The women's tennis team hoped to kick off the Ivy season with a bang, but instead the Bears stumbled out of the gate. Princeton handily defeated Brown 6-1 on Friday, and the Bears then dropped a 6-1 decision to No. 42 the University of Pennsylvania on Saturday at the Pizzitola Sports Center. Bruno dropped to 4-10 overall on the season and 0-2 in the Ivy League.
Despite the lopsided losses, Brown made both opponents work for their victories. Against Princeton, Daisy Ames '07 provided an emotional three-set match at first singles that captured the attention of nearly everyone in attendance.
Ames began the match playing nearly flawless tennis against her opponent Darcy Robertson. She started the match by causing Robertson to make numerous unforced errors and long points. She cruised to a 6-2 first set victory and went up 4-1 in the second set.
At 4-1, however, Robertson buckled down and began connecting on more of her first serves. In one game alone, Robertson recorded four straight aces.
"It became really hard to figure out where her serve was going," Ames said. "Her ability to ace me changed the course of the match."
In an epic second-set tiebreaker, the umpire overruled Ames at 7-7 when she called Robertson's first serve out, which gave Robertson the point and an 8-7 lead. Robertson eventually won the tiebreaker 9-7.
Even after such a distressing call, Ames would not fade away. She battled Robertson in the third set to grab a 5-3 lead.
"I know I am not going to lose a match over one point," she said. "I had to put it behind me."
Up 5-3, Ames unraveled and lost the next four games to drop the match 2-6, 7-6 (9-7), 7-5. Ames' effort was especially noticeable on an afternoon when all her teammates lost in straight sets with the exception of Amanda Saiontz '07, who captured a straight-set victory at second singles.
The following day against No. 42 Penn, Bruno showed considerably more fight across the board than in its match with the Tigers. Ames rebounded from her tough loss to earn the Bears' only singles victory of the day in a 7-5, 7-6 win. Both Ashley Pariser '08 and Brett Finkelstein '09 stretched their opponents to three sets before succumbing.
But the Bears were simply overmatched against the Quakers, who are 3-0 in Ivy League play. Saiontz, one of the team's best players, lost in straight sets, and Sara Mansur '09 struggled in her loss against an opponent who hit winner after winner.
Head Coach Paul Wardlaw had previously hoped the Ivy season would inspire his team to a new level of competitiveness. This weekend seemed - at least temporarily - to derail that hope. Ames, who left everything on the court in her two matches, kept things in perspective.
"I know all the girls care so much about winning, especially in the Ivies," she said. "This was a miniature wakeup call for us to start playing with our hearts more."
The Bears have an opportunity to rebound this weekend when they travel to Ithaca, N.Y., to take on Cornell Friday and to New York City on Saturday to face Columbia.
