With its win over Babson College on Tuesday, the men's tennis team was able to halt the four-game losing streak that had brought it from an impressive 5-3 record to a mediocre 5-7 mark.
Although a win is always a win, Babson isn't on the same level as Tufts' league competitors and the 6-1 thrashing of Babson College was not the confidence-restorer that the team desperately needs.
The convincing victory came without Tufts' number one player, sophomore David Ruttenberg, whose absence forced the entire team to move up a spot. Ruttenberg, Tufts' top player, injured his ankle against Bowdoin last Friday and was forced to sit out the two subsequent matches. Another crucial loss was sophomore Brian Brendell, who had been playing the number six spot for the Jumbos before injuring his ankle so severely in his match at Colby that he is out for the rest of the season.
"Brian was playing very good tennis," Watson said, adding that his loss will be greatly felt. Kathpalia is expected to shoulder the responsibility of filling Brendell's shoes.
Despite the injuries, the Jumbos trounced the Beavers, losing only one match as senior co-captain Adam Scott fell in the number one position 6-2, 6-4.
But last Saturday was a different story, as the Jumbos trekked to Waterville, ME to take on Colby College.
Ruttenberg's injury from the day before precluded him from playing in the match, and the team had to play up one spot once again. The Jumbos only win came at the hands of freshman Sonny Kathpalia, who beat his opponent 6-2, 6-3. Although the other Tufts players didn't come away with wins, they did push their opponents to extra games in every match, and three matches went to a deciding third set. Junior co-captain Mark Fitzgerald pushed Colby's Owen Patrick to a third set that Fitzgerald dropped 6-2. Freshman Jon Bram and sophomore Brian Brendell also pushed their opponents to the do-or-die set, but couldn't emerge with the victory. Brendell won the first set 6-0 before suffering an ankle injury that he tried to play through, but couldn't overcome the disadvantage.
"Brian was playing on one foot in that match. He would have won otherwise," Watson said.
"If David had played, we would have won the match," Watson said. To add insult to injury, the Jumbos were battling a severe home court advantage for the White Mules.
"Colby's courts are super-fast and they have terrible lighting and low ceilings," Watson said. "They were very hard for our guys to get used to."
Colby's courts were especially difficult to adjust to considering that, the day before, the Jumbos were at Brunswick, ME battling the Bowdoin Polar Bears. Bowdoin's courts are slow and the backdrop is white, which makes the ball difficult to pick up.
"The courts were especially tough for players like Adam [Scott] and Mark [Fitzgerald] who try to be aggressive - when the ball sits up there an instant longer, their opponent can pick them off," Watson said.
Ruttenberg and Bram were able to adjust enough to win their matches. But Ruttenberg suffered the injury that kept him out of the Colby and Babson matches. He was able to play through the pain though and beat his opponent, Bowdoin's Colin Joyner, in three sets, 5-7, 6-3, 6-1. All other Jumbo players fell in straight sets.
This loss was disappointing for the Jumbos because of the heated emotions involved with the Bowdoin match-up. Last year, there was an altercation between the two squads regarding Bowdoin's prolonged celebrations after relatively inconsequential points. But this time around, coach Watson said that "both teams conducted themselves admirably."
The losing streak was not as much a slide in team performance as the result of bad breaks for the team.
"One thing after another hasn't gone our way," Watson said of his team's season. During a stretch when the entire team was battling injury, Watson's squad was forced to take on its most daunting NESCAC foes. Williams, Bowdoin, Trinity, and Colby were ranked first, fourth, fifth, and eighteenth respectively in the East region by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association at the end of last season while Tufts earned a ranking of ninth. Even if the Jumbos had entered the matches at 100 percent, it would have taken a small miracle for them to top Williams and a superb effort to beat Bowdoin or Trinity.
Injuries prevented Tufts from even approaching the type of effort the team needed. In addition to Ruttenberg and Brendell's injuries, Scott has been suffering from a pulled hamstring for most of the season, and Bram is suffering from what Watson called a "chronic groin pull."
Despite their hobbled status, the Jumbos have not given up on their season and are still pushing hard in their matches.
Later today, the Jumbos will try to overcome their bad fortunes as they take on Connecticut College at Voute Courts. Next Wednesday, the Jumbos will conclude their unfortunate regular season with a home match against Bates College. Bates finished the 2000 season ranked one spot above the Jumbos.
