Coming off a remarkable season last year, in which Columbia men’s tennis wrested the Ivy title from Penn in a one-match playoff, the Lions begin their 2007-08 season today at the University of Virginia’s “Virginia Classic.”
The Virginia Classic boasts the presence of top-ranked teams such as Duke and Wake Forest, in addition to Ivy rivals Penn and Princeton. Senior and top-ranked singles player Jared Drucker spoke about the tournament as difficult and highly competitive. “I think this is probably one of the toughest tournaments in the country. There are a lot of really good schools that are here.” Drucker said.
As of Thursday night, the Lions did not have a draw, nor did they know which team they would be playing today.
Drucker sees the fall season as a bellwether for the spring season, in which teams from the Ancient Eight play one another and fight for the Ivy title. Success in the fall usually implies success in the spring.
Drucker also called the Eastern College Athletic Conference tournament, the qualifying contest for Indoor Nationals in which the Lions will compete two weeks from now, particularly important. “Depending on how well you do, [the ECAC] affects ranking,” he said.
In preparation for today’s tournament and ECACs, the Lions have spent the offseason training and playing in tournaments individually. Drucker and Mark Clemente, a senior who has regularly played number-one singles for the past two seasons, sojourned in France for the summer to practice and play tournaments.
When asked if the Lions were ready for match play, Drucker curtly responded: “[We] don’t really have a choice.”
A coaching shake-up on the women’s side led to the resignation of head coach Robert Kresberg in the off-season. The Lions are hoping that the insertion of Ilene Weintraub into the position will make a contender out of the languishing program, which has compiled a losing record in the past three seasons.
Weintraub comes to Columbia from Seton Hall, in which she led the team to a record of 38-27 over three seasons. Weintraub graduated Columbia College in 2002 and worked as an assistant coach for the Lions before taking the head coaching job at Seton Hall.
Columbia will look to fill a hole at the top of its lineup this season because of the graduation of former top-singles player Milena Kachar. Juniors Nina Suda and Sydney Murray will be counted on to produce sterling results.