Cracked Interviews [Tennis Podcast] · Cracked Racquets, Bleav

Discussing the 2026 Season with Princeton Men's Head Coach Billy Pate

February 24, 2026·49 min·4 clips

Princeton snapped a 14-match losing streak against Columbia in a thrilling 4-3 ECAC final.

This episode features host Alex Gruskin interviewing Princeton men's tennis head coach Billy Pate about his team's strong start to the 2026 season. Coach Pate reflects on his team's ECAC Championship victory and their current national ranking. The conversation centers on Princeton snapping a 14-match losing streak against Columbia to win the ECAC title with a 4-3 final match. Pate details how a narrow loss to Arizona State, which kept them from the National Indoor Championships, fueled his team's motivation for the ECAC tournament. He highlights the high-level singles battle between Princeton's Paul and Columbia's Michael, calling them two of the top ten players in the country. Coach Pate credits his staff for developing Paul's all-court offensive game and growing confidence over his junior year. He notes his roster's unique construction, with seven of eleven players being upperclassmen, due to Ivy League rules prohibiting graduate transfers and redshirts. Pate explains his philosophy of aggressive non-conference scheduling to build a strong NCAA tournament resume, calling scheduling an "art form." A surprising insight is Pate's belief that the loudest voice in the locker room should be a player's, not the coach's, for greater impact. He shares a candid story about taking personal blame for a 4-3 loss to Liberty, calling his own scheduling "borderline arrogant." The coach reveals that despite having elite players, he has always prioritized building team depth and strength at the lower lineup positions. Pate describes the advantage of coaching at an elite academic school, where like-minded players naturally form strong team chemistry without transfer portal disruptions. He discusses the challenge of Ivy League recruiting, where they seek "really, really great tennis players who happen to be smart enough" to get in. The tone is conversational and insider-focused, filled with specific match details and coaching philosophy. This episode is perfect for avid college tennis fans, especially those following the Ivy League or team dynamics. Listeners with no interest in collegiate sports or coaching nuances will likely want to skip it.

As heard by us

A coach-side look at Princeton's fast start, shaped by tight matches, an older team, and belief.

Princeton men's head coach Billy Pate uses the conversation to frame a strong start that already carries some pressure around it: an ECAC title, a 14-match losing streak finally broken against Columbia, and a rise to No. 19 in the ITA rankings.

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Want the story behind Princeton's hot start and the ECAC title?

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