team’s results so far. “I was very happy about last weekend’s results. We made a tremendous impact on the court. I’m continuing to be positive.” Weintraub said.
Last weekend, the Lions won 10 of 18 singles matches at the Columbia Classic, the Lions’ home tournament at which Columbia played a round robin against Ivy foes Penn and Brown.
Freshman stand-out Stephanie Zilberman won all three of her singles matches without dropping a set, breezing past Brown’s Itsuka Kurihara, 6-3, 6-1, Alexa Baggio, 6-0, 6-2, and Penn’s Charlotte Tansill, 6-0, 7-5.
Weintraub confirmed that “Stephanie had a great weekend” but added that other players had also delivered strong performances. “Sydney Murray, who has been leading the team so far, has been working very hard. We’re counting on her to bring in some big wins. And Nina Suda, a captain, is playing well.” Weintraub added.
In preparation for this weekend’s matches at the Cissie Leary Invitational, Weintraub devoted equal time to singles and doubles during the team’s daily two-hour practices.
Weintraub also put emphasis on the Lions’ fitness. “We’re trying to push them conditioning-wise. If they’re conditioned physically, then they’ll be able to fight mentally.”
Men’s tennis also hits the road this weekend, setting out for the Princeton Invitational. Competitors will include Princeton, Penn, Yale, and Cornell.
Coming off a decent showing at the Virginia Classic, in which freshman Kevin Kung won a draw of singles, Columbia hopes to produce similar results and build confidence.
One obstacle for the Lions might be Princeton singles player Peter Capkovic, a semi-pro in his native Slovakia, a nationally ranked college player in this pre-season and the Achilles of the Ivy League one might say.