Princeton Women, Down 4-1, Storm Back to Beat #2 Trinity
by David Keating


photos David Keating

January 13, 2018 - It looked bleak for the Princeton Tigers, hosting the #2 Trinity Bantam women Thursday afternoon. Two of their first five players on court were easily dispatched 3-0, and two more dropped five-game matches. Only #9 Madison Soukup notched a victory, 3-1, to keep her team’s hopes alive but still leaving the hosts down 4-1.

Junior Isabel Hirschberg (#8) took an injury timeout in game three after being struck in the face by opponent Karolina Holinkova’s racket. Before the stoppage, the match was level at 1-1. After returning to the court Hirschberg seemed more determined than ever, and allowed just six total points in the last two games to seal the victory and bring her team up to 2-4 as the last shift took the court.

Princeton’s hopes were down to senior co-captains Olivia Fiechter at #1 and Kira Keating at #7 along with junior Samantha Chai at #4.

Trinity jumped to a strong early lead and it looked like Princeton was doomed. Chai was crushed 11-4 in game one, while Keating dropped her opener 11-6. There was a ray of hope on the show court, with Fiechter taking the first game 11-8. But in the second game, Chai drew even with an 11-4 win, while Keating won 11-7. Finally, a victory seemed possible. Keating then surged to victory, allowing just nine points in the last two games.

Chai took game three, but then lost game four 11-4. Fiechter took game two but lost game three.

Chai, known for her fitness and retrieval, proved too much for Kiwi sophomore and All-American Lakeesha Rarere in game 5, leveling the team match at four all.

Spectators raced over to court one to find Fiechter up 2-1 in games, with the score knotted at seven all against senior captain Raneem Sharaf, who finished last season ranked #5 nationally and had defeated Fiechter twice last season. The Tiger captain then took four of the next five points to take the match and complete the comeback for her team. Her teammates rushed on court to celebrate the win, which brought their record to 7-0.

Coach Gail Ramsay praised her team's effort, calling it "a great result."  Going in, she said, "we knew it would be a hard-fought match." But she admitted "it was a little disconcerting to be down 1-4. Yet it was good to see the team taking and absorbing the pressure, and responding in a positive and productive way. Each stuck with their plan, worked hard with every shot and every rally to find a way to win."

Fiechter said that when she begun "I was just trying to focus on my match and try to get a win for the team. I thought it was going to be tough to pull it out, and I had no idea we were at four all when everyone came at the end of my match. It was incredible. So many matches were close. We've been working super hard this year…and it showed our hard work paid off."

The Tigers return to the court Saturday and Sunday with matches against Brown and Yale, while the Bantams host Dartmouth next Tuesday in their 2018 home opener.

Match Results:

    Princeton    Trinity    Score    Winner
1    Fiechter, Olivia H    Sharaf, Raneem    11-8,11-5,7-11,11-8    Princeton
2    El Torky, Raneem    Le Coq, Julia    4-11,11-8,7-11,11-8,11-5    Trinity
3    Doyle, M. Grace    Alam Eldin, Salma T.    11-5,11-3,11-4    Trinity
4    Chai, Samantha    Rarere, Lakeesha    4-11,11-4,11-6,4-11,11-4    Princeton
5    Steelman, Morgan    Teh, Min Jie    11-3,11-3,11-3    Trinity
6    Leonard, Emme    Haley, Jennifer    11-2,13-11,4-11,5-11,11-5    Trinity
7    Keating, Kira E.    Salunksha, Akanksha    6-11,11-7,11-5,11-4    Princeton
8    Hirshberg, Isabel     Holinkova, Karolina    11-9,7-11,11-1,11-5    Princeton
9    Soukup, Madison E.    El Defrawy, Salma    11-5,12-14,11-7,11-6    Princeton
10  Rosini, Mia A    Brown, Campbell    11-3,11-5,11-2    Princeton