Columbia University
PRINCETON*
Men's Tennis Wins Marathon Match Over Princeton, 5-2
4/21/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
NEW YORK, N.Y. - The match took six hours to complete, but the end result was worth the wait as Columbia defeated Princeton 5-3 at the Dick Savitt Tennis Center.
Doubles served as an indicator of dramatics to come, as the Columbia took second doubles quickly, 8-3 and Princeton took third doubles shortly after (8-4).
The doubles point came down to first doubles where Marty and Jimmy Moore were in a tight battle with Ted Mabrey and Andrew Lieu. The Lions won 9-8 in a tie breaker to take the doubles point and head into singles up 1-0.
Singles followed a similar formula, and Columbia took two matches quickly. Dan Urban finished first at No. 6 singles, defeating Shannon Morales 6-2, 6-3. Paul Ratchford followed close behind, winning at No. 3, 6-1, 7-6 over Andrew Lieu.
Princeton picked up a win at No. 2 with Darius Craton defeating Jimmy Moore, 6-4, 6-4, to cut the Columbia lead to 3-1.
And then the battle really began.
Mark Clemente won his first set at No. 1, 7-6 and just a few courts away, Marty Moore battled back from being down 4-1, but fell in his first set at No. 4, 7-6. Jared Drucker mimicked the Moore's set at No. 5, rallying back before falling 7-5 in the first.
Clemente was up big in second set before Sratha Saengsuwarn made a stunning comeback to take the second set 7-6 in a tie-breaker. Drucker pulled off a similar feat, taking his second set by the same score in a tie-breaker.
Moore's was the only match that didn't need a tie-breaker in the second, as he won, 6-2. Moore clinched the match with a 6-3 win in the third.
Clemente went on to win the third set of his match 7-5, while Drucker dropped his in the third, both retiring with Princeton up 3-1.
The Lions improve to 13-4, 4-2 Ivy League.
The Lions travel to Penn on Sunday for the final match of the season.
Players Mentioned
